ArcLight

IMPs, unfavorable LHO opens 2 Diamonds, pard (good player) doubles, RHO passes What do you bid holding: S: J x H: Q T 8 7 x D: x C: A 9 x x x

I would double, just so the opps know that in general they can't push you around, and take cheap saves. Pard has an opening bid on what? KQJ of diamonds, and?? A heart honor will be well placed. And tahst still not enough for an opening bid. He needs some spades as well. We may get 0 diamond tricks, or we may get 1 if they are 5-5-2-1 around the table. We have a club trick. We may get a heart and a spade. LHO is bidding Hearts at the 3 level? Sounds like club and diamond shortness. He might not even have his bid. RHO has AQJxxxxx in clubs, RHO has AQT9xx in hearts? I would X. Lead a spade, if pard has the AQ you can get 2 spades, a ruff, and teh Club K, even if you make 0 Dime and Heart tricks. Lots of ways fopr this to go down. And you don't want the opponents to run all over you.

I bid 3♥ because I am not convinced that EW have an obvious game. The 3 level is high enough that they need something to bid on other than a 4441 11 HCP hand. There are 31 missing HCP, if pard has a random 9 count the opps may lose a dime, and a few else where in 4♠. 3♥ has a good chance of making. 4♥ does not. But neither does 4♠ or 4 of a minor. Do we know what the opponents are likely to do? Do they frequently bid over preempts? Rather than penalty double us? In that case there may be a case for 4♥ because the opps will bid on, thinking we are stealing, and they may well go down, maybe doubled. Pard might have 10 useful HCP, such as KJxx in spades behind LHO.

While this certainly has playing sterngth, why is 4♠ so terrible? The opps may have a save in 4 or 5♥ or 5♦. 4♠ is likely to make. 6 spades/clubs requires a lot from pard. I would bid 4♠ expecting to make. This also prevents the opps from finding a save. And they may have a slam too, though unlikely. >Those who preempt ..I, as usual ask, what are you preempting against ? and hope you miss a black suit slam, preferably a grand. Opps may have 9 or 10 cards in a red suit and bid it.

>Those who suck tend to be those who don't expend the effort to get better by doing things like perusing the BBO forums LOL :( Some expert (I think at Freds level or above,I don't remember who - maybe Hamman) said you should spend 1/3 of your bridge time studying. First reading, then as you improve, reviwing your play. Look at your mistakes, keep trac k of them. Are you making the same types of mistakes? I would suck A LOT less if I was a proficient counter.

>Stephen Pickett, who owns DM Pro, I may be wrong, but I believe Deal Master Pro is owned and run by Ed Marzo. At leaset Ed it the one who answers the phone and my emails. Is Steve the financial owner? I thought Steve is the owner/creator of Bridge Browser.

Han, I assume 4 but its certainly possible thats not correct. If pard has 1♦ then: Declarer would have a 5 card diamond suit Q7643. He might not consider that worth an accpt. If pard has 2♦ then: I dont see how he will get me in for a ruff, unless he has the ♠ ace, and a trump entry. If pard has the trump ace, it can work, with the K (Kx) there might not be a ruff. But you are right - returning a diamond is the correct play in this case. If it is, I took a view and lost. If pard has 3♦ to the Q then: Returning a ♦ is correct, as it will establish my Jack. I assumed 4♦ and covered that above. Maybe my assumed card layout requires too many specific cards? Maybe teh dime return is better and see what happens. As for not leading from Qxx ♦, pard may indeed have an unsupported ♠ace, a trump honor (and he doesnt want to lead trumps), and a weak club suit. Maybe he chose x from Qxx ratehr than a club from T 6 4.

This is probably silly at MPs and more appropriate at IMPS/Rubber bridge but my thoughts are: 1. pard lead from a 4 card ♦ suit Q 7 5 x. ♦ will yield no more tricks. 2. Assume Declarer has 16+ HCP, I will say 16. 3. This leaves pard room for 9 HCP (-2 for the Q) = 7 remaining. If pard has the AQ of clubs, we are not setting this. We need pard to have A of spades and king of clubs. Lead a club now, so we can make the king when we get in with spades. Leading a diamond lets declarer eliminate dimes or just gain a tempo, and go after which ever black suit he needs

Whats wrong with 2♣?

Bridge in the Menagerie by Victor Mollo Not only is it an amusing book, there are some interesting hands that I wish had not been presented with 4 hands exposed initially. Hideous Hog makes some deceptive plays based on the evidence. It would be fun to see if you could make those as well. Hideous Hog is hysterical. I found the chapter on Kibitzers arguably the funiest in the book. This is not just a fiction book. Its highly entertaining, with charming hands.

I think the downside (doubling into game) is too great. Its less tahn 50%, but its not miniscule.

Imps, neither vuln, pard opens 1♣, RHO overcalls 1♥ you hold: ♠A x x ♥A Q x x ♦T 9 x x ♣x x What do you bid? X (negative DBL) 1NT 2NT Other? The bidding continues: 1♣ (1♥) 1NT 2♠ p p ? Now what do you bid?

IMSP - opponents Vulnerable RHO opens 1♣ (SAYC, not a big club system like Precision) You hold ♠ AK52 ♥ J43 ♦ KJ9 ♣ T65 Do you Pass or make a takeout double. ( I leave out overcalling 1♠ because the suit isn't good enough)

I ask because I held a decent 6 card heart suit. I wasn't sure waht is standard with an "Advanced" :lol: pick up pard. There were no agreements. I wasnt even sure if the NT was natural (it was) or a 2 suited takeout which some use. I bid 2♥, pard bid 2♠ and played it there, going down undoubled. I realized he must have thought it was a transfer, but would I not raise his NT with additional strangth and stoppers? I was afraid to bid 3♥ but maybe I should have. In general I don't think its a useful bid to be able to transfer into their major suit, where they are guaranteeing 5+.

1D pass 1S 1NT pass 2H pass ? What does 2H mean? What would 2D mean instead of 2H?

>Bonus question: what would you have done on the South cards over the 1S opening? I think I'd pass. The heart suit is bad, and DBL p 2♦ is not what I'd like to hear. You have a nice defensive hand over the opening bidder. Win the club in Dummy, lead a heart tp the King, continue hearts. This way I can duck a club and East ruffs air. If you win in hand, then the club return by west must be covered and a Q or K is ruffed.

Since when? I've not read this anywhere. Maybe if you also have a 5+ card suit to run.

I did a small simulation using Deal Master Pro (by Ed Marzo) The ♦QJT was the stand out lead, resulting in the best score for the defense more than twice as much as any other lead. The ♦x was next. The worst lead? ♠ Ace

With a comment like that, you risk having your Forum privileges suspended. :rolleyes: Using the Rule of 20 this is not an opening bid. The heart spots are terrible. Some would open, some would pass. I dont think this is a clear opener. Axx AKTxx xxx xx This has the same honor strength but rearranged. This I would certainly be happy to open 1H.

I should have posted the full sequence: (what to do over 4♦) 3♣ p p 3♦ p 3♠ p 4♦ p ? Do you bid 4S? 5D? Pass? Why?

The bidding now goes 3♣ p p 3♦ p 3♠ p 4♦ p ? What do you bid now?

RHO is vulnerable and opens 3♣ Vuln (7 card suit) What do you bid (non Vuln) at IMPS holding: ♠ K Q T 9 7 6 ♥ K Q ♦ x x x ♣ x x ============== Bidding goes 3♣ p p 3♦ p ? Now what do you bid?

There is a nice book by Alan Mould "Step by Step Slam Bidding" that covers topics such as: - look at the quality of your trump suit. Beginners may tend to get over excited with many HCP but poor quality trumps. - learn cue bidding, rather than blasting to Blackwood (with a void too :P - learn RKCBW, and the follow up responses. Chjnaces are a number of prospective pards will want to use it. - be aware of where your tricks are coming from. 4 aces and 4 kings = 8 tricks. Do you have a 2nd suit? Ruffing values?