PhilKing

Is this an infomercial for the 2♦ relay?

I might be being a bit thick, but if this hand is so awkward for a 1♦ opening, then why not open 2♣? Some of us have a rebid after 1♦ that caters for the game forcing one-suiter, but even with that agreement, this hand looks a bit too strong. Sure we will sometimes get to 5♦ going off, but if partner has rubbish with no spade stop, then it probably wasn't our hand.

There is a lot of really impressive hand evaluation in this thread. Game is excellent opposite some pretty ordinary minimums, eg: ♠x ♥Kxx ♦Axxxx ♣KQxx Partner will be wowed by your judgement when 12 tricks roll in. And game is virtually solid opposite a monster such as: ♠x ♥xxx ♦AQxxx ♣KQJx It's not exactly farfetched to assume partner is suitable, since he is pretty likely to have a stiff spade if you think about it. Hands such as: ♠Kx ♥Qx ♦Axxxx ♣KJxx will generally just rebid 1NT, and with a 3154 minimum, partner raises spades. Give partner an extra length card somewhere and game will generally be better still. ♠x ♥Kx ♦AJ98x♣KJxxx. And if anyone cares whether these are just constructions off the top of my head, they are not. They all occurred in the FIRST TEN HANDS of a short simulation on the playbridge generator. It's a clear game force imo, and then there is no need to double-cross partner later.

Double.

After, say 1♦-(1♠) responder can compete pretty aggressively in diamonds when the balanced option is very strong - 3 card support is certainly enough at the two level. When they come in over 1♣ things are much worse, but at least we have only one balanced range to worry about. In MickyB's system, the situation is reversed.

This is what I knocked up for Townsend/Sandqvist. Over (3C)-3NT: 4C Enquiry (mild try or slam force) 4D Puppet to 4H (then 4S/5D to play, 4NT ace ask) 4H/S/5D Invitational 4NT Strong invitation (accept with 17) After (3C)-3N-4C: 4D 18+ (forcing to 4NT) 4H/S/NT 15-17 5D Nat Over (3D)-3NT: 4C Enquiry (mild try or slam force) 4D Puppet to 4H (then 4S/5C to play, 4NT ace ask) 4H/S/5C Invitational 4NT Strong invitation (accept with 17) After (3D)-3N-4C: 4D 18+ (forcing to 4NT) 4H/S/NT 15-17 5C/D Nat Over (3H)-3NT: 4C Enquiry (mild try or slam force) 4D Puppet to 4S (then 4S/5m/¨ to play, 4NT ace ask) Can “break” to 4H to show a monster 4H 2-suiter, inv+ 4S/5m Invitational 4NT Strong invitation (accept with 17) After (3H)-3N-4C: 4D 18+ (forcing to 4NT) 4S/NT 15-17 4H some sort of bridge bid 5m Nat Over (3S)-3NT: Mostly same 4S 2-suiter 4C then 4S bridge bid - maybe 3 suited

OK. Go to this link (this applies to everyone). http://justinlall.com/2011/08/30/a-good-convention/

Yes, I play 3♣ direct as invitational. With a club hand still worth a force after a reverse, responder bids a forcing 2NT with the decent club hand. Whether one wants to use the "good" 2NT after 1M-X-2M is a separate topic. The answer is probably yes, but I don't do so at present. After 1♦-1NT-2♥-2♠(medium), opener can bid 3♣ as a puppet to 3♦, and use 3♦ as a forcing 46, and you get a few extra sequences after the 3♣ puppet. So one can even stop in 3♥ with a moderate 56 red hand opposite trash. Are you sure you know the JLall puppet? :blink:

If West decides to lead a trump he should lead an honour.

One solution is to use the "good" 2NT. 2NT = art and GF. Opener just patterns out over this. 3♣/♦ = weak 3♥♠ max with diamond fit, values in bid suit and weak clubs The advantage of playing 3♣ direct as weak is when opener has a fit for clubs. This is more important after 1♥-1NT-2♠ where there are two unbid minors. There is one more spare bid: 2♠ = in between hand - you can just play that opener bids naturally after this - 2NT and 3♦ NF, everthing else patterning out and forcing. You can also use the JLall puppet principle here if you want.

Chance of clubs 5-1 trumps everything. If you play the jack, you can go off when trumps are 2-2. :ph34r: So ace is definitely best.

It really depends whether you think RHO is more likely to play the T or the 9 from HT9. Since declarer's hand is closed and the suit combination is not that well known, I will play the ♦J if East follows with the ten and the ♦A if he follows with the nine.

West might have led a spade if the diamond finesse were winning, with or without the ace (he is not clairvoyant). Besides, you have taken my "conclusion" out of context, which was in reply to the post excluding stiff king onside from the equation.

I just mean that the finesse is slightly worse than 50% - I was not comparing the two lines. They are probably close enough that you need to be at the table to decide whether to try the combo play.

That's partly balanced by West not showing out. The finesse is slightly odds against. And it's worst against a very weak defender, who might cover the ♦J with KTx.

Double then 2♠ should be 5413 good or similar, I think. We don't need it for the spade one suiters - they either overcall immediately, pass then overcall, or pass then double then bid 2♠ in progressive order of strength.

I just threw up in my mouth.

Missed the ten.

It's a phantom endplay. West simply exits with a diamond. Sure, you can discard a spade from dummy and ruff in hand, but you have nothing resembling ten tricks.

I'm pretty sure a poll for how it should have gone would opt for p-p-x by a landslide.

Anything could be right, and against some opponents I would bid 5NT. But against myself I think the percentage action is to pass.

Versace overlooked the 2 for 1 deal on Pina Coladas that ran from 7-9pm.

It's probably off on three rounds of spades. You might guess to ruff high and play South for a stiff honour in hearts.

Nice spoiler. [hv=pc=n&s=s974htdqtcqj85432&w=sthk964dkj863ckt9&n=sk52haqj872d9752c&e=saqj863h53da4ca76&d=s&v=e&b=3&a=3cp4h4sppp]399|300[/hv] Muller/De Wijs were North South versus the Madsen brothers. 4♠ went two down. 4♥ would possibly go 5 down. The auction looks crazy but it gave East an insoluble problem. The "cold" 3NT was reached in the other room. However, since you don't rate to make 3♣, you may as well jump to 4♥ and give them a real headache (it's not as if you can get to 3♥). The set-up in the original hand in this thread is not identical, but some of the principles can be applied. On the original hand it's really difficult for them to nail us in 4♠ - after all double would usually be for take-out. If we catch them with a hand that would have overcalled 3NT (which would presumably make quite a decent amount of the time), they are more or less stuck, and if they stick out their neck with a 5♣ overcall, or gulp, 5♥ we will be delighted. Randoms probably can double you in 4M, but more cultured players usually can't, so you should choose your opponents carefully when trying this sort of thing. And if you play against the Dutch, remember to play double as strong balanced here.

I would jump to 4♠ immediately. I don't expect this to receive overwhelming support, but I will wait to be flamed before justifying my stance.