FelicityR

'Dies in Office [naturally]' or 'Assassinated' should be in two separate categories. There's plenty of people in this world, beyond ISIS or North Korea, who'd happily pull the trigger. Not that I agree with violence, but he's hardly an asset to your great American nation.

I read somewhere, a long time ago, that grand slams should be bid on a 75%+ basis. Though if you bid a grand on a 4-4 fit, you deserve the trumps to behave.

Everybody? I've seen players - yes, admittedly very bad - not touch trumps and try to get rid of their losers on high cards outside the trump suit. I think it's fair to give credit where credit's due that a young teenager who is learning bridge found the right play. Well done your niece!

Brussel Sprouts are a very undervalued vegetable and they are so good for you! I serve sprouts with lamb's liver and bacon, with swede and potato mash, tenderstem broccoli, making an onion gravy using the liver blood. Liver and bacon is a traditional British dish. Another traditional use for sprouts in England is called Bubble and Squeak, where cooked sprouts are mixed with mashed potato and other cooked vegetables (peas, cabbage, swede, carrots) and shallow fried, but I prefer heating in microwave and then quickly dry frying with a small amount of oil to get a crispy outside and a piping hot core. When I have time I will give your recipe a go, too.

One rule I was taught by my late bridge teacher - a Life Master - many years ago is never try to balance at the three level with a balanced hand (4333 4432) even if your hand is near an opening bid. This was said in reference to a weak two opening raised to the three level pre-emptively. Given that you are vulnerable and the opponents are too, and it is a second hand pre-empt, and that some opponents will not make a barrage raise to four clubs with a desired hand, it's an easy pass for me.

From TripAdvisor. Restaurants. Indonesian. Amsterdam. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g188590-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html Go to 'Cuisines & Dishes' (Left side of page) select 'More' select 'Indonesian' Read the reviews. Enjoy :)

Opponents have bid a confident 4♠ vulnerable so expect to make it. At this vulnerability. as an opponent, I would be scared to sacrifice. You know partner will have a minimum of four card ♥ support, more likely five, so chances are one opponent will be void. You know partner won't have much in the way of defensive tricks as he bid 4♥ direct. I agree with nige1 suggestion of 5♦, a cue/lead directional bid. You expect to make 5♥ but there is not any guarantee 4♠ is down. [You have no clue of knowing that partner has QTx in spades]

There are so many different hands where either 2♠ or 4♣ or 4♥ could be the right bid I am unsure you could choose between them. It all depends on what happens next. I do like 2♠ as it possibly provides time to explore, but I don't like it as it also gives the opponents time to discover their possible fits. I do like 4♣ as it is a splinter, but I don't like it as the hand leans towards pre-emptive values than control-based values. I do like 4♥ as the bid is pre-emptive, but I don't like it as the hand is too strong for a pre-empt. At this vulnerability I prefer 4♥ and be prepared to bid 5♣ over their presumed 4♠ bid. But which way the bidding goes after a 4♥ bid is anyone's guess.

Congratulations and well done :)

If partner had a hand where he had sufficient points to reverse, surely he would have opened 1NT or indicated that on the second round over the 2♣ overcall, not by just giving simple preference to a major at the two level?

90% of the time the lower suit, hearts. It allows you to escape to spades a level lower if the opponents double for penalty. However, if the suit quality was AKQx against xxxx I would bid the stronger suit.

You won't get many friends by pretending to be the respected English international Andrew Robson, using his name fictitiously and his actual photo (!!!) while playing in the Acol Room as you have done in the past. I reported you to BBO for using this fake profile. Thank goodness you now have been forced to change it and that Mr Robson's photo has been removed. A number of players in the Acol Room were understandably concerned at your antics, and whilst you may have thought it was funny, we saw it differently. If you do it again I will ask BBO to ban you, and I will also fire off an e-mail to Mr Robson at his club to make him aware of what you are doing too.

As others have said, there is no right of bidding this hand. I have looked on Wikipedia and the odds of holding a 10-2-1-0 hand is 0.000011 that means the odds are 1 in 90,909 of holding this shape in the first instance, and as there are four positions at the table I guess that then holding it in first position equates to 1 in 363,636. Personally I'd rather concentrate on the 363,635 hands that are less freakily-shaped. As for holding a solid suit headed by AKQ, I'd let the professor-level statisticians advise you of the correct odds specifically for this hand. By the way, I'd open 4♥ and be prepared to bid again even though pre-empting and bidding again is anathema: on this hand it warrants it.

The forum poster wants a partner to play the conventions listed, not to have some analysis of whether they are right or wrong. I would be happy to play with any partner who listed his/her conventions on his profile like this. You even say on your own profile, spotlight7, that "I will play your profile". I wonder how you would cope with a Chinese player advertising Precision or Fantunes, or an older Italian player offering Neapolitan Club?

I've never heard of Key Card Blackwood either. That's probably owing to it being inferior to Roman Key Card Blackwood. If your partner is a novice at bidding but a better player of hands, surely it's better to introduce him to RKCB to help him than to resort to a halfway house of a lesser-known convention that is rarely used? It's not as if RKCB is difficult.

in 4th position, and with a passed partner, and no agreements on the range of a 2NT bid in the balancing position, I would double. 2NT could get us in a right mess, and the suit doesn't look good enough to bid 3♥. If partner bids 3♥ in response to the double, it's a close thing whether to raise to 4♥, I feel - depends how I am feeling on the day.

I take on board what you say - yes, I'm no expert in detailed bidding - but that South hand comes out at 23 (Kaplan and Rubens), and 9 and a half playing tricks too, on my computer Bridge evaluator. After North bids the fourth suit, and then supports ♦, I can hardly see many Souths shying away from a slam. Yes, partner may have a queen high ♥ suit, but the odds favour a higher honour: it might require a finesse or guess to make the small slam, but that is how I bid: devil may care!

1♦ - 1♥ - 2♠ - 3♣ - 3♥ - 5♦, and either 5♠ - 6♦ or 6♦ direct or 5NT - 6♦

It's an interesting scenario, but perhaps just as fascinating, in my personal view, if North doesn't remove the double of 1NT to 2♣. What is East's action then? I recognise that it has to be ruled by the Director as it stands, but West at these colours surely would never have doubled if his partner had not hesitated. In my view - just a personal opinion - North should be awarded 1NT as bid and made, not a minus score. In that way the opponents are fully penalised for their indiscretion.

Agree entirely with the two previous posters, open 1♥ and rebid 2♠ followed by 3♠. You have described your 6-5 hand perfectly.

What do you do now? Answer: Absolutely nothing at rubber bridge with a game against you and 60. Let it go.

Not as far as I'm aware, but (as far as I am aware, please correct me if i'm wrong) there is only one scenario where the 4th suit is not forcing to game: the auction 1♣ - 1♦ - 1♥ - 1♠, and on this occasion the 1♠ bid is an actual suit.

I'm no expert but the only inference I can surmise that if LHO has all 4 trumps (as per the spoiler) and the ♦A, he (or 'it' being a robot) would have led the ♦A against the small slam, knowing that an experienced South wouldn't have employed Blackwood with a void in his hand, and North could have splintered with a void/singleton instead of bidding 4♥. To lead an unbid suit, to me, suggests that East holds both the ♠Q and ♦A. p.s. I have no idea how artificial intelligence thinks but that is how I think (rightly or wrongly).

My view (rightly or wrongly) is that it is better to emphasis your shape to FSF if the stop isn't a three card suit to an honour (AKQ). There are two important things to realise with FSF: A) it is nowadays unconditionally game forcing, and, B) responder might have an actual 4th suit, but requires other information to judge where the best contract lies. Emphasising your shape then bidding 3NT should say 'This is what my hand shape is like but I have a stop of sorts but it's either a singleton ace or doubleton king 1) 2♠ simple 3 card preference 2) 2♥ rebid good ♥ suit 3) 3♥ showing 5-5 shape 4) 3♣ showing 5-5 shape

I agree it's not easy to bid, perhaps double (negative) followed by 5♥ would get the message across - very good hand but with two ♠ losers. Doubling and bidding 4♦ or bidding 4♦ direct would probably lead to partner raising to 5♦ and you would not be any wiser, I feel. Obviously a hand that needs clear cut partnership agreements what specific bids mean in these circumstances.