Psyche bidder’s partner’s obligations
This hand is from the 2003 Rose bowl.
Nil vul. North Dealer.
T85
KQ7
K6
QT652
9 7643
8542 JT6
QJ8742 53
K9 J87
AKQJ2
A9
AT9
A3
Bidding;
N E S W
- - 1 1
1N 2 - -
3 - ............
A lot of relays and responses by NS until south bids 6 after learning North has 5332 K K and 2Q.
1 shows a strong hand and 1N a positive response balanced hand.
Under their methods East and West’s bids are limited. West’s 1overcall would normally show 5+ although as we can see and as South knows this must be a psyche bid.
The question is whether after West and North pass is East obligated to double 6?
Even though they only 2 HCP based on their parner’s overcall and North indicating they have 3 South can only have 1 so EW must have 2 trump tricks.
If they fail to double this denies South the opportunity to redouble as they would surely do based on the information they have.
Latest Posts on this Thread
- NICK WHITTEN15 Feb 2019 at 09:46PM
It appears to East, unless someone has bid wrong, there are 17 spades in the pack
As long as he hasn't received unauthorised information that partner has psyched he is free to take any view as to whose hand(s) the other four are missing from.
Anyway if they are in the wrong contract at that level it is rarely right to double.
With all those points they might escape into 7 of a different suit and make itIf the team-mates are in a sensible contract the double will only gain 1 or 2 IMPs
- Scott Smith15 Mar 2019 at 01:34PM
No, they are not obliged to double.
You can always take the view that partner has psyched if you want to. The trouble arises if you form that view due to (unaltered) partnership experience / implicit agreement, or from mannerism etc. If you make such an assumption and you’re wrong, then so be it. You see it at the club night regularly when people overcall 2C over 1NT showing both majors, but when they later bid 3C that seems to magically undo the belief that 2C showed both majors – the 2C is assumed to be a psyche. Of course, if you're wrong...
But even if you want to bind East into the belief that his partner has not psyched (not something he is bound into at all), and that therefore North / South have made a mistake and are about to play in 6S by accident, why would you offer them a change to retreat a better contract by doubling? Pass is still a good idea (to put it mildly) regardless of whether or not partner has psyched.
Scott
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