[eagles123]

---

It's MP

Thanks

Eagles

[mike777]

I will try 1h

[mgoetze]

I think you meant to ask "1♥ or 2♥?", right?

[billw55]

No way no how, no time never, do I defend one of a minor at matchpoints.

[wank]

No i don't. It's very likely the opps' hand in spades, very possibly in game.

[wank]

Bill defending one of a minor at mps is great if it's the opps' hand. 1 of a minor doesn't score much. You need to decide whose hand it is rather than relying on blind rules like that.

[tobtwo]

1H seems automatic

[billw55]

wank said:

No i don't. It's very likely the opps' hand in spades, very possibly in game.

Bill defending one of a minor at mps is great if it's the opps' hand. 1 of a minor doesn't score much. You need to decide whose hand it is rather than relying on blind rules like that.

If the conditions of the problem included "opponents are bumbling fools" then I might worry about them making game. Absent that, I assume they are competent enough to not pass out 1♦ with game on.

Yes, sometimes if I balance, they may end up improving their plus score by landing in a spade partial instead of a diamond partial. But I think this will be a minority of the time.

[NickRW]

Seems to me this is pretty much a gamble. Assuming p and rho don't have an ace stuck behind one of their cards, lho seems to have a hand nearly as strong as mine. We rate to have a plus score somewhere in clubs, hearts or possibly 1NT. They rate to have a fit, more likely in spades than diamonds I think. So we have a choice of going quietly for what will probably be -70 or competing for a small plus our way at the risk of being -110. Of course, their 2♠ contract could be one off. And maybe we get too high for -50.

It is all a bit imponderable. I have no reason to assume that the field will have bid differently thus far and I think the field will bid 1♥ now. So I go with the field, for the simple reason that I rate to avoid a bottom that way.

[wank]

Something like ajxx a akxxxx xx with lho, xxxx jxx xx xxxx with p, kqxx xxxxx xx xx with rho is an easy game (5s actually) for the opps (despite my only giving them an 8 card fit and perforce a 4-1 trimp split) where they've bid entirely normally.

With our opening we promised more values than lho did with his overcall. Our partner was perforce in a better place to act but didn't with 1 of either major available. His average strength is a lot lower than rho's - with our diamond holding we know partner doesn't have a penalty pass .

[mikeh]

billw55, on 2015-February-27, 08:39, said:

No way no how, no time never, do I defend one of a minor at matchpoints.

Then you are missing some really good opportunities to score well.

It is an error to assume that the opps are never allowed to play in a bad contract, which is what your 'rule' amounts to.

I suspect that what you meant was that you would only rarely allow the opps to play in 1m, and that in making that decision, you will look at your hand and listen to the auction, including any passes.

Here, I am not really worried about them bidding and making game. It is possible, and contrary to your later post, such wouldn't mean that the opps were incompetent. It would merely require RHO to be maximum for his pass of 1♦ and LHO to have a big overcall, shortish in hearts, and not quite good enough to double and then bid diamonds.

All methods have seams. For all methods there are hands that are at the extremes of actions, and games are missed, and slams are missed, when both partners are max, or pairs get too high when both pairs are min for their chosen action, and incompetence, tho often present at the bridge table, doesn't necessarily enter into it.

Here, we have an interesting decision, whether at imps or mps. Obviously game for them is a disaster at imps, but even letting them find 170 as opposed to 70 or 90 or 110 isn't wonderful. It comes down to looking into the tea-leaves and deciding who has the spades....if partner has 4, game for them is unlikely. If he has 5, spades for them is unlikely....however, equally, hearts for us won't likely play well when partner's longest suit is spades.

I'm passing. I have mentally tossed a coin and on this day am willing to bet that passing will lead to a smaller minus score than would bidding.

If I were to bid, at mps, it would be 1N. Yes, this shows 18-19, which I don't quite have, and it suggests a balanced hand, but it also makes it almost impossible for them to find spades, at the risk of our missing hearts. Fortunately, I'm not bidding 1N anyway

[PhilKing]

billw55, on 2015-February-27, 08:39, said:

No way no how, no time never, do I defend one of a minor at matchpoints.

I have almost the opposite view - if it is reasonable to pass them out in 1m, I will do so.

On this hand, it is blindingly obvious they have a better spot. Who do you think has the spades, partner?

NickRW, on 2015-February-27, 09:48, said:

I have no reason to assume that the field will have bid differently thus far and I think the field will bid 1♥ now. So I go with the field, for the simple reason that I rate to avoid a bottom that way.

I think we should try and get most of our edge from bidding and playing differently from the field.

This post has been edited by PhilKing: 2015-February-27, 11:08

[billw55]

PhilKing, on 2015-February-27, 11:03, said:

I have almost the opposite view - if it is reasonable to pass them out in 1m, I will do so.

On this hand, it is blindingly obvious they have a better spot. Who do you think has the spades, partner?

Maybe. Why not? Because he did not bid them, or maybe double? Well, neither did either opponent.

Also, the chances of our side having a fit is pretty good. Why should I give up so easily on a heart or club contract? Or maybe we push them to 3♠, going down on the 4-1 break. Aren't there some good things that can happen by balancing, besides a couple bad ones?

[mikeh]

NickRW, on 2015-February-27, 09:48, said:

So I go with the field, for the simple reason that I rate to avoid a bottom that way.

If we are worse than the field, we need to get better. If we are as good as the field, we need to get better. If we are better than the field, we need to use that skill to make the best decision, even or especially when that decision is anti-field.

There is no point being better than the field if all we are trying to do is to go with the field.

[helene_t]

Who says we are with the field anyway? Maybe partner has a marginal 1S bid which would have shot out opps spades fit.

[Phil]

I pass but I doubt I feel as good about it as some of the others.

- defending 1m p p is different than this auction since my LHO has diamonds. I love to defend the former auction and BillW should too.

- I'm not crazy about the vulnerability for defending. +50/+100 doesn't rate to be good as +90/+110.

However, bidding doesn't point to getting us to a better spot either. Even if they don't find spades many bad things can happen to 1♥ or 2♣. And if they do find spades, we are trading a 70% board for a 30% one.

If I were to bid the call I like is 1N. It scores better than others and doesn't have the issue of the diamond ruff. However it's not really clear that clubs are running or that partner even has a fit.

[PhilKing]

billw55, on 2015-February-27, 11:14, said:

Maybe. Why not? Because he did not bid them, or maybe double? Well, neither did either opponent.

Also, the chances of our side having a fit is pretty good. Why should I give up so easily on a heart or club contract? Or maybe we push them to 3♠, going down on the 4-1 break. Aren't there some good things that can happen by balancing, besides a couple bad ones?

We know that if partner has the spades he has a very bad hand. This is not the case for RHO - he could have spades and a reasonable hand.

♠KTxxx
♥Axx
♦x
♣xxxx

opposite:

♠AQxx
♥xx
♦AKxxxxx
♣-

And we reopen them into a grand slam.

The bottom line is that I just don't think we will show a profit here by reopening when we have no defence to an alternative higher-scoring strain. Nothing is impossible, but bidding hearts, catching a fit and the weather turning out sunny seems distinctly unlikely.

[billw55]

I think I am learning something in this thread.

[mikeh]

PhilKing, on 2015-February-27, 11:42, said:

Nothing is impossible, but bidding hearts, catching a fit and the weather turning out sunny seems distinctly unlikely.

Hmmm....so you'd be more willing to bid during the summer months?

[PhilKing]

mikeh, on 2015-February-27, 12:01, said:

Hmmm....so you'd be more willing to bid during the summer months?

I think you mean the summer month - I am from England.