AreyHakaal

I am for the Vienna Coup and not in favor of the squeeze as North may smoothly bare his King of Spades.Vienna makes the squeeze automatic whoever holds club Qxxx and also the SK also.

A smooth PASS.There are almost 8 losers and does that Jack of clubs really count? The distribution is not good enough to make a take out double.However if partner does play the '"escape bids " when LHO makes a penalty double then I will certainly overcall 1NT.

I shall open only in the third seat.8 losers ,broken hearts ,doubtful diamonds,absense of 2 defensive tricks.All rule out opening in 1 st and 2nd seat.

positively NO. Because there are only 14 HCP and most importantly two suits are WIDE open.One internationally known playing 14-16 NT opened one NT on a similar hand against me in Vulnerable position and played right there going down three for minus 300 when opponents even double dummy could have scored only three of a suit.Clean ZERO.The point is whether you like to preempt opponents or partner by wrong openings.My advice is 'Do Open one NT if playing Precision and then if you are as brilliant as Garozzo or Hamman'

playing Landy and transfers ,I would bid 2D and if partner bids only 2H I will bid 2S .Now this can't be a suit.If I had a second suit I would have shown that so this shows in my methods a spade void 544 hand and ambition with four losers.Of course if opponents preempt in spades to 3 or 4 level it becomes impossible to go any further and on the table atmosphere either bid 4 or 3 NT showing the 3 suiter or else to double hoping partner short in hearts.

With due apologies,I wish to forward a new definition given by my friend partner."Some of the persons who label themselves as experts are persons who know everything of nothing.And some who label themselves as World Class have "cl" silent in that label.

If partner was indeed a passed hand then I would have passed knowing fully well that he was upto some monkey tricks or that he was 'balancing'.

Me and my P would bid like this.1D-2H-2S-2NT-3D-3H-4H-6H .Just to clarify 2H shows slam ambition and a strong suit. Opener can not pass 2NT,a bid which shows a club guard and asks opener to clarify his hand further.Old Fashioned did someone say?

ONE NOTRUMP is the only sensible bid in this balancing position.Interchange the D x for HK and then 2D is the balancing bid.Double is out of question as I am least interested in a most likely spade or club contract and even a NT contract from partners hand.And Pass is absolutely timid novice call.

The clear cut bid in my opinion is 3 Spade ,cue bid which denies a heart control and asking partner to cue bid further up the line if he does possess Heart control.If he only has a guard in hearts like QJx he will bid 3 NT which is what we will play.

Please read my full analysis.When one is making the FIrst Bid ,be it any denomination,one does not know where the Ace of a suit will be.Neither is there any reason to suppose that 33.33 % it will be with partner. I have calculated the winning possibility when one presumes that the Ace is with the opponents and all the further logic is on the same basis.And I have even said that the trick taking value changes and so does the HCP value of a honor card when the bidding proceeds further and the experts always revalue the HCP value of any honor card as indicated by the opponents silence or otherwise.I am afraid ,you have based your valuation only on mathematical probability.I am giving a hand,you hold,xxxx,AQxxx,void,xxxx,and RHO opened a weak Notrump .My partner with the given hand called 2 C (Landy).I held x,xx,xxxx,AKQxxx and passed.Opener bid 2diamond and my P bid 3 Clubs, His LHO bid 4 Spade and I bid 5 clubs And the HCP counting opponents doubled so loudly that the roof of an adjoining house was blown away .Result was one over trick.This hand was reported in the bulletin of the state level tournament.The 25 HCP with opponents produced ONLY once trick.That's why one has to be right at the table.

Taken IN ISOLATION if we take percentages/proportions of trick taking ability of honor cards then an Ace will win 100% ,a king will win 50 % when the ace is favorably placed!a Queen will win at the most 25 times when both AK are well placed.So the correct point count is 4210. the Jack in isolation will never win.However during the auction these values go on changing as we all know very well.The point count method which ever great masters have given is only a rough guide for the new learners of Bridge.the HCP and the losing tricks count(LTC) as also the top winners have all to be taken in account when we are right at the table.

Open 1 H then 2 C over 1S and if p bids 2D I rebid 2 Hearts shoeing a very good hearts suit and no preference for spade,diamond or NT for that matter.

Well if playing standard we do not play 1NT response forcing.I can not give much value to that DJ. The losing trick count is 9. and as we play the short and long suit tries I will respond 2 hearts,since there is nothing exciting in this 4333 hand.If partner shows a singleton diamond if he has 6 losers then I will bid 4 Hearts as I have 3 cover cards in the remaining 3 suits.I remember a similar hand where partner had opened one heart on xxx,AKQXx,Qxx,Qx .Our opponents playing the 2 NT natural response played in 3NT and made the obvious 7 tricks We played in 2 Hearts and made 8 tricks.We gained 7 IMP.It is my firm belief that with a flat 4333 and 8 card fit one must use the losing trick count and not HCP.