[kgr]

teams; IMPs

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2♥=Muiderberg; Weak with 5c♥ and 4+c minor
LHO did lead ♦J, making 3♠+3.
Does vulnerability matter for NS bids?
Can South be much weaker for his balancing bid and is it correct for North not to blast game?
(Maybe this is more partnership agreement, if it is: what is yours?)

[RunemPard]

ATB to North IMO...AKx trump support...1st round control in hearts...and most likely xx in west's minor. I really want to be in game here...

[Codo]

Maybe north knows that souths reopening could be even weaker? Playing with my standard partners I had not invited but bid the game...

[JLOGIC]

Well south obviously can't do more, he has Kx of hearts to go with his 10 count lol.

I would bid game with the north hand, but not bidding a white game with 23 HCP an 8 card fit and no singletons can't be the worst thing ever in the long run. South fit perfectly, and the QT98x of diamonds were very strong (which is not that surprising, and I think that is why north underbid, those spots rate to be quiteuseful).

[the hog]

North needs to bid game.

[mikeh]

This is an easy game to miss. South is all bid out with his balance, and N has a borderline decision. However, he has a full opener, with 5 controls and decent minor holdings...a ruffing value in opener's probable minor and good diamond spots for a suit where partner is probably favourite to hold something useful, given that he has weakish spades.

Put another way, North's invitation gets them to game whenever S has a 'good hand' but there will be quite a few hands that won't look 'good' yet where game is good. Add to this the edge that good declarers get against even good defenders, and it is time to be bold.

So I blame N, but don't think it is a huge error.


I just saw that I really didn't say anything Justin didn't say. Oh well.

[TylerE]

It's red at imps, I have AKx of trumps, and opening count, and partner bid freely? Why am I thinking here. 100% north. At these colors just shoot it out, if it's down, it's down., plus you don't give E a chance to double 3♥ or bid 4♥ and help the opponents figure out if they have a sac.

[PhilKing]

North should just raise to game.

My view may be coloured by the crazy defence I play to Muiderberg Twos - I play a "balancing" 2♠ as showing more or less the values for a 2♠ overcall, so I would have passed out 2♦.

[wank]

was north expecting south to have less than that?

[Trinidad]

mikeh, on 2013-January-14, 18:39, said:

I just saw that I really didn't say anything Justin didn't say. Oh well.

Since I won't say anything that Justin or Mike didn't say, I'll leave it at that.

Rik

[kgr]

does vulnerabilty change expected value for 2S bid of south?

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

I think it is close, in the end it is upto South ... he is better than min for
his reopening bid, playing IMPs he should accept, but it would be easier for
him to have the King of hearts in a different suit, e.g. in spades or in diamonds.

Having read the other comments ... yes at least I could be weaker for the 2S bid
than the given South hand.
Vulnerability does matter, being Red South will be more inclined to accept the invite.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[kenberg]

One way to go easy on yourselves with assigning blame is to look at a different question: Suppose that the opening lead had been a spade. How do you plan on playing this for ten tricks? You have five spades, the AK of hearts, the Ace of Diamonds. You need two more. You are not getting any via a club ruff if they keep leading trump. So you need two from diamonds. That's a nice Jack on your left, presumably a stiff. So Diamonds can be set up. But wait, if you draw trump and attack diamonds there is a danger that they get the King and cash three clubs., So the diamonds have to be developed before trump are drawn. Well, not really. You can draw trump, enter dummy with a heart, lead the King of Diamonds forcing a cover with the King, and then if the Jack falls you can claim. A bit far fetched. Probably better: Draw two rounds of trump ending in dummy and lead the Q of diamonds. The King covers, take the Ace, lead a Diamond, working fine if W started with any doubleton. Well, not quite. He could have the Kx and the Q loses to the King. Also, if he W has three trump and a stiff Diamond spot this is not working so well.

What we have here is a borderline 4♠ that makes if you guess right or the defense helps you out.

I suppose I do bid 4♠ instead of 3♠ holding the North cards on the grounds that all of me values are valuable. But if W resists the temptation to lead his stiff, it would not surprise me if this goes down. And I don't really see how you made twelve tricks, unless the Jack was from Jx. Did East cover the Queen with the King? Given the dummy, that would be a very generous play. I would expect a low Diamond from East, after which we draw trump. Trusting that W has no more than three trump we can end on the board and start in on diamonds. E continues to play low. Eventually we play our Ace. E still holds the King and we have one entry left to dummy. Making 4, with the helpful lead.

[Fluffy]

I might miss game if south was a passed hand, but not being I think north is clear to bid game.

On a trump lead good luck with your game. Even on a ♥9 lead or similar it doesn't look very good.

[Codo]

That game is not the best game makes it still worth bidding.
Anyway, after a heart lead, you can win in hand and finesse in diamonds,

Over a major lead, I would draw two round of trumps, ending in hand a play a diamond to the ten. This wins often enough to make game worth bidding, doesn't it?

[kenberg]

On a trump lead I think win in hand, back to the Ace, Queen of diamonds from the board sounds right. W has 9+ cards in hearts and clubs, I suppose most of his values are there. I place a bet that the non-lead of a diamond means that he has two, not one (hopefully not zero). As I realized after making my last post, this line works even if West holds Kx, providing he also holds two spades. After the Q loses to the K I have two entries to dummy, the heart and the spade, so I can pick up the Jxx in the East hand and get back for the pitches.

On a small heart lead I play the ten, it cant hurt, but if it doesn't win I can still win the trick and play as above, I think. If the opening lead is the Q of hearts I think I trust it is standard and hook the ten to pitch a club. Now I can draw three rounds of trump before running the Queen, and if it loses I get back to dummy and run the ten.