[ahydra]

IMPs, nobody vul

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Opps are playing weak NT with 4-card majors. 3D shows a mixed raise, about 7-9 points with at least 4 diamonds. No agreement about how forcing your 3S bid was.

ahydra

[eagles123]

3S was already a stretch, bidding again would be very bad imo

[heart76]

How I think. Facing the weak raise, N is awkwardly trying to push you to 4M. Unless he's 16+ and prepared to X.

X here is for me out of question without the needed hcp, unless it's explicitly agreed as 100% takeout.
If I bid, it's 4H, of course showing 2 cards and I think partner should remove to 4S if 5 non super solid H or if X and with 2 S.

At IMPs it's tempting to bid, hoping for Kx AQxxxx xx Qxx or similar.

[HardVector]

I think the real decision is the first one. I'd have seriously considered 4s. Once you go for 3s, though, 4s is out, you should have more. You still don't know who has the best hand. For all you know, they have 11 tricks in diamonds and are missing a game.

[rmnka447]

So, do you think you're making 4 ♠? If so, bid on.

At this point in the auction, you're looking at -130 or possibly -150 at the worst if you pass.

Stay true to your bidding judgment and pass. If you weren't willing to bid 4 ♠ at your first opportunity, don't give the opponents a potential fielder's choice by rebidding your values. There's no guarantee partner has any ♠. Partner did have a chance to raise you and didn't.

If you bid on, the opponents could --

Double you for a better score,
Be forced to bid a game that makes, or,
Bid game and go down for a slightly larger set than 4 ♦.

Your choice.

[apollo1201]

I’ve done my job, haven’t I? They are playing a level higher. Every other action than pass has strong risks involved and very little reward. If we were to make 4M, partner would have bid them already.

[pescetom]

heart76, on 2019-May-02, 09:22, said:

At IMPs it's tempting to bid, hoping for Kx AQxxxx xx Qxx or similar.

With that, your partner would have passed?

[smerriman]

If 4♠ is the right spot, it was the right spot last time.

4 of a minor is never a good score; let them play there.

[msjennifer]

Sir when one bid 3S on the previous turn one expressed everything.I am interested in knowing what is the partnership understanding if partner had doubled the 4D bid in this particular position given the explanations of opponents bidding. What is the approximate clarification of the 4D ?Is it supposedly purely competitive or invitational (One has taken away a lot of space from the opponents with the 3S bid) ?---Hence my bid is PASS.(in some hands it may be a distributional game either way but difficult to visualise)

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

it is either pass or 4S.

I voted 4S, but not convinced.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[HardVector]

smerriman, on 2019-May-02, 16:28, said:

If 4♠ is the right spot, it was the right spot last time.

4 of a minor is never a good score; let them play there.

Bravo!

[gszes]

4s
I need about ten reasonable hcp from p to make game and the bidding has shown this to be a reasonable probability. P will not raise to game with those 10 hcp I need. I have no temptation to try 4h since there is a monstrous risk of completely losing the spade suit. No neg x from rho and no 3n try by lho seems to indicate we will not get slaughtered in 4s and that greatly increases the risk vs reward ratio in our favor.

[gszes]

smerriman, on 2019-May-02, 16:28, said:

If 4♠ is the right spot, it was the right spot last time.

4 of a minor is never a good score; let them play there.

3s was much safer last round when the unlimited lho could have tried 3n or even x of 3s. 4d being a bad place is a MP position in a IMP match.

[ahydra]

Thanks all. Seems I should have passed - I bid 4S which went down, and the other table was allowed to play 3S making, so that was -5 IMPs.

Here was the full hand:

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I had liked the look of the singleton diamond, but I think the point raised by rmnka447 and others that partner holding say Kx spades and some useful cards would likely raise 3S to 4S is the key here. There are good odds on partner showing up with just one spade as was the case.

Little was I to know that North was bidding on a pile of quacky rubbish and 4DX would have been rather profitable!

ahydra

[Tramticket]

North / South have missed their 3NT and are languishing in four of a minor. It is usually a good policy to let opps play 4m, as smerriman points out this (almost) never a good score for them.