[dwar0123]

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Need advice on bidding, specifically if the 1♦ was a reasonable 3rd seat bid and if the double by north was to aggressive for imp pairs.

[MrAce]

About 3rd seat 1♦;

3rd seat can open light, we all do. But we don't do it for the sake of doing it. We don't do it each and every time when pass pass comes to us, not because we feel like we have to bid something. It is usally opened to show a lead to pd or made for getting into auction earlier for partscore hands. For most experts opening 1 major requires at least a 1 level overcall hand while 1 minor opening requires more. The hand North opened has xxx ♦ and very balanced hand. Only thing good about his hand is that he can pass 1 major response and/or find an early major fit for competition. But i wouldnt do it.

Eventhough 1 minor openings are not a lead director, in 3rd seats they are taken more seriously by partners. If they play there is a chance North may convince his pd to change his original lead to ♦ and this will often be a disaster imo.

About 3♣;

I dont like it at all, you passed with a hand which some people would open, not only strength wise but also as shape wise. Pd opened in 3rd and u found a ♥ fit. Just bid 4♥ and do not give map of your hand to opponents before they lead. I know stiff ♠Q is bad but the rest of your hand is very good after the fit. Dont forget your pd would bid exactly the same if he had ♦ QJ too. Even vs his 9 hcp balanced hand u have your chances in 4♥.

About DBL over 3♠;

As i said i would have bid 4♥ the previous round and i would not DBL now. Eventhough i can see both hands and that DBL can be profittable. But West could be walking the dog. It is imp pairs and risky. 4♥ is my bid.

[Hanoi5]

1♦ is ugly, the suit is not good I'd prefer Pass but 1♥>1♦. 3♣ makes no sense, you already found a ♥ fit, what'cha'doing? Dbl over 3♠ is totally nuts: it's like a medium playing bridge by looking into the crystal ball.

[dwar0123]

Thanks for the replies.

3♣ was a descriptive invitation to 4♥, didn't even occur to me that this bid would be wrong.

[chasetb]

dwar0123, on 2011-October-31, 21:26, said:

Thanks for the replies.

3♣ was a descriptive invitation to 4♥, didn't even occur to me that this bid would be wrong.

I agree with MrAce and Hanoi5. All 3 of us know what you meant by 3♣, it's just that there's no point in telling the opponents that you have Clubs and telling them how to defeat the hand when there is no slam and the math says bid 4♥. Sometimes less is more, and this is one of those times.

[aguahombre]

Gotta know. Did you lead the diamond king?

[billw55]

I am also curious what west is doing. He cannot bid 2♠ freely over the negative double, but he can bid 3♠ freely over 3♣? I'd like to see that hand.

[aguahombre]

billw55, on 2011-November-01, 10:32, said:

I am also curious what west is doing. He cannot bid 2♠ freely over the negative double, but he can bid 3♠ freely over 3♣? I'd like to see that hand.

Come to the local club; you will see it a lot They seem to hold out hope that 1SX will be the final contract.

[quiddity]

I would bid 3♣ too, especially if North is known to open light in 3rd seat. Obviously he does open light - I would not open that hand.
Also, I don't think the 2♥ bid promises 4-card support. North has to bid something and if he's 3343 with decent hearts he might decide it's the least of all evils to raise.

I like concealing information from the opponents, but here I think there's too much risk of going for a number in 4♥-X.

I would certainly not double 3♠ as south (for penalty) with a stiff spade opposite a light opener. You got your game try in, partner says you don't have game. Therefore you don't have equity to protect and you don't have to make a risky partscore double.

[neilkaz]

I don't care for opening 1♦ here and while some W/C players my overrule me, my experiences opening that light in 3rd seat haven't been good as PD so often assumes that I have a better hand and additionally, here I have no interest in a ♦ lead. At least I have two aces, but still I happily pass.

With the trend towards lighter and lighter openings, it makes even more sense to pass.

I also wouldn't double 3♠ at IMPs. I don't see the risk vs reward here and I really cannot expect to set it two tricks which I'd like to expect to compensate for the risk of doubling them into game.

[ggwhiz]

I open light here all the time but realistically expecting to defend often it has to have some lead value. I would open 1♥ before 1♦ but the suit quality is not up to my standards so I would pass.

I also don't understand the 3♣ bid for reasons already mentioned especially on the lines of keep your secret weapon secret.

I do understand the double of 3♠ as an "it's our hand" type if you tighten up your 3rd seat opening requirements a bit. My diamond K lead is almost always going to beat it. Yours isn't.

[dwar0123]

I lead the K♦ hoping for an early ♦ruff, however things split very nicely for them and they pulled trump and ran 5 diamonds and 5 spades for an overtrick.

[mycroft]

1) like everybody else, if North is going to open in third seat, tell pard something about your hand given the inevitable partscore battle and potential defence. I'm not necessarily going to open this (and I'm aggressive in third), but if you force me to, 1♥.

2) This is IMP pairs. Bid games when they have a chance. If partner opened light, oh well. I can see the "partner might have 3" issue (but of course, if North opened 1♥ like he should have, at least you know they have 4).

3) This is IMP pairs. If you choose to protect against a light third-seat opening by inviting, when partner denies the invite, don't double a partscore into game without a trump stack. You need to protect your +140 at MPs by going for +200; at IMPs, it's insane to try for +2/+3 Imps vs -10/-12. And partner did get a chance to hit 3♠ - if he doesn't, he's right. He's the one that knows what the trump suit is like.