gszes

1H Hardly the most substantial opening bid ever but in PO seat it seems surprisingly useful as 12 hcp hands go. Easy rebid(s) and the 55 distribution is anything but horrific from an offensive standpoint. Nvul means that even if you manage to get too high the negativity factor will remain small. Lots of potential gain and not much risk. Seems ideal to open (especially at IMPS). MP going negative at all can be bad so the risk/reward ratio is much closer but overall it looks like your side should be somewhat better off opening vs passing. IMPS 1H = 8 MP 1H = 6.5

With tons of potential places to play--3n KQx QJTx KQJ Kxx all the way to 7m Axx Axx KQ Kxxxx it seems best to start slow and check first for 3n and if that does not look feasible then proceed with how high in the minors. My initial vote is for 2s transfer to clubs

I was a bit surprised there were so many unfamiliar with this. That player has some GOOD beginners since I don't even mess with slam bidding until they have a clue about game/no game bidding. The main point is that, until proven otherwise, your CHO is actually on your side and at least TRY and think of a logical meaning. EVERYONE learns differently and we do the best we can. I like a treatment where if I open 6 (of anything) I want p to bid 7 with the A or K of trumps. I have discussed this with many people and few had thought of it but no one hated it. This 6s bid (showing 4 spades and POC to 6n) can be figured out if you quit watching cows jump or playing doodle bug while playing bridge:)

I will be there in case u need a 4th but prefer to not play --- I have been playing against them a lot lately and do not want them sick of me

3s would be a clear cut case of waiting since there is no natural distribution by opener where 3s could mean 5+ spades. That's why 3h has a use as a partial club stop for 3n.

I do not think I could resist 2s x. The 4 quick tricks are just a bit too much to consider an original pass even with less than ideal distribution (I would choose x vs 2n). After deciding to pass I have the feeling it is probably right to back in with 3n. We expect partner to be short in spades and to have around 8-12 hcp and feeling frozen out of the bidding due to the level, vulnerability and passed partner. Some blame seems headed in the south direction since p is surely marked with some power and the solid heart suit should keep the damage to a minimum if indeed we get overboard. 4h seems very reasonable. The problem comes after 4h can N (having passed 4 (count em) quick tricks find a pass. It may be difficult and I can see getting too high after a 4s cue. Overall I would apportion N 85% south 15% and feel N might easily bear more of the burden here.

You have to give responder a chance to reevaluate their hand knowing about the heart fit thus making 3h mandatory for me.

Would the bidding be any different if east held the same hand less the club king? Why is 3d forcing here instead of invitational? That part seems like luck that west kept the bidding open with pretty much a minimum opener. If 3d was indeed GF (instead of using 3c) why did west bid 3h? I use that bid to show a partial club stop for 3n but that is not the case here so what was its purpose? So luck appears to be a major factor again. I am an inverted minor bidder so my auction would proceed ' 1d 2d inverted does not deny a 4 card major 2s does not promise 4 spades but if no 4 spades a problem with club for NT 3n at least we have given p a decent idea of what our hand looks like and maybe right siding 3n p who am I to argue?

I am on vacation this weekend (no computers I can already feel the shakes setting in)=====good luck----

I fail to see why not 3s by responder over 3h. This bid does not promise spade support it is merely a preference (4s would show spade support) and an inability to bid 3n xx xx xxxx AQxxx for ex. while the 3s bid might be much stronger than a min opener has to treat it as min until otherwise advised. Opener then bids 3n which unfortunately would go p p p and the bad club situation would sink us. Life happens but a ton of bidding space evaporated when 3h was bid. Not much room to explore. (see billw55)

Whenever I try to have a conversation with someone the software has some sort of default location it goes to whenever I hit the enter key. This process wipes out the name of the person I am chatting with and I have to hunt up or reenter their name over and over and over until finished. Is there any reason in particular why the nick, I have entered into the chat box, cannot remain there until I change it? As mentioned above this would greatly facilitate back and forth discussion as well as eliminate the occasional jeers when something that you meant for one person goes to the lobby/table etc etc.

both seem to fall into my 8 plus to 11 minus constructive 2M range. See no reason to proceed perilously to the 3 level since both hand require opener to be neat the top of a min or better opener for game to make. If p cannot move over my 2M we should be happy there and maybe some trigger happy opp will try something funny rather then consider going -110.

that is true but I can easily see 3n vs 4c when holding Kxx dia especially as a passed hand. That really means south should realize that N has very little if anything wasted in diamonds. That is what makes the south hand so golden.

I can make a case for passing always but there are far far too many hands where opener has that extra K that makes slam a great prospect. I would try 4n and if opener cannot produce 5s I will settle in 5s. Slight risk for a ton of possible extra reward. There is more risk at MP though since going down that 1 extra trick can make a huge difference in your MP result.

IMHO there are better ways to use 1M 3m but if you use it in a more disciplined fashion (ie it comes up a lot less) then it can be a useful tool. Opener has AKxxx QTxx Ax xx. Using your current parameters opener has no clue about how to proceed. Responder might have J Axx xxx AJxxxx or x xxx xxx AKQxxx. The problem is two fold for the first example. Clubs may not be the best spot (2h should be much better), but where else can opener go, and what rational reason would opener have to decide game or no game (3n) knowing that the example 1 hand types are a lot more commo9n than hand 2. Hand 2 presents opener with an easy 3n but also something more. 3c is playable so opener does not have to panic with a hand not suited for game or misfit. That means if you limit your IJS to hand type 2 it will mostly pay off due to great accuracy though frequency will suffer as a result.

I am somewhat torn between 1h and 2h and the decision to bid 1h was based mainly on the idea it is less likely to get hammered at these colors. 2H is indeed preemptive here and may even cause the opps to misjudge either the bidding or the play but those are anything but tangible rewards while the escalated risk of getting axed seems to make the idea too scary at IMPS. At MPI think 2h would be a much better tactical bid while not hating 1h. I do not consider 2n psychotic but it surely has a ton of risk associated with it and fails to reap any benefits as a lead director. Pass Well at least it is SAFER than any of the alternatives. 2c taking this to the 2 level with this moth eaten suit just invites disaster in so many ways it seems scary even at MP. Maybe just barely better than 2n in some ways while worse in others. IMPS 1h = 8 2h = 7 p = 4 2n = 3 2c = 3

it is this kind of hand that drives directors crazy when opps complain "he only had 14". It might be best for all concerned and any ruling body in general to include the provision that all NT ranges include min- to max+ (15- to 17+) and make the game more one of judgement than nitpicking. We can put this on our CC but that kind of thing will often get overlooked especially if a pair arrives just in time. The number of times responder will bid 6/7 something :knowing: you have at least 15 hcp will crop up a couple of times a year so the slight expansion of range is anything but horrific. How about those 15 counts that look like dreck QJ AQ32 Q43 KJ32. How many downgrade that 15 count and open 1c instead? Again it is a matter of judgement.

A somewhat similar theme to other problem. The original claim (in conjunction with SB statement I thought there was only 1 heart missing) indicates declarer intended to pull the trump at first opportunity. The sad part is that showboating (while inferior) is not irrational. It would be totally reasonable for SB to ruff the club A with the heart Q (with a flair for the dramatic) and lay down the heart ace to drop the stiff K. Thinking quickly in the face of new information does not change this fact. Not only that it shows a remarkable lack of ethics to try and cover this up. SO I rule the chimp gets penalized (severity depending on all sorts of conditions) for providing unauthorized information. The board is score 7h - 1. SB may be subject to ethics charges. Who said bridge is "fun"?

I see nothing in the bidding to indicate the heart J cannot be a singleton. Lho has no logical reason to cover. In your spade contract and knowing you have at most 1 trump left covering (with say K84) might allow declarer to bring the heart suit home by smothering your 8 with the 9 on the 3rd round of hearts and declarer having even 2 hearts makes any Kxx holding dead anyway so covering is pretty much never right.

If I had to rule in this situation (ouch) With the club A at trick 1 a superior play ducking and trumping in hand (least rational) and should be chosen so declarer ruffs. Once that happens it becomes irrational to play any more top cards before the stated intent of drawing trump king has been accomplished. That means declarer will have to lay down the heart A and drop the (as expected) stiff heart K from lho never seeing rho drop a heart. The rabbit nods sagely and runs out the rest of the 13 tricks as claimed. Making 7 and then I walk away wondering why I ever took up this crazy game in the first place:))))

The question of what the blackwood sequence means (or supposed to mean) misses the point here. To jump into a blackwood sequence with a new partner and the meaning of 2h not clear is total nonsense. Even if you were SURE 2h was GF and max 1 loser heart suit it would still be a terrible idea. Imagine responder with xxx KQJT9876 AKQ void this would meet "everyones" idea of a GF 2h jump yet slam seems absurd missing 3 top spade tricks. As noted above 0314 or 1430 are the most popular key card blackwood variants.

Correct--since spades were never supported there would be no reason for LHO to rise with the spade K when u lead a spade after drawing trumps. That does not mean it can't happen just that it is very unlikely since LHO does not know for sure you do not have Qxx of spades and rising with the K could be a disaster. Defense is hard try to make a plan based on what they know and what they can only speculate about. Don't fall into the trap of being too happy about a hand making because of a definite slip on defense (not rising with spade Q).

4 won hands down but seemed useless here so I went with 2. Why make such a blind guess 2nd seat? You have a partner still left in PO seat and if the bidding goes 1n p p they will start to have a pretty decent idea of your point count and if competing is at all a good idea. To :las vegas: 2s shows a remarkable dislike of winning bridge and a strong desire to be the goat complex (note that even if u get lucky and are right you will not be a hero). I refrained from voting 1 since you could have blasted 7n and I do not want to encourage you to head in that direction.

It is not only points that matter. Sometimes how the hand will play is more important. Picture you partner with a minimum 1h bid. You need at least 2 dummy entries to take trump finesses and if p has the trump K they have little else outside to lead toward you hand. That means game is not overly likely unless p is at least near the top of a minimum response. This type of thinking leads you to an easy 3h bid (asking p to bid 4 if at least near top of a minimum response. If p had responded 1n instead of 1h you probably been happy with a 2n rebid so a 3h bid is similar but with heart support and also a good reason to not rebid 2n (dia Kx for ex). Sometimes chewing up a bit of space immediately helps settle so muich more than "temporizing" bids that settle nothing and force more aimless (and space consuming) searching bids.

Note how you readily agree that the 6 is a 3:1 favorite vs a singleton despite the fact that it is most likely part of the doubleton group. If you merely think that way u assume the 6 is a 2:1 favorite instead of figuring the individual cases (where the result is a 3:1 favorite). You correctly assume the cases scenario with the 3 being either 1:1 (or maybe slightly less) but for some reason get into this hidden door theme that was absent when you figured the odds for the 6 (it is merely a blind spot you will correct it).