Leaderboard

Redouble denies a 4+ fit. It's very standard to redouble with this sort of hand when not playing transfers. Partner will initially assume no fit, but know 3 cd support if you raise later. If the opps bounce to 4 spades, it's not ideal, but having concealed 3 cd fit is not as problematic as having concealed 4+. Also with only 3 cd fit it is somewhat less likely that the opps have a huge number of spades. A natural 2/1 is absolutely non-forcing playing standard, and denies a fit much more emphatically than redouble does, so I can't really understand anyone recommending that. I'd much sooner bid 2nt than a NF 2/1!

Wow, you are unlucky. You need to change seats. Every time I opened a suit lately, partner always has at least 5 card support. I can't remember the last time I had a losing finesse or a bad break in a side suit. You might consider sending the BBO programmers a very nice Christmas present so you can get on the "lucky" list. :rolleyes:

I suspect that at the table I would be unable to resist the overcall. However, 2 minor is a very dangerous action on a weak 5 card suit, and this one is weak despite the 7 hcp. Should it go P P x, LHO has a very low risk, high gain conversion available since we get no game bonus for making. I think the correct long term action is to pass, especially at imps.....yes, I do know we need to stretch to bid vulnerable games at imps, but this hand is a looong way from 5♦ and I'd like slightly better heart spots to have 3N in mind. If we belong in some other game, partner would have to bid it. Having said that, I doubt that I'll find a lot of support for this conservatism :P

Double means partner thinks I had my bid.

BBO forum, Declarer's LHO leads a non trump suit, dummy follows, RHO trumps and declarer mistakenly under trumps, there is no revoke. Can declarer take back the under trump card and play another? This may belong in the ruling forum. Jerry

3C for me. I virtually have a 3C opening bid, and after a precision 1C, I have a better than normal risk/reward ratio for preempting.

Not long ago I was dummy, and partner told me to "ruff". Unfortunately second hand had already ruffed so I had to play a smaller trump. It had never occurred to us that the card could be taken back - why would it? As has been noted above, a legal card cannot be retracted for any reason, unless a declarer "misspeaks" when playing a card from dummy. So, getting a trick ahead of yourself or thinking the better of the play and changing it "in the same breath" is not misspeaking; it is changing one's mind and is not permitted.

sfi Declarer seems to have some leeway on penalty cards. For one example, if declarer leads out of hand when it's dummy's turn he/she is allowed to pick up the card and play another. Jerry

This is exceptional. Read one of Justin's posts in the past (i can't find it now) . He gave very similar hand and commented something like " It is best not to make your strong lead from this holding incase pd may have Txxxx or Axxxx, which you don't want him to unblock" I think the hand he gave was KQJT or KQJ9, not sure. Simply what Steven said is correct and if you are playing "Unblock or give count " in that specific order, you should be aware of the danger that you may actually be the one who needs to unblock. There is also another phrase for defense players that says " Both defenders do not unblock" which means, if you start with K and then continue with Q it means you are willing to unblock and asking pd to hold, as oppose to leading K and then leading J or T means you want your pd to unblock. None of those work perfect and we can construct hands which can screw your agreements, use your logic in those cases and try to find your way out of it . Practicing a lot of combinations with your pd helps a lot for avoiding disasters most of the time.

I am interested in Meckwell’s system over a 14-16 NT. Here is what I have come up with. I have no idea if any of this is particularly accurate and would appreciate any insight people could share. In many of the sequences the followups are totally unknown.. 1NT-2♣ Stayman. 1NT-2♦, 2♥ Transfers 1NT-2♠ Range Ask 2♠ asks opener to bid 2NT with a minimum and 3♣ with a maximum showing their “Range.” This may be used to determine the correct level or responder may have a bad hand with long clubs. Over opener’s 2NT, 3♣ is to play. 1NT-2♠-2NT-3♦, 3♥, 3♠? 1NT-2♠-3♣-3♦,3♥,3♠? 1NT-2NT Puppet Stayman Typically responder will have a game force and either interest in a major or a (13)(54) hand. Responses are: 3♣ No 5-card major, 3♦ ???, 3M 5-cards in the major. Following the 3♣ bid denying a 5-card major responder can bid: 3♦ Shows (13)(54). Opener can ask shortness with 3♥. Responder bids 3♠ with spade shortness and 3NT with ♥ shortness. ??? Openers 3S over 3D perhaps asks minor lengths??? 3♥ Shows 4♠, less than 4♥. 3♠ Shows 4♥, less than 4♠ 3NT To play. 1NT-3♣ ??? Transfer to ♦ either to play or so responder can follow up by bidding a M to show long CLUBS and M shortage??? 1NT-3♦ ??? 7+d and major shortage somewhere??? 1NT-3♥,3♠ ??? game force with 5-5 or better in the minors and shortage in the Major. 1NT-3NT to play 1NT-4♦, ♥ Texas 1NT-4S ?????

The Lightner double was first introduced to call for an unusual lead against slam and the idea is clearly theoretically sound, occasionally giving up the chance to collect a penalty that would have been larger on a normal lead in favour of defeating a slam when the normal lead would not work. However I think it was Terrence Reese who once suggested that so many disasters had resulted from the convention that it might well have proved to be a net loss since its conception. Bear that in mind when observing the following deal. [hv=pc=n&s=sjht95daqj3caq876&n=sakqt9874ha83dtc3&d=w&v=n&b=12&a=p2cp3cp3sp4dp4np5hp5np7ndppp]266|200[/hv] West chooses to make a Lightner double asking partner to lead clubs, dummy's first bid suit. It's a medium-sized Matchpoint field and 7NT is likely to be a top anyway on this...imaginative auction. The 2♣ is duly led. Can you see what is about to happen?

Chris G et al. have it with the double squeeze of the non-simultaneous variety. You are cold on the lead if the K♦ is onside. Cash your spades, East must guard D and abandon Hearts. Then cash QA♦ and West must keep that fatal K♣, also abandoning hearts. You then have the ♥A back to the long hearts. The point being of course, that almost any other lead will set the contract because it breaks up the communication for the double squeeze. You have to cash the club Ace first for timing and the only way you can do that is if it's led. It's not clear what East would have led without the double (he had KJ...♥) But to think the doubler thought he was attracting a safe lead! So another Lightner disaster but a slightly more unusual one.

King Count Ace Attitude usually implies King Count or unblock against NT. That means West has lead from a strong holding and East can overtake with the ace and continue the suit. West will not know the count, but he doesn't need to. After he cashes the queen he will know if there are 5 or only 4 tricks in the suit. Steven

Suppose that the new pair also bid 2♣. This has a slightly different meaning than before because this pair plays penalty doubles so they can't have a 16-count with 4-4 in the majors. Is that difference big enough to cancel the board? To me it would be logical if the new pair's call had to be less specific than the old pair's call in order to cancel the board: The fact that overcaller can't have a balanced 16-count is AI to everyone, and the lack of inference in the old auction adds nothing to that. OTOH there could be a case for cancelling the board if it had been the other way round, i.e. if it had been the old pair that played penalty doubles. Analogous to the rules for substituting insufficient bids. But is that what the law says?

I'm probably going to punt 3nt. There are 24 points left so average for pards is 8. If he has club length or the Queen and 1 or 2 others then we have a source of tricks so maybe we can make game. I hope that in the long run I'll make more 600's (vs 50/100/150's) than go for big negatives. In long matches or against regular opponents I like to punt tight games as it can put extra pressure on them, which can lead to mistakes and extra MP's or Imps.

Isn't that a very dangerous action to take? If you do it often you risk being got for an unethical action (fielding a psych) and if partner has his bid you'll create pressures in your partnership that aren't needed. I'd bid 4d see CSGibson's post above.

He didn't double because LHO has a monster and you are in trouble. I think that this is a question that can only be answered by partnership agreement; if partner is a pick-up partner don't play with him again; you don't need these headaches. My partner and I would play it as unusual, but I can't picture a hand we would do it on and not have opened.

It's likely to be from the Spring Nationals in Sydney. Sartaj wasn't at the GNOT, as far as I can tell.

Anyway, back to the original subject, kenrexford's analysis looks right to me, but I'd like to hear more. :)

:) It was before Phoenix, that big Australian teams event a month or so ago (GNOT?).

I think he was playing with Peter Gill, but I don't trust my memory on that.

Why would you make a lightner double with a king against 7N? To ensure that declarer will not finesse the suit but try something else? For the lead to matter, it has to remove an entry or kill a squeeze, kudos if that was visualized during the bidding, otherwise a lightner double is just plain stupidity, since it could only help declarer.

The normal line would probably be to hook the diamond Queen, play the diamond Ace (checking for Kx onside and removing that card from Dummy), and then running the spades, playing for either a simple club hook or possibly some sort of squeeze in the remaining three suits. With the club lead, that line is gone. So, instead you are forced to hop the club Ace and then run the spades, cash the heart Ace, and hope for the diamond Kx to be onside (which would have worked anyway) or for the diamond King onside but only East protecting hearts. If East started with the diamond King plus KQJ in hearts, or the diamond King plus any six hearts, the lead forces a line that works but that would have failed on the normal line. I think that's what happens. Or, maybe CSG's line is better...

west is about to discard, right?

I know in Latvia people play somewhat like the Swedish, although those who do play Gazilli normally do it in a strong club system, with a semi-forcing/non-forcing 1NT response It goes like this 1♥-1NT: 2♣->2♥ 6+♥ 11-13 2♥-> 5♥-4+♣ 11-13 2♣->3♥- 6+♥ good 13-badish 14 3♥ -> 6+♥ goodish 14-15 2NT was 6-4 if i recall( have not played this myself) After 1♠ it goes quite similary

I think the North hand should bid 3♦ over 2♥. A takeout double would be a good choice too, but I assume you were unelightenedly playing support doubles.

I also think this is 'take-out' or at least an action double i.e. partner is showing a good hand and expecting us to do something sensible. I don't expect heart honours other than possibly the ace. on Mikeh's sample hand (i) North has a 1NT overcall and, more relevantly, (ii) West does not have a 4H bid; note how well the hand plays in spades. How likely do you think it is that partner has been dealt two trump tricks and that East isn't going to pull to 4S? Against that, suppose North was looking at, say, Ax x AQJxxx AJxx. 4H is making comfortably (possibly with an overtrick) and we are one or two off in 5m. What would you do on that North hand? Or partner could be more balanced with more high cards, e.g. Ax xx AKxxxx Axx. If he's got that hand we are probably stuffed, so there's no point worrying about it. It's also quite possible that we might want to play in spades. A negative double usually has 4 spades, unless East decided to invent one on a 3=2=3=5 9-count (give it as a problem...). Opener doesn't have to have any spades at all - in fact he often has spade shortage to jump to 4H, because he's not concerned about responder having a negative free bid in spades. If we bid 4S I would certainly expect partner to pass with Hx. Suppose partner has this putative Ax xx AKxxxx Axx but now we have QJ109xx xx xx QJx. It's true that 4H was probably one off, but we have some chance of making 4S and it's certainly where we want to play. Even if spades are 5-0. p.s. if you can't make the heart suit add up, remember that some people like to double with 4-3 in the majors on this auction.

I think the most natural solution is to play jump reverses as showing extra values. Hopefully she'll realise in time that this is not the ideal cure. I'm not convinced that the artificial solutions proposed are best for someone who forgets that reverses show extra values.

I was mostly interested in Meckwell's 1NT-2S range ask and 1NT-2NT Puppet Stayman and was mainly curious what they do with the other bids. Clearly it is a system geared more for imps than mps. I appreciate people's comments and the FD card above. Olien's post comes closest to what I have found for them, though it is different in several ways. With Bluecalm's hand finding database help, I went through about 500 hands for Meckwell and Greco-Hampson. In a follow-up post I'll post what I am planning on trying, though it differs from Meckwell in several places.

Meckwell System 1NT responses (One variation) Full disclosure card. click on each bid to see the meaning. To see 3rd and 4th hand position, need to play around details and options. Need to click pass and pass to see the bids. If FD needed, download the text below and open with BidEdit and save it. Meckwell System 1NT Responses.txt

The following link is to the 2007 Meckwell WBF convention card. The NT section seems identical to the WBF CC listed for Philadelphia. On the second page there is a section for NT responses. There is also a footnote labeled 13. These sections make a few things clearer but leave me wondering how to decode the following: After 1NT-2S range ask-2NT,3C- then "3D FG SPL♦, 3♥=♦ST, 3♠=♦SPL♣" Some things clarified: 1NT-2C-2D-3c is 6+ in a minor 1NT-2C-2D-3D is splinter in a major. I assume 1444 or 4144. 1NT-2C-2D-3M is Smolen. 1NT-2C-2M-3D is game force in the major. 1NT-3C is either weak in D or GF+ in clubs. 1NT-2D-2H-2S is some sort of artificial invite with re-transfers. 1NT-3M shows 5-5 or better minors and stiff in the OTHER MAJOR. As a passed hand 1NT-2C-2X-3m is weak and 1NT-3m is invitational. http://www.ecatsbridge.com/documents/files/ConventionCards/2007BermudaBowlShanghai/bermuda-bowl/USA%202/meckstroth-rodwell.pdf http://www.ecatsbridge.com/documents/files/ConventionCards/2010nonJuniorPhiladelphia/meckstroth-rodwell.pdf

I think it is a bit odd that there is no way to invite in a minor. Is it possible that 1NT-2C-2X-3m is invitational in the minor? Or do they just blast game with an invitational minor hand and this sequence shows 6-4 game force slam interest?