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With RFR I mean the 2♥ response showing a weak 5♠4♥ and the 2♠ response showing an invitational 5♠4♥. I've always thought that RFR were a gadget that Precision players use over their nebulous 1♦ opening so they would not miss a ♥-fit in some occasions. Some people pointed out to me that this convention is also popular over natural 1minor openings (in a 2/1 context). A quick search showed that RFR is on the CC of both Levin-Weinstein and Gitelmann-Moss. Can someone explain to me what their technical merit is, compared to more natural or old-fashioned methods? Is it because people want to play some kind of Bourke relay after 1♦-1♠-2♦?

That's not it, at least not for me. The 1♠ opening is done mainly because it makes pard's life easier if LHO acts. I would say this hand is a two-bid hand, by which I mean that you are intending to take a second free bid in competition even if the auction has got quite high. Thus, your aim is to describe your hand as accurately as possible in two calls. So you are not really very worried about what partner does on the first round, it's more important that you choose the bid which will enable you to complete the description of your hand next time. The way to do this is to open 1♣. Having said all that, I often play systems where I am forced to open 1♠ on this type of hand (because 1♣ would be artificial) and I don't feel it's a significant loss to do that. Suppose you are playing Precision. Do you open this hand with 1♠ or 2♣?

This viewpoint is losing popularity. Why is this? What do you do with your WJS or SJS type of hands?

1♣ always. Even opening 1♣ with 55 in the blacks has some technical merit, so why would you want to open 1♠ with 5♠6♣? I consider it more of a problem with 5♥6minor... Then the strength is important, but I will open a 4LT hand always with the longest suit.

If you open 1♦ on a 1-4-3-5 in a Precision context (because your 2♣ opening shows a 6crd suit), you risk losing the ♥-fit when responder has 5♠4♥ (1♦-1♠-2♣-...) This convention is certainly usefull in that situation. However... if you are playing a natural 1♦ opening, you don't need it and you shouldn't use it because there are definitely better things you can do with the 2♥/♠ responses.

1. no (you can pass) 2. no (any bid makes the bidding GF) 3. would be nice 4. 3♥ shows stopper 5. yes, it is a slamtry (otherwise you can bid 3NT or 5♦) Bids: 1&2: 5♦ in imps, 3NT in mps 3&4: 3NT, but pass is an alternative in mps 5&6&7: all these hands are too strong for a non-forcing 3♦ rebid... (take away a side suit king or ace and they are what I would expect...) Possible solution: If 3♦ is NF, let's say 13-16hcp with a good suit, you can play the 2♣ rebid as artificial, showing the stronger diamond onesuiters, among other hand types. After the 3♦ rebid, you can switch the meanings of the 3♥ and 3♠ bids: 3♥ shows a 5+ spade suit, looking for a spade fit, and 3♠ asks a heart stopper.

I have always thought that "ace for attitude, king for count" is an agreement for defending NT contracts, where "king for count" actually means: unblock the queen or give count... Against suit contracts we always signal attitude on an ace or king lead. There are two exceptions I can think of: 1. signal count with a doubleton on an ace lead 2. signal count on a king lead against six

I've never heard of "3NT Namyats" before... If the loss of the 4♣/♦ preempts bother you that much, why don't you play 3NT as an unspecified minor preempt and keep 4♣/♦ as Namyats? You don't have to worry about it being a brown sticker convention. An opening bid below 2♣ or above 3♠ falls outside the definition of brown sticker conventions. [DUTCH] Aangezien ik zelf ook in de ligacompetitie speel, ben ik nieuwsgierig naar wie je bent en voor welke club je speelt... [/DUTCH]

1♦ 2♣ 2NT = 12-14 1♦ 2♦ 2NT = 12-14 Pass most of the time, but in this case (vul at imps) 3NT is probably worth the risk. Whether you play 2NT or 3NT, it will be played from the right side (a heart lead is not unlikely). As a side note: I don't think anyone will bid 3NT with the north hand after 1♦ 2NT... 1♦ 2♣ 2♦ 3♦ 3♦ is very likely to beat 2NT played by south...

If the ace of hearts is offside and the defenders don't screw up, you will make 4 to 6 tricks in NT. If the ace of hearts is onside, you might still go down if they can take 4 spade tricks. Ofcourse a vulnerable game swing is worth that risk. Unfortunately you don't know both hands beforehand. So it is more likely you will end up in 2NT or 3♦. Compared to 2NT 3♦ will loose 1imp half the time, but will win 3 to 7 imps the rest of the time. "So zero points for any bidding, that reaches 3 Diamond....." must be a misjudgement...

This example shows that bidding 2♣ or 2♦ would have led to a better contract (2NT played by north, or even better: 3♦) Now, cross your fingers and put up the king... (playing low is against the odds)

Assuming that 2♣ is 10+ and that you are playing a 15-17 NT-opening, partner's 2NT rebid shows 12-14 and his 3NT rebid shows 18-19. If he makes the 2NT rebid with 14hcp you risk missing 3NT with a total of 24-25hcp. If he makes the 3NT rebid with 14hcp he lies 4hcp and who knows where you end up. This is a typical problem in standard bidding (one that you can solve by playing one of those "fancy methods"). I choose the "practical 3NT" with 14hcp because I hate to miss a game in imps (and probably suffice with 2NT in matchpoints).

1. You know, this stikes me as a funny thing, seeing that the 1NT opener is already a pretty well-defined bid :) 2. You mean people are starting to play keri? You must be an aussie :D No, I am not an aussie, I am belgian. Some dutch top players have come up with a structure they call Heeman. It is based on ideas from Scandinavia (1NT bidding, the scanian way) and since it looks like Keri there must have been an aussie influence as well... So over here it is Heeman that is gaining popularity with ambitious and established partnerships (it is too complicated for most players).

This is what I have come up with until now: after 1♥-2NT-3♣: 3♦ = GF relay 3♥ = bad limit 4♥ = good limit after 1♥-2NT-3♣-3♦: 3♥ = max, 6-7crd suit 3♠ = min, any void 3NT = min, single ♠ 4♣ = min, single ♣ 4♦ = min, single ♦

2♣ shows at least 10hcp and a 5crd suit. I consider the bidding forcing until 2NT. 1♦ - 3♣ is a limit with a 4crd ♦ and at least a decent 5crd ♣. The 1♦ opening always shows at least two ♦. Besides the hands that "natural" bidders open 1♦ with, 1♦ is also opened with all 11-13 balanced hands and with all 3-suiters not short in ♦ (also those with longer ♣). A hand with 6♣ is opened 2♣ and a 3-suiter short in ♦ is opened 2♥. After 1♦-2♣-2♥: Is 2NT a signoff? Does 2♠ include a hand that wants to invite to 3NT (opener bids 2NT with a minimum)? With what type of GF hands do you bid 2♠?

In my part of the world there seems to be an expert tendency to methods that conceal the 1NT opener's hand as much as possible. There are a lot of variants around. Usually 2♣ is a puppet to 2♦, after which responder starts showing his hand. 2♦ and 2♥ are still transfers but can be done on a 4crd suit for some stronger hand types. 2♠ asks for min/max and usually contains several hand types.

I want to play 2NT as limit or better with support over the limited 1♥/♠ openings in Precision. Rebids after 1♥-2NT: 3♦ = max, any shortness 3♥ = min, balanced (5332 or 5422) 3♠ = 5♠6♥ 3NT = max, balanced (5332 or 5422) 4♣/♦ = 5crd suit 4♥ = min, 6-7crd suit, no shortness (6322/7222) 3♣ = none of the above What do you think of this? Any suggestions on how the bidding should proceed after 1♥-2NT-3♣?

In Meckwell Precision the rebids after 1♦-2♣ are 2♥ = 11-13 balanced 2♠ = 4+crd ♣-support and a shortness 2NT = 4441 min 3NT = 4441 max I have not been able to find out the meaning of the other rebids. Can someone fill in the gaps? I am also interested in how the bidding continues after 1♦-2♣-2♥ and 1♦-2♣-2♠. What do other Precision players in this situation?

At this form of scoring and with this vulnerability I definitely would have bid 4♠ with the north hand! North can expect that all his points are working and that his partner has a singleton ♣. Don't miss that +620 and don't give your partner a headache: bid 4♠. It is more a problem in MPs. 3♠ is probably enough now.

Meckwell and Greco-Hampson are playing 15-17 in 3rd V and 4th, 14-16 otherwise. Sontag-Weichsel are playing 15-17, but frequently upgrade 14-counts. Meckwell have played a 9-12 range in 1st/2nd NV vs V, but don't play it anymore.

14-16 (open 1♦ with a balanced 11-13) If you don't mind to adapt your range to seat and vulnerability: 10-12 in 1st and 2nd NV (open 1♦ with 13-15, 1♣ with 16+) 14-16 in 1st and 2nd V and 3rd NV 15-17 in 3rd V and 4th (open 1♦ with (11)12-14, 1♣ with 18+)

I chose pass because with the actual hand partner should have bid 3♠ IMHO. I'm not sure if I would have bid 4♠ if he did though... There was probably a big score difference between +170 and -140? A lot more, I guess, than between -140 and -530...

1. Pass 2. I'll ask keycards. If partner has one without the trump queen: 5♥. If partner has two with the trump queen and the ♣K: 7♥. Else 6♥. 3. 4NT quanti 4. ♥x 5. You can beat 3NT if you score +1 with the ♥A onside, else just made will do. ♦A, discard ♥, ♥ to the king

3♣ is natural. If you make a CAB in clubs (4♣) you get the response 2nd round control (4♠). Now what? Partner is showing 5+ Diamonds and 4+ Clubs His mostly likely shape is 1=3=5=4 In an ideal world, partner has x xxx KQxxx KQxx In this case we have 5 Diamond trick 4 Club tricks two hearts and a heart ruff 1 Spade I'm tempted to ask for the Queen of Clubs. If partner has it, I'll place the contract in 7. I might consider a Heart CAB if I can guaruntee that partner can't bid higher than 4NT You can't afford a heart CAB (4♥) because partner will respond 5♣ with a singleton ♥. So let's assume you make a club CAB and end up in 7♦ played by partner. He claims after 3 tricks. It turns out he had: ♠K72 ♥9 ♦KQ762 ♣KQ76 7NT is the top spot. What will you be talking about in the post-mortem at the bar?

3♣ is natural. If you make a CAB in clubs (4♣) you get the response 2nd round control (4♠). Now what?