[inquiry]

Scoring: IMP

BPO-005F
SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST
 1NT     Pass      2♦     2♠
 Pass    Pass   DBL  Pass
  ? Your Bid

You open 1NT and partner uses jacoby 2♦ Transfer. Your RHO interjects 2♠ overcall. You pass back to partner who doubles, your bid.

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[han]

Pass.

I don't like to withhold my heart support, but this looks like a great opportunity. The spade 9 looks like a big card.

[HeartA]

Hannie, on Sep 20 2005, 11:48 PM, said:

Pass.

I don't like to withhold my heart support, but this looks like a great opportunity. The spade 9 looks like a big card.

Agree again.

[mike777]

K of D

Pass

But I think this is much closer than most forum posters.
4H could very well be the winner here. I thought this hand much harder than 1,2, 5.
1) 15 hcp outside of hearts
2) 4 spades
3) Ak of spades


makes the vote=pass.

I will not be surprised if 2S down one and 4h making.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

Pass.

Marlowe

[Gerben42]

Headache situation indeed. But partner shouldn't double unless he is prepared I leave it in. Well, AK9x is a good defensive holding. Pass.

[luke warm]

i voted for 3H, but i should probably pass.. 3H cause i'm not sure i can set 2S (partner has a distributional one suiter i think) and to let him know i can stand hearts (3 of them)

[Blofeld]

I pass, despite the third heart. The spade holding is very defensive.

In particular, though, while I'm fairly sure that 2♠ is down (else what is partner doubling on?), I have no guarantee that we're making game, and 2♠x could well be nice against a partscore.

[hrothgar]

BPO-005F: Pass

Takeout doubles are mean to be taken out. However, I'm sitting on 3 defensive tricks in Spades with slow tricks in both minors. When I opened 1N, I gave partner a very good description regarding my shape and strength. Partner had a number of other balancing decisions available including both 3H and 3m. He chose to double, knowing that I would pass with an appropriate hand.

Could I have anything more appropriate? Yes. In theory, I could have xx in Hearts (maybe even x). However, at this is the vulnerability where I am happiest to convert doubles...

[pclayton]

I think its an easy Pass.

I don't think the pard's double should be 100% takeout per se. What would he do with a 9 count with no clear direction, holding a 3-5-?-? pattern? Double should confirm that we have the lion's share of the deck - do the right thing.

Even if the double was strictly takeout, I still pass, but knowing that it could be point showing, then pass becomes 100%.

[Echognome]

Well, seems like I'm way out in left field here with 2NT. I can see pass working out ok as you have a nice forcing defense laid out from the start. However, when partner makes a takeout double, I usually like to take it out. Perhaps the ♠9 makes it worth defending as you are likely to have 3 spade tricks.

[han]

Here is my idea of what the double shows:

The double does NOT show a very distributional 1-suiter. With these hands partner has no interest in defending and would just bid game. the double certainly allows us to pass with suitable hands. I think that it is very unlikely for the doubler to have 6 hearts.

The doubler could have any strength from just competitive to slam interest. Most likely partner will have 7-8 points with 2 small spades and 5 hearts, but partner could very well have a gameforcing balanced hand with 5 hearts and no spade stopper.

[pigpenz]

I voted for 2NT, I hate creating a swing their way even though i cant really see how they can make 2♠doubled, but still feel we can make anywhere from 8-10 tricks in NT or ♥'s

[pclayton]

Hannie, on Sep 21 2005, 08:15 AM, said:

The doubler could have any strength from just competitive to slam interest. Most likely partner will have 7-8 points with 2 small spades and 5 hearts, but partner could very well have a gameforcing balanced hand with 5 hearts and no spade stopper.

I thought about this too, but with this hand I think pard would just cue 3♠.

[luke warm]

Hannie, on Sep 21 2005, 11:15 AM, said:

I think that it is very unlikely for the doubler to have 6 hearts.

why? i guess he could repeat diamonds, but double also seems like a way to make opener the declarer...

[whereagles]

Pass is attractive, but I bid 3♥ since we have chances for a game.

[mikeh]

I passed.

Partner has made a card-showing double. Pass will hardly surprise him.

One factor at which I look in these cases is whether my defensive holding, esp in trump, is going to be bad news to declarer. Declarer knew, of course, that there was a good chance that I was sitting over him with AKx or so, but he will not have made his bid assuming AK9x (if he did, then he is the kind of person who will never cross the road, out of fear of a truck coming out of nowhere). I do think that my ♠ holding is going to be his worst nightmare.

Also, let's think about the double.

Can partner be void in ♠? I don't think so; not for a moment.

He will have at least 1♠ and often 2. In fact he may even have 3, altho that would be an unexpected bonus, and I would give little weight to that in my decision.

Can partner hold a hand suitable for slam? I do not believe so. He should not double with a hand that can make slam opposite ♠ values.

Can he hold 6 ♥? I guess so, but they will be poor and he will have decent values outside, where they will be of defensive value. He should NOT give you a chance to defend if his hand is strongly offensive.

BTW, I would not take 3♦ by him as a retransfer. He has to be allowed to compete with ♥-minor 2-suiters, and so he needs 3♣/♦ as natural. However, that assumes no prior agreement as to the meaning of a balancing 2N. Such a bid is not really useful in a natural context, so could well be played as a transfer, allowing 3♦ to retransfer to ♥. These are the types of things you make note of to discuss after the hand: not the type of thing you spring upon partner in an undiscussed auction. When in doubt, your bids are natural

I usually find myself agreeing with Justin, but this one was, I felt, an easy decision.