[pescetom]

MP

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Your agreements in first seat are 2/1 with 1NT 15-17 without 5 card major, 2 clubs generic strong hand.

Please answer the poll and comment here.

[jillybean]

1♣, what else.

Your idea of a pickle is different from mine.

[mw64ahw]

1♦ if you're playing my esoteric unbalanced ♦

mis-counted the ♣ so 1♣.

I did construct a strong club approach where 1♥ was nebulous, but could contain 4♠ or 6♣ as here.

[steve2005]

Nice 2♣ Precision opening.
Playing standard you open 1♣ and no doubt opps have an easy 1♥ bid

[pescetom]

 jillybean, on 2026-October-09, 18:50, said:

Your idea of a pickle is different from mine.

Your opponents bid a hearts contract making (or push you to a clubs contract not making) less often than mine, then.
Or you don't mind a score worse than Pass.

[jillybean]

pescetom, on 2026-October-10, 02:12, said:

Your opponents bid a hearts contract making (or push you to a clubs contract not making) less often than mine, then.
Or you don't mind a score worse than Pass.

Yes, but I'm not in that pickle yet. Lets see the next 3 bids please.

[pescetom]

It depends upon how frisky West is feeling.
At worst:


MP

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Partner would have bypassed 4 card diamonds but not necessarily 5 card.

[jillybean]

let's go slow

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[apollo1201]

 jillybean, on 2026-October-10, 08:29, said:

let's go slow

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Your idea of slow is different from mine😝😅🤣

I d probably X (and start to worry if I had not better passed)

[mike777]

 pescetom, on 2026-October-10, 08:11, said:

It depends upon how frisky West is feeling.
At worst:


MP

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Partner would have bypassed 4 card diamonds but not necessarily 5 card.

Good problem
Partner being a passed hand and very probably no 4spades
Makes double a good choice

Short hearts
More than our usual dead minimum opening values
Probably longish clubs, diamonds tolerance

[WasWinM]

pescetom, on 2026-October-09, 17:20, said:

MP

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Your agreements in first seat are 2/1 with 1NT 15-17 without 5 card major, 2 clubs generic strong hand.

Please answer the poll and comment here.

So far, I don't see a significant problem. Missing 12 hearts, the expectation for the remaining distribution is 444, and 543 secondarily. That no one preempted hearts says a lot. I do appreciate that this is match points, though, and this hand isn't strong defensively or offensively, either. Still, to assume that a complex competitive auction with no bidding is a little over the top, downright pessimistic, actually
with the remaining high cards favored to be 998 around the table. I see no strong reason to do anything other than bid normally at this point and see what happens.

[WasWinM]

jillybean, on 2026-October-10, 08:29, said:

let's go slow

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What the heck is 3H and why am I bidding it? Partner is still a passed hand and still rates to have only 8-9 hcps, right?

[WasWinM]

pescetom, on 2026-October-10, 08:11, said:

It depends upon how frisky West is feeling.
At worst:


MP

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Partner would have bypassed 4 card diamonds but not necessarily 5 card.

Whether or not partner can hold a 4-card major is actually critical to the decision. With less than game forcing strength, obvious from the pass, the 1D for many of us would deny 4 hearts or 4 spades, even with 5 or 6 diamonds. If that is the case, we know we have some kind of good fit in a minor and double will find which one. If partner could have 4 hearts, our double gives him an insoluble problem, while his 3S bid does the same to us. When it's just guesswork, the best action is usually pass.