[jules101]

What are your methods here?

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[Free]

I know 3 meanings for Dbl:
- lead ♠
- lead your shortest/worst Major
- lead your shortest/worst suit

I don't have any particular other agreements, so I'd Dbl in all cases.

[mikeh]

The Fisher double was, if memory serves, a conventional defence to this auction that asked for a heart lead.

Otherwise, a double should ask for partner's weakest/shortest major.....he shouldn't lead a suit in which he has A/K/Q, since you can't expect to run your suit missing that card so would lead the other major with such a holding, but otherwise his shortest, and with equal, guesses.

I like 4♣ in this position to be both majors. One is more likely, imo, to have a shapely 2 suiter than a hand that wants to bid a natural 4♣ over 3N, but your experience may differ

Having said that, I think I have had a hand suitable for that call maybe 2 or 3 times in my life, so it's not exactly a hot topic of discussion.

If I have 4♣ available, I choose it. Even if partner were to lead a spade, it is possible to construct hands on which that doesn't beat the contract and we still make 4♥......almost any hand on which partner has Qxxx in hearts will make game, while if opener has a spade stop, we aren't beating 3N.

Absent 4♣ as majors, my choice is tougher....now a bid means putting all my eggs in the 4♠ basket....and if we can make 4♠, the odds are very high that we have a better score available in 3N doubled.....so long as he leads the right major. I just don't feel comfortable with the odds, so I bid 4♠. Could be horrific, but so could double.

[Phil]

I like double although the vulnerability matters It returns a nice profit when partner leads a spade and the spades run. It costs about 250 when its wrong, but spades are running frequently enough where getting the lead is really important.

4♠ or 4♣ seems like a long shot to me. Partner shouldn't have more than a Q on this bidding and if its the wrong Q we are going set in 4 of our major which is a big disaster if we are getting 300 from 3N. The only time bidding seems to be right if its a cheap sac against their making 3N, but if this the case we could have some nasty handling charges in 4M. 4♥ might be better but I'm not sure we should sit for it unless we play that 4♦ would ask for our longer major. Then I'd have some confidence 4♥ is superior.

Could they run? In my experience they rarely do. They might think my double is some bluff, or might think their partner has a partial stop, or maybe 5m doesn't look playable, which it might not if partners minors look like our majors.

Could they redouble? I'd be shocked.

[petterb]

4♣ = majors with longer hearts or equal length
4♦ = majors with longer spades

[bigbenvic]

petterb, on 2011-December-22, 14:51, said:

4♣ = majors with longer hearts or equal length
4♦ = majors with longer spades

I like the above, if it's available I think I'll use it.

Expect 4m to go down 1 as AQ♥ likely to be with the opener, Responder almost has to have a long and almost solid minor - yes he could have a balanced 9/10HCP but with 1-1 in the minors I think he's probably bidding expecting to run a minor for lots of tricks, he could still have 10hcp's!

I'm bidding 4♠ if I don't have the above, I'm not doubling for a lead (should be a spade request) but it is close I think.

[Statto]

I double for a ♠ lead.

This seems to be the most common treatment of the double of 3NT from the non-lead hand when opps have arrived there directly (in other cases it's lead directing too, but might be dummy's first shown suit, or the highest ranking unshown suit, and if our side have bid may be different still, depending on agreements).

If the double is removed by either side, I'm more than happy to bid 4♥.

[Zelandakh]

mikeh, on 2011-December-22, 13:50, said:

I like 4♣ in this position to be both majors.

Have you considered using an Asptro-style defence here instead Mike?

[Yu18772]

dbl for ♠ lead

[Siegmund]

While it is a common meaning, I would question the value of double to ask partner to lead his worse major: when partner is broke, that's what he is going to do anyway on his opening lead.

I don't know if that means there is a better lead-directing meaning for the bid. At favorable, I can see a case for Xing to show an extreme two-suiter, if all the 4-bids are natural and ostensibly single-suited. But I don't currently have an agreement (any agreement) about this double with any of my partners.

[jules101]

If you X partner will lead a ♥ - her shorter major - but as you say with a bust she'd already decided on that action in hope of "finding partner".

At the table partner decided not to double with length in both majors cos couldn't be sure which I would lead, but if she had then I would still lead my singleton ♥.

[Our opp decided to duck the ♥ lead tho and then went 3 off! We got lucky, but in reality better declarers would anticipate a ♠ switch at trick 2 if the ♥ is wrong, so I'm not sure they'd take the chance.]

3NX tick on a ♥ lead and I suspect oppo would hope up with the Ace?

If double specifically asks for a ♠ you are quids in, otherwise 4♠-1 would be better than 3NX tick if a ♥ is led.



I like the idea of 4♣ for majors.

We play Multi Landy over 1N, ie 2♣ = majors, 2♦ = a 6+ card major, 2M = 5M & 4+ minor. We also employ similar over Gambling 3N openers.

Would it make sense to adopt the same methods over 1N - 3N auctions? Less taxing n grey cells I suppose if we keep it the same.

We may, however, wait a long time for another suitable hand to come up!



Here is the full deal

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[paulg]

jules101, on 2011-December-26, 20:03, said:

We play Multi Landy over 1N, ie 2♣ = majors, 2♦ = a 6+ card major, 2M = 5M & 4+ minor. We also employ similar over Gambling 3N openers.

Would it make sense to adopt the same methods over 1N - 3N auctions? Less taxing n grey cells I suppose if we keep it the same.

We may, however, wait a long time for another suitable hand to come up!

Playing 4♣ as the majors is reasonable and there is a fair chance that both of you will remember. I'm less convinced about 4♦ for the single-suited major - you give the opponents more space (when it is their hand) and will the person holding KQJ to eight hearts remember to bid four diamonds rather than four hearts?

[whereagles]

You don't need methods: opposite a 1NT(strong)-3NT auction, you'll get a hand like this like once in a lifetime. Just bid 4S.

Now, if it were 1NT(10-12)-3NT, I'd be more worried of RHO having some sort of club/diamond suit and a wimpish hand. Maybe 4C as majors makes sense here.