daveharty

Unfortunately the director might have to get involved, since your hand and the dummy don't have the same number of cards. Assuming that was not actually the case, then BunnyGo is correct: it depends on what you think is going on at other tables. If this is a completely normal contract reached by a simple standard auction (1S-3S-4S or whatever), then you should probably play for the most tricks you can, as long you are more likely than not to make it. If you eschew a 100% line for ten tricks in favor of a 75% line for 11, then even if you go down you should have some company.

I don't play 4cM, so I'm not very familiar with the intricacies of the competitive decisions that practitioners face, but I'm not sure you can really say "you've bid your hand" when you have more trumps than you've promised thus far. Yes, it fits within the parameters of a 1H opener; but if East has raised on four hearts (more likely when playing 4cM I think?) it's probably right to compete to 3H, and West is the one that knows about having a fifth trump. I personally wouldn't bid 3H but I don't think it's any worse than overcalling 2C with that moth-eaten suit. I don't think that's terrible either, but it's not up to snuff for me. A double is feasible, or passing and balancing over the likely 2H-p-p continuation. Agree with points 2. and 3.

As wyman says, it's not just B/Is who play this way. I didn't want to get off-track with an inverted minor discussion; I just wanted to point out that there are reasons aside from wanting to hog the dummy that someone might bid 1NT.

I know many people who are systemically constrained to respond 1NT with this shape, if the hand falls between their partnership definitions of 2D and 3D. The alternative seems to be bidding a three card major which is unpalatable to many people. Maybe not ideal, but quite common in "inverted minor" territory.

I assume you're exaggerating when you say it was this hand that brought on this decision, but if not, basing major system changes on the result of a single hand is ludicrous. Especially if the convention wasn't necessarily used properly, as whereagles suggests.

LOL well I would have gone down a long time ago in my imaginary 4S contract.

EDIT: nonsense deleted.

@$#$*% computer hands.

I agree with opening 4H. However, if you expect to have to make a decision over 4S--and your post seems to indicate this is the case--then it might be worth considering opening something else, like 3H, and allowing yourself to get "pushed" to 4H. This kind of amateurish tactic shouldn't work against good opponents, but against the bots, it might increase your chance of actually getting to play in 4H.

Amended your post. I'm a lot less certain with -- A9876 A954 T864 after the auction starts 1C-pass-1D to me; I've often wondered about hands like this.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2011 Posty Awards, as selected by their peers. Newcomer of the Year: Antrax From a strong crop of new posters, Antrax stood out. His posts are reliably cordial and free of an agenda. When he poses questions, they are non-trivial; when he answers them, he is thoughtful and non-dogmatic. It seems clear that he takes advice to heart without following it blindly. He is clearly an up-and-comer, both as a poster and a player. "Bridge in the Real World" Award: JLOGIC Several posters had notable at-the-table accomplishments in 2011, but JLOGIC towered above them all with a year for the ages: high finishes in several nationally rated ACBL events, including his first win in a national pairs game, and a silver medal in the Bermuda Bowl, the most prestigious event in bridge. Currently ranked 64th in the world by the WBF, with a bullet. Oh yeah...and he's what, 25? It's almost scary to imagine where he might go from here. Thread of the Year: Inquiry's "B/I Defensive Play" series With this post, Inquiry started a series of threads, targeted at intermediate players, that covered a wide range of crucial defensive themes. They are uniformly high-quality problems: accessible, yet challenging enough to force an improving player to think logically rather than depend on well-worn cliches. Inquiry provided other posters with a blueprint for making the sorts of posts that really help aspiring players learn how to think about the game. Most Helpful Poster for B/I Players: FrancesHinden In a close vote, FrancesHinden is the winner in this category. Though an expert player herself, she consistently takes the time to provide thoughtful, informative answers to B/I questions. Going beyond simple poll responses and one-word answers, she provides B/I readers with insight into expert thought processes about all aspects of the game. Blunt, but rarely sarcastic, she successfully navigates the tricky territory between suffering no fools and taking seriously those legitimate questions that some other experts might ignore or view with scorn. Poster of the Year: JLOGIC All of the nominees in this category made outstanding contributions to the Forums in 2011, but in the final tally, JLOGIC is 2011's Poster of the Year, in the closest vote of all the categories. He manages to be both authoritative and flexible, a rare feat. He brings enormous real-world credibility to bear on a wide variety of topics; his cogent and penetrating posts can be found in any number of sub-forums. Having largely abandoned the "LOLs" of his younger days, he frequently takes the time to examine issues in greater depth than just about any other poster, and to persuasively argue why his way is usually the right way. A truly world-class talent who doesn't hesitate to share his knowledge, he is an unmatched resource in these forums. Thanks to everyone who voted. I hope to repeat this every year; I don't post nearly as much as many of you, but I spend a fair amount of time reading the forums and have a deep appreciation for the contributions so many people make.

Partner was thinking along the same lines as jmcw and masse24, albeit even slightly weaker: [hv=pc=n&w=sakqj983h74djct72&e=s5hkj9dak8743ckq8&d=s&v=e&b=3&a=p1sp2dp4sp4np5sppp]266|200[/hv] Down one on a heart lead. I didn't agree with partner's choice for two reasons: I think this West hand is within the parameters for a second-seat unfavorable preempt (although certainly max), and because it's perfectly suitable for notrump if partner has the other suits under control and a spade. That's the main reason, I suppose, that I don't buy into the description of 1M-2X-4S advocated by some here; even if it's extremely descriptive, it blows by a not-unlikely good spot. It makes more sense to me to have the bid deny a solid suit, maybe something like KQJTxxx QJx x Qx, but even with that hand I would prefer a different route. I guess I agree with those who think this auction shouldn't exist. That being said, I think the result is my fault for not passing. With no agreement in place I should have played it safe.

Don't forget to vote if you haven't done so already. Voting ends Friday, February 3 at midnight.

The general advice is good, but the chosen example is not. At matchpoints, sometimes it is quite valid, even necessary, to risk the contract for the sake of improving one's score. I think jillybean is asking about blunders. Once I was playing a 6D contract against the lead of a king in a suit where dummy had a singleton. I had the ace, but I spent a long time thinking at trick 1 going through lots of mental gymnastics to determine what the best line was. I eventually got myself so twisted around that I judged the best line was to duck trick 1 to increase my squeeze chances later. That probably wasn't a good idea, since I was off the ace of trumps. My problem in this case wasn't lack of thinking, it was simply thinking about the wrong things, to the point of missing the forest for the trees.

Interesting. There seems to be wildly different ideas about what this should show in terms of suit quality and outside controls. It's such an expensive bid, in the face of a partner who has shown strength, that it seems obvious that it should be very narrowly defined. Either something like masse24 suggests ("solid suit, no outside controls") or a Namyats-type hand (which I have always thought of as having a tightly defined trick count, like 8.5-9.5 or something) seems reasonable but I don't think I've ever discussed it with anyone.

[hv=pc=n&e=s5hkj9dak8743ckq8&d=s&v=e&b=3&a=p1sp2dp4sp]133|200[/hv] This hand came up in a pairs game at a recent sectional. Playing 2/1 with occasional partner, no prior discussion about this auction. 1. How do you play 4S here? How is the answer to this affected by the rest of your system (e.g. Namyats, preemptive style, whatever)? 2. In light of your answer to the above, what would your action be now?

I agree, I would have liked to see Lurpoa on the list, and s/he was nominated. Unfortunately s/he joined in November 2010. I suppose I could have grandfathered in some close cases like this, but rather than try and deal with my own potential biases I decided just to stick with the calendar year.

I looked back over the nomination thread to make sure I didn't miss anything, and S2000magic was not in fact nominated; he only appeared in JLOGIC's list of members who joined after December 31 2010 and had at least 100 posts. I didn't consider that list a "blanket nomination", and therefore didn't include S2000magic in the poll. He would obviously have been a strong contender.

Okay, okay...several people have asked for this, so I have added a "no opinion" option (if you DO have an opinion about who should be winning an award, I'm hoping that you nominated accordingly). I hope it is used sparingly.

Thanks for reminding me. Nominations for the 2012 awards can be posted here.

This thread is the place to make nominations throughout the year for the 2012 Posty Awards. I will start to organize them when December rolls around. The categories are: Poster of the Year (2011 winner: JLOGIC) Newcomer of the Year (2011 winner: Antrax) Thread of the Year (2011 winner: Inquiry for "B/I Defensive Play" series) Individual Post of the Year (no 2011 winner) "Bridge in the Real World" Award (2011 winner: JLOGIC) Most Helpful B/I Poster (2011 winner: FrancesHinden) Also, if you want to make nominations for other, "humorous" categories, like "Best Signature", feel free to do so. If you think more awards should be added, or subtracted, feel free to voice that as well. EDIT: Due to changes in the Forum structure, the "Most Helpful B/I Poster" category is no more. Starting in 2012, the award will be "Most Helpful N/B Poster".

4♦

Good point. I modified the poll to reflect this position.

Matchpoints or imps? Not sure if it will make a difference as far as my choice, but still...

This is Part 2 of the "2011 Posty Awards" voting thread. Don't forget to vote in Part 1 here.