[Jinksy]

You're playing 4 card majors and weak NT, at pairs.

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[jillybean]

3♥, competitive and I am not ashamed to put dummy down
4♣ sounds like a fit jump for me so I can never show the clubs

[wank]

double. you have to double with hands like this playing weak NT otherwise you miss a simple 3NT. accordingly all negative doubles are more geared towards protecting opener's strong NT than finding a fit in the other major.

by the way, for those worried about end-playing partner when he's got no diamond stop, he has the option of passing freely as it's matchpoints.

[gordontd]

jillybean, on 2015-January-07, 09:46, said:

3♥, competitive and I am not ashamed to put dummy down
4♣ sounds like a fit jump for me so I can never show the clubs

Presumably you meant to say fit non-jump?

[whereagles]

This is a great hand to PASS. If pard can't act over this, you probably have no game on.

[PhilKing]

whereagles, on 2015-January-07, 10:49, said:

This is a great hand to DOUBLE. If pard can't act after pass, he probably has a strong NT and you have game on.

FYP.

[whereagles]

maybe I can't play acol, but I thought pard would dbl with a strong NT

[PhilKing]

whereagles, on 2015-January-07, 15:57, said:

maybe I can't play acol, but I thought pard would dbl with a strong NT

That's not really where the emphasis lies. In ugly competitive auctions, responder tends to act quite light in the knowledge that he is facing extra strength or extra shape. Opener would not just reopen with 3NT just because he has a balance 16 count.

This applies to any standard system that uses a weak no trump - not just acol. Not that double is a perfect solution, but I think we have reached a level where it does not guarantee the other major.

[Hanoi5]

PhilKing, on 2015-January-07, 16:48, said:

That's not really where the emphasis lies. In ugly competitive auctions, responder tends to act quite light in the knowledge that he is facing extra strength or extra shape. Opener would not just reopen with 3NT just because he has a balance 16 count.

This applies to any standard system that uses a weak no trump - not just acol. Not that double is a perfect solution, but I think we have reached a level where it does not guarantee the other major.

Why would opener need to reopen with 3NT? He can jolly well double!!!

[cherdano]

The next time someone tells you "Weak NT is really easy to play" you can put down a bet they haven't thought about such auctions.

[PhilKing]

Hanoi5, on 2015-January-07, 17:04, said:

Why would opener need to reopen with 3NT? He can jolly well double!!!

Even in Acol world, a reopening double at the three level show, of all things, a takeout double (and therefore 5 hearts) - not a balanced hand.

[neilkaz]

jillybean, on 2015-January-07, 09:46, said:

3♥, competitive and I am not ashamed to put dummy down
4♣ sounds like a fit jump for me so I can never show the clubs

Just want to make sure you realize that this is 4 card majors and you could be in a 4-2 fit.

[ayebee]

Double. Warns partner of a misfit and intending to bid 3NT over 3S
Nothing is guaranteed to be right here. The pre-empt is very effective.

Pass is out of the question at pairs. Defending 3♦ is sure to be a poor score at pairs - if you can beat it by enough to score better than a part score in hearts or clubs then you could make game.

3♥ is incorrect playing 4 card majors. If partner has a good enough heart suit he will bid again.

4♣ describes the hand accurately but bypasses 3NT which is probably the right contract if partner has a strong NT type hand.

[helene_t]

cherdano, on 2015-January-07, 17:56, said:

The next time someone tells you "Weak NT is really easy to play" you can put down a bet they haven't thought about such auctions.

It is a fairly easy double playing weak nt and maybe an equally easy pass playing strong nt (and 4-card majors). But maybe opener's response to such a light double is problematic. If he has a Flannery hand we get too high. If he has five hearts and four clubs we will be playing a silly 3♥ contract.
Then again, if we play strong notrump and pass with this hand, opener is under a lot of pressure.

[keithhus]

I am a beginner and would appreciate any comments. During my lessons I was told that if opposition bid at the 3 level I should pass unless I believe my partnership has 9 cards. Is the double an attempt to ascertain whether clubs would meet this requirement?

[helene_t]

keithhus, on 2015-January-09, 14:12, said:

I am a beginner and would appreciate any comments. During my lessons I was told that if opposition bid at the 3 level I should pass unless I believe my partnership has 9 cards. Is the double an attempt to ascertain whether clubs would meet this requirement?

I don't think you were told that you should never bid over their 3-level preempt with less than a 9-card fit. Maybe what your teacher said was that if you don't think you can make game and you don't think you have a nin-card fit, you should not bid over their 3-level preempt.

Here you have a hand that is strong enough to make game opposite a balanced 16-count, something which opener could easily have if you play Acol. Presumably, opener will do something if he has 19 points, so with 6-7 points you can pass. But with 9 points you should try to do something. Typically double.

[keithhus]

helene_t, on 2015-January-09, 14:20, said:

I don't think you were told that you should never bid over their 3-level preempt with less than a 9-card fit. Maybe what your teacher said was that if you don't think you can make game and you don't think you have a nin-card fit, you should not bid over their 3-level preempt.

Here you have a hand that is strong enough to make game opposite a balanced 16-count, something which opener could easily have if you play Acol. Presumably, opener will do something if he has 19 points, so with 6-7 points you can pass. But with 9 points you should try to do something. Typically double.

Helena, thank you

[bdegrande]

Pass. Playing 5 card majors I would bid 3♥.