l milne

3♣, although I'm not that far from 3♥. Just seems a little too mental though.

Q♠, and it's only slightly heroic.

I always thought cue-bidding in these auctions was a general force, showing a trap pass, so I would bid 2♠ to begin with. I don't really have heaps of experience in these auctions though.

Can I just be the first to say, this thread is getting pretty weird

Nope.

11000 posts? 1♦?? I think it's close between 3♦ and 2♣ FWIW.

Your partner isn't going to pass 1NT when you have a 6-5 with a void in his suit. If he does, the opponents won't. If they do too, it might be the right spot. 1NT is more of a denial bid, making some noise without showing the values for a 2/1. It barely even suggests 1NT as a contract. If the alternatives in your mind are making some encouraging noise when you have a hopeless hand for partner, you better rethink that!

Why isn't 4♣ natural? 2♠ doesn't guarantee a fit, responder might have been looking for a heart fit with 4414 or something.

Play the queen of spades at trick one! Then a diamond off dummy.

Partner's range includes a whole bunch of hands like KQJTx - KQJTx QJT where we are down off the top, or even hands like AKQTx - KQJTx QJT where a simple mishap like 4-0 trumps amd a trump promotion could sink our ship. I think a case could be made for passing 1♠ even, before we get dramatically overboard. 5 hearts

Interesting. I never played this way, preferring to just reply at the lowest level (except with 2/3NT for obvious reasons) and let responder invite if necessary. This way, information about opener's strength isn't transmitted unnecessarily when responder has a GF. What do you open with 44 in the minors jillybean? If it's 1♦, it seems pretty unlikely partner has a doubleton heart (3235 is the only distribution). There are some hands where we make slam but I don't think I would fault a 4♠ bid too much.

even with the nebulous fella? i agree with a 4+♦ and have had some good results at imps, but haven't discussed over a 2+ (1+, 0+?) minor.

Oh right, 1♦ was precision... double now which is takeout, trap passing would be very unusual.

what would 2nt be, who is vul

Well, at least West seems to have got what he deserved with that lead.

3 passes to RHO, who opens 1NT (12-14) at matchpoints. Don't remember the vul, think all. Your hand is QJ8 KJxx Kxxx 9x. What do you think?

Also, I highly doubt that West was attempting to deceive anyone. This isn't exactly an auction where we are worried about opponents backing in after both have passed at the 4-level. Doesn't the warning about taking inferences from the manner of the opponents at one's own risk cover this?

A PP to West? Pausing for thought is no longer allowed?

Pass is OK. I don't mind 4♥ either, just to let partner know I have a nice offensive hand for hearts now rather than after 5♦. If partner's double isn't for penalty, I can't really comment as I'm not familiar with t/o doubles here.

5♠. Not natural.

Sorry, should've made it clearer that this was a quiz. I am starting to think Suitplay's answer is incorrect, as it has been known to be in the past. Sacrilege, I know. :blink:

I don't even know if this is beginner stuff, to me it's more top of the intermediate scale. I didn't learn about restricted choice on "irrelevant" spots until quite recently. (oops, little hint there for those having problems with this) TimG, I have Suitplay, as well as "Bridge Odds for Practical Players" by Kelsey & Glauert. If you really think this is simple and non-interesting, then perhaps reflect on why Kelsey & Glauert recommend the Queen on the second round for a] (they don't consider b] fwiw). Also, look at the 6 layouts Suitplay considers on the second round. Only two of these depend on the line of play. Notice anything interesting? Jschafer, very good question. Obviously, double-dummy in one trial it doesn't matter what East does. Over an extended sample with player histories, East would duck sometimes and win sometimes, probably in the ratio of 3 to 1 if my instincts serve me well! If playing against Suitplay, it doesnt matter as Suitplay always loses to ATxx offside no matter what. If playing against Kelsey, duck 100% would work better, as it gives him some chance to go wrong.

Do your scores mean you think this is close?

I know there are dangers, and RHO might have the goods instead of partner. Doesn't make it any less automatic though!

I play double as penalties, showing a "trap pass" (lol) of diamonds. I don't know how common this is any more. Sure, it would be great if double were takeout for this hand, but for me it's not.