PhilKing

It's time for the results. I have decided to use aggregate scoring, so you are scoring against each other rather than with the other table. It looks as though anything under -3000 is a cracking total. But first a few awards .... The "4♥ is a transfer to 4♠" award goes to Jinsky and Eagles123. They both stepped into the breach 14 times. Quite remarkable given that the lowest number was 4. Eagles also had the equal fewest passes with gordontd. The "flexible double" award goes to WesleyC, who kept his options open on 12 hands. And the "take a plus" award goes to Remnart, who resisted temptation on 14 hands. Now the scores .... 1. ♠AQT73♥43♦K7♣KQJ2. Pass -650, 4S -100, Dbl -100 The opponents can make 5♥ on a finesse, but in practice they sold to 4♠, and you will get there via an overcall or a double. 2. ♠KQT75♥54♦AKT2♣K5. Pass +50, 4S +450, Dbl +450 Again, either positive action gets you to 4♠, so the passers lose out again. 3. ♠AQJ943♥4♦973♣T94. Pass -650, 4S -1100 In practice, the 4♠ overcall led to -1400 in 5♠, but that's because partner had not bought the best-selling new bridge book "Know your partner's overcall style," and competed over 5♥ with ♠T85♥J92♦KQJ5♣K83. I have credited partner with a pass, but by the same token LHO did not have an automatic 5♥ bid, so I have gone with a compromise score of -1100. 4. ♠KT652♥-♦AK642♣A94. 4S +200, Dbl +200 Whichever action you take, you should go plus against 5♥. 5. ♠Q76♥Q63♦AK84♣AK4. Pass +100, Dbl -200 I think pass is obvious. Your hand screams defence, and you know partner will remove a double. Partner was very suitable: ♠KJT93♥J5♦9♣J8653, SO 4♠ had a play, but defending was right this time. 6. ♠A875♥6♦AKJ74♣K94. Pass -420, Dbl -690 (I am assuming Gnasher's 4S overcall is a typo) Partner had balanced junk on this occasion. 7. ♠653♥QJ3♦AKJT976♣-. Pass +50, 5D +300 Ron Smith passed. It's not clear how well you do if you overcall. Partner has ♠KQT♥2♦Q8432♣A642, but if he has read "Know your partner's overcall style," he will take the money over 5♥. 8. ♠AK74♥AT♦JT5♣AK84. Pass -620, Dbl -200 Taking the money does not work this time. Declarer should make 4♥. In practice it was butchered, but I am not crediting the passers with a plus, since he went down on a somewhat different auction. Double gets you to 4♠ one off. 9. ♠AK953♥K8♦82♣AKT8. Pass -420, 4S +100, Dbl +100 Any positive action pushes them to 5♥ one off. 10. ♠AKJ973♥2♦T742♣J4. Pass -450, 4S -1100 4♠ gets stretchered. I thought I liked overcalling 4♠ as much as anybody before this thread, but I would leave this one alone. We have defence, and you have to respect the vulnerability a bit. 11. ♠A53♥T♦AJT953♣A87. Pass -420, 5D -800, Dbl -800 This looks like a defensive hand. It's possible that double leads to -590, but only if partner stands it with ♠T864♥93♦Q76♣T643. You might end up being brutalised in 4♠. 12. ♠K87432♥-♦A4♣T7643. Pass +50, 4S +420 4♠ was an extremely popular choice amogst the quizzers, and Versace also chose that action at the table. 13. ♠AK864♥Q72♦A72♣43. Pass +100, 4S -100 You catch partner with five spades and a few bits and pieces, yet bidding was still wrong. They could have made 4♥, but with no real clues, declarer wandered a couple off. 14. ♠AQJ72♥Q♦T2♣86543. Pass -450, 4S -100 The points go to the brave here. Trendafilov passed at the table. 15. ♠KQ9874♥8♦J6♣AK75. 4S -800 The better your hand, the worse the dummy will be. :( 16. ♠KT9♥-♦Q9754♣AK764. Pass -420, 4NT +50, Dbl +450 I have sympathy for the 4NT bidders. Double works because partner has five spades and a hand that might of overcalled. The oppo ended up letting through 5♠ on a misdefence. 17. ♠AQJ9542♥T3♦T98♣2. Pass -650, 4S -500 The overcall wins a few imps. It looks pretty borderline to me. 18. ♠AJ943♥42♦AKJ6♣Q4. Pass -420, 4S -200, Dbl -590 Both tables doubled and conceded 590. I think the 4♠ overcallers would have done very well. Although it could be double for two down, I don't think it would. 19. ♠KQ74♥4♦63♣AKT976. Pass -650, 4S -500, 5C -500, Dbl -100 Double gets you to 4♠ one off, but comes with risks of its own. I presume all the 4♠ overcallers plan on running to 5♣, and that goes for 500 because spades are 4-1. 20. ♠AK943♥K2♦JT9842♣-. Pass +100, 4S +500, Dbl +300 After a 4♠ overcall, a wild auction in which both sides diagnosed a double fit ended in 7♣X down three despite 4♠ being the limit. Four hearts is down two on club ruffs. 21. ♠KT743♥J♦QT♣AQJ84. Pass -420, 4S -200, Dbl -200 Helgemo passed. In another match Fitzgibbon doubled and got to 4♠. 22. ♠AK732♥Q♦75♣AKT98. Dbl +100, 4S -200 You go plus if you double, but at the colours I think 4♠ is right. Levin overcalled 4♠, but ran to 5♣ when it went p-p-x, so shelled out 500. 23. ♠AT72♥2♦KQ6♣KQT63. Pass +50, Dbl +300 Double looks clear, because you have quite a lot of offensive potential, and there is usually more to gain than lose. 4♠ was booked to fail, but the opponents misjudged at multiple tables and went on to 5♥.

For me, this sequence shows, of all things, a good hand with hearts, diamonds and a control in spades. The point is that 4♦ over 3♠ should be non-forcing. It's quite common to reason that 4♦ should be forcing, since we should not try to land on a pinhead, but I do not buy that - my 4♦ bid will often be a stretch, so partner is free to pass.

I agree with Cherdano, although I am unclear whether he agrees with himself. It's time for a slowplay of 5♣. Maybe we will get doubled in this, and maybe I will get doubled in 6♣. The point is, I don't think 5♣ will end the auction, so it's a great spot to go slow. Walkies!

The results are really interesting. There is a huge diversity in approach - way bigger than I anticipated. Thanks to all the respondents. I will publish the results on Monday.

OP adjusted - an L indicates limited system. The players concerned generally have no qualms about raising directly to game with decent, but not great hands. The biggest difference is that they are prone to bidding game with 3 trumps and a singleton with medium strength hands.

Red = we are they aren't Amber = both vul White = love all Green = we aren't they are I will put in extra notes for limited openings.

OK. Your imp total is -6. That's not necessarily bad - teammates had quite a few unsaveable boards. We shall see.

OK, so those pesky opponents have dared to open the bidding and raise to game. Well, are you going to bid, or are you too scared of going for a number? All hands are from top-level play.If the hand has an L after it, the opening was limited, which means the raise might not be preemptive. 1. ♠AQT73♥43♦K7♣KQJ2, amber. L. 2. ♠KQT75♥54♦AKT2♣K5, white. 3. ♠AQJ943♥4♦973♣T94, amber. 4. ♠KT652♥-♦AK642♣A94, amber. 5. ♠Q76♥Q63♦AK84♣AK4, red. 6. ♠A875♥6♦AKJ74♣K94, white. L. 7. ♠653♥QJ3♦AKJT976♣-, white. 8. ♠AK74♥AT♦JT5♣AK84, amber. L. 9. ♠AK953♥K8♦82♣AKT8, red. 10. ♠AKJ973♥2♦T742♣J4, red. 11. ♠A53♥T♦AJT953♣A87, white. 12. ♠K87432♥-♦A4♣T7643, white. L. 13. ♠AK864♥Q72♦A72♣43, white. L. 14. ♠AQJ72♥Q♦T2♣86543, white. 15. ♠KQ9874♥8♦J6♣AK75, amber. L. 16. ♠KT9♥-♦Q9754♣AK764, white. 17 ♠AQJ9542♥T3♦T98♣2, amber. 18. ♠AJ943♥42♦AKJ6♣Q4, red. 19. ♠KQ74♥4♦63♣AKT976, green. L. 20. ♠AK943♥K2♦JT9842♣-, red. L. 21. ♠KT743♥J♦QT♣AQJ84, red. 22. ♠AK732♥Q♦75♣AKT98, red. 23. ♠AT72♥2♦KQ6♣KQT63, red. Good luck!

Sorry, I never gave the answers. 1. A fiasco. The 2♥ opener forgets to double 4♠ with: ♠87632♥KQT98♦K♣T5. But that's OK, because our partner doubles 5♥ for no particular reason on ♠T4♥Q98764♦♣A87. -850. 2. 4♠ bid and made - they are not cheap in 5♥. 3. You escape for -100 in 4♠X on soft defence. 4♥ is cold. 4. You get whacked for -200, but again 4♥ is cold.

This has been worrying me. I have a friend who has a much larger database than I (though including hands from a less exalted level), and he alleges that it is optimal to play a more take-out oriented style at this particular vulnerability. This is based on his collected stats (mine does not work that way - once I hone in on a particular sequence, I go through the deals by hand), but I guess the rationale is that they tend to be stronger for 4♠ at red, and our saves are way more profitable. Anyway, I have enough data now to do a meaningful search on this topic, but it will have to wait a few months.

How did 7♥ make? There appears to be 12 tricks: 2 spades, 5 hearts, 3 diamonds and 2 clubs. And FWIW I agree with Mikeh about the nature of a double of 4♠ and would pass with the companion hand. This approach does not always work, of course, but it helps having a database of all 4♠ openings from the top events so that I can see which approach works most often. B-)

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FWIW, none of the solutions recommending a 3♠ raise are consistent with KS. KS uses a stronger than normal raise to 2M - it shows either an unbalanced hand with four trumps or a strong no trump with 4 trumps, so 3♠ show a much better hand. As MikeH says, a decent relay over 2♠ can identify the heart shortage in time to make bidding slam realistic, or as Cyberyeti implied, we can use 3♦ as a natural slam try.

If you are playing KS, I think there is a much better use for the jump to 3♦. Play it as showing (17)18-19 balanced with 4-card support. Regardless of this, I think playing minisplinters is a mistake, since it leaks more information than it is worth. Once you switch to this treatment, the direct raise to three can show an unbalanced raise with real clubs. Over that you should play step one as asking for a shortage and other bids to show a shortage (eg 1♣-1♥-3♥-3NT would show a SPADE shortage). Back to the actual hand, I agree you are just worth a raise to Two, which is typically stronger than normal in KS. However, if you think about it, the South hand is worth a relay, but you still have no clear solution. Over 2NT, North jumps to 4♥, and South does not have security to go past game.

FWIW I don't think there are many hands that pass 1♥ and then double 2♦. The delayed sequence should guarantee 4H and decent values, since this is not a protective sequence where we should act light. A 4414 12 count is a decent starting point. Anyway, on this hand we would welcome protection over 2♦, since we can now bid 3♦ and show both our strength and lack of controls.

Looks like the bidders were right - surely the oppo will now bid to Seven one down. :angry:

I generally lead the spade ace in this type of situation. The easiest way to set it is to find pard with a stiff spade, and depending on what comes down in dummy, I will go with that plan.

Lot's of pros guarantee a happy ending, but they are seldom bridge players. B-)

I think you mean the summer month - I am from England.

We know that if partner has the spades he has a very bad hand. This is not the case for RHO - he could have spades and a reasonable hand. ♠KTxxx ♥Axx ♦x ♣xxxx opposite: ♠AQxx ♥xx ♦AKxxxxx ♣- And we reopen them into a grand slam. The bottom line is that I just don't think we will show a profit here by reopening when we have no defence to an alternative higher-scoring strain. Nothing is impossible, but bidding hearts, catching a fit and the weather turning out sunny seems distinctly unlikely.

But nobody interpretted your double as asking for a spade lead. :(

I have almost the opposite view - if it is reasonable to pass them out in 1m, I will do so. On this hand, it is blindingly obvious they have a better spot. Who do you think has the spades, partner? I think we should try and get most of our edge from bidding and playing differently from the field.

I like to play the following (and various similar auctions) as NF: 1♠-2♥-2♠-3♣-3♠ 1♠-2♣-2♥-3♣-3♥-4♣ In the second auction, responder has ♠xx ♥Kx ♦Qx ♣AKJTxxx or similar. Obviously, it does not have to end the auction. The "rule" is that someone bids a suit 3 times and neither player has bid 2NT.

I had this had a similar one in the Tolle Final last year and doubled the final contract with two cashing spades - the point was losers in dummy's suit could not be disappearing and clubs is the default lead. Needless to say, partner did not see it that way. And I might be being a bit thick, but I don't see how -1010 was an excellent board.

Not much, but almost anything else is better (eg ROPE as mentioned). My preference is for natural - redouble to play, pass neutral (but bad), others unchanged.