PhilG007

♠ I would bid 3♣. Partner's redouble had to mean something and could be indirectly showing a club suit so it's vital to show your second suit now while you still can If partner has something like ♠ A3 ♥AQ102 ♦ 109 ♣AJ1094 then a game or even a slam in clubs is eminently biddable.

Why not email BBO and see what they say. They installed it after all (!) It could be that the software is not compatible with certain devices.

In a recent tournament here a pair reached a suit grand slam. En route to it,one of them bid 4NT I asked for an explanation and got the reply "No information available" I looked at the players systems card No info. I then sent a PM via chat to the player asking for clarification. No response Of course I knew the bid was Blackwood but which one? Simple or RKC? When no reply was forthcoming I summoned the TD and gave the reason. I got no response from him either!! The board was played and the vulnerable grand slam made scoring +2220 When I sent a message of complaint to the TD it developed into an online quarrel which resulted in me being blacklisted. My gripe is this,should a player be allowed to use a convention that does not show on their systems card?. That's the whole purpose of these cards;to give as much information about a pair's bidding system,conventions,agreements,carding methods etc. I honestly feel I got a raw deal over this matter. I also dont think that certain TDs on this site should not be TDs.as they should be able to deal with any situation which arises at the table. A Tournament Director is like a referee. As such they should have a perfect knowledge of the rules and procedures. In this case, the Laws of Bridge. In a real time game,when a dispute arises at a table,the TD is summoned and,taking a copy of the Laws with him,he heads towards the table in question. After hearing both sides of the dispute,the TD looks up the relevant Law and reads it out aloud. If this does not satisfy both sides,the matter goes to appeal to a card committee for arbitration. This doesn't happen here for some unknown reason. So I have two questions 1) Is a player allowed to use conventions that are not on his/her systems card? 2) Is a TDs ruling(or lack of it in my case) final or can it be appealed and,if so how does one go about it? I await any replies with interest.

Another book you should consider reading is "Story of a Scandal" By Terence Reese The account of the Reese-Schapiro cheating allegation at the World Championships in Buenos Airies in 1965.

I have two "The Play of the Cards" by Reese and Dormer and "Play these Hands with Me" by Terence Reese

In other words,you're dodging the question and not prepared to commit yourself Fair do

Now that you've looked at your hand,care to give a point of view?)

A common problem during competitive auctions is whether or not to come compete to the 5 level This is a typical example ;- North East South West 1D 1H 1S 3H 3S 4H 4S P P ? What do you do as East ? Do you pass or press on to 5!H ? Does the vulnerability influence your decision? Does the scoring come into your reckoning?. On the above auction, what would be your action when playing A) Match Point Pairs B) IMPS C) Board-a-Match(Teams) D) Rubber Bridge.

Of course,whatever device you choose to use to counter a 1 NT opening,it should be borne in mind that in doing so, you are giving away your distribution. Its a two edged sword. If your side fails to buy the contract,you have given declarer valuable information which could rebound against you. You have to weigh up the pro's and con's of these gadgets and decide whether in the long term they are going to be an asset or a liability.

It looks like Astro Over the years there has been a proliferation of devices specifically aimed at countering a !NT opening In addition to Astro there is also ASPRO ASPTRO BECKER BERGEN OVER NT BROZEL CANSINO CAPPALETTI OVER NT RIPSTRA Its really just a matter of personal taste.....and of course partnership agreement

Pass 3♦ You might have combined points for a Game contract but that alone doesn't mean you can make a game contract(!)

In each case I would bid 2♥ a Directional Asking Bid asking partner if they can stop the heart suit for No Trumps. This DAB is forcing and must be answered. If he has a heart stop,he bids 2 No Trumps. which indicates a minimum hand which you pass. If he cant stop the hearts,he either rebids his suit if holding 5 + or bids a second suit asking for preference. I remember reading somewhere that if you are stuck for a bid,use the enemy suit. It must be agreed beforehand,though. that this is 100% forcing

Unquestionably it has to be the J♥ Your partner's bid suit. Time is against you. As you only have one possible entry speed is of the essence to get the heart suit established. Declarer may be gambling on holding just one stopper The Jack is the correct card to lead as it tells partner what your holding is in the suit,. Top of a sequence guaranteeing the 10 and possibly the 9.

With a major/minor two suiter,I always show the major suit first then rebid the minor. In the hand given I would respond 1♠ then rebid the diamonds, twice if necessary thus telling partner clearly "The hand must be played in one of my suits,choose between them"

I accept that passing can be a double edged sword but that its better to err on the side of caution.rather than risk taking Quixotic speculations. I've also learned the hard way not to put cards into partners. hand. As like as not,they won't be there(!) I still maintain that passing and awaiting developments is the correct strategy in this situation. LHO is in the pass out seat and may well come into the auction rather than allow 1♣ to go unchallenged in which case partner,if he holds a strong hand is more than likely to come back with a rebid further describing his hand.

I passed throughout I always get nervous when partner bids my singleton suit as its usually early warning there is a misfit. I've learned though long experience that misfits should be played as at low a level as possible. I take the view that since I have a singleton in partners suit,he will equally have a singleton in mine. The problem with bidding on this hand is that you've changed the suit which is forcing which obliges partner to bid again. It would be OK if he bids a second suit asking you for preference but what do you do if he simply rebids his clubs? You pushed up the level of the bidding when there was no justifiable reason for doing so...certainly not holding 3 points. You have a very weak hand and so its vital you let partner know this as soon as possible by passing his opening bid.

[hv=pc=n&s=sa542h862d762cakj&n=sk763ha95dkq43c93&d=n&v=b&b=13&a=1dp1sp2sp3cp3sp4sppp]266|200[/hv] The title of this topic and the modified deal above comes from Eric Jannersten's classic book on declarer play. I unhestitatingly recommend this book to all novices and intermediate players as it shows the thought processes of an expert declarer and and highlights what bridge is all about, deduction,detection and inference. You are South,declarer in 4♠ West leads the K♥ When dummy goes down,you see there is a sure trump loser,the A♦ is missing and the lead has opened up two further heart losers. Assess the hand and plan the play.?

When a claim is made, there must be agreement all round. A defenders concession is not binding on his/her partner who should immediately summon the TD and give their reason(s) for opposing the claim. Now you know for for future games :)

Read Barmar's first reply It's in the top right corner of the login page

For 4 tricks finesse the 10 If it holds,return to hand and finesse the 9 For 2 tricks finesse the Queen then cash the Ace.. In his excellent book "100 Winning Bridge Tips" Ron Klinger says "When you are missing two honours in a suit, finesse for the lower one first"

You're absolutely and positively right It's all about tactics. And also because in bidding 4♠ directly, South gets the hand off his chest in one bid and passes the buck to North as to slam prospects.

Why ridiculous?? The OP said he and his partner missed "an awesome game" Looking at the auction that was because they underbid. The length and strength of the spade suit justifies a leap to game.

I wouldn't make a takeout double on the South hand. I KNOW what the trump suit is going to be so I bid 4!S direct. I'm in Game Mission accomplished. Takeout doubles should only be used when the trump suit is uncertain.. In this instance,there is no doubt which suit I want to play in ((!)

I would bid 3NT and hope the diamond suit pulls its weight..

The downside of the ASTPRO convention is if your side doesn't win the contract,you have given away your distribution. This is why the gadget gradually fell into disfavor..