mr1303

In a strong club context I bid 4S. This is the advantage of playing a strong club. Opponents won't know if I have a good hand or a bad hand, and the chances of a slam here are reduced if partner has a max of 15. Otherwise I'd bid 3C

Not many answers so far. Does that mean it's a difficult set of problems, or are people just on holiday

When announcing a 1NT or similar opening bid, are you allowed to announce something like Zar points (e.g 28-32 ZAR points, where Zar points = number of cards in 2 longest suits + difference between longest and shortest + x + y etc)? if that is what your agreement with your partner is?

If I have 4 card heart support and 5 spades for me to open 1S, then I don't have a balanced hand. If I have a 5332 hand with 5 mediocre spades and a club stopper, then I will rebid 2NT (if I have 12-14 HCP) in response to partner's negative double. If I had 15-17 I would have opened 1NT If I had 18-19 I will cue-bid 3C on the way to 3NT

Hi all. Just noticed that instead of various food things, the forum post status ratings have now been changed to bridge hands. For example, I believe I'm something like AK4 QJT AK4 QJT3 What are the other options, and how many posts does one have to make to progress?

Yeah, never really got my head round IMP-pairs.

P P 2M P 2NT is an invitation to save, whereas 2M P 3M is not. Of course this particular sequence is unlikely, but P P 2H 2S 2NT might well happen. Anyway, the idea is that if partner has a Jxxxx suit and was just trying to get in the way and a save might go for millions, you don't save, whereas if you have a KQJxxx suit and some shape, you find a profitable sacrifice. 2M P 3M does not invite any sacrfice whatsoever no matter what the weak 2 bidder has.

Oops. Duly edited

Complete agree with Ron. You've got no idea if 6♠ is making or not, and neither do the opponents. Taking phantom sacrifices is not good bridge. For one thing partner's ace of hearts may cash, or there may be a slow diamond loser, or two club losers.

1. IMPs, Love all ♠ K53 ♥ -- ♦ Q9875 ♣ K10643 Partner deals and opens 1♣, RHO passes. Your call? 2. IMPs, Unfavourable ♠ A1032 ♥ AQ3 ♦ -- ♣ J106432 RHO you LHO pard 1♠ pass 1NT 2♠ 3♠ 4♥ 4♠ pass pass ? 3. IMPs, love all ♠ K107 ♥ K953 ♦ Q42 ♣ 873 1♦-(P)-1♥-(1♠) X*-(2♠)-P-(P) 3♣-(P)-? Partner opened 1♦, and X was a support double, showing 3 card support. 4. Pairs, love all. ♠ KQJ9 ♥ AKQ32 ♦ J7 ♣ AJ RHO deals and passes. What do you open? 5. IMPs, Game all ♠ AJ107543 ♥ KQ ♦ K ♣ KQ9 Opponents silent, you deal and open 1♠. Partner responds 2♣. Your go 6. Pairs, Unfavourable. Opponents again silent, you deal and open 1♦ holding: ♠ J3 ♥ AKQ ♦ KJ7543 ♣ Q9 Partner responds 1♥. What do you try now? 7. Pairs, game all. Partner deals and opens 1♦, and RHO overalls 3♣. You hold: ♠ A6 ♥ J10965 ♦ K52 ♣ Q32 What do you try here? 8. IMPs, love all. As South, West deals and opens 3♣, partner overcalls 3♥ and East passes. You hold: ♠ AJ97 ♥ 53 ♦ A862 ♣ Q104 Your call? I'd be grateful if someone could pin this thread, and let the panel (if it still exists) know about the hands. Please either private message me your answers, or better still send them by email to Mark.Reeve@blueyonder.co.uk

Well someone has passed now, and that someone was me. I just don't like this hand at all. My hand is aceless, minimum, and KQ doubleton of spades doesn't look up to much. If opponenets balance with spades I won't be happy. Partner needs something like an opening hand for us to make a game with these cards, so I very much doubt I'll do badly with passing the board out.

I would pass this without a shadow of doubt. This hand is a pile of something not very pleasant, and pre-empting on just invites a telephone number

Well, I now have enough to get started. I'll give it until 10pm British Summer Time on Saturday in case anyone else has any interesting hands, then I'll post the hands on here.

Thanks Whereagles. Interesting hands. Anyone else?

Hi everyone I really enjoy doing these bidding polls. I've done a fair few of them in some magazine articles that I've written, and it's a shame that we don't have these more often. So I'll start off by volunteering to do one now. If anyone has any hands that they think may be interesting, then feel free to private message them to me, if that's the way that these polls start off. Mark

Is 3D not a reasonable choice to involve partner in later high level bidding decisions? I think it is, so that's what I'll try. I might be tempted by 4D if that shows a diamond suit, and not a splinter

I think it's somewhere in between 3 & 4. As long as 3D doesn't say anything about my diamond holding, then I'll try that. A "blame transfer" bid.

Your agreements here are: X = a penalty double of hearts 2D = natural NF 2H = take out of hearts (similar to 1NT 2H X) 2S = natural NF 2NT = Lebensohl, puppet to 3C. 3C/D/S = natural GF 3H = 4 spades & a heart stop 3NT = Not 4 spades & a heart stop 2NT followed by passing 3C = competitive 2NT followed by 3D or 3S = invitational 2NT followed by 3NT = a raise to 3NT without a heart stop 2NT followed by 3H = a raise to 3NT with 4 spades & a heart stop 4H would probably be natural & to play

Unfortunately you can't bid 3NT denying a heart stop, since that would show a heart stop. You could bid 2NT intending on continuing with 3NT denying a heart stop, but this time there'd be very little chance of partner doubling 4H here, since a lot of the time you'd only have a competitive hand

[hv=d=n&v=b&s=skxhxxdkxcajxxxxx]133|100|Scoring: IMP[/hv] Partner opens 1NT, 11-14, 4441 or some 5431s permissable RHO overcalls 2C, showing 4+ hearts and another suit (if both majors, hearts will be shorter/weaker) You, for better or for worse, bid a natural and game forcing 3C. You play Lebensohl here. LHO bumps the bidding to 4H, passed round to you. You can assume partner's pass is forcing, in case that wasn't clear. What do you try now?

So you want to have a way of showing a good raise of a minor suit that partner bids after 1NT? I have this method with david_c, but I use 1S P 2D as a transfer to hearts, in order to show a weak hand with a long heart suit. It's more important to have a way to show a weak hand with long hearts than a good raise of a minor suit rebid

You wouldn't get me to open this 2H if you held a gun to my head. Bid 4 and see what happens. Hopefully I have Namyats available

I would say slightly more to North. 3S I would say as automatic, since: a) It looks as though partner rates to be short in hearts. Therefore his values rate to be all working :P a spade fit looks to play well, since the short trump hand can take heart ruffs. c) His minor suit honours rate to be useful to support partner's minor, assuming he has one. d) North should realise that South is expecting him to have points working outside of the heart suit. He does not. Therefore 4S is too pushy.

I'd try a forcing 1NT as North, to show a bad raise to 2S. Incidentally, I'd invite as South all the time playing constructive 1S - 2S.

Partner held: AQ10x KJ9xx Kx Ax and decided to pass my 3D. We play Lebensohl in 1NT (bid) and 2Y X P situations, but hadn't discussed it. We have now :)