msjennifer

Firstly if the Jxx are in dummy then Partner cannot have AJX.We found that playing the second highest card when Partner leads an honor and you have nothing to unblock has helped us a lot.

One can see 5 Heart winners in dummy and so one must not split the honors .If one does split then it is only handing the contract on a platter( If declarer plays normally).

On seeing the actual hand all my guesses proved wrong.But is not stretching the hand by passing on the previous turn and then bidding 2NT now a bit confusing?

I have my own doubts.If partner is 5/5 in minors then opponents have only 7cards in minors.Let me assume that opener has 8 HCP(midway between 6And 10) 2H is announced as relay.Considering that the meaning in today's Bridge is Pass or correct the responder can very well have a hand with 3/3 in the majors and a hand where he does not wish to play in 3 H which he would have shown by a bid of 2S And about 9/13 HCP only.(that is my personal opinion since with 14 or more or less HCPwith violent pattern as he then either would have preempted or made some sort of game try.) In that case partner can have a genuine 15/17 NT pattern hand which he could not bid because of the multiple meanings given for the 2D opening bid.Right now ,with the explanation given by OP my bid would be 4C.

Cue bids are a must as may be missing DA and DK.

If declarer be North a 6NT can go down on a spade lead if the Q loses to King and diamonds are 4/1 .Our bidding goes as under1D-2NT (16 or more balanced hand)3S-4C4H-4NT5C-5H5NT-6NT

EW **6SNS—7Hx

My personal answers to the four questions posed are as under.The answers are based on the bidding given in the Post.1)One Heart.2)Two Spade.3) PASS4)PASSI feel that the double and then bid hearts at the next opportunity requires 8 winners which this hand does not have.Furthermore had the bidding gone 1D-x-2S-P- 3/4 S then one dare not bid 4H.The given hand deserves an intermediate 2H bid which I believe is very rarely played these days.Some players do play it 50percent weak and 50percent intermediate (a2H overcall).An overcall will at least tell partner to lead hearts if he is on lead.I think that as per normal,a Two suiter hand does not use a double as an overcall.The given hand is a Two suiter hand and in strictly my opinion ,which is a personal opinion strictly,my overcall will be one Heart although the hand as one feels is a wee bit weaker for a double.(and unsuitable also).

I play Precision and Super Precision and hence I shall not open this hand in 1st and 2nd seat.In 3rd seat I shall open 2C as a lead indicator as also it is just a 7 loser hand.Playing Standard ,I personally feel,it’s a very borderline opening 1 bid. For those playing standard system Felicity has given a very detailed lucid and rational reasoning.

In the given sequence of bidding I shall bid just 3 H which as we play is semi forcing ( opener has opened 1D in the third seat and RHO has preempted.Of course I shall get it confirmed from LHO) .But I wonder what happened to spades?.It is possible for Partner to have four good ones.It is a difficult hand since no gadgets are permitted.If the bidding goes 3H -4C-x then I can be able to to bid spades more confidently .If it goes 3H-4C-P-P then I can double to indicate a spade holding also.(I presume,it does!).However as the OP says he bid 4H and LHO bid 5C which P doubled,I really do not know what to bid but PASS..

Dummy points ,I assume ,includes a guaranteed 3plus card support.One can deal with this situation in a number of ways depending upon the rest of the distribution.If there is a decent five card suit then we bid that suit at 2 level and show the support later.If not then we use the LTC and show the support immediately.With 8 losers we bid 3H and with 7 losers we bid the game immediately.Of course I do not suggest that others may use it as it all depends upon the partnership style.

The question before your partner is if, 1)give you a ruff by returningSQ or 2) to push a diamond through.I think giving a ruff should work in majority of hands and so a safer play.

The normal answer is "very difficult".My uncles dearest friend became a professional Bridge player with annual contracts.He was a brilliant,accomplished player and was a thorough gentleman.He was only 24 yrs old when he became a professional and continued till he expired in Jan.17.at the age of 70 yrs.The point is one has to be an exceptional player to get professional offers.All other ways are already Very lucidly explained by colleague posters.

If we are dealt such a hand then it is quite likely that the opponents hands are also similarly dealt.Since 2D opening is played as multi one can play 2H and 2S openings for such hands.The HCP required for this purpose may be upto 16 .With 17 or more one can possibly open in the minor and then make a Reverse bid in the major .Of course the quality of strength in each of the two as also the losers in each suit etc will have to be borne in mind and discussed earlier since these are not demarketed in any text book very clearly.

North appears to be 4/5 in H/D.His distribution in S/C is uncertain .I shall lead a passive trump."Whenever uncertain lead a trump".East also did not overcall either of the suits when he had the opportunity.(If forced to lead spades on the opening lead I shall lead the Jack)

I agree fully.Partners 2H bid a limited hand bid. and so any simple new suit bid NORMALLY asks partners to reconsider his assets.Of course if you are playing SST AND LST then 2S is a transfer to 2NT after which the opener will show his second suit.asking partner to bid game if he has 3 cover cards in these two suits counting only an ACE in the remaining 2SUITS as cover card.

Depending upon partners methods one can play innumerable variations of SJF or WJS.While kibitzing,I witnessed a very famous player playing Standard using a 2D bid over a 1Club opening as a multi similar to a multi 2d opening bid. 1C-P-2D Shows a weak opener in one of the majors OR a well defined NT type hand.

deleted the duplicate post.

EAST could have done better with all those tops after WEST voluntarily bid 4H after the 3S preempt.

I fully agree.

FOR ME, 2H= a two suited hand with 5D and 4H or sometimes 4441 with a singleton club 2S=two suites hand with 5D and 4S 2NT= a minimum balanced hand with a stopper in side suits. 3C-= A two suited with 5/4 or 4/5 in D and C 3D= Either a minimum single suited hand or a hand lacking a stopper in one of the majors

My choice is 5NT asking for the kings at the same time confirming all keycards and the queen.With my regular partner my choice is the Spiral 5NT..A decision can be made then only.Why say “ if he has this and that “?

Answer:18/19 HCP. And balanced and of course a stopper in spadeWith less and three card diamond support the bid would have been Double.If Your 2D bid is GF he can easily pass with less and later bid 2/3 No Trump over your anticipated TOD or other bid.The problem arises only if your RHO raises to 3 Spade.

Sir,your statements are correct But playing Precision and Super Precision (Garozzo and Beladonna with Omar Sharif)we can not deviate as both the systems are aggressive systems and exact to the point..I do play Blue and Roman club also.The advantage therein is one can open a 4 card major and then use the canapé wherever necessary..However,we do not like the time wasting bids by responder over a 1C opened by partner.One can use Precision responses to 1C albeit with marginal adjustments when playing Blue Club system.Good Luck.