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IMO when p makes a neg x over a 1 level overcall safety is a huge issue because if opener is minimum there is no gurantee which side is the strongest. It is easy for opener to cue bid the overcalled suit with extra values and save the 2d bid for weaker hands. what else does opener do with say x Ax AKQx Jxxxxx or K Ax AQxx xxxxxx or anyway u get the idea I would hate to bid 2c with such marvelous diamonds and if p wants to take me back to clubs that is great because my hand is much better than before. I also prefer to open 1d with 44 minors In your ex 1 I would rebid 2c because your clubs are great but since you are minimum there is little reason to risk forcing p to bid clubs at the 3 level. In your ex 2 I would open 1d and have an easy 2c rebid.

sigh I reread my post and saw the language problems If lho plays (t or 9) to the first trump (not spade sigh) trick (not trick 1 but trick 2 when leading low toward the trump Q) aside from that my proposed line gives us a non guess LOP that allows us to pull two rounds of trumps and cut the danger of an opps spade ruff almost in half by making sure the only way we get beat trying for a spade ruff is if one opp has a doubleton spade and 3 trumps (with at least T or 9). If trumps break 4/1 we can pick up most RHO 4/1 holdings at the expense of ruffing a spade and then we have to hope we guess dia since squeeze probabilites look excceedingly thin. If LHO has stiff heart K we can still go for our spade ruff as the best shot of scoring an extra trick. The downside of banging down the heart A first is that if the K (only 2 cases and leading low toward the trump Q caters to singleton K with LHO) does not fall you then have to guess how to proceed and not trying to pull 1 trump leaves both defenders in position to possibly ruff the 3rd round of spades and if you try to pull another trump you lose your spade ruff when Kxx exists (in either hand) <12 cases> and they return 3rd trump. A heart to the J followed by a heart to the Q has the same problem when Rho has Kxx (6 cases) and if lho ducks heart to the J with Kxx (12 cases) Successfully running the heart Q leaves you in a guessing state and once again leaves you in a no win scenario (6 cases) if lho started with kxx and you repeat the finesse. This is not meant to be a 100% LOP but one that gives us the best shot at managing the normal 32 trump split and still allowing us a chance to guess diamonds with many 41 trump splits when rho has the trumps.

its probably just me but I use the following: pass = what I said I had and nothing in clubs xx = partial stopper in clubs 3n = stopper in clubs other bids just show extra distribution and should deny the ability to bid 3n or xx. 4c = club shortness the advantages are numerous and the xx in particular can allow us to reach a NT game (or avoid a poor slam) where there is no other easy way to get there. this is rarely going to be a hand where right siding is important.

I can see pasing the first round as n in the face of an unlimited auction especially v/nv. The problem seems to be s not bidding 2h (s cant suddenly have a 1h overcall they failed to make) to show club support and searching for nt. after s bids 2h bidding 3n should be easy for N. I blame s for not thinking about in context bidding and I congratulate N for disciplined original pass.

dont want to go down if trumps are 32 so we try to cater to 32 splits and SAFE 41 splits while keeping a spade ruff in mind. I would win trick one in hand and lead low toward the Q. This is actually better than playing to the A to pick up stiff K in W hand. If heart holds come back to ace and go for spade ruff. If heart loses win pull one trump and go for spade ruff (unless lho shows out) this line loses to stiff K in rho hand (and some bad spade splits) but keeps options alive for all other situations. There is no real problem if LHO play 10/9 trick 1 and rho wins the K we cash 1 top trump and know right away if ruffing a spade is safe or not. That means rho with K (t or 9) xx has to duck the first round of spades and risk completely losing any trump trick to a safety play VERY hard to do(especially at MP)

thank goodness there is no xxx card saying sp i was just kidding about my original x can you please take us to somewhere a tad less ridiculous than 3d xx???? LEARN and use your free will to not make such egregious errors:) good post:) btw agree with majority pass and pary and have a HUGE "SP" ready

I really disagree with 1n opening bid this hand has too much potential BUT it is because of the long club suit. My sequence will be 1c 1s 3c pass may not be world beater but the shortness of clubs in W hand yells caution. This hand is just plain way better than most average 16 counts I would not put in same class as 1n bid. I realize it is quite common to rebid 2c with hands like this but I want p to look strongly at game with a couple of aces and out knowing long clubs will be main source of tricks.

bidding has gone p 1h 1s and it up to you holding: KT QJ9xx xxx Qxx we (probably) have 1 trick and our heart holding makes sure we have 1 or 0 heart tricks on defense. However, we would actually like to play (3sx or 4sx) if p can manage to x it. The best way to get an x from p over 4s is to start with 2h. It is unlikely we have a game if p can make no further moves and we have conveyed a reasonable set of defensive values. There is just plain no rush to bid 4h with this hand which gives p a totally wrong impression of your hand's offensive AND defensive potential. If you feel the need to bid 4h over opps 3s (assuming p has not x) fine and dandy but don't rush into bids when you dont have a firm idea where you want to go and lie to p in the process:)) IMO the 4h bid got the partnership off to a bad start and at IMPS E took out insurance by bidding 5h when he didnt like the odds of setting 4s opposite say x KQJxxx xxx xxx or some such:0 I blame the 4h bid 100%

LET IT GO is probably the ONLY thing you should ever do in any problem hand even if you could bid it all by yourself w/o any problem. Hammering on teammates fosters an atmosphere of discontent at best and will do nothing to improve your team in the long run. If you had a useful suggestion on how to bid a problem hand ask if they want to hear it and shut up if they say no:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) as for the hand itself my auction would go 1c p 1h 1s 2h 3h (p or x or 4h) 4s and we might get lucky and make it but I am VERY aggressive. No matter what the opps are not playing 3h. If my teammates let them bid and play 3h no worries they did what they thought best and unless you start hammering on them they will still be on your side for the rest of the match:))))) try to enjoy this great game you are learning and let your partners/teammates enjoy it as well.

pass and if p reopens with x bid 4s

they key is 3h over 2c showing the independent suit (max 1 loser) (imo showing a suit with zero losers has almost no practical advantage) and asking partner to take over or cue bid. This is easily followed by 3s 4d 4n 5s 6h knowing slam should be at worst on a finesse. the bidding makes it plain impossible for either player to explore for slam because no dia control is ever shown.

I am commenting on third hand only because I think this situation is pretty clear. The opps are two passed hands and their obvious intent is a sacrifice. IMO p pass of 5c should be considered forcing since there was no reason for p to speculate on game vs non bidding opps (if p had doubts an asking sequence would make much more sense) P has the goods. When p passes 5c it shows an ability to go on but it depends on your hand. You are max for your weak 2 and have a singleton club what more could you possibly want to advance to 5s??? Since you can freely cue bid 5d or 5h on the way to 5s p will know you had no red cue bid and will be better placed on what to do next if opps bid 6c.

p play of the dia J smacks of desparation to me since they had to realize it was probably an all or nothing proposition. Since we cannot beat this hand if p does not have either the club J or the spade K all we have to do is try our chances in the proper order. We thus come to the conclusion that we need to try clubs first since we will get to try spades later if clubs are useless. We win the 2nd heart and switch to the club 6. If p cannot give us a positive signal in clubs we are stuck hoping they have the spade K.

pulling to 4n with the hand shown really makes it extraordinarily difficult for p to reopen with x. In fact about the only time they can afford to reopen with x is if they have a rock crusher. Do we really want p to have to PASS when they have hands similar to AKxx x Axxx Axxx (put K in any suit but hearts) whats wrong with taking an extra sure 50? and a whole slew of slightly stronger hands that would give zero play in 5 of a minor then there are also the just plain strong hands with lots of defense like;) KQJx x KJTx AKQx which offer no play for 5 of a minor yet are an overwhelming favorite to hammer 4h these hands are all weaker than the ones needed to make 5/6 of a minor and are a ton more likely. If you think reopening with hands like KJxx x AKxx KQxx is a good idea (I dont because I would hate for p to pass with a weak hand), definitely balance with 4n with the hand given in problem at imps because a double swing is definitely possible

I pass originally (sorry KR) but I think it borders on criminal to not make a neg X over 1s. Your poor p might have hearts but is hamstrung in the bidding since its very easy for you to be broke. This is far from the case here and making a neg x will at least get most of your values mentioned. If you make a neg x the 1n bid might never happen or p may be able to bid (hearts) over 1n all sorts of things might be different. Assuming the bidding went as you stated I would bid 2c as an x now should indicate the kind of hand that trap passed 1s (IMO).

I suggest the 4n bidders have very little faith in their partners ability to decide when a reopen x is wise. Your p already know you did not want to x 4h and that you were not strong enough to bid a game and that if weak you had no reasonable sacrifice. That means P must consider the probability that his LHO has some goods and will only reopen with x when it is safe for a weak p to pass. The sad part about bidding 4n is I probably have defense in the form of a spade ruff which is completely unexpected and makes the penalty pass even more likely to succeed

club ace for the following reasons rho has the clubs stopped and lho showed a balanced hand except for that 5 card heart suit that may provide club pitches. Taking the club ace at trick one might force declarer to guess where the dia queen is assuming thats even possible (ie p has Jxx). Ill have my usual SP card all ready if my lead manages to give opps their 12th trick via the club K when they had no other alternative. If lho had a weak 1n (vs 1h) then I would take my chances and lead a spade (since rho jumped to slam only after lho cue bid spades).

p did not overcall 2s and avoided 4s as well. That means opps have 7 or even 8 spades btn them and it is hugely unlikely p has really bad spades and is advertising them with 2nd tox. Opps seem slated to go down since our minor suit distribution makes it very unlikely opps have any minor suit length for spade pitches. I would not be shocked if the defense started out spade AK and spade ruff and opps booked with ten tricks left. It is a ton easier to take 4 tricks than 11 and it might even be we can set them 3 tricks X even if we can make 5 of a minor (which is hardly a guarantee). So IMO PASS

West deals, N-S vul North: x JTxxx AKx QTxx South: AKJT9x void QTxx AJx P-P-P-1S 2H-P-P-? why not the following? 2s a bid we would make with more offense and far less defense maybe a hand similar to Kxxxxxx xx AQ A 3d has some possibilities but probably buries a club fit and maybe steers us in wrong direction especially if p is weak 3h makes little sense when long strong suit is major and we are too weak and need more aces vs quacks 3s There is no reason to assume p has power and 3s should be a hand worth around 8 tricks vul vs not and we are a long way away from that that leaves X if p bids pass fine we have enough defense. 2n 4s 3c pass 3d pass 3h 4s 3s pass 3n 4s 4c 4h 4d 4h 4s this happens you need a new p

im going with 4n If p has a hand like xxx void AKQxx KQJxx we are too high already anyway so getting to 6d -2 probably not much worse than 5d down 1 if p shows 0 or 3 I am going to bid 7d since it is either a 4 5 or 7 hand since it is extremely unlikely p has opted to avoid showing a 4 card spade suit headed by the A. If p has 2 it is my guess that 6 dia is best. Even if p has xxx void AKQxx KQJxx it will take a spade lead to beat it and 5d is too high already. If p has one 5d is it and hope we not too high. This would be much scarier if our suit was clubs:))

I dont know how this hand is layed out BUT I dont like it one bit. With 4 spades it is EASY to continue dia from the w seat not caring one whit if it gives up a ruff and sluff. Why would it take W so long to find such a play?? Thats one another strike against 40 trumps why would E need W to make a club switch if they have the presumed club KQ and AQJ dia???? That makes no sense they would simply overtake and make the club switch themselves. It appears E has something akin to Qx x AQJxxxxx Kx and w xx Txxxx Kx Qxxx W trying to represent long spades by making an apparently risky dia play. W is pretty sure 12 tricks are making unless p has trump Q (counting 5 hearts 5 spades club A and dia ruff) and dia play best chance to lead declarer astray. a third strike against 40 trumps is with say void x AQJxxxxx Kxxx would E not even consider a 5c bid (after the 4n bid)? vulnerability not shown so i am only speculating.

the benefits of opening 2c with this hand are slim and none and it is also a tad light for such an action. I would start 1c and plan my bidding accordingly if p bids 1d I would bid 3n hoping they will bid 4n if they have decent ten count balanced. if p bids 1h I would bid 2s (if they then bid 3s I would jump to 5c and if they bid 4s I would bid 6c) if p bids 1s I would bid 2h doing the same with clubs if p raises hearts as i did with spades. if p bids 1n I think it safer to bid 5c if p bids 2n I would be in slam range and I would start with 3h (which should show concern for diamonds (and possibly spades) for nt purposes. If p cannot stop dia we should just bid 6c and be happy even if 7 makes. If p bids 3n our odds of slam go down significantly and I think pass is best.

South 100%. hard to imagine what s is thinking with 3s X. W is short in hearts and bid 2s on a suit headed at best QT. If w had 1 heart surely they would have left 2h x in rather than gamble on their putrid suit. It is pretty darn easy for us to imagine W as void in hearts and after 2s gets raised to 3s E probably has an extra distributional surprise for NS. The heart K is completely useless in spades but hugely useful in NT. There is a strong probability W has no hearts and E having at most 1 side entry makes 3n the standout bid. It is difficult to imagine too many hands where 3n wont have decent play if w (as expected) is void in hearts.

i was unhappy with the 4s bid by south. South has to realize that N is looking at poor spades and it is difficult for them to cooperate in slam ventures. Despite this N has cue bid 4h so they have a club control (which the 4d bid denied). S hand is very very good opposite any 3s bid and much better opposite one with the heart ace IMO rather than an immediate 4n i think s should try 5h this will pinpoint the club concern for slam and guarantee that the spade suit is of no concern. After 5h N should offer a 6c bid (knowing p has at least 2 clubs) as an alternative contract and s should happily pass knowing N has at least 6c for such a bid and that 6c might be safer and easier than 6s.

the auction is hugely informative and even if p is minimum for their 4d bid the worst case scenario for making 6 will probably be a 33 heart break. Why you ask???? p failure to bid 3s tells wonders. A 3s bid would show spades stopped and club worries about 3n since we normally HATE the minors (If we were to bid 3n and p bid 4d it would mean the 3s bid was a cue bid). If p had clubs stopped and not spades they could have bid 3c vs 2s. Since P failed to bid 3s they dont have stops in either club or spades (if they are making a minimum slam try) and that means 100% of their hcp should be located in the red suits. we can count 11 tricks on top and need only the heart j in p hand or 33 heart break (or p has 5 hearts in which case 7n is probably right). Once p bids 4d we should bid 4s and after 5d we should bid 6c letting p know 7 might be in the cards if they have extra heart length. P should settle for 6d and we should bid 6n.