EarlPurple

If this is MP it is not unreasonable to play for making 7♠ as the overtrick is important. Win the ♥A, ruff a club low, two rounds of trumps finishing in dummy, then ace of clubs and another club ruff. Dummy still has two trumps so you get 2 entries with diamond ruffs, one to establish the clubs and another to get back and cash them. A good tip for beginners: When dummy has a good suit, and also a short suit, it is usually better to try to set up the long suit, and simply to use the ruffs as entries. Therefore delay taking your ruffs, they won't go away. Well they often won't. On a diamond lead it would have been the same line as you still have your heart entry, so you'd ruff, ruff a club, draw trumps finishing in dummy, ace and another club ruff, ruff a diamond with dummy's last trump and ruff a club, then use ♥A to return to the clubs. At IMPs or rubber, it is reasonable for a beginner to simply take the easy 12 tricks.

You can't duck the first diamond, or you might just find your 3rd one gets ruffed - unless you played off another round of trumps first.

- If your agreement is that you can pre-empt in 1st seat green with hands like that, you must alert ALL your pre-empts 1st in hand green. - If your agreements is that you would not normally pre-empt on a hand like that but you chose to do so anyway, you should NOT alert. You alert to tell the opps that your bid has an unusual systemic meaning, not to tell them what you actually hold.

So you are saying that most of us would prefer a room where we can join in the chat. So if that happens all the time, abandon the "select" commentators and let us all chat. I HATE not being able to comment in the vugraph room. I have been a commentator in spec since the early days of okbridge in 1994.

when you play astpro (or asptro as it's sometimes called) do you anchor in the shorter or the longer? It has to be the shorter. The longer just doesn't work.

Your federation is out to protect newbies. If I open 3♠ or 4♠ with that hand I am taking a risk - I might go down 1100 when they can only make game. Why shouldn't I take a risk? If it's match-point pairs (and even more so IMP pairs) then my risk is going to affect the results of the room, not only because I am possibly giving my opps a top / big swing but also because the bad result will cause others sitting in the other seats to lose as a result. If this is teams of 4, then I don't see any problem. Presumably the opps will have my system notes and will know we open pre-empts on this kind of hand and will be prepared for it with a defence. Similarly if we open light 1-bids. And the only pair that can be harmed as a result if it turns out badly is our team-mates.

And South African Texas is an opening bid of 4♣ showing a good 4♥ opening, and an opening bid of 4♦ showing a good 4♠ opening, while opening bids are 4♥ and 4♠ are generally pure-pre-emptive. In response to opening 4 of a minor, I think bidding the next suit is some kind of "last train" slam try, but those who know the convention better would probably be able to explain the methods in detail. 4♣ in response to 1NT is usually played as Gerber, thus ace-asking. You might want to do that with this hand: ♠x ♥KQx ♦KQJxxxx ♣Ax If partner can show 2 aces in response to your 4♣ you can probably gamble on 6♦. If partner responds with one ace you will play in 5♦.

You may play that you respond quant 4NT with aces but if partner then bids 5NT pass - do not show your kings!

I'd like to see an "open chat" vu-graph room where any spec may chat. You can also have "closed chat" vu-graph rooms for those who prefer to hear commentary only from the select commentators. Most of the broadcasts have 2 rooms so why not give us both options?

Can't make 6♣ on that lot even double-dummy with North as declarer. Can't even make 4♦ on that lot - 9 tricks is the limit in diamonds. 3NT can't make either. The only making game is 5♣. I will go up with the ace, diamond to my ace, trump to dummy then K and J of diamonds throwing my losing spades. Presumably West now attacks with 2 rounds of hearts and I have to ruff in dummy and play another diamond. Because East has started with 3 clubs it makes whether he ruffs in or not - if he does then I overruff and cross to dummy with the last trump to score the diamonds, if he does not then I discard a heart, ruff a spade and then the rest of my trumps are high for a cross-ruff.

1. No I prefer to pass with South's hand - no decent rebid, not a good suit for partner to lead - lots of defence if they win the contract. (Singleton ace is defensive, not offensive). Worst position in which to open (2nd in hand all vulnerable). Move a small club into the diamonds and I might just open 1D but pass is still probably better. 2. I think I am chicken and prefer 2H because of my spade holding, which means they're bidding minors or 3NT. 3. I don't agree with penalty pass of 2H. But had they passed out 3 hearts and led trumps at every opportunity it would go down 5 thus a flat board with 1390 at the other table.

Sorry I disagree with this comment - there is a lot of skill in matchpoints too. Even here you would have to assess whether, in matchpoints, you are better off making sure of the slam because not everyone will have bid it. It doesn't take that long to learn basic safety plays like the one on this hand. The skill of the game goes much further than that. If there is one thing I like about MP over other forms of the game, it is because every hand is pretty much equal, rather than the match resting on one or two big boards. For example, here if spades had been 4-1 and the slam gone down, and if it had not been bid at the other table, then this board would cause a swing of 22 imps non-vulnerable and 26 vulnerable to what would be the situation if the suit did break favourably, enough to decide an 8-board match - luck based on one board.

I am one of those who feel players should be taught a simplified version of a "natural" system first, because they want to be able to start playing as soon as possible. You should tell them though from the start that 1. The bidding system you are teaching them is simplified 2. There is not one "correct" system but many different systems, and different adaptations. I find it is hard to convince some people that not everyone has to play what their teacher taught them. I think they should be taught (early on) to use things such as: - losing trick count - law of total tricks. I disagree with teaching all 2 bids as strong. Strong 2C, strong balanced 2NT and 2D/2H/2S weak. They should learn that bidding is (or at least can be) competitive and good defensive bidding is important. It would train them well to deal with competition, where I find most players fall apart once exposed to real bridge. If necessary, print off lists of hands that they can decide what to bid in certain situations, eg the most common ones. Teach them Stayman and Blackwood (though some would be much better off without the latter) and that's it. When they have a little more experience then let them try out Precision. Also teach them to compete against it.

Transfer responses may have some merits but there are weaknesses, mainly the inability to show a side-suit, whether as a fit-showing response or simply because I have them. ♠xx ♥Kxx ♦AQJxx ♣Jxx 1♥ (1♠) ? I want to be able to bid 3♦ here to show a good diamond suit with heart support, i.e. a fit-showing jump, and enough values to 3♥. If the opps go to 3♠ partner should know what to do with: ♠Ax ♥AQJxx ♦Kxx ♣xxx (10 easy tricks after they cash the first 3 in clubs, if they bother leading one. In defence we'll take 5 tricks) ♠xx ♥AQJxx ♦x ♣A9xxx (looks shapely but we probably won't make 4H and 3S probably 2 off, 4S 3 off if they bid it). Of course, give partner ♠x ♥AQJxx ♦Kxxxx ♣Kx and he'll now bid 5♦ over 4♠ by them (might go down on a club lead).

Yes it's true that if declarer has Qxx and partner has the ace then leading the king loses. However I am going with the odds and it's strong favourite for declarer to hold the ace. If I don't lead the king, do I lead a lower honour? What are the odds that partner has no honours at all and I lose 3 tricks by leading low? And if declarer does have AQ9 there's still a possibility that partner can get on lead next and lead one through. The odds of finding dummy with Qxx and declarer with nothing are also minimal. And if partner does have a doubleton honour (quite likely) and the suit breaks 4-2 a low card from me at trick 1 turns out a lot better. Finally if declarer has Qx and dummy 9xxx then leading jack or ten will lose a trick (king will cause inconvenient blockage but won't cost a spade trick). Against 1NT I'd lead a low spade because I expect to find partner with some values. Against 3NT I'd go for the king, especially if the bidding went 1NT-2C-2S-3NT.

Those K leads are great but with 6 card suit, with 5 if the Q is sgl then opener will have 4 card suit and another stoper. not if partner has 9xx

After a 2NT opening and a 3♣ response, are you in a forcing situation? I would say probably. In a forcing situation, doubles are penalty, so both doubles in the original sequence were penalty. 1NT 2♥ pass pass Dbl is a different situation as you were not in a forcing situation and opener could pass. Dbl here is best played as take-out. And no, it's match-points in particular where you want to defend doubled rather than undoubled, as merely going plus on the board may be inadequate. You'll want to take 200 against vulnerable opps and 300 against non-vulnerable opps to beat any part-score you were making.

I play a similar method to Flame after 1M is overcalled - cue-bid is 3-card support and 2NT is 4-card support, but it also includes fit-jumps, so if you have support and a good suit you can fit-jump. With 3-card support and a good outside suit you have to decide whether to show the outside suit with a simple overcall (and risk not being able to show support until later), or make a fit-jump (thus do you promise 4-card support or just 3?) or cue-bid (ignoring the side suit). I think it's best to show your suit one way or another, and which one to choose may depend on situation - what is the vulnerability, what is their suit and what is yours? If your suit is hearts and theirs is spades then definitely fit-jump because it's all too likely they will bid 4♠.

You would lead a small spade because partner can win with the ace and return a low one, thus declarer will only make one trick with his KJx. Yes, the suit is blocked but hopefully partner will have outside entries for his opening bid. If partner pulls the double to 2♥ I assume a shapely hand and will bid 3♠ because I have very good values for partner.

Good reason not to play 1♦ as a mini-NT plus other hands as well. Most of the time it will be the mini-NT but not often enough to justify the assumption. Still, 4♥ has chances on that hand, at least. I'd be more worried partner would turn up with: ♠Qxx ♥AQx ♦xx ♣KJxxx With this 12-count we are going nowhere. Is 2♦ forcing after 1♦ by partner and 2♣ by opps? Still, what do I do now after a 2NT response? Double is not so bad - if partner passes and it makes at least it doesn't give them game.

As for the hand, I don't believe most East players would rebid their spades holding 5 to the king. So I would play the queen on the 2nd round.

The problem with the diagram is you made us South and dummy West. Would be easier to follow if you made us East here and dummy North.

I'm either going to lead a small spade or the king. King works if dummy has a stiff Q. Leading J or T rarely gains anything.

I prefer asptro against weak NT - it keeps Dbl as penalty, but it's generally better at capp for finding majors and you're more likely to stay at the 2-level. xx AQ9x KJxxx xx This hand is about right for an asptro overcall of 2C and if partner responds 2D or 2H you can play at the 2-level. Even if partner has spades and bids 2S you have stopped low. Playing capp, you would have to overcall 2H and then partner will be forced to decide whether to find a better fit. Switch the heart and spade suits here though: AQ9x xx KJxxx xx and the hand is slightly more problematic because you'd have to bid 2D and you'd be forced to the 3-level if partner doesn't like spades. (You can't pass his 2H response which would not show the suit). On such a hand capp would have the advantage of pre-empting out their heart suit (you can't pre-empt their spade suit out in the above hand). So you might decide to pass on the above hand if the vulnerability is wrong. But partner may have: JTxx Axxx AQx xx where 4S is no worse than finding SK with the 1NT opener.

I would also take-out because I think that's what partner is expecting me to do. With partner's hand I might have bid 3H myself.