silvr bull

Sorry. I showed the wrong vulnerability the first time. This is correct: [hv=pc=n&n=skqjt96ht7daqj4c8&d=e&v=e&b=6&a=pp3d3s4dpp]133|200[/hv] Playing with a good partner, but against random BBO opponents who are strangers to each other and who have not discussed any conventional meanings. Feel free to criticize the 3♠ call if you like, but the question I want to focus on is whether or not North should double 4♦. It is obvious that partner holds few (if any) ♦. He probably does have some tickets here, but he showed no interest in supporting ♠. I think it is safe to assume that partner holds lots of ♥ and ♣. Even if I could employ the old beginners style to better communicate the hand by standing up and shouting "I DOUBLE YOU!!!" :D, it isn't clear that partner will be able to pass the double. Should North pass softly here in hopes of collecting a substantial undoubled penalty from vulnerable opponents?

[hv=pc=n&w=sak643haqj4djt3c7&e=sq8752h96dak4ca86&d=w&v=b&b=4&a=1sp2n(GF%20in%20Spades)p3hp4cp4sppp]266|200[/hv] Should east or west (or both) bid more strongly to get to 6♠?

I would not pass this hand, but 3NT is too unilateral for me, so double is my choice. Our best shot at game is if partner has a hand that lets him jump to 4♠. Even without that hand, he may hold a weak 5 or 6 card minor that would be useless at NT but would have a fair play for a plus at the 4 level.

This is my view too, and I want to take the action that will most likely keep the bidding at the 3 level. If I pass 2♠ and LHO raises to 3♠, that will invite his partner to advance to 4. My choice is to bid 3♦, so a 3♠ call by LHO will be seen as competing rather than invitational.

I call 5♣, and I expect partner to be confused about what I have. After he bids 5♦ or 5♥ or 5♠, however, I will bid 6♠ and hopefully that will give the right message to partner: I am willing to force the hand to slam if partner holds nothing more than 4 small ♠, so having the "extras" of the ♠Q (or a 5th ♠) and the ♥Q (or a doubleton ♥) may be enough to push him to bid 7. I will be prepared to apologize if partner bids 7 holding ♠Qxxxx ♥Txx ♦QJxx ♣x and he cannot pick up the ♥ suit with no losers.

[hv=pc=n&w=sqj7432htdq2cqj64&d=e&v=n&b=2&a=1d2c]133|200[/hv] What is your choice with the west hand after east opens 1♦ and south overcalls 2♣? I can see arguments for pass (and hope I can bid ♠ later), or double (and hope partner doesn't get too excited in ♥), or 2♠ (and hope partner doesn't drive the bid too high because of the hand strength I promised but do not have). I might not have posted this, but the comment below (from another thread) prompted me to ask about this recent problem which resulted from a 2♣ overcall.

I think either of the black tens has more offensive playing strength (but obviously less defense) than a red queen, and I would not be embarrassed to open this 1♠, but I chose 2♠ instead. My view is that there is value in limiting my hand at the earliest convenient spot in an auction. If I open 1♠ here, I will need to focus my remaining bids on slowing partner down so we do not get too high. By opening 2♠, in contrast, I have extras that will allow me to bid more aggressively later.

LOL. I will try to have a more challenging problem in my next post like this. :rolleyes: I just thought this hand was interesting because the defense is so often focused on preventing declarer from ruffing in dummy, but this hand is just the opposite. After the defense wins the first two ♣ tricks, they can see the danger in the ♥ suit. The only way to prevent declarer from setting up and running the ♥s is to play two rounds of ♦ to tap dummy. But then, of course, declarer can lead to the ♥A and ruff his last ♦ before drawing trump.

[hv=pc=n&s=s97ht8dkj97caq653&w=sakt432ha9d852ct2&n=sj8hkq7daq643cj94&e=sq65hj65432dtck87&d=e&v=n&b=2&a=pp1s2d2s3dpp3hp3sppp]399|300[/hv] I am east in this deal, and I welcome any comments about my questionable 3♥ call. West declares 3♠. If you get to choose the opening lead, the best defense, and the best declarer play, will N-S or E-W get a plus score?

[hv=pc=n&e=sa864hqj84daj7ct9&d=s&v=n&b=15&a=1d2cp]133|200[/hv] Playing with a good partner against random BBO opponents. The poll above is for your first bid with the east hand. If you bid 2♦ or 2♥ or 2♠ or 2NT, and if partner then rebids 3♣, what do you do next?

The south hand looks picture perfect for playing inverted minor raises, so that the raise to 2♦ shows the ♦ fit and a strong hand. After partner responds with the expected 2♥ or 2♦, I can bid my ♠ suit at the 2 level. My later 3NT call should give partner a very good view of my hand pattern and strength. If north does not move toward a ♦ slam, I would not worry about missing one.

No double from me. At this vulnerability, a double could encourage partner to overvalue his ♠Txxxxx and bounce in at 4♠ before I get to mention my ♦ suit. It is difficult enough to bid out a hand with 6-4 minors without exciting partner in ♠ to make the task more difficult. I vote for a wimpy 2♦ at my first call, followed by a stronger 4♦ at my next turn. If they compete to 4♥, then I bid 5♣ to give partner a good view of my pattern and strength.

On the first hand, I lead a low ♥ (to partner's hoped for ♥Ax or ♥Jxx), because: My understanding of the lead directing double against NT (as best I remember it from decades ago :( ) is: A) If I bid a suit, lead MY suit. B) If I did not bid, but you did, then lead YOUR suit. C) If neither of us bid, then lead the FIRST suit bid by dummy. Without the double, I expect you to lead the 2nd suit dummy bid unless you have something much better to lead. D) If no suits were bid, then " - it just means "if you pick the right suit we can beat it" and you just take your best guess?" :D I also pass on the second hand, and hope partner (who is not yet a passed hand) can reopen the bidding. It seems too dangerous to step on the tracks in front of a possible locomotive on my left. :(

Few here seem to share my discomfort with double. I did double at the table, but only because the other alternatives seemed to be worse. Double is an invitation for partner to bid ♠, and he accepted that invitation by bidding 2♠. The pain continues. :( What do I do next? If partner holds something like ♠Jxxxx ♥xxx ♦KJx ♣Qx or better, we will have a marginal play for game if I raise. On the other hand, if partner holds ♠xxxx ♥Txxx ♦Qxx ♣Qx or worse, 2♠ could already be too high, so I must pass. The nightmare here is partner could hold ♠Jxx ♥xxxxx ♦Jxx ♣Jx. :o I typed an apology to partner in the chat box before I could see his hand when the opening lead hit the table. :( In retrospect, I think Pass over 2♥ is the best way for us to get to game if we have reasonable prospects for making it. After P 2♥ P P, partner is likely to balance with most hands I can see as having a good play for 4♠ (or possibly even 3NT), and after passing 2♥, I can bid more aggressively in support. I now cast a lonely vote for pass. :unsure: For those who like results, the full hand is below. Partner played better than the opponents defended, and he took 9 tricks. Thanks for all the comments. :) [hv=pc=n&s=skqthk8da92ck8543&w=sj9862h7dkq75cat9&n=sa753ht953dtcqj76&e=s4haqj642dj8643c2&d=n&v=n&b=5&a=p2hdp2sppp]399|300[/hv]

Trump must be 4-1 (or there is no problem) and not 5-0 (or there is no solution ;)) I win the ♦K, cash the three top ♥, cross to the ♦A, and lead a ♣ from dummy. If east plays the ♣Q or the ♣J and my ♣K loses to the A, I later finesse against west's ♣9. Even if west has the ♣A and east plays a low ♣ when I lead from dummy, there is a small hope that the defense might cash two ♣ winners and then lead a ♦. If so, then I can pitch my 3rd ♣ on the ♦Q and ruff a ♣ to set up the ♣T (if ♣ were 3-3). This hand plays much easier if east holds the ♣A. :rolleyes:

Vul vs. not, IMPs. Playing with a good partner, but against random BBO opponents What is your choice for South to bid after a weak two when there is no good bid available?[hv=pc=n&s=skqthk8da92ck8543&d=n&v=n&b=5&a=p2h]133|200[/hv]

It is ALWAYS right to be lucky! :D I think his choice of words was unfortunate, but it is right to play for the drop. After the ♣QKAx fall on the first ♣ trick, the situation is exactly the same as if the original ♣ holding was as shown below: ♣Kxx ♣AJxxxx After playing the ♣K and both follow, do you try to drop the ♣Q or finesse? The odds slightly favor the drop, unless LHO has shown length in a side suit. In this case, RHO has shown the side suit length, so the odds are even higher for the drop.

In a modified K-S structure, we bid inverted minors so our auction would get off to a great start: 1♦ (1NT is 12-14 HCP) 2♦ (strong and forcing. We jump raise with a weak hand and good trump) 2♥ should show the ♥A (or maybe the ♥KQ) because play in 4♥ is unlikely 3♣ 3♠ 4♥ Denies the ♣AK 5♣ Good news because this denies the ♠AK 6♣ Club length? ??? I don't know here if either of us can make the leap to 7D

This is excellent! Thanks!! Giving 2NT a dual use is the best solution I can see with strong two suited hands like this. All the BBO random players I have seen play SAYC strong 1NT (15-17+ HCP). The partnerships who play a weak 1NT (like us) would alert that. I assumed the 1NT was strong, and did not ask, so I presented the same information here that I had at the table.

Not vul and playing with a good partner against vul BBO random opponents, RHO opens 1NT and I hold this: ♠AK7532 ♥ ♦K4 ♣KJ632 What structure or approach or convention would you prefer to show this hand? Double as a first bid to show strength feels risky here. It could then go all pass (they might be able to win my low ♠ lead and then take the next six or more tricks in the red suits), or the opponents might bid ♥ or ♦ to the 3 level before I can begin to show my ♠ suit to partner. My partner and I use Astro (as defined here) to compete with weakish two suited hands after the opponents open 1NT. A "perfect" hand for overcalling after 1NT could be little more than KJxxx in two suits, though one of the suits could be only 4 cards with compensating values in the hand. I wanted partner to know that I have a two suited hand (even though he will not yet know about the shape or playing strength), so I bid 2♦ to show ♠ and a lower suit. Partner bid 2♥ which is a neutral suit negative that denies 3 card ♠ support, but says nothing else about his hand. Then RHO bids 2NT! How would you proceed?

Phil, Thanks for taking the time to draft an excellent summary of the differences between a jump to game versus a splinter. I had the mistaken view that both were similar strength, and that the splinter showed only the additional value of shortness in the indicated suit. This was very helpful to me, and your effort in presenting this clear and compelling summary is much appreciated.

Thanks for the warning, Phil. I will try to be more careful when I use up my “get out of troll” card in my next five posts. :D Excellent point! This is precisely what happened during the auction. My 3♠ call was aggressive. It was almost like I turned on a treadmill and jumped on it with that call. Then partner’s 4♦ call kicked the treadmill speed up to high, and I didn’t know how to get off. The ♣ honors that partner couldn’t be sure I had were like handcuffs that kept me running on the treadmill. If I had this hand to bid over again, I would still force to game, but then partner would have to drag me kicking and screaming to get me past 4♥. I would like to hear any comments on the different connotations of the 3♠ splinter versus an immediate 4♥ call. Beyond the singleton or void shown by the splinter, does one imply more high cards while the other implies more distribution? Does a jump to 4♥ deny holding a singleton or void in ♠ (or in ♣ if I bid 4♣ over 1♠)? Which of the two more strongly suggests slam? On the actual hand with partner holding the ♦A, the 3♠ call helped to relieve the bidding pressure on partner since he can que his ♦A below game, and then happily pass if I had the good sense to stop at 4♥. If I jumped to 4♥ instead, partner would have a concern about having a key card that he had not been able to tell me about yet. Guys (and Gals), I declare a unilateral cease fire on the question of inviting with 3♥ versus forcing to game. Even if I wanted to convince some of you that forcing to game is likely to win more points over the long run, I am unable to do so. I am however, as much a bull about this as I am about the price of silver, so it is time for me to agree to disagree and move on. Thanks. I am happy to have found my way back to a “home” that I left much too long ago. Thanks too for your thoughtful points about inviting versus forcing with my hand. Please help me to understand this one a little better. If I held Ax or Kx of partner’s suit after my RHO splintered in it, I would double that call to tell partner that I am happy for him to lead his suit. My double of the splinter in partner’s bid suit would be lead directing, but it would not indicate a desire or more support for partner to bid higher in that suit. With xxxx in the splintered suit, in contrast, I would not double because I would not want to encourage partner to lead from an ace jack or a king jack high holding. With a suitable hand containing xxxx of partner’s suit, I would raise the suit to show good support, but I would not raise with Ax or Kx until partner has rebid the suit. Is it your view that a double of a splinter in partner’s suit is just a low budget call that shows the same support as raising that suit instead of lead directing?

Thanks for the warm welcome to an obvious forum newby. I learned about the forum a few days ago from BBO, and I first heard about BBO from a friend two months ago. The truth is that I have little confidence in my guesses at modern bridge practices. Other than a few duplicate sessions several years ago, I have not played any bridge for decades before I heard about BBO. It is a major challenge for me to find out what new techniques I need to learn, and what bad old practices I should discard. I sincerely apologize if the tone of my 2nd post upset your tender sensitivity. I hoped my first post would evolve into help with some of the subtleties of slam investigation after I forced to game in ♥. I was absolutely shocked that there was an almost unanimous agreement that my hand should only invite to game. If I held little more than ♥Jxxxx or ♥QJxx (my example was not crafted carefully enough, but thanks, Helene, for the helpful and friendly correction), and the ♣Q or a doubleton ♣, then I would pass the 1♦ opening without another thought. I expected partner’s 1♥ bid (instead of a pass over 1♦) to show more than those example hands that rate to have a good play for 4♥, so forcing the hand to game seemed clear to me before I posted here. Sorry, but it is still not obvious to me that my hand should only invite to game. It is also not obvious to me that I should give LHO an easy opportunity to bid 3♠ when I can prevent that show of support at the 3 level by forcing the hand to 4♥. After partner cooperated with a 4♦ bid, I did ask for aces because I thought slam would be odds on if partner held ♦A and ♥Axxxx or better. Instead, partner held ♠xxx ♥QJ9x ♦Axxx ♣QT. Everyone here will be happy to know that karma prevailed to punish my berserk overbidding with a 5-0 trump split, so 5H doubled was down 2. The full hand is in this link: http://s1308.beta.photobucket.com/user/silver_bull/media/Whatbid001.jpg.html I will try to have a better subject for my next post in the forum. Thanks to everyone for all the replies.

LOL. Maybe I should change my login name to Berserk Bull, or how about Bull in a China Shop? :D I see a consensus that a jump to 3♥ is the best action for the first part. Do all (most?, some?) of you play that jump as forcing? My partnership style plays the jump as invitational. For the others who bid 3♥ as invitational, here is a follow up question. Is partner supposed to bid 4♥ with a hand like xxx Jxxxx Jxx xx, or maybe like xxx Qxxx xxx Qxx? Obviously those hands will not make a great game, but I would rather be in 4♥ than a part score with either of them, and with many more hands that partner will not see any extras over his initial 1♥ bid. If the jump to 3♥ is invitational, how do we get to the close games?

Vul vs. not, you hold: ♠T ♥K754 ♦KQT94 ♣AK8 1st question: In first seat, you open 1♦, partner bids 1♥, and RHO overcalls 1♠. What is your 2nd bid? 2nd question: If you bid 3♠ (which is a splinter by partnership agreement) and partner calls 4♦, what bid do you make next?