In article <3FF92FDC.B97C4F32@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
william henderson <wchen@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> The more I think about it the surer I am that my partner's bid, for
which we
> were penalised, was an excellent bid. He was a passed hand. To pass
yet
> again
> in the hope that I would reopen with a double would have been the height
of
> folly and futility. So he made a negative double; "Partner," he said,
"I
> have
> at least a minimum response but insuffient strength to bid a suit of my
own
> at
> this level". (Marty Bergen's definition of Neg DBL)
>
> Mine was a ten-point 5-3-3-2. How foolish I would have been to consider
this
> bid as forcing me to the three level in one of my insignificant minors.
Sorry, but I disagree. Your partner knew you were a 3rd seat opener, so
could be light. Yet he made a bid that almost forces you to bid on the
3 level. You have to trust that he knew what he was doing. His shape
could have been 2-1-5-5, so he's pretty sure to land in an 8-card fit no
matter what suit you bid. If he was 2-2-5-4 he still has a decent
chance to find an 8-card fit, and at worst a 7-card fit. The reason he
would double with these hands is because he doesn't know which minor is
best -- if he just bids one, you're likely to pass it with a doubleton.
You got lucky: he decided to double on a hand that didn't really want to
play in one of his suits, and you guessed to pass it. You really had no
reason to expect him to have a bunch of hearts, which is what you needed
to set 2H.
--
Barry Margolin, barmar@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
MA
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