mr1303

And here we go again. Uday/Rain/Ben/A.N.Other can we get rid of the last few posts to this thread? An interesting discussion has been ruined by a long-standing personal argument that the rest of us have no interest in.

I would pass 3NT too with these cards. Fred once wrote a good article about expert errors, and one of them was breaking partnership discipline. The 3NT bid here is one such breach. Bidding 4♦ might be a better result, but it might be a worse result as well. Partner got herself into a mess by bidding 3NT, so it should be up to partner to get herself out of it.

Just sat down for my first ever go at money bridge using real money. Only a 25 cent game, so nothing that would break the bank. First hand they bid a cold vulnerable game. Second hand they bid a cold grand slam. I then get kicked out for not having enough money left in my account. I suppose this is just bad luck, but when despite having just under half my initial deposit in my account I can't continue to get some cards it leaves me a little cheesed off...

LHO opens 4♦, alerted as showing a good 4♠ opening. Partner doubles. What should the double mean. You hold J 1098xxx AQ Jxx What do you bid (if anything) when RHO bids 4♠ after the double? Mark

Going back to Mike Bell's point. I met my ultra-long-term girlfriend (in my context as a junior anyway) at a bridge party, and have gone out with two other people in the time since I met her (don't ask), both of whom were bridge players. Mike is entirely correct about more than just bridge going on over in Slovakia. I won't mention any names or details, but it wasn't the type of thing you'd tell your mother about....

Are there actually any real Marks out there? Apart from me obviously Mark

Partner's bidding is horrific 1) He has 3 low hearts. Therefore he does not want to play in a heart contract. 2) He has 4 card diamond support that he never mentions, and 4 card club support for your supposed second suit. 3) 3NT is a horrific overbid. I could go on, but I can't be bothered.

WHen playing a total points teams match, the score comes out in IMPs, rather than total points.

What happened to 3♣ X?

I received this in an e-mail from a regular partner of mine, wanting to know how we could bid this 6♥ contract. I couldn't, I'm ashamed to say. Could anyone else? [hv=n=saj10874hq943d3c103&s=sk963hak86dq8caj5]133|200|[/hv] South hand is dealer, no opposition interference. Use whatever methods you like, e.g. South opening a strong 1♣.

Is there some significance to the playing of MOSCITO in this situation? I haven't played it for a while, so maybe the defensive methods may have changed.

If this happened online, then it becomes even harder to rule, since the BIT could be attributed to any number of reasons, such as the player going to the loo, making a drink, yelling at his/her husband/wife etc etc, or just a temporary lag with the internet connection.

4NT is two places to play, not necessarily the minors. The reason that it is this rather than Blackwood is because the hand types where you need to suggest a playable strain, but need partner's input are much more common than the hand types where you need to know how many aces partner has. I don't know what D/I means, so I won't comment on that.

And Sajid Mahmood took the man of the match award. That really is shocking.

Hmm, surely if the auction goes: 1D (1S) P P X P and I hold: J972 A32 753 1092 I bid 1NT, and I get the same result?

Mike got the hands slightly wrong: [hv=n=saqxxxhkxxdkxxcqx&w=sh10xdj10xxxxck109xx&e=sxhaqjxdaqxxcajxx&s=skj9xxxxhxxxxdcxx]399|300|[/hv]

I like to play that: 1M (X) 3 new suit = fit jump 1M (X) 4 new suit = splinter.

Interesting that so many people just bid 4♠ on these cards. This would have made life much easier for me, who held: [hv=s=sh10xdjt9xxxck109xx]133|100|[/hv] I had an easy 4NT bid over 4♠. Over 6♠, I had no idea what to do, and was completely guessing.

Complete rubbish. No offense, but this is exactly the hand NOT to transfer to diamonds and then bid 3NT. This is a direct 3NT bid every day of the week/month/year. If you intended to show doubt about 3NT, how is partner meant to know what hands he should sit for it and when he should pull? If 3NT isn't making, then there's zip chance of 5♦ making on these cards. Transfer to diamonds and then bid 3NT should show a mild slam try in diamonds, if you have no super-accept structure in place, or if you do, a hand that wants to play 3D opposite no fit and 3NT opposite a fit is also possible, or failing that, a shapely hand that has a strong interest in an alternative contract to 3NT.

I'll add my hand (the take-out doubler's partner) once we've had a few replies....

Can you give us the rest of the auction? We don't have enough information to go on at this point.

Or alternatively you can play Keri, where responder can make a submarine splinter of 3D, showing shortage in hearts and a raise to 3NT. Opener can now cue 3H showing no wasted values, and the slam becomes trivial to bid now.

I stopped in 5♠, and double finessed. I decided that had I been in 6, I would have taken the safety play, but thought that I should try the matchpoints line to try and make as many as possible. They did overcall 4H at my table, and bid 5H over 4S as well.

Newsflash: Darrell Hair has offered to resign in exchange for 500,00 US dollars. Anyone know why?!?

7NT was actually a good contract with the J of hearts falling doubleton.