Exercise: trial bids after an overcall
Mikael Rimstedt
You are now in the spotlight. What do you bid?
Mikael Rimstedt‘s solution
This bid deserves the top rating. When you have no more space to invite to game, doubling is the key. Here, the double asks partner to bid 3S with a minimum hand and 4S with a maximum hand. If partner has a good hand, they show it or settle for 3S with bad cards.
Score: 20/20 ✅
You definitely have to compete with this hand. 3S is likely yo make, but so might 3H. So, bidding 3S is the best way to get a plus score on this deal. If 3S goes down, the opponents are likely to make 3H.
Score: 15/20
Partner might very well have the perfect hand for you, but but you are putting all your eggs in one basket. Your hand is too weak to bid game if partner doesn’t have the right hand for you.
Tip of the day: involve your partner if possible!
Score: 10/20
You can’t pass with this hand. You have nine trumps combined, a second 5-card suit and opponents are about to steal the 3H contract. This hand requires at least one more bid.
Score: 5/20
What did you think of Mikael‘s question?
Share your opinion and score in the Comments section!
There aren’t enough points to bid, which is why I was torn about bidding 1nt since I had 7 points. Don’t understand the solutions at all. How do I bid 3s on 7 points??
This board is highly distributional. We have 5521 shape, a known 9-card fit in spades, and opponents are likely to be imbalanced as well. Passing on 3H means conceding the board. We should compete a little. We aren’t likely to bring down opponents 3H. 3S is worth trying, even at red. If partner is short in clubs we can even make 4S (cross-ruff).
The double is a replacement for the trial bid (2NT) here. Whether or not we can make 4S depends highly on partner’s shape, so it is a good idea to hand over captaincy and let them choose 3S or 4S.
I definitely choose doubling because my partner can then choose 3 or 4 spades
3 spar
Presidente della Società
Ho giocato alcuni anni con Funbridge ..
Soprattutto con una squadra
Poi per problemi miei, ho dovuto interrompere…
Ora mi farebbe piacere riprendere il gioco
I hope my partner is not Argine. He sure would start counting points and believing my hand has at least 11 hcp after the dbl. Then he may bid slam 🙁 Even with a regular p it is hard for him to visualise my 5 clubs and singleton dia. So I just would stick to 3 s.
Me too. But double is cleverer, as long as partner recognises what it means.
Good bidding
Thanks for the lesson- clever thinking
3S (3♠️)
(My English is not good,so I’ll use Chinese to say why choose this.)
因为HCP太低，自己♠️套只有A有话语权，再叫♣️套是最不可取的，虽然♦️有控制，但不知道北家♠️是3还是4张。同时，因为牌力，包括联手牌力，极大概率不足以支撑进局，又因为是有局方，成局奖分高没错，但宕墩了罚的也多。故选择3♠️，如果北家有成局实力，他再叫4♠️也是可以的。
X这个叫法，我真的没想到的，因为X要承担一定风险，3♥️X，因为自己只有2张，清将被清干净后，防守实力就为0了，不可取=_=
great question and answer
I was torn between double and 3 spades. Did actually choose the double. Phew!
3s i would choose
PASS
I would choose 3 spades
In my world, doubling at the three level is for penalty
I have 7 losers. Partner probably has 7 losers for an opening hand. Total 14 losers so we can go to the 4 level? Plus good shape with a singleton and doubleton. I would go 4S
I would definitely double