[ArtK78]

masonbarge, on 2015-January-07, 12:30, said:

This is a perfectly good bid and shows: Good five-card spade suit, decent heart support (at worst four small or three to K10x), 16-18 total points. It lets you play in hearts across from a partner with five hearts and 2- spades.

It's definitely not forcing. The only force is a cue bid. It's what you have to do to show an old-fashioned cue bid if you play Michaels.

Moreover, if you bid this, you'd better not get excited if partner bids 2 hearts. He's still 0-7 HCP. I'd bid 2♥ with
♠x
♥xxxxxx
♦xxx
♣xxx

I think you are confused. The 1♠ bid was made on the second round of bidding by responder.

[ayebee]

Perhaps the question is why you want 1♠ to be forcing here? 1♠ seems to be a sound contract as you seem to have 4 losers off the top in any black suit contract and will lose 6 tricks on a diamond lead against 3NT (unless east has 7 and no side entry).

[iandayre]

Adam1105, on 2015-January-06, 13:18, said:

My neg. dbl is showing "a" four card major.

"The Bridge Guys," (a pretty reliable source, I think) specifically says a "negative double" does not mean 44 in majors. It states that one four card major is 100% OK for my neg. dbl after my opp's one diamond.

Larry Cohen, though, says that it DOES mean 44 in majors.

Obviously I like the "free bid" style of showing one major. (It was a BBO tourney and no agreement, of course.)

My thinking was: "My partner answered with his 4 card Heart suit so, easily at the "1 level," I showed my 4 card Spade suit because my partner could also have a 4 card spade suit."

Question: If one plays with the idea that a negative double equals 44 in majors, then what should I bid and instead of "double" after opps 1♦? How can we find a major fit? If there were one there?

Larry Cohen is correct. I suspect Bridge Guys don't disagree. This specific auction is the only one where a negative double guarantees both majors. If partner had opened 1D and you got a 2C overcall, then double shows at least one major, and any time the unbid suits are a major and a minor, the double does not guarantee the minor (it may have support for opener's minor plus the unbid major).

[GrahamJson]

I think deciding whether it is forcing or depends on whether you want to win the hand or win the post mortem. Other posters have given good technical reasons why it should be not forcing. However from what I have seen few BBO players read the text books. If you bid on and it was meant to be non forcing it is unlikely you will lose much, but if you pass and partner has a big hand you could miss game, or even slam (strange things go on around here sometimes).