EarlPurple

You must be blessed with good cards far more often than I am. I hold bad cards more often and use my 2-level bids to show those. Anyway, what you lose is once in a blue moon when you hold such a hand, and it happens to be the case that you have a 4-4 minor fit which plays a slam while in NT you make only 11 tricks. And on the odd occasion the trump suit will have 2 losers when you find a 4-4 fit while 6NT is cold. And lots of other possibilities.

oh I pass waiting for the big penalty on a nice juicy misfit - only it isn't because the opps bid 1D raised to 2D. Then of course I double but partner has 3-3-3-4 and clubs are 4-1 of course so they have a lovely fit and we have nothing. (so much for the rule that if it's a fit for one side it's a fit for the other. My total distribution is almost always 7-7-7-5). Seriously: I often used to pass on those hands. It is MP after all. The plan is to double later, either a fit of diamonds for take-out or something later on to show "cards".

Not sure exactly what is the difference between "checkback" and "checkback-stayman" and nmf. I thought it was just different names (i.e. in the UK, those who have the style to open the minor and thus need it called it "checkback" while the US call it "nmf"). That is, in the sequence that starts with 1D. Because I think checkback is always a 2♣ bid and applies often to 1♥=1♠=1NT

LTC was one of my early articles and can be read here; http://www.frogwump.dircon.co.uk/Bridge/ltc.html One feature that LTC lacks is side-suit fitting. Thus Axxx x KQxxx Jxx is a 7-loser support for partner's spade suit, regardless of how well he "fits" with your diamonds. Partner's "perfect" fit would be: KQxxx Axxx Axx x that's 6 losers opposite but excellent chance of slam. Swap the diamonds and the clubs to make it KQxxx Axxx x Axx and you'll struggle to make more than 10 tricks, and possibly even that. Yet both these hands have the same number of losers.

let's work it out then. Low to ten wins on all the 4-2 and 3-3 breaks where the J is onside. That is 42% of the hands. Also either player with singleton J though that is only 2 of 12 possible 5-1 breaks (including positions) and is an extra 2.5%. Total percentage is 44.5. There are 30 possible 4-2 breaks, each one is 1.6% Consider the line of low to a top honour. If it wins low to the other top honour (unless Ace appears on right). We will be successful whenever East has a doubleton honour. This is 9 of the 4-2 combinations so 14.4% total. In half of the 3-3 combinations East will hold the ace. That's another 18% so 32.4% total so far. Some of the time our LHO will duck when he has the DA. We know we will succeed when our RHO has Ax, Jx or Ax(J)x but that is only 1/6 of the 4-2 breaks + 1/2 of the 3-3 breaks which is 24% total. Given that when the queen or king wins and East plays low on the next round I will put up the other top honour, I will lose when West has Axx and East has Jxx. Perhaps then my policy will be to play the other top honour next time as West will take his ace when he has AJ alone. If we allow this to be the case we can add another 4-2 break where West has both honours but this is only one of 30 possible 4-2 breaks so it's only 1.6% on top. Total is only 34% now. Note that if West has Ax in diamonds there is no way to make 4 tricks from the suit regardless of whether or not he wins it first round nor what we guess to do second round. We will pick up singleton J by East (1.25% as before). Whole total is 35.25% Low to the ten is the right play on the suit alone though, by a reasonably big margin. I think the margin is big enough to remove other considerations. i.e. If low to the queen loses to the ace, and next round we don't drop the J, we can fall back on some other lines. We can work out the odds if we have a weak left-hand opponent whom we know will not hold up the ace. Now we will succeed on any 3-3 split except AJx with West. There are 20 3-3 combinations and we fail on 4 of them. (West has A, J and any of the 4 small ones), thus gain now on 16 of them (instead of 10). Each combination is 1.8% total so 16 of them are 28.8%. Add that to the 9 winning 4-2 combinations (14.4%) (we now lose when West has AJ alone) and the two successful 5-1 breaks (2.5%) and our total is 45.7%, better than before. So against a weak opponent who never holds up, this is the best line.

I suppose you could say that if South has 3 diamonds and Ax in hearts he should know to try to give partner a 2nd round ruff and would therefore have led a diamond away from his king at trick 1. My decision is not what to do on the first round of diamonds - I am leading the queen. When South covers and I win the ace, my decision is what to do next round. I will stick by my belief that clubs are 8-4.

Well I know what do bid with nmf. Without it you get stuck on hands like that one (unless you use jtfanclub's methods, but I think they fall down on other hands). Perhaps that's what makes nmf useful.

On hand 2 I play ♥A and ruff, then lead a top diamond from dummy throwing a club. If LHO plays trumps to cut down my heart ruffs I win in hand, get my 2nd heart ruff, ruff a small diamond in hand so I can draw trumps, then cross back to ♣A to discard my 2 remaining hearts on the diamonds. If LHO leads a club then I get 2 more heart ruffs. CA, C-ruff, H-ruff. C-ruff. H-ruff (with the king). If hearts were 4-3 I will just now lead a big diamond off dummy and East might ruff in but I can overruff and claim.

The problem seems to be with the auction 1C - 1S - 2NT - 3H which may show 4 or 5 hearts. With 4-card support I will obviously bid 4H. With 3 I will go 3NT, and partner will presumably push on to 4H. And I might have a long suit in clubs, possibly even solid, and only a doubleton in both hearts and spades. And in NT we may be making 9 tricks but not 10. After all, what should I rebid with this: ♠ Qx ♥ Jx ♦KJx ♣AKQJxx if partner has this opposite: ♠ KTxxx ♥ AKxxx ♦ xx ♣ x and I get the obvious diamond lead to hand, I have 9 tricks to run. Difficult hand to bid, I know.

Another one who pulls out of a good result because the opps are "experts". Just don't play with partners you don't trust in the first place.

The big difference in that it is MP scoring over IMP scoring is that I am prepared to go -100 if 3♣ was making. I am not happy to take +100 if I can take +140 in hearts. Therefore I am prepared to put partner in a situation whereby we may have to miss some games to make up for the extra gains on the part-score deals. In IMPs I will only be that concerned about competing the part-score if both 3♣ and 3♥ are making. I may even be prepared to lose 3 imps for taking +50 instead of +140. But I will not want to lose 6 imps for making only +170 if we can make +420 in game. So here I am more likely to come in only if I think my bid will make, and if there is some chance we have game if partner has more than I expected.

Hand 4 has 14 cards. I would probably open 1NT on all of the others except 1 and 7. Hand 1 I would open 1♦ as I can reverse into 2♥. Hand 7 is too strong - I have 17 points and a good 6-card suit so I would open 1♣ and reopen 2NT. Hand 5 I don't like but would probably still open 1NT. But change one of the aces to a king and I'd downgrade it to 14 and open 1♣ planning to rebid 1NT. Hand 5 will make 3NT however if partner has KQxxxx in a suit and nothing else opposite. (Hopefully it's a minor because 4 of a major won't make and partner might not let me play 3NT).

You see two hands so you have to determine the distribution in just one of the other hands. If you are declarer, pick one of the opponents and work out his distribution. Then you will know the other one's distribution. If you are defending, do the same either with partner or declarer. Sometimes you will have to guess until you have further information.

1. Is 1C-1H-2NT-3H forcing? Probably should be. At least if we play weak jump shifts, then partner could have made one first round if he has nothing but a weak hand with a string of hearts. But are we playing them? And if not how does he bid such a hand? 2. If the answer to #1 is yes, what is 1C-1H-2NT-3H-3S? 4 spades and only 2 hearts in case partner is 4-5 in the majors? 3. If the answer to #2 is cue-bid, does that imply that opener must rebid his own four-card spade suit with a balanced hand rather than 2NT? No because we can find our spade fit at the 3-level. 4. If you think opener can bid 2NT with four spades, how does responder get to spades with 4-4? At the 3-level? 5. If your answer to #5 is 3S by responder, how does opener decide between 3NT and 4H with three hearts? This is #5. But I presume you mean if responder bids 3♠ over 2NT - then he is showing only 4 hearts because with 5 he presumably rebids them and waits to see if I can bid the spades. 6. If your answer to #1 is No, explain how a game-going responder is supposed to get to a 5-3 heart fit. 7. If your answer to #1 is No, and you think 2NT could have 4 spades, explain how a game-going responder is supposed to get to a 4-4 heart fit. N/A because my answer to #1 is yes. 8. Be honest now. Did any of your answers change after reading a later question? Not really. If we choose to play it simple we have to put up with its limitations. Also we have to bare in mind that the bids without nmf have different meanings than they would if we were playing nmf.

LTC is a means of hand-evaluation and not a bidding system.

The situation is that this is match-points, nobody is vulnerable and partner has decided to compete having passed earlier. Partner is playing me for something and have I got a lot more than he might expect? And that would have to be a lot more. Clearly it is different from the situation where partner is an unpassed hand. Now it is a lot more difficult, which shows why pre-empts can work.

You have to remember we are a passed hand, and partner should not raise us to game without a very good reason. I did suggest that the auction should show a hand like that one but with a 7th heart.

If I could find out partner having such a hand in spades I'd want to be in 3NT but could I sign off in 4NT? Over 3♣ partner will show a 2nd round control but I'd really like to know where his main values are.

You could organise a team game and ask star players to join. I don't know how many takers you would have. I don't think it should be pushed onto vugraph though (thus shutting up all but the elite few).

Am I too strong for 2♠ simple preference? What do I bid on a 2-2-5-4 7-count? How does partner bid on a 5-4-2-2 16-count? My choice is 2NT. If I get to a bad 3NT on 26-points combined, so will everyone else and I'll get a flat board. If I miss a game that makes everyone else will be in it.

This is a very poor slam, because we need to pick up both diamonds and hearts. I think the most likely club split on the bidding is 8-4. North will have to have either 2 hearts or singleton jack or ace or Axx. (Jxx would work double-dummy but my first lead would have to be low from hand). If North turns up with 2 hearts and 2 spades then he probably had a singleton diamond (and a diamond lead would have beaten this). It's 3 times more likely to be a small one than the king.

Thank you. So a 6-9 point hand will come up about 45% of the time. (Though of course you'll have to decide what to do with balanced hands in this range, which I guess a large proportion of them are).

I also might pass on that 16-count because 1NT could lead to major trouble.

I voted for pass. If I am going to bid it would have to be Dbl. I have reasonable defence should partner choose to pass, and reasonable offense should partner choose to bid.

¨ ♦ I read the posts. The first one above appears as a diamond to me. The second one appears as an orange square. All I needed to do was select Symbol font (not on our drop down list) and size to large and color to orange, but I thought having the [ di ] tag was supposed to replace all that. Maybe we could have both options?