Lord Molyb

If he draws all of his trumps from the top he'll lose a trump, a ruff, and eventually 4 hearts, so down 5. If trumps were 4-1 he'd make 6 with his stated line.

sorry I thought he opened 1♦ I'm glad that my reading mistakes did not cost us matchpoints. /ruefulrabbit

you have no reason to bid. If partner has 4 spades surely he'll compete to the 2 level. PASS

[hv=pc=n&n=s82hj2dakqt983c54&d=s&v=e&b=3&a=4hp]133|200[/hv] Do you bid or pass? If you bid, do you raise partner's hearts or bid diamonds?

I'm sure there were lots of simulations where any diamond lead would be equally good (bad?), so it picked a random one. :ph34r: Nah, just kidding.

fixed, didn't read play thoroughly

That's over 1NT, 'slam interest' meaning that slam is possible if opener has a maximum.

It thought you had just a 2 low clubs left since you opened 1NT with 20 points and had already turned up with 5 diamonds and 17 HCP. Basically, you confused it.

no and probably not I'm assuming a 'mediocre field' is about my skill level.

if we insist on a 4321 system we could just make the new card 11, between 10 and jack.

[hv=pc=n&s=sXkth87dkqjt3caq94&w=s987643ht94d76542c&n=saj52hkq6d98cXkj65&e=sqhXaj532dXact8732]399|300[/hv] Let the x's be the new card higher than ace. How would you bid these hands? (north dealer) My auction is: 1NT - 2♥ - 3♦ - P 3♠ - P - 4♣ - P 4NT - P - P - P I'm expecting 4NT, 5 of a suit to be game level (maybe 6♣, 6♦?). 1NT is 20-22 (north upgrades his 5-card suit), 2♥ is cappelletti, 3♦ is forcing (lebensohl), and 3♠ shows the four card major. South probes for a better strain in case north has no heart stopper, and north bids the excellent game in no-trump. North takes 4 spades, 1 red-suit trick (endplaying east), and 5 clubs to score his game. Game should be bid in general with 40 points?

I always ask my opponents what the final contract is (or confirm it) after the bidding, even when I'm dummy/declarer. Preferably, quietly enough so people at other tables can't here.

If this was at the club, you probably bid 5♠ :rolleyes: also what the hog said

No they wouldn't.

I miscounted and thought I had 14 points. I actually didn't notice until you pointed it out. PS: the people in this tournament are sometimes pretty awful, one guy got 6 IMPs for opening 1NT on 22 balanced (the field was in 4♠-1 and 1NT was passed out for 10 tricks)

1♦ - 1♥ - X - P 2♣ - P -2♦ - All Pass

I was playing in a robot IMPs duplicate tournament and 5 boards in I was somehow down 15 IMPs, so I needed stuff to happen. Unfortunately, I could not muster a comeback, maybe you could have. Board 6: [hv=pc=n&s=sjt54hakda86cqj93&d=e&v=e&b=6&a=p1n2c(Single-suited)2d(Transfer)p2hp3cp]133|200[/hv] Board 7: [hv=pc=n&s=st763haqt6d85cakq&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=1c1dd3d]133|200[/hv] Board 8: [hv=pc=n&s=sajt7hq5daj9cj873&n=sq5hk83dq32caqt95&d=w&v=0&b=8&a=p1cp6n(%21%21)ppp]266|200[/hv] Since I got both decisions on the previous boards wrong, I took one last shot without knowing if there was a target. Most people were probably in 3NT +2. West leads the 3 of ♠ -Q-K-A. You lead the jack of clubs and west plays the king. What do you do after winning the ace? PS I ended up losing with a score of negative 26.2 IMPs

it is close but I'll pass since I'm practically flat with no spade spots

1NT (2♦) dbl* (2♠) 3♠**- AP *9 HCP, likely stopper in ♠ This bid was made on ♠J6 ♥Q86 ♦AQ53 ♣9763. Since 2♦ shows both majors, shouldn't double show 'stoppers' in both majors? I understand the bid, since the robots play lebensohl. **2-5 ♣, ♦, ♥, ♠, 15-17 HCP, 16-18 Total Points, forcing. I guess this bid was correct, as it was made on ♠AK ♥JT4 ♦T98 ♣AKQ54. I prefer 3NT, though. The problem is, its partner passed the forcing bid!

I'm passing, you have a minimum anyway.

1♠ - 2♣ 2♦ - 2♥ 3♦ - 3♥ 3♠ - 4♦ 4NT - 5♦ 5NT - 6♥ 7♦ I'm assuming 3♥ would be natural. After east shows a 1-4-3-5 hand, west knows there isn't a spade loser and can ask for aces. As for the play, on a heart lead, west wins the queen, plays a club to the ace, finesses the spade cheaply, ruffs a spade, ruffs a club, ruffs a spade, ruffs a club, ruffs a spade, and plays a top heart from dummy. I think there are multiple possible end positions at this point but I'm not very sure. The one I reached was: [hv=pc=n&s=skhdt76c&w=sahdkqjc&n=shtd52ck&e=sha9dcj8]399|300[/hv] West leads the Ace of hearts from dummy and south is caught. If he discards the ♠K then west discards the ♠A and gets his three high trumps. If he instead ruffs, west overruffs and his hand is high. EDIT: fixed diagram I think there are some transportation issues. The 6-2 heart division muddles things up a bit, otherwise it would be very easy.

Update: 1NT - 2NT 3♣ - ? 3NT is 13-15 with 6+ clubs, 4♣ is 11-14 with 6+ clubs, so how does it decide with 13-14?? 5♦ shows biddable diamonds, 6+ clubs and no point range 5♥ through 7NT show just 6+ clubs, except for 7♥ which shows biddable hearts as well. (why isn't 5NT GSF for clubs when it is for diamonds after stayman??) 1NT - 2♠ 2NT 4♥ and 4♠ show 14 cards (4+ clubs, 4+ diamonds, 6+ hearts/spades) plus all the stuff in the original post

those are all natural in a weak nt system, which I currently play. :)

there is a high probability that if partner has his double (which he should), then 1NT is a fine contract, and will get you to the right spot. I wouldn't even consider 2♣.