Preempts Work: Answer

 --- K106542 Q104 Q1032

CHO	RHO	You	LHO
1	Pass	1	2
Pass	3	?

If balanced, partner can have 13-18 HCP (though I wouldn't hold my breath about 18).
IMPs, short matches.

Today's panelists: Alan LeBendig, Andy Lewis, Barry Rigal, Brian Oxley, Curt Hastings, Ed Davis, Mike Shuster, Roberto Scaramuzzi, Walter Hamilton, Joel Wooldridge, Web Ewell, Dan Molochko

ALAN

I'll bite. 4. I guess worst case is that partner bids 4. I'll now end the auction at 5. I'll pass 4. [Isn't partner going to think 4 is forcing? --Jeff] Just too much offense to defend and a pass (my second choice) rates to end the auction. 4 is too unilateral. I may miss the 6-2 fit but am willing to take that chance. I have too little defense to double here. My failure to do so should be informative to partner.

ANDY

4. Who needs spots (or values, for that matter)? If partner has a balanced minimum without too much wastage in spades, this will have some play. Of course, if he has some 3154 (or so) minimum it could be a disaster, but I think on balance it's worth a shot.

BARRY

No idea! Pass could easily be right (our smallest minus/a way to go plus). Yes there is a big downside - but why be undisciplined here?. Pass and accept my small minus/plus. bidding turns the board into a lottery.

BINKLEY

I don't expect to get this one right... I'll continue bidding out my hand, even though I don't really have the values for it, with 4. Hopefully, partner will then pick a suit, rebidding 4 or trotting out 4 (perhaps). I'm a leery of trying 4 myself since he could easily have a 3-1-5-4 hand (although I am a little curious why they are in 3, not 4 in that case). In Panglossia, partner will pass 4 with that hand, but in truth, 4 is forcing, so he'd raise to 5. On the grasping ["Gripping?" --Jeff] hand, 5 just might make (give him  AKx x Axxxx KJxx maybe? cash our tops and cross-ruff the remainder, or on A, x lead/continuation, try to setup hearts).

CURT

Double

ED

4. If we have a game it is most likely to be 4. I think partner will have at least two hearts most of the time on this auction. When there is a choice of bids where no bid will be right much more often than another as there is here, I like choosing the one with the most to gain (a game bonus in this case). Of the alternatives, 3NT or double for takeout would appeal most but I think 3NT is needed as natural, e.g.,  Kx Axxx KJxxx Jx, and double should be cards, e.g.,  xx AKxxx Jxx Kxx.

MIKE

Seems right to take another call with a void in the opponents suit. Bid 4. I expect partner to be 4243 or 4252. He might be 4144 or 4153 - oh well. He might have 3 hearts, too. They'll probably bid 4 anyway - and now, partner might be able to double.

ROBERTO

Basically, I'm screwed. I'm going to double and hope that partner, who probably has three or four spades, can work out it's takeout, but -730 vs. our own game or slam is quite possible, especially since partner is likelly barred by my tank by now. Second choice, 4; third choice 4.

WALTER

Pass. We might make 4 but I don't see any bid that will get us there and partner's most likely response to my double is pass.

JOEL

Partner is not supposed to have more than about 15 on this auction, but I'll deal...anyhow, I'll probably bid 4. I can't stomach x, because if partner passes, I'll puke. At least this will gain if partner bids 4 (I pass), or 4 (I pass). If partner raises clubs, I'll say a short prayer. I don't like giving up with a spade void, and I don't like 4, since partner can still have 4-0-5-4. I'll take the game swing against, in exchange for a few partscore swings our way when partner has 2 hearts and can't bid 4 (since he would if he's 4-2-5-2, maybe).

WEB

Sometimes preempts work... I think 4 is the best shot. I don't think any other game is likely to make given partner's pass of 2 (wouldn't he have doubled with 15-18 balanced?), and even if you're not making you may induce a phantom 4 sac. [He'd double with 16+-18, surely, but he expects us to expect 13-16-. --Jeff]

DAN

IMO there are only three reasonable actions, Pass, 4 and 4.

Pass is not my style, and God gave you three tens so that in the post-mortem you could point to them and say, "that's why I bid!"

As between the real choices, the advantage of 4 is that it is a bid and it's a contract, and it's obvious that the 4-level may be high enough. (LeBendig to the contrary, bidding 4 and then passing 4 is bad bridge.)

I like 4 just a tad better because of all the 4-4 club fits that get lost if I raise diamonds. If we're going to play in game, I don't see why we shouldn't find the best one.

People who bid 4 on this hand should be shot. Shuster first!

JEFF AT THE TABLE

4

VOTES

Pass	2
Double	2
4	4
4	1
4	4

Drat...one of the 4/4 bidders want to change to 4 so we can have two of each of the five cheapest calls?

WINNING ACTION

4 or 4. Partner has  KJx QJx Kxxx AJx. After my 4, partner bid 4NT (natural, presumably) which I corrected to 5. Partner recorrected to 5 and went down 3. 4NT was down 4. Pass yields -140. Double produces -530. 4 gets +420. 4 will get partner to bid 4, for +420. Seems to me that 4 should also get partner to bid 4, but it didn't work out that way.

At the other table, they opened that garbage a strong NT and Texas'ed into game. It's not cold from that side; on a spade lead, I'm not sure 10 tricks are there single dummy (K is off and J is off and we don't have the 9 or 8). Teammates brought back -420.

JEFF UPON REFLECTION

I bid 4 because we could stop below game if partner was weakish, and they can't double and get us there. (Hartman's Law.) If 4 is wrong, it could get doubled; if everything's wrong, we could be going for our lives, but they'll think twice about doubling 4. I guess that's a corollary to Ed's argument: if anything can be wrong, pick the choice that if it's wrong, probably won't get doubled I figured partner would bid 4 when it's right, or just try to find a 5-3 on the way to 5. I gave up on clubs, but I try to talk my partners out of opening 1 on 3145 hands. This hand'll do it!

Upon reflection, I think 4 has the best upside; we are likely to get to our best fit, albeit at the wrong level. In practice, I think 4 or 4 should get to hearts when there's a 6-3 fit most of the time; my result was ... hmmm ... this could be a "you be the judge" followup. Nah.

Roberto wonders what partner's double and 2NT would have been at his 2nd call. We were playing double as business and 2NT as good/bad, but this partner always forgets G/B (why do we play it? He wanted to!) so in fact, it wasn't an option. Double really ought to show 16-18 balanced using these methods, not a spade stack, but again that really didn't matter much, since partner was closer to a 10-12 NT than a 16-18.

DAN REFLECTS

I'd like to remark on partner's actual hand - No 4 bid???????? Wow. This was a reasonably interesting problem, but there are no right answers if partner is going to bid like that. No YBTJ needed, 100% for partner.