GrahamJson

I disagree. Bidding is all about revaluing your hand as the bidding goes on. A 4504 hand becomes stronger if partner bids clubs but loses value if he bids diamonds.

H7 seems obvious. Of course almost anything could work.

A curious auction in which every bid is wrong.

Some play 2H in this situation to be an absolute sign off with at least six hearts, and opener is expected to pass even with a void (of course he can go on with a fit or a very strong hand). Others play that 2H may only be a 5 card suit and opener shoul only pass with xx or better. Both approaches have pros and cons, but I prefer the second approach. At worse you end up one level higher, but you don't miss 5-3 fits. Whatever way you play, 2H is not forcing.

It seems to me that there isn't much point in playing negative doubles if you don't use them on hands such as this. Ok, it would be nice to have a fourth diamond, but otherwise it looks pretty textbook. A pass is a trap bid. What do you do if partner reopened with a double? 3C looks like an underbid whilst 3H may take you too high. Second choice is 2S, which could work out well, especially if opponents misjudge, placing their partners with a spade shortage.

AD, before the mice get at it. No doubt in this case it is probably the only lead that let's the contract make, otherwise it wouldn't be a problem.

Claiming is ok, but only if you are certain. I have seen claims which were refused, because a defender still had a trump or two. In some cases I suspect that declarer had miscounted and may have gone down if he had not been reminded by the refusal. Actually I think the rules state that declarer cannot draw trumps following a claim unless he specifies this when claiming, which on BBO you can't. Defenders should also be careful when claiming or conceding. A partner once conceded all the remaining tricks in a high level contract. Declarer swiftly accepted before I could point out that I had the outstanding trump, not declarer, as partner had assumed from the bidding, and a running suit. So partner's concession turned minus 4 to plus one (or something like that).

Why the pointless 2S bid? If E bids 3NT on the third round, showing extra values, it is easy for W to raise to 4 or even 6. Either way you should reach slam.

The bidding is important. Who dealt? Did W pass at a low level? W presumably holds SAJ. The lead marks him with DKQ so he can't hold HQ and have passed as dealer, in which case you play E for the HQ.

Both N and S underbid. S was worth 3H on the first round. N was worth 4H, not double. He can tell S has at most one diamond so N's hand could harldly be better.

Having watched numerous "experts" on BBO I'm not sure that I have seen a single one who wouldn't struggle to get 50% at any decent club.

An obvious 1C opener. 4C now looks reasonable. This must guarantee heart support given the original pass.

It was traditional in Acol for a four level rebid to show a great suit and a fit in responer's suit, although not necessarily four cards. The logic was that a very good single suiter would normally open with an Acol two bid, showing eight+ playing tricks. Hence for opener to be worth bidding game the response must have improved his hand.

It's 1NT for me. Ok, the heart stop isn't ideal but in other respects it's the most descriptive bid. You will be on lead against a heart contract, so that reduces any advantage that a2C might have. Partner is unlikely to bid NT so this may be your only chance. On a good day he may turn up with Jxx.

Reversing into a three card suit I'd quite common practice, and not quite what I was referring to earlier. In fact we often have to bid short suits at times because no other bid is attractive. What I was thinking of were hands like that described by aguahombre, or even worse, opening 1C on Axx x KQJxx AQxx so that you can later reverse into 2D.

There was an important misconception in the original question. You need a good hand to reverse, but that doesn't mean that if you have a good hand you must reverse. A reverse should always show your shape, and guarantee at least five cards in your first suit. You should not miss describe your shape just in order to make a reverse. Whether you play 1-1-1 as forcing is a matter of agreement. Normal practice is not to play it forcing, but only pass in extreme cases, such as the xxx Axxxx xxxx x hand mentioned. I would not play a jump to 2S as artificial. Learn to bin naturally before you use too many gadgets. Lots of players on BBO seem to know all the conventions, but have little judgement. Just see how many players leap to 4NT just because they have a good hand, without any idea where they are going.

Hi Philip. It sounds like we may be well matched, apart from time zones. I currently live in Abu Dhabi, which is three hours ahead of UK. But it may be possible to make it work. I expect to be returning to the UK next year, possibly quite early. I haven't played regularly for many years, having been living in countries where the game isn't played much, but still try to keep up to speed. I've played a bit on BBO but have found some aspects rather tedious, particularly the poor behaviour of some players. Hopefully playing with a regular partner would be much better. I used to play to a pretty good standard. It's a long time since I played in the Gold Cup, but last time we reached the fifth round when we were knocked out by Andrew Robson's team. At university (very long ago) my team one several tournaments including the national university teams congress, - twice I think. I'm probably a bit rusty, but did win the last tournament I played in, back in January. But it was a local one, so the standard wasn't too high. My bidding must be still ok as I enter the Bridge Magazine bidding competition each month and usually do pretty well, having won the Grand Prix (best five scores over the year) in 2013 and currently at the top for this year. Let me know if you are interested in giving it a try. I prefer Acol, but will plat almost anything. The weekend here is Friday and Saturday, so Thursday and Friday nights are probably the best times for me, unless you can play late afternoon/early evening. Out of interest, where in the uk do you live? Cheers, Graham

I think that you can over analyse hands such as East's. Yes, it is better than a minimum, but only if played in clubs. Best is to pass and than bid 4C is partner finds a second double. If you double instead of passing, as happened, partner will always think that you have a better all round hand than you actually hold.

I agree with those who think that N is too good for 1NT. As it is he is bidding as if he holds KQ10x KJx xxx AQx, opposite which 3NT is fine and even 5D is one down

According to the suit combination tables in my Official Encyclopedia of Bridge the best play is Ace then small to the Queen, although there is very little in it.

Some here play a system that is very strange to me. 4D seems the obvious bid. I certainly wouldn't expect anything like the huge hands opposite that some have suggested, although clearly he should have good values.

I think that 3H should treated as angling for 3NT, so it's a choice between pass and 4H. I think I would risk 4H, but it's close.

Disagree with the last post. To some extent whether to give a positive response or not depends on your main suit. You can respond 2H on a weaker hand than responding 3D. The modern trend is to treat 2D more as a relay than a negative, although I'm not convinced that is a great idea. I prefer a 3NT rebid by opener, as it describes the hand accurately, although I don't object strongly to 3D. Whatever you rebid it sounds like partner should have gone beyond 3NT.

Completing the transfer is the normal action and neither confirms or denies a fit. Other options, I suggest, should be that 3NT should show a maximum with good four card support whilst a new suit (I.e. 2NT - 3H - 4C) shows good 3 card support, a good five card suit and a maximum, Ax KQX Axx AKJ10x.

This reminds me of someone I used to play with. With Txxx xxxx Axx xx he would bid 4S on the basis that "nothing was wasted". Then with Txxx Kxxx Axx xx he would bid 3S on the basis that "it was only worth 4 points as the HK was wasted". You can take a good principle a little too far sometimes.