bd71, on 2013-January-03, 08:27, said:
Are there (semi) objective standards here, or is it just a feel? Is the hand not strong enough offensively?...defensively?...something else?
Not trolling, just trying to delve a bit deeper into how good players think about the 2C threshold.
To be honest, for me, this hand is only "close" to 2
♣ insofar as I would grit my teeth and do it with an extra ace. At a rough count, I have about 8 tricks in diamonds, and NT is even iffier than that. Since I play 2
♣ as actually game-forcing unless I rebid 2NT, I want to be a lot closer to actually being able to make a game than that. Semi objective standards? Well, I would like to be able to count at least 9 tricks (by a somewhat but not very pessimistic estimate, i.e. assume your partner has a small doubleton in your long suit and it breaks normally) in a major or 9½ tricks in a minor (AQx for instance would be 1½ tricks, but of course you need entries so KJTx really needs to be discounted more).
Less objectively but perhaps more usefully, try to visualise some hands partner might have, concentrating on ones with which he would pass a 1-level opening. Say he has a small singleton in your suit and a random Q and a J. How do you like getting to 3NT?
"One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision"
-- Bertrand Russell