mr1303

Well, LHO had AKxxxx and RHO had xxx. Partner's Q of clubs false card at trick 1 unfortunately didn't pay off. Partner held: AKxxxx Qxx Qx Qx

Kxx x A10xxxx Q10x You hold this collection. Partner opens 1H, you bid 1NT (forcing) Partner now reverses with 2S What do you try now? Would the natural bid of 3D here be forcing?

Is this a 2/1 context? In other words, is 2NT here forcing?

[hv=d=w&v=n&s=sqjxha10xxdakxxcjx]133|100|Scoring: IMP[/hv] 3C 3S 5C ? What do you try? You have the options of double, 5S, 6S, or other.

What was your NT range? If 15-17, then you were a liitle conservative, if 3C was slammish, since you have an excellent hand for a club contract. Still, you got to a good spot.

So what about the auction has changed to make it ok to pre-empt now? If anything it's more dangerous to pre-empt in this situation. Anyway didn't you make 2S?

I didn't know 1 either, but I asked my cheese grater and it didn't know either, so I won't lose any sleep over it :)

Partner hasn't helped us much with his 4S bid. Does he have a 13 count with 5 spades, or does he have a weaker, more shapely hand? It's a guess. I guess badly, so I'll pass.

Really? What hand can make a penalty double at the 1 level, but couldn't open in that suit?

It must be said, that outside of a speedball event, or one where I was playing with someone I didn't like and didn't want to be dummy, I have never bid 1m p 3NT.

Maybe the difficulty is from the other side of the table. You hold: AKxx x AKQxxx AKx You open 2C, partner bids 2D waiting. For the sake of argument, you can play 2H as double negative. You try 3D, and partner bids 3NT. Do you carry on? I like PClayton's idea about 2C 2D 3M incidentally.

I must admit, I do prefer all of my pre-empts to be in the denomination I want to pre-empt in. No pointing in pre-empting if you don't put maximum pressure on there. This gives the next hand too much opportunity if 2NT is essentially forcing. Compare: 1D P 3D ? with 1D P 2NT P 3D P P ? 4th hand can now differentiate between the two sequences, and can also have a 3D cue available, maybe to show a major 2 suiter or similar, whereas in the first sequence he'd have to try at the 4 level.

4C, which hopefully says "do the right thing over opps 4S"

This is a problem which seems to occur too frequently for my liking. Partner opens 2C (GF), I respond 2D (waiting) with some scattered 6-7 HCP hand, and partner bids 3D. I invariably try 3NT, with a hand like: Qxx 109x Jxx Kxxx and have the opponents cash the first 5/6 tricks against me. O Or failing that, I raise diamonds, only to discover that 3NT was vastly superior. Any suggestions as how to overcome these problems?

Agree with the other posts, 3D has left me completely stuck. Apart from anything else, this looks like an underbid, let alone missing a fit in either major. If I can double again for take-out, I might try that, but partner won't know what's going on, and certainly won't play me for a hand with a major holding like this.

CLoser to 4S than any of the others, and definitely 2H should be a FNJ. Opposite xxx AKxxx x xxxx or similar, I expect this to make an overtrick more often than not.

2D for me. This hand is too good for an IJS. I like these to be pure, showing something like AQJxxxx and out. Having an outside ace makes it too strong, and having 4 good hearts is also a big no-no, since we could easily have 4H on.

Pass. Put my KJ of hearts somewhere else, and I'd do something. This hand I have a working 5 count

If only Glad to see everyone else got it wrong as well though The full hands: [hv=n=sakjtxhq8xdkckqxx&w=sqxxxxhxxdxxxcaxx&e=sxhajtxxdjxxxcxxx&s=sxxhk9xdaqxxxcj10x]399|300|[/hv] LHO found a lead from 53 doubleton. His explanation was that it was unlikely that I had 5 or 6 hearts, so partner would appear to have length in the suit, and a spade lead was beyond pointless on the auction. I won in hand with the king, unblocked the K of diamonds and played a club, LHO won and put a heart through for 1 down. Someone said that ducking the first heart was "routine". I wasn't too sure about that.

Heart suit in isolation: Q97 opposite K84 If you play low at trick 1 RHO plays the 10

4H. Clearcut in my book. Partner should have shape for a pre-emptive raise.

[hv=d=n&v=b&n=sakjtxhq9xdkckqxx&s=sxxhk8xdaqxxxcj10x]133|200|Scoring: IMP[/hv] You play 3NT by South on the primative auction 1S 1NT 3NT You get the 5 of hearts lead (2nd/4th). How do you play it?

I like that pitching a high card means that I want partner to do something, i.e. pay attention, and that a low card means nothing. No guarantee that partner will get it right, but at least he knows when I'm signalling and when I'm not.

I will never catch a train, or a bus, until it goes from exactly where I want it to, to exactly where I want it to, exactly when I want it to. My car does all of the above.

Double. Absolutely clear-cut for me. Taking penalties seems to have well and truly gone out of fashion these days.