What’s your call?
| 3♦ | 3♥ | 3♠ | 3NT | |
| 4♣ | 4♦ | 4♥ | 4♠ | 4NT |
| 5♣ | 5♦ | 5♥ | 5♠ | 5NT |
| 6♣ | 6♦ | 6♥ | 6♠ | 6NT |
| 7♣ | 7♦ | 7♥ | 7♠ | 7NT |
| Pass | Dbl |
Interesting. Given nine major-suit cards, there sure are a lot of passing panelists. Interesting, too, that while a majority of the panel chooses to act with these cards, it’s the passers who nab the top score.
Lawrence explains his hesitation to enter the auction. “Granted, we could have a fit, but finding it and not getting too high is hard. If I bid 3♥, we may miss spades. If I double, partner will bid diamonds, and if I now bid 3♥, partner will expect another ace. West is vulnerable, which hints that he has something. On this vulnerability, even the wild bidders tend to pull in a little.”
Lee agrees. “I can’t handle a 3♦ bid if I double, and there are too many flaws with 3♥ or 3NT.”
Weinstein passes without fretting. “This would have been much tougher at unfavorable vulnerability.”
Kennedy passes. “Partner had an opportunity to bid over three clubs.”
Hampson adds: “I have most of my hand in their suit and partner has already not acted with probable shortness in their suit.”
Falk passes with a lot more fanfare. “Even playing equal-level conversion, a double, then bidding 3♥ over 3♦ (or heaven forfend, 4♥ over 4♦ ) has to show more than 7 HCP in the majors. Partner needs a lot of really good-fitting cards for us to make game. Competing for a partscore is nuts at IMPs in this situation, where maybe nobody has a fit.”
Next up, the doublers.
“The upside of double,” Rigal bloviates, “is to get to the right major at once if partner is kind enough to bid one. The downside is so obvious that I do not need to expound on it. If partner bids 3♦ , I might pass and hope to get lucky – down 200. Pass is not an option, of course, but 3♥ might work better – or far worse.”
Korbel is a doubler. “If partner bids a major, I am happy, and if he bids diamonds, I will correct to hearts and pray. I should have about a queen more than I do for this sequence, but a 3♥ overcall doesn’t really appeal. Why can’t partner have something like:
♠A K x x x ♥x x ♦ x x x x ♣x x?
We might reach a playable 4♠ rather than going down in 3♥.”
Boehm doubles. “I can live with correcting 3♦ to 3♥. Good luck to the 3NT buccaneers and the timid (wise?) passers.”
Colchamiro, too. “I hope partner understands that I’m showing hearts and spades when I remove 3♦ to 3♥.”
Cohen bids 3♥. “While I love the appeal of the sexy 3NT, there’s no reason to take such a big position. Pass could work, but it just doesn’t feel right.”
The Sutherlins are 3♥ers. “Partner most probably has fewer than 10 points with shortness in clubs. Making 3NT opposite such a hand is unlikely. Perhaps, though, he’ll be able to raise hearts or bid spades.”
“I bid 3♥,” says Meyers, “but I think pass is totally reasonable. I would be happier having the ♣A Q x behind the preempter. I don’t want to double because, for sure, the club lead will come through me.”
