Dinarius

I've used Jack as a sparring partner for a number of years and it's fantastic. It's very strong. Also, input the most difficult double squeeze, double dummy problem you can find and it will provide the solution in literally a blink of an eye. My point is that it will tell you how you should have defended/declared any hand you give it. In short, it's vastly stronger than me and just about anyone else I play with/against. As implied above in the point about the openness of chess, Bridge is a game of inference - who must have what based on what they've bid or played. Inference is something that computers don't do well. But, they count flawlessly. D.

That's my point, isn't it? I no longer feel that correcting partner's 4 Spades (after my Dbl) to 5 Clubs is the right move - though I might well have done this in the heat of the moment, as I indicated above. I either Dbl, and pass his 4 Spades, or I Pass and hope he protects. D.

OP asked about best bidding to reach 7 Spades. No one has questioned the correctness or otherwise of 7 Six, yes, but 7? Not for me. D.

For me, 3NT assumes points and entries in Partner's hand that he probably doesn't have - in order to access and cash those Spades, which you will need to make 9 tricks in NT. If he does have those points and entries, then 4 Spades is probably laydown anyway. But, if he doesn't, and I suspect he may not, I want to be in a suit contract. So, if pass isn't an option, then I'm bidding 4 Spades. D.

The more I think about what I wrote above - a strategy with which others agree - the more I don't like it. While it will take very little from partner to make 5/6 in a minor, it will equally take very little to make 4 Spades. So, if I double, and I hear 4 Spades from P, then pulling to 5 Clubs (to show my "two-suiter", as I wrote above) would look stupid with a partner hand such as: S: A,Q,9,8,x,x H:x,x, D:x,x,x C:J,x Partner now "corrects" to 5 Diamonds, which may not have a prayer, while 4 Spades is probably laydown. Of course, we can make up hands that P might have all day long, but we have only one bid. On reflection, I think I like Pass the most - hoping to hear a protective noise from partner. In the heat of the moment, I would probably still have Doubled. D.

This is a nice 4 loser hand. It will take very little from partner to make 5/6 in a minor. To me, Dbl followed by five Clubs (over an inevitable 4 Spades) to clarify the two suiter seems correct. It also keeps the option of penalties open if your partner does indeed have the rest of the Hearts, as suggested above. I don't like the committed nature of an immediate five Clubs at all. D.

I usually play 2 Club opening as 8 playing tricks, and 2 Diamond opening as the game forcing hand. So, with just four losers, this is a 2 Club opening for me. Partner either bids 2 Diamonds (artificial, waiting relay) or 2/3NT. I then show the Diamonds. Also, there is almost certainly at least one suit in which Opps can compete. So, the preemptive value of the 2 Club opening is not to be underestimated. D.

Diamond honours are almost certainly split. I ruff a spade to clear them. Then I play diamond 8 towards dummy. D.

Yes, I know. But, thanks for clarifying it for those who might not. It would be nice to have something like it though. Self-assessment is a joke. D.

I usually enter BBO via List Interesting Tables, coz the Take Me To The First Available wrecks my head more often than not. I only became aware of http://bboskill.com/ on this thread. I've just done a random test of names from List Interesting Tables. Someone who calls himself/herself [redacted] rates themselves as World Class. BBO Skill rates them as Intermediate, admittedly provisionally over the last month. It's the same story for many of those currently in that room. You can only laugh...! :D D. Ps. And nice to see one of my regular club and BBO partners listed as Expert on BBOSkill, even though he lists himself as Advanced.

I don't find the star rating system all that useful. But, the self-determining 'Skill Level' is worse. My BBO ideal would be that the software (BBO) would allocate a Skill Level to a player after, say, 100 boards completed. This would be based on IMPs won and lost, obviously, and would take into account who he/she was playing with and playing against. The Skill Level would then be adjusted up or down after every X number (say, 50) of boards thereafter. It would give a player something to aim for. Most importantly, it would remove the skill level allocation from the players themselves. This is probably too complicated to implement. But, it would separate the wheat from the chaff pretty quickly. There are far too many fake Experts and Advanced players. D.

Fundamental problem with this hand is duplication. For example, swap opener's 4 rag Clubs for 4 rag Hearts and 7 Hearts/Diamonds are almost certainly laydown. As it stands, two 5 loser hands can only just about make game. Opener doesn't know this (duplication) after partner bids 4 Hearts. For me, the fault lies with partner. North's 3 Spade bid should alert East to the fact that all is almost certainly not well with the various distributions. Thus, opener is almost certainly 5+ in Diamonds and not holding a bare 4. This makes East's Q,x,x in Diamonds pure gold. And to hide them by bidding a negative double would be wrong in my view. East knows what he has, and he knows that his side must be in game or a slam. The question is where. The fact that 5 Diamonds doesn't make and 4 Hearts does is a freak of Nature. More often than not, the 8 Hearts will be 5/3 or 6/2 with (based on the bidding) South holding the length over declarer. Not good. 5 Diamonds will make most of the time. I think that 4 Hearts is a poor bid. I bid an immediate 5 Diamonds. I still think that 5 Diamonds is the correct rebid opposite East's 4 Hearts. It's just bad luck, NOT bad judgement. That lay with East, IMHO. 1D, Pass, 1H, would be fine. But, introducing Hearts at the 4 level and ignoring everything else seems wrong. My vote is an immediate 5 Diamonds. Second choice is negative double. D. Ps. Was 4 Spades by East possible? e.g. Unassuming cue bid.

You know with reasonable certainty that partner has 7+ Hearts. All he knows is that you have 4+ Diamonds. To give him the choice of Diamonds or Clubs (by bidding 5C) when he may have the gold that is Q,x in diamonds and only x,x,x in Clubs, and thereby leaving you in 5 Clubs, would never occur to me. I stand by 5 Diamonds, then Pass by some margin. I wouldn't dream of bidding 5 Clubs. I hope I'm right! :rolleyes: D.

I'm bidding 5D. If the diamonds are wrong, they're almost certainly under me with South, not over me with the 3S bidder. On the probable (assuming I'm left in 5D) lead of the Spade queen, I may concede a spade ruff to South and a couple of clubs for one or two off. But, still worth being in 5D rather than 4H, IMHO. D.