PhilG007

On the other hand,snubbing is a two edged sword(!)

Fair enough. But that doesn't stop me from replying to you....as I'm now doing.....

Nope Terence Reese detested these gadgets And he was a big influence on me as a student player.

4♦ Partner is showing a red 2 suiter and is asking for preference so its obvious which suit to support. It's not forcing but game invitational. If partner holds something like ♠5 [hearts KQJ542 ♦ AQJ876 ♣- 5♦ is eminently payable.

I am simply going by the illustrative hand. What you're proposing is hypothetical

♦ 7♦ There are 9 diamond tricks,1 club and the remaining three tricks will come from the major suit AK's. I'm critical of East's 5 diamond opener. He seems to have forgotten that while pre-empting hinders the opponents,it also obstructs partner too. 3diamonds is the correct choice. A typical auction might be 3♦4NT( rkcb agreeing diamonds) 5 ♥(2+QD) 7♦

I said COULD have a yarborough but more likely he could have maybe 8-10 points with no clubs Something like this:-[hv=pc=n&e=skt85hkq86djt765c&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=ppp]133|200[/hv]

Actually,no I didn't Common sense often masquerades as 'nonsense' Its just a question of what you believe in.

I've been in this situation many times. 1Club at both formats is quite sufficient in the meantime. Remember 3 players have already passed so what's the rush(?!) If 3 clubs is meant to be a pre-empt its ridiculous...there's no one left to pre-empt(!) It should also be borne in mind that partner could be sitting with a yarborough which means you still only have 11 points.It's not yet time to get excited (!) 1 club as a 'feeler' bid is the correct and sensible approach.

Doesn't a rebid of 2♥ promise a 6+ suit(?) I only see 5 :(

Assuming you open 1♥ on this hand,what would be your next action(if any) if partner responds 2♦? In answer to the lead post,I would pass this hand and await developments.

The answer to both questions is PASS In both instances the hand is a total misfit. I always get jittery when partner bids my short suit. I've learned through bitter experience that misfits should be played at as low a level as possible. When the bidding shows that a 'tug o war' is developing,one partner has to give way and the sooner this happens,the better.

If you're playing SAYC then 2C is definitely forcing (2 over 1)

4NT RKCB. We have a diamond slam. Whether small or grand depends on what controls partner holds.So its vital to set the trump suit and find out asap.

Lead out your top trumps and watch for partner's discard signal. You only need one more trick to defeat the contact and its highly likely partner has the A or K♦

The legendary Rixi Markus once related her female partner went down in a 3NT contract that was stiff. Rixi remained silent,trying to be polite. But when her partner attacked her with "Why did you raise me to 3NT(?!)" Rixi simply replied "Because you could have made it(!) " In bridge as in life,you have to learn to defend yourself!

Pete,next time this individual starts criticising you just quietly reply " I didn't ask for your opinion partner,it's unwanted and unneeded" or even "Partner I don't need you to bid my hand,I can do it myself." If all this has no effect you can always complain to the TD or in writing to the card committee of your club. What you shouldn't do is suffer in silence.You don't have to tolerate this and you shouldn't. Sometimes you have to be assertive! From what you say this person is becoming a pest. A friendly warning from a club official should put a stop to her shenanigans when she realises she is facing possible expulsion from the club. I would like to see her paired with a top expert and suffer a touch of the Ghenkhis Khans across the table(!) :)

This is ABC stuff. As a beginner you are taught to open your longest suit. Since the trump suit is the most powerful,the more you have the better. So on the example hand it has to be 1♠ then rebid 2♥ showing 5-4 in the majors. 1NT openers should be reserved only for balanced hands.

There is an old bridge adage "Eight ever,nine never" meaning with 8 cards missing the Queen, you should take the finesse. With 9 cards you should play off the AK and hope the Queen falls in two rounds.

I cant blame either player on the bidding. It was bad luck Its just one of these things The pair that made it just got lucky and luck really does play a big part in this game(!)

I hate situations like this. I would pass for penalties and hope to get them down. Bidding 2♥ with a singleton is just sheer lunacy and the other suits are too ropey to bid.

In situations like this,its better to err on the side of caution and not register at all unless you feel you have ample time to complete the event to its conclusion. Common sense I would say.

I'm assuming a good 6+ suit and 15-16 hcp

I'm suspicious West had the chance to bid his suit over 1 diamond so it could be a misclick. I would check to see what the bid meant first of all before deciding my next action. If West did not provide an explanation,I would summon the TD for a ruling