rmnka447

Put me in the camp that opens 1 ♣ and rebids ♥s twice. That shows at least a 6-5 hand. If I get the chance, I'd rebid ♣ after that. With the distribution in the hand, I don't think there's virtually any chance 1 ♣ would ever be passed and would opt for bidding fairly normally in order to show the distribution.

There was a similar hand to this one which came up in a KO event I was playing in. 4 ♠ is ambiguous, so your partner can't really know whether you have a good hand or not. In the hand I was involved in, I had a chunky 14 and decided to try a 4 ♦ cue to show values. Partner took it as a control and bid slam with a good 17 pointer. The preempter proceeded to cash 2 ♦ tricks for a big IMP swing. Subsequent discussion led us to the following agreement after a preempt: A cue of the opponent's suit shows a control, With a good raise, we will make a negative double, and, With a competitive raise, we will simply raise to game. With that type of agreement, responder doubles and opener has a chance to explore for slam after a subsequent 4 ♠ bid. Most pairs have probably never discussed this type of bidding problem and would probably act as responder did here. So, yes, you could say that preeempts do work.

Simple bid 1 ♥. There's not enough points to bid 2 ♣ and reverse into ♥s. A very wise old player when asked about his secret to success at bridge said "I don't do anything that I can be criticized for in the post mortem." Sounds sort of corny, but it's actually great advice. In this hand, I don't want to have to explain to partner why we are not playing in our 4-4 fit when partner shows up with something like ♥ AKxx or ♥ AJ10x. If I bid something else, partner will probably never be able to figure out that I do indeed hold 4 ♥s. And if partner doesn't have ♥s, the ♥ bid just might inhibit a ♥ lead.

Bid what you are likely to make. You have a 4 loser hand and it's reasonable to expect at least 1 useful card from partner. So bid 4 ♠.

6 ♠ -- you have 5 cover cards for partner's expected 5 cards outside the ♠ suit.

A clear pass. Not nearly enough for 3 ♥ and I'm playing disciplined weak 2s in 1st and 2nd seat.

At IMPs, it is important to contest for partscores when the hands are right. If you can push the opponents up a level and set the contract while your partners are making 1 level lower, you'll get some tidy 6-7 IMP swings that are crucial to good IMP performance. And occasionally, you will steal a partscore contract while partners are also making one. However, your willingness to compete has to be tempered by whether your hand has values or features (shortness, extra trump, etc.) that are likely to be valuable if you go up another level. Those values/features help protect you against being set too badly. If your values are non-descript as with this hand, then you are usually better off passing. Often hands like this one end up with the same result at both tables. Sometimes, you'll lose a small swing, but by passing you may eliminate putting a -300 or -500 on the table.

At MPs, I'm bidding 2 NT (unusual). I'd like ♥ to be better, but you have about the right values (opener) for a VUL unusual NT.

I'm bidding 2 ♦ over 1 ♥ at MPs. Partner can't have many ♥s, so is likely to have a ♦ fit. If new suits are forcing over overcalls, North would bid 2 ♠ so as not to suppress the major. South can bid 2 NT and then whatever North does is right. If new suits are non forcing constructive, then 2 ♥ by North, 2 NT by South and in same situation.

4 ♣ on the way to 4 ♠ seems right. Your 3 card support is OK because if you end up playing in a Moysian (i.e. 4-3) fit, ♥ ruffs, if needed, will be taken in the shorter trump hand.

At IMPS, it's an easy 4 ♥ bid because of the red pockets. Partner has to have either a player in ♥ or a pretty hefty ♥ overcall. You don't want to miss a vulnerable game at IMPS and should bid them aggressively.

With first hand, I would Dbl with the West hand. On most normal hands, where opener bids ♠s, you'll go back to ♦s and partner will know you have a hand not good enough to bid 2 ♦ directly over 1 ♥. In this hand, partner will almost assuredly bid 4 ♠ over 4 ♥ after the negative Dbl. So you are more or less forced to correct to 5 ♦. On the second hand, West in my book has a pass in first seat -- less than 2 QTs so no opener. Over 1 ♥, East passed so is unlikely to have 4 ♠s as no negative Dbl was made. So the 2 ♠ bid shouldn't look particularly attractive to opener. After East passed the first time over 1 ♥, the Dbl of 2 ♣ almost has to be a penalty Dbl. East could have preferenced back to ♦ with a fit there. Without 4 ♠ or a diamond fit, what can East hold other than ♥ and ♣. So, West should sit for 2 ♣ Dbld.

You have a 3 loser hand, so this hand is worth opening 2 ♣ strong. If partner has as little as either the ♠ K or ♦ J and a stiff ♥, you are odds on to make 4 ♥. The problem with opening hands like this 1 ♥ is that you'll never be able to fully describe your hand or convince partner you have as much as you have. That being said, in the auction you did have, you should rebid 3 ♦ to show virtually game going values and force partner to make another call. You'll rebid hearts next.

There's no assurance that 2 ♠ will go down if you Dbl it. You have a lousy 8 HCP opposite about maybe an average 13-14 HCP. Also, you know that the opponents have at least a 7 card fit. So pass the 2 ♠ bid. Now if partner reopens with a Dbl showing extra values, you can convert to a penalty double. In this hand, partner is likely to reopen with a 3 ♦ bid and you will be delighted.

I'm bidding 2 ♦. It's often right that partner with a trump stack behind overcaller needs a trump lead though the long suit to prevent an endplay and defeat the contract. I can't provide that, so defensive prospects are somewhat diminished.

If you are playing splinters than it definitely should be a splinter. If you aren't playing splinters, then it should be a preempt showing 7 or 8 ♠s. The weak jump shift bid would be 2 ♠.

Who does this hand belong to? Opener has maybe 9 or 10 HCP, responder's hand HCPs are unknown but normally responder will have 3 ♥ marking partner with at least 4 ♥s. Responder can still have a fairly good hand -- up to a decent 11 or 12. So there's no guarantee that the hand belongs to your side. So if the hand is passed back to partner, there's still a chance partner can choke out a reopening Dbl with a decent hand. But with partner probably holding 4 ♥s, what suit is partner's hand likely to be short in? ♠s. So I pass and bid 3 ♠ after a reopening Dbl.

4 ♥ describes your hand and you even have a good pass if partner bids 4 ♠. Ken -- opener may be handcuffed from bidding 3 ♣ because of the minimum nature of the opening hand. Part of it may be the agreement for the requirements for opener bidding a new suit over a 2/1 response. Many people have their own little slant on what those requirements are. I've played "stone age" 2/1 for years where a simple major rebid shows a minimum hand and any other bid shows extras -- values and/or distribution. Under that scenario, if opener held something like ♠ AQxxx ♥ Ax ♦ x ♣ Q10xxx, it's right to bid 2 ♠ because the ♣s are not very good. If opener held ♠ AQxxx ♥ xx ♦ x ♣ AQ10xx, now 3 ♣ may be bid as a start to showing the distribution of the hand. Later in the auction, if responder discerns that the 3 ♣ bid was made on distribution and not extra HCP, responder will a pretty good idea of what to expect from the opening hand which can aid in making correct bidding decisions.

If by 2/1 almost game forcing you mean 2/1 game forcing except when responder rebids the 2/1 suit, then I vote for 3 ♦ after the 2 ♥ rebid. Every time 2/1 responder bids a new suit, it shows added values for responder's hand. So 3 ♦ is a very descriptive bid. Additionally, it may bring a ♦ fit to light.

Double in tempo. At IMPs, it's better to take the sure positive than speculate on a slam.

At IMPs, this is an easy 4 ♠ bid. You can't tell who'll make what. But you don't to be in the position where they are making 4 ♥ and your side is making 4 ♠. Partner should have at least 3 ♣s along with 4 ♠s, so it looks like your side has the black suits and opponents the reds. Bidding 4 ♠ also puts some pressure on opener because of the uncertainty of whether you're sacrificing or bidding to make.

This is one of those hands where 1 ♠ by East is right at MPs. Yeah, it is an ugly suit, but if you catch partner with 3 decent ♠s and a smattering of other points the hand may be making 2 or 3 on a partscore hand. At IMPs, the East is a pass.

♥ K would be my almost automatic lead. Other than the negative double there's no indication in the auction that a crossruff exists.

I think you scoped it out well. Partner does sound like he might hold 16-17 with bad ♣s or what he actually held -- reasonably good ♣s and about 15. In either case, the stiff ♣ J is a negative even though you hold 16 HCP.

I don't think this hand should ever be opened 1 ♦. The hand has a perfectly rebiddable ♣ suit, so there's no need to start with those trashy ♦s. The only time it's right to open a 4 card ♦ suit instead of a 5 card ♣ suit with a minimum hand is where the ♣ are not rebiddable -- something like ♠ AQx ♥ x ♦ AKQx ♣ 10xxxx. Anyhow, 4 NT directly after a NT bid should be quantitative.