RunemPard

Playing in Sweden..misplayed card from dummy. I was declaring a hopeless contract today and found a clever play to give myself a chance to make my 3Sx contract. I thought for awhile holding... I will put a hand diagram up soon if my explanation is too confusing in text.. My partner holds... S: - H: x D: - C: AJ43 I hold... S: x H: - D: Q C: T82 Based on the bidding, I know that my LHO has the only remaining diamonds (including the K). He has 3 clubs and 2 diamonds. My RHO has 3 clubs and 2 hearts. I play the 8 of clubs from my hand hoping for my LHO to not cover with the 9 if holding H9x. I tell my partner to take a small club when LHO plays the 6 under my 8. In Swedish(not my native language) this sounds like jack. He plays the jack as I am looking at my hand and RHO wins with the K. When I notice what has happened as he returns the heart, I shout out that I called for a small. They say it doesn't matter, the cards are played. I continue to argue explaining exactly how I am playing the hand and the holdings I need to make and when it will fail. I explain to RHO that I know he has no remaining diamonds, must play a heart for me to ruff and take the now good club finesse or play clubs himself. With clubs breaking 3/3 I will have a discard for my losing D and make exactly. The director rules 2 back as it was with the failed finesse. Is this the correct call? It was a huge bummer for me to find the only winning line and have it not go my way when I manage to pull it off. I felt robbed and sick to my stomach after this hand. Ruined my whole evening. -Don

I have no issues with playing 2♦ here...but at MPs I prefer 1N. We don't really want partner bidding 2♥ on their 5 card suit though, so I am fine with 2♣ followed by 2♦.

Sorry, maybe move this to Natural Bidding Discussion if it is a better sub-forum...

I will post the full hands later, but for now let's just go off the bidding... SA 5533... You open...NV/V MPs 1♦-(3♥)-X-(P) 4♣? 1♦-(3♥)-X-(P) 5♣? 1♦-(3♥)-X-(P) 4♥? 1♦-(3♥)-X-(P) 4N? Your hand...What is the bid?

Absolutely, I respect your opinion. One thing I find fascinating about MPs though is the meta-game tactics. Playing a safe line to go -1 in 3NT when you feel there is a low chance of making on the only line of play that may risk 2 back. Or the classic case of taking the finesse for the extra or risk giving the opponents a ruff if you fail it. In this case, it is just a matter of determining what, if anything, might get us a more even score either way. I like thinking about these kinds of things.

I would like to nominate this for post of the year.

Depends on the opponents, but yes I didn't think of that when posting. Against opponents with a steady tempo in most situations this will just confuse me even more sometimes! :P When I notice I got Qxx with a finesse behind me, I keep this in my mind throughout the hand and hold a good tempo as to not give any clues when they do try though.

Assuming the opponents will play a top honor from one hand before finessing, isn't this only working one way?

The situation I am most thinking about is when the only true info you have is that trump was not led. Some opponents in weaker fields rarely, if ever, lead a trump so this isn't always going to help. Let's also assume trying to find honors in off suits may be a very risky move and the best option is to attack trump immediately. I have to disagree with you on the not going for some avg scores though. The biggest killer at MPs is not 40-50% boards, the killer is 0-30s. Sometimes out playing the opponents, even at MPs, is to go for the safer 50% score when you are doing well, and go for that top when you are struggling. Of course I will obviously try and use all the information I have to make good decisions, but I cannot understand if you have never been in this spot and honestly had no clue which is the winning play.

You arrive at a 4M contract playing MPs that you are sure almost all will be in. You have many entries to both hands and ruffs do not appear to be an issue. Your trump suits are... AJ87 KT96 or AT98 KJ76 ect... Let's say you want to try for a top or a swing in a team match. Are players most likely to finesse into the hand with the top 2 of 3? Is there a way to "play with the field" in this spot? I have no clue, but maybe some others with more experience have noticed a field tendency here?

My gf and I were not having the best session tonight, and ran into a hand that just made me smile. Our opponents were novices. [hv=pc=n&w=shj542dq9cakqj984&n=st8764h86dat8432c&e=sk53hqt3d7ct76532&s=saqj92hak97dkj65c&d=w&v=n&b=1&a=3np4cx5cppp&p=hah2h6h3hkh4h8hth7h5d2hqc2]400|300[/hv] Partner's choice of opening gambling was...different, but it certainly didn't hurt us here. The opponents had never played against gambling before, and were provided detailed descriptions of the bids, but still opted to pass out 5c. When north failed to trump the heart, I could not help but look at south to see one of the most priceless looks of confusion I have ever seen at the bridge table. P.S...The layout of the hand allowing for any number of club sacrifices to hurt us even more made it even more amusing...

If we are assuming 8 diamonds here...then I see a pretty easy 11 tricks on even some bad days. WTP?

I found this one by the opponents amusing today... our bidding goes...starting with pard (opps pass throughout) 2♣-2♥(positive/natural) 3♠-7NT Holding... S: VOID H: KQJTxx D: Jx C: AKJxx I simply jumped to 7NT to end the bidding. The opponent asks me...how can you be so sure that 7NT is the right contract?!

I am gonna take the crazy route of... ♠A and play a small spade for ruff, return with trump to dummy and play for Kxx in the 3♣ bidder. I will win ♥A and return to dummy with the ♥Q to play my spade winners and remove 2 diamonds.

A few weeks ago I played xyz for the first time with a player. We had discussed a lot, but I forgot to ask what this would show... 1♣-1♦ 1♥-1♠? If we bid the minor 1st only when having 10+ pts and 5/4, does this simply show shape and natural with 10+? If we bid the minor 1st either way, is this then an invite asking for spade control with 2♣ showing a spade control?

2♠

Thank you.

Almost won our area's bragging rights tourney with various pairs from many clubs. 54 boards split into two rounds of 28/26. After the 1st 28 boards, we had a poor session finishing with 48.5%. Many boards that we should have done better on, but we went into tonight hoping to pull off a miracle anyways! The top pair leading with just over 59%. We managed to nearly get our total % up to 57 and a 5th place finish with a 65% session tonight. However, I still made some bad calls that cost us beating the #1 pair with just over 58%. Would you have bid/played any of them differently? #1 [hv=pc=n&e=sqt73h85dakq83c72&w=sa986hq43dj754c84&d=s&v=b&b=1&a=ppp1dx1s2c2s3cpp3dppp&p=cqc4c5c2cjc8ckc7h6h8hthqd4d2dadtdkd9d5d6]400|300[/hv] The opponents make a huge mistake giving us a freebie in hearts. I have no clue why, but now we have a chance to make! And I got it wrong. #2 [hv=pc=n&n=st2h3dat9765ck653&d=s&v=n&b=1&a=1s2hx4h4s5h?&p=]400|300[/hv] #3 [hv=pc=n&e=skqt84hajt53dj5c4&w=&d=e&v=e&b=1&a=1s2dxp?&p=]400|300[/hv] These 3 hands would have been enough to win by a few points...what would you have done?

Why not just add a 100% meaning to the use of small or high in the laws. (If not already there)... If a player calls for a small/high in the suit, the lowest/highest card of the suit MUST be played. This seems fair and simple to me, and it is how anyone other than SB understands it. As for calling for a suit only...for simplicity this should be the lowest rank. I think it is bogus that players will call directors to gain an advantage. I will often say to my partner..."diamond please" when declaring. I have never had anyone call a director on me...but I can say if I got ruled against for this, I would never speak to the opponents again. I am not a rule expert, but from my understanding if I call for a suit, the opps have the right to pick the card? Why? To make the game unfriendly with needless rules that encourage (I can't think of the right word)?

It is not SAYC friendly. It must be exterminated.

Doesn't seem very interesting to me...part of the challenge of the bingo with 3 robots is getting the robot to stop in the contract you want it to. With 2 players you just bid and pass...now that isn't very challenging at all! With 4 players there would have to be some severe punishments for getting set by so much...else I will just sacrifice over anything I feel has a chance to make.

Modern Standard is just SAYC with 4cM and Stenbergs 2NT over minors/majors really. Priority is typically to almost always bid the majors with 4m+4M. I don't really care for it, but it's nice to always know 9 cards after 1m-xy-xM.

I never realized it was my responsibility to help the opponents keep track of the cards left in play...what a joke of a TD call.

Yes...wondering how the director got there...and even more curious as to why he is looking at the hands. :P

The ironic thing is we were playing xyz.