[Liversidge]

We had this auction last night. We got very high very quickly. What should my next bid have been?

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[wank]

3 hearts. you have 6 of them. you would rebid 2h if it had gone 1h-p-1s-p and this is just the same but higher.

[helene_t]

The rebid after partner has made a free bid above the 2-level of your suit is a complicated issue. In particular, 2NT here does not show 15+ as you are used to, it is what you will have to bid with a 1534 and 11-13 points. Good to read it up in an Acol textbook and then discuss it with partner, since some rebids have different meanings in different books.

But with this hand you have a normal 3♥ bid. It promises six cards and minimum strength.

[Liversidge]

 helene_t, on 2015-August-19, 04:15, said:

The rebid after partner has made a free bid above the 2-level of your suit is a complicated issue. In particular, 2NT here does not show 15+ as you are used to, it is what you will have to bid with a 1534 and 11-13 points. Good to read it up in an Acol textbook and then discuss it with partner, since some rebids have different meanings in different books.

But with this hand you have a normal 3♥ bid. It promises six cards and minimum strength.

So would you bid 2NT on this hand, even though it is unbalanced and no stop in clubs?

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[BillPatch]

 Liversidge, on 2015-August-19, 04:30, said:

So would you bid 2NT on this hand, even though it is unbalanced and no stop in clubs?

No, I rebid 3♦ to show the diamond "suit". Most descriptive bid possible. And try not to have a sad face!

[Liversidge]

 BillPatch, on 2015-August-19, 10:57, said:

No, I rebid 3♦ to show the diamond "suit". Most descriptive bid possible. And try not to have a sad face!

Obvious when you stand back, think about it logically, and are not hidebound by the rules you learned as a beginner - that bidding a second suit shows 5+ in the first suit and 4+ in the second, if bid at the 2 level.
" Rules are for the guidance of wise men and for the obedience of......"

[echo25]

I would pass. This hand is too weak for 3h.

[BillPatch]

 echo25, on 2015-August-19, 23:48, said:

I would pass. This hand is too weak for 3h.

You would pass a forcing bid. That is a rooky mistake. On the auction starting with a suit opening followed by a simple overcall a response in a new suit, a free bid, is unconditionally forcing. Therefore partner knows that he is aiming for higher contracts. It is his judgment that he needs more information from you to place the contract at a higher level. You do not know his hand. One peep from you with your minimum hand may give him the info needed for a successful grand, slam, game or part score. Unless you have committed a gross psych on a previous round, it is best to humor him. And I should suggest that at this stage of your bridge development, it is best to avoid psychs. While they are less likely to cause you to lose potential partners than the true rooky mistakes; they also reduce partnership trust. If you can fake that, you will know that you are a real bridge player.

About the opening bid. Sure it is borderline. Even if in your judgment that opening on such cheese is poor bridge, it was definitely not a gross psych.

[fourdad]

If you play Western Q, 3♣ is perfect here. If not, 3♥ is the only response remaining to pds forcing bid.

Passing forcing bids is silly.

[echo25]

Since when a new suit at level 2 without a jump is forcing? Do you mean that every partern's bid except hearts/3NT would be forcing?

[Zelandakh]

My guess is that echo comes from a part of the world where NFBs are standard. It is easy to forget that bidding theory varies by region, especially if you have only ever seen one way of doing things.

[fourdad]

 Zelandakh, on 2015-August-20, 08:28, said:

My guess is that echo comes from a part of the world where NFBs are standard. It is easy to forget that bidding theory varies by region, especially if you have only ever seen one way of doing things.

Agreed, but it appears that Liversidge considered it forcing, hence i surmised he does not play NFB! I am unfamiliar with bridge habits in Poland, so you may be correct.

[iandayre]

 fourdad, on 2015-August-20, 03:36, said:

If you play Western Q, 3♣ is perfect here. If not, 3♥ is the only response remaining to pds forcing bid.

Passing forcing bids is silly.

I agree completely with your last comment, but not your first. There is no reason to bid 3C. Show your extra length in H and let partner decide what is next. The option to bid 3NT is always available.

[Liversidge]

 fourdad, on 2015-August-20, 10:44, said:

Agreed, but it appears that Liversidge considered it forcing, hence i surmised he does not play NFB! I am unfamiliar with bridge habits in Poland, so you may be correct.

I play Acol. I dare not pass - partner might have something like this and be rather unimpressed!

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[BillPatch]

 Zelandakh, on 2015-August-20, 08:28, said:

My guess is that echo comes from a part of the world where NFBs are standard. It is easy to forget that bidding theory varies by region, especially if you have only ever seen one way of doing things.

True. But I thought it more likely that I was replying to a real beginner, and in the spirit of the board I gave a basic reply. I considered explaining Negative Free Bids, but that is an intermediate treatment which would confuse the beginner.

I plan to buy several translated bridge books by Polish authors this fall. Then I might be able to guess how to answer such a question from a Slavic player with a better background.

[iandayre]

 Liversidge, on 2015-August-20, 11:31, said:

I play Acol. I dare not pass - partner might have something like this and be rather unimpressed!

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Certainly a valid argument against pass, ignoring the two H Queens. What I don't understand about this is, why is there any thought of bidding anything other than 3H? No other call would occur to me.

[BillPatch]

 iandayre, on 2015-August-20, 12:14, said:

Certainly a valid argument against pass, ignoring the two H Queens. What I don't understand about this is, why is there any thought of bidding anything other than 3H? No other call would occur to me.

Good typo catch! The answer to your question is that you are not beginner and bridge is a learned behavior. It appear that even a slightly higher level player such as Liversidge can have a blind spot, though from his comments we can see he is progressing well.

[neilkaz]

Unless playing NFB (I don't) this is a WTP 3♥ bid with my 6 card suit.

[BillPatch]

Another reason for continuing to think about bidding alternatives when you have an automatic choice is that you want to bid in tempo, to avoid giving info from quick bid now, or a slower bid later because you failed to plan ahead.

[echo25]

Yeah, sorry for the mess. I've always played NFB (I haven't even known this name until now) and I thought that's a standard. If 2s is forcing, 3h of course.