HighLow21

3♦. I might consider 3NT if I were in a gambling mood, because I can always run to 4♦ later if I get doubled and get a bad vibe about it.

Do we have actual results on this, Hanoi5, or are we left to conjecture and argue about it?

Good point

I completely disagree with your assessment.

Good line of play but why not draw 2 rounds of trumps first?

I'd double. How are they going to set up tricks and then use them? What are the odds declarer will NOT lose trump control early on? In my view double stands to lose 170 and stands to gain 50 to 350, and their odds of making it are way less than 50%.

Possibly... the auction could go in one of any number of directions. What I'm saying is that, given that E will bid 3♣, best results on the hand is likely 3♣ doubled. I doubt it's going to be played there, but it beats game.

I simply was asking whether there were any automated analytics on the site, perhaps that I'm not seeing--or if it is left to the user to perform any analytics on the output hands.

Lost in all this is the fact that Americans currently work way more hours per week, on average, than most (if not all?) other first-world nations. What the ACA will do is to help some of the people who are working ridiculous amounts because they have to--just to get by--to curtail that somewhat. Isn't this a good thing? It also makes it easier for people to switch jobs, making the labor force more fluid, which is unquestionably a good thing for ANY free market advocate.

The key to enjoying goulash is to learn to enjoy the pain.

If your description is at all accurate then yes, service isn't a strong suit.

Wow.

I've generated boards but is there analytics? Can I analyze which contracts make, what the best bids are etc.?

In 3♣ doubled East will be lucky to take 4 tricks. Beats the pants off 6♠ (poor slam), or 5♠ or 4♠ (lower score).

What would he open with a 4-4-5-0? ;-)

Maybe it is because if he turns out to be 6-2-2-3, by playing diamonds first you cannot get overruffed at first?

It's not clear to me why playing South to have exactly 3 diamonds is better than playing him/her to have exactly 3 clubs. In fact I'm fairly certain you need him to have 3-2-2, 2-3-2, or 2-2-3, and you must guess which. Since we own 6 of each minor and 7 hearts, I'd have to guess one of the minors, and I'd be wrong--not for the first or last time. But again, it seems to me as though it's a pure guess which minor to ruff with few clues if any.

Agreed with this. I'm not saying pass is a slam dunk--i.e., that bidding is an appalling call. It's not--it's fairly close. But to call a pass an appalling call is... well, kind of appalling. In my view this hand falls into the majority of hands that appear in this forum--namely, there may be one view that wins consensus, but not by a mile, and there are other opinions that have plenty of merit. I see the merits of bidding something, I just personally think 1♣ doubled has a very good chance of being the best spot for our side.

I cannot imagine bidding here at any form of scoring unless a gun is at my temple.

I was expecting -1 to -3 with no game on for our side.

I am passing all day. Happy to have 5 strong trumps (and a trump lead about 95% of the time) opposite partner on this. I would estimate that they make the contract less frequently than we get doubled... and if they can make the contract they may be able to whack us too. 1C doubled passed out all around is one of the most difficult contracts to make in bridge.

Only double dummy I think--how can you know it's safe to strip the minors? Who has the 4th (or more) club? And even when West shows out on the 3rd round, you have to assume he has KQ or risk East overtaking the Q with the K if you duck, for down 2. Too much can go wrong here I think. Better I think is to try the heart finesse and if that fails play for a squeeze (or a pseudosqueeze if they indeed defend against the squeeze correctly).

Given that we know about the 6-0 trump split, we can win the diamond, AK♣ and ruff a club low. Cash red AKs and play a diamond, overruffing South. Ruff final club with K, South underruffing, and play another red card. You lose J♠ only, because 2 of the 7, T and J will be gone. This line requires 6-2-2-3 and I don't see anything better.

I would probably double, though maybe I should pass -- I don't want to play in a 10-trick NT contract. We may have 10, we may have 7, depending on partner's exact black suit holding. I'd actually love it if p can double them at the 4 level.

We should be in 4♠, but partner seems to be denying help in hearts. Thus wouldn't bidding 4♠ be anti-partnership?