apollo1201

LOL! But your 2nd degree comment managed to get a (1st degree)answer from the author who, if I'm not mistaken, had never posted in the threads except his initial messages. It seems he is starting his descent to Earth...

LOL! But your 2nd degree comment managed to get a (1st degree)answer from the author who, if I'm not mistaken, had never posted in the threads except his initial messages. It seems he is starting his descent to Earth...

A champion and theorician in my country (Alain Levy) advocates a GF inverted minor raise that might have a 4-cd major. He obviously has ways to recover it. Invitational hands (w/o majors) go 1D-3C and 1C-2D in his system. There might be articles about it on the web but in French...

A champion and theorician in my country (Alain Levy) advocates a GF inverted minor raise that might have a 4-cd major. He obviously has ways to recover it. Invitational hands (w/o majors) go 1D-3C and 1C-2D in his system. There might be articles about it on the web but in French...

😂 It reminds me of stories told by friends (who obviously play much better than me)

Your hand reminds me a hand I opened 1D and (hastily) josephined to play 6 or 7 depending if pard had 2 our of 3 top trumps, my hand being AK Kxxxx AKxxxx - There was no intervention but I am not sure it changes matters much. I posted the topic on bbf (dunno how find it back though😡) on how to deal better because my Ds were not solid (xxx facing could result in a loser). Here the Cs are solid and as you are driving anyway to 6, why not help patrner judge if he should bid 1 more? As your hand is finally better than mine, maybe the jump to 6 is my hand it could be the minimum you should expect i.e. a reasonable chance of making but needing some extras in the opened suit and in trumps (2 majors stopped 1st round and strong 2-suiter but lacking top honors in both suits)? What do you think? Not sure I'll see such hand again in my career though!

Why not a 5NT Josephine? 7 are probably ok if pard has AQ. It reminds me of a thread where I had opened 1D on AK Kxxxx AKxxxx - (I dunno how to find it back...) and pard had bid 1H and I had done the same a bit boldly as my Ds were not solid and xxx could be a loser case. Here the Cs are solid. At leastit conveys what you need from partner to bid 7 while 6D is less clear.

Why not a 5NT Josephine? 7 are probably ok if pard has AQ. It reminds me of a thread where I had opened 1D on AK Kxxxx AKxxxx - (I dunno how to find it back...) and pard had bid 1H and I had done the same a bit boldly as my Ds were not solid and xxx could be a loser case. Here the Cs are solid. At leastit conveys what you need from partner to bid 7 while 6D is less clear.

Why not a 5NT Josephine? 7 are probably ok if pard has AQ. It reminds me of a thread where I had opened 1D on AK Kxxxx AKxxxx - (I dunno how to find it back...) and pard had bid 1H and I had done the same a bit boldly as my Ds were not solid and xxx could be a loser case. Here the Cs are solid.

I think it is to make 13 honors for 13 tricks. Anyway, I've never really understood the purpose and the utility of those threads. As pointed by others, we shouldn't read and react. Well, I just did the reverse😎

X shows some values but allows partner to convert it to penalties so shouldnt be too unbalanced and too short in S. I guess 2533 is ideal. 15(43) is more risky (unless we're happy defending 2SX), and 35(32) also because partner is less likely to transform and might escape to your 2-cd minor...

Oops my mistake. That's what happens when you read on your mobile from the beach... N can still try but as we all said, it is not the best slam you'll ever play.

Not stating wether the auction is 2/1 or not, I guess 3H by N was not forcing (just to point out: some non 2/1 systems state that 3H is GF, with a minimal opening and a fit, opener repeats his S and signs off in 3H e.g. over a non forcing 2NT). Anyway, with 19 HCP with aces and 2 useful queens, N should do sth more. Which does not men it will be the best slam you'll play😄

Hi Oceaness and welcome. The general approach with my partner (and shared by a relatively large number of good players in my country) is that when the auction gets competitive, strength can be a little shaded. And 2/1 stops. On question 1, esp NV vs V, I'd raise. A bare minimum, dubious defensive values and flat but it fits the 6-10. V vs NV, I'd pass it as I do not want partner to overcompete. But give me a doubleton, or more usefufl 6 HCPs and I'd bid. On question 2 where S seems to have disappeared, the overall lack of strength and probably wasted C values would rule out any constructive bid. 4H (because of the void, it is genrally considered ok with 4 trumps only) is probably a way to shut out the opps out of their potentially losing 4S if the suit splits 5440 eg... If LHO has 6 or 7 of them, they are probably bidding anyway but partner will know what to expect from you (very little defence, long trumps). On question 3, we agree a good 5-cd suit and 9 HCP can be enough (again, to express asap your hand). So opener who wants to go for game can't bid 3 which is passable. And on the last sequence it shows sth like a good weak two and no strong desire to play D. In all cases, I'd push to game with opener's hand. But all this depends on your agreement with partner on how weak you can be of course

Hence the "brillant" qualification 😉

More for East. After all, he allowed opps to find their H suit "cheaply" whereas if he bid 5D directly maybe South would have Xed and all would have ended in 5DX for a likely -100. West obviously didnt think his partner had such a hand and wanted to signal a defensive trick? Anyway he got confused or wanted to compensate for his 1st (mis)bid? We'll never know but it cost only 300 (part of them due to partner) whereas we have to write 450 on East's bill. Or it was a brillant stiped-tail ape dbl?

It was an occasional partnership and we hadnt really developped. I also wndered what a 2NT cue bid would have meant, but tried 4H and partner made them with Kx Kxxx Qx AQxxx losing 3 aces, but there were other 420s on the travelsheet.

[hv=pc=n&s=saj95hkjdjck87643&n=sk3h7d986432caqjt&d=n&v=n&b=5&a=p3hppp]266|200[/hv] East was void in ♣ so 4♥ makes. West should have bid them anyway with 3 cards support and a very average hand (AK♦ and QT♠ 5th, which is the reason so he told us after the deal not to continue the preempt as we didnt belong in ♠). Anyway, -170 among a long list of -420s was 2nd best mark (a declarer somehow mysteriously managed to take only 9 tricks). Both S and N have uneasy decisions, and being red with an occasional partner didn't help for sure... N at 1st: opening 1st seat red with very minimal values and such a lousy suit? S: Xing risking that partner bids ♦, bidding ♣ at the 4 level, red, with KJ tight in opener's preempt and so weak spots? N again: reopening (with 3NT I guess?) All comments welcome, thanks :)

[hv=pc=n&s=sj6hjt9652dkj974c&d=s&v=n&b=15&a=p1nppdp3hp]133|200[/hv] Matchpoints. 1NT is 15-17, and your partner asked you to play X = ♥+minor (54 at least). So you X (although a bit afraid she might convert to penaties and lead ♣). Maybe 2♥ natural was less risky? Anyway here you are, and (for once) partner pleases you with a jump to 3♥. 1 more for the road?

4♥, even if it was MP and not IMPs. The bidding is (unfortunately) not over yet, and the tricky part will start when opener bids 4♠ and partner Xs...

6-5 with all those honors are too much for me to bid a weak 2. In 2nd red, it is often better to have sound bids so I'm not opening at the 1 level (KQxxxx Kxxxx might tempt me better though). After passing I'll probably scream my 2-suiter next, if I can.

2C is probably not obstructive enough to embarass them, from what I can read. It might actually help them more than us. And I feel too flattish or short at these colors to venture to the 3 level and further encourage a sacrifice from partner. So I'll pass with some regrets. But wouldn't blame a 2C bid.

Dear Helene, Walsh is played but not commonly in France. So 1C-1H-1S reveals very little from opener except that he holds 4S: can be balanced 12-14 (even 18-19 for some), or unbal up to 18... yes, this standard can greatly be improved!

The most complex but comprehensive checkback I found was: 3D = 3H and 4S, respondent set trumps with 3om to show slam interest or signs off in game (he can always bid 3NT as a transfer to 4S so that the strong hand can declare) 3H/S = H w/o S / S w/o H, then responder places the contract in 3NT or 4M, or starts cue-bidding to show slam interest 3NT = 32 majors (a few nasty 31 or 22 will probably be mixed inside!) It dosent fare well in finding minor slams but when responder uses this, he usually shows no interest for minors. Slam iinterest in opener's suit are expressed by 3D (skips a level when it is C, some Checkbacks use 3om but can't show unequivocally opener's majors...) denying 5Hs or not primarily interested in receiving delayed support, or 4m (55 shape or more). And if responder has SI in the other minor eg with a 55 hand he jumps to 4 in his minor (with 5m4M he would have started with the minor).

Phil, sorry to correct you but in France, most players who bid 2H in this sequence show 15-17 with 4315. Poor 4315 with 12-14 worrily pass 1NT and don't try to improve the partial. 1NT is a "courtesy" bid as a least evil (most responders with weak and 4Ds would choose 2D esp if C are not stopped, and with 5 robust or 6 Hs would rebid 2H) and can be unbalanced even 2416. Statistically, I don't know how often 2H plays better than 1NT considering responder didn't bid sth else or just didn't pass 1S (eg with 3 cards and up to a bad 7).