S2000magic

I'd be inclined to bid 3♦. I'll likely be better off if I get to play this hand at any level; I don't want to encourage my esteemed opponents to save.

Does Rdbl show a weaker hand than 2NT? Or 19+ w/o a stopper?

Fair enough.

I had a hand similar to that in Toronto on Monday: I won the first finesse in trumps with the ♥Q from ♥ Q J x, then declarer later finessed partner for the ♥J. We would have set the contract if, after winning the second finesse I had played a third trump to prevent declarer from trumping her last spade, but I fell asleep. Sigh.

If partner has 4 hearts, the 4-4 heart fit will likely play a trick better than the (presumed) 5-3 spade fit (or even, possibly, better than a 5-4 spade fit); bidding 3♥ gives partner a chance to raise to 4♥ with 4-card support.

It was. She assumed I had ♥ K Q stiff, so she could knock out my (now singleton) ♥K, get in with a ♣ or a ♠ and take three more heart tricks.

Why's that? (Serious question, not sarcasm.)

You have a 6-loser hand (and a good 6-loser hand at that). You should be safe at the three level opposite even a pretty poor 3-card raise, so I'd definitely bid 3♥.

In their defense, it's not as if they have anything that's actually broken, that needs fixing. They have to fix something. ;)

I've had a couple, but the best came at club in New Jersey perhaps 20 years ago; a little background is necessary: I was on a business trip and stopped in at the local club for a Friday evening game. I didn't know that that was the evening of the Epson World-wide Bridge Tournament. I was paired with another visitor, from Boston. We arrived at the table of two women against whom I'd played before; between them they had about 12,000 masterpoints. (I currently have about 30.) In fourth seat I held: ♠ A 8 6 4 ♥ K Q 3 ♦ K 4 2 ♣ 8 7 3 The auction was: Pass - 1♦ - 1♥ - ? I bid 3NT. The ♥5 was led, and this dummy came down: ♠ K 9 5 ♥ 9 ♦ A Q J 7 5 3 ♣ 6 4 2 I knew my RHO well enough to know that she'd take her ♥A and switch to a club, so the first trick went: ♥5 ♥9 ♥A ♥Q. Before I played the ♥Q, RHO had already started to pull a club from her hand. When the queen hit the table, she paused and thought. And thought. And thought. Finally, she pushed the club back into her hand and played a small heart. 3NT, bid and made. Afterward, she looked at me and said, "You had the ♥ K Q stiff?" I looked at my hand, feigned surprise, and said, "Oh, my gosh! I had a little heart!" The compliment came the next day when she, partnered with her husband, came to our table in the afternoon game. She looked down at me, then looked up at her husband and said, "Watch this guy: he's tricky with queens." [On an interesting note, the booklet that we received after the tournament that analyzes the hands, said of that hand that the bidding would proceed as it did at our table, a small ♥ would be led, RHO would take the ♥A and switch to a ♣, and 3NT would be down 1 trick. That was it. Immediately after the game I was walking past two gentlemen discussing hands, and one (whom I knew fairly well), said, "The expert play on that hand is the ♥Q." I stopped. "Are you talking about board 3?" "Yes." My hand shot into the air. "Guess who played the ♥Q!" My comeuppance was that, in that room, I got a poor score on that board: most declarers were making 4NT, winning their ♥Q at trick 2. I was cursed with the only opponent good enough to find the club switch unless I gave her a big shove back toward hearts. Sigh.]

I'd pass, but I wouldn't be happy about it. The fact is that preempts sometimes work.

Sorry, Jerry: I don't know that one. I do know that penalties of, say, half-a-board or one board can be levied for infractions such as slow play; it's hard to imagine that there wouldn't be similar penalties for willful disregard of announcement rules. If I think about it, I'll ask the director at my local club the next time I'm there. In the interim, perhaps someone with more procedural knowledge than I will chime in.

That's contrary to the rules of the ACBL, which requires announcement of items in blue. It sounds as if these opponents could use a lesson in active ethics. I would report their behavior to the director.

Let's see: ♠ J 6 ♥ 10 9 8 7 4 3 ♦ A 10 6 5 ♣ A Lousy suit, good defense. Pass. (I believe that 1st and 2nd seat weak 2s should be descriptive; how can partner decide what to do if your bid can be either ♠ J 6 ♥ K Q 10 9 4 3 ♦ Q 6 5 ♣ J 2 or the original?)

Less so if you get the compass points correct.

I know the thread, and I await the write-up in The Bridge World of your exploits. I'm honored to make your acquaintance.

♥2 I don't fancy being able to set up and cash spades, but partner has some high cards, so perhaps he has a suit to set up. I can offer more help in hearts than in clubs and diamonds, and if LHO had 4 hearts he may have Staymanned. It's a shot.

As you're playing Jacoby transfers, partner should bid 2♥ followed by 3NT (whether you superaccept or not; I agree that you should); you'll bid 4♠. Textbook.

I'd double, then bid 4♦ over 4♣, showing ♦ & ♥. Three notrump isn't a bad bid, but I'd fear that we'd be missing a better game (or slam) in a red suit. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

A bit off-topic: "Pick a card, any card" is my line. ;) ♦2 (4th best) or ♦6 (3rd & 5th).

Unfortunately, my opponents always lead a trump after winning the club. They're nasty that way. ;)

The trouble, as you doubtless know, is how my partner continues when I show one key card. Does she close her eyes and bid 6♥? Ask for kings (lying about possessing all four aces)? Does my 4♥ guaranty a singleton or void? (For me it would, and would generally have 5 trumps, not 4, though I'd probably have bid it here.)

I'd love to see a Monte Carlo simulation of this; I suspect that 3NT makes more than 50% of the time, but cannot lean on more than that suspicion.

The ruffing finesse in clubs is only a 50-50 chance after you give up a club. The real question is what line will maximize your chance of success against the possible distributions of the spades and trumps.

In second seat, partner (a good player whom I just met last night) held: ♠ A Q ♥ A Q J 8 5 ♦ A ♣ Q 10 8 6 5 whilst I held my typical sort of hand: ♠ 9 7 6 5 4 3 ♥ K 10 9 4 ♦ K 3 ♣ J (OK. I exaggerate: that hand's a wee bit stronger than my typical holding.) How might you bit to 6♥ and how would you play it after the lead of the ♦10? (Note of interest: nobody else in the room - and it's a strong field - was in 6♥.)