Double !

FWIW I believe that this was the original response structure in terms of opener's rebids with 4-card majors in the sequence 2C - 2D. DHL

lol I just passed a 4333 12-count in first seat, all white. Held KQxx Qxx Kxx Qxx really, no spots of any consequence that I can recall. And, I'll pass it next time, too

Oh, expletive-deleted. Please be safe and well, everyone. What is going on with world events in the past year? Tsunamis, destructive hurricaines, land slides, floods, now avian flu? If I start seeing frogs, locusts, hail and then darkness, then...................................grab & protect your first-born asap!.

Would give a 1NT bid serious consideration. P usually has an easier time bidding in response to a limited, descriptive bid, and 1NT takes the pressure off the overcaller for the second round. Suppose partner responds 1S to your 1H bid. Your rebid is...................? BTW: re 5422 usually playing better in a suit. Seems to me that I recently saw some hands with 15-17 hcp and 4-5 in majors opened 1NT on viewgraph on several occasions. Very Interesting. DHL

3NT need a few cards from P or a suit that I can set up and reach. I have the strength, hopefully P has the shape. DHL

Aha, An honest person who perceived the other issue involved here. Not advocating 1C or 1S as the correct opening bid (not bidding spades 1st admittedly risks pre-emption) but, should the partnership agree to open clubs first with 5-5, then this helps to clarify the 6-5 issue considerably. DHL

Han: not just fun, but addicting! I managed to virtually escape the addiction for over 15 years for the most part, maybe longer: have now had a full-blown relapse. Need detoxification. At least most of the people I have met on BBO are good and pleasant, unlike many I knew or met in the real world. DHL

yes

Do you mean to say that the queen is not always over the jack? Are you sure? *hehe* That is of course the place where she belongs, but what in life is certain? And sometimes the king is over the queen, and sometimes not and he needs to be handled with finesse. Queen over Jack, vice versa, King over Queen and vice versa. Sort of makes for flexibility (physical and otherwise) and intrigue. LOL Reminds me of a player at a club at which I used to play (when I used to play) who seemed to enjoy telling his partner/ dummy to "Mount that Queen" when lho played the Queen and dummy had the King. Tsk Tsk....Bridge Players.......................................................................... DHL

I've been trying to decide what responder should do over 3C with Hx in spades, a good honor in clubs, and prime honors in red suits. Something like Kx, KTx, AQxxx, Qxx. IMO, I suggest a 3H rebid. Again, as in one of the recent BPO hands, the issue is how to get to a 6-2 spade fit and differentiate between xx and Hx support for spades. Use of 4th suit followed by preference to spades might be one way to differentiate, but then P might have xx in hearts and be unsure how to proceed, although I believe that a further cue bid should be like a last train showing concern about the 4th suit. Does this make sense? TIA DHL

I agree with Hannie: If one thinks about it, it most unlikely that the NT hand lacks controls: where is his bid? To me, 4NT says, "I heard you pull 3NT, I hear your warning, you have a concentrated black 2-suiter. I have a better idea of your hand than you have of mine. Given what you've told me so far, I believe that the hand should be played from my side (the 4NT bidder's side) in 4NT.

Not sure that I agree with the 3H bid, but, since you chose it, I interpret it as meaning "I don't know about game, I have values in hearts, does that help resolve the situation?". Opener's pass says "No". I will, therefore, abide by partner's decision. Personally, I like Kx in P's help-needed suit.

A very interesting concept, the "I don't have any decent bid in response to your bid" convention. Seems to have merit for this sequence. Could an underlying theme her be that some conventions or agreements (such as negative free bids or, I dare to ask, 2/1GF) should be in effect in certain situations and not in others? Just the rebel in me speaking. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain! DHL

To foment more discussion: are you saying that a 4C bid strongly suggests a 6-card spade suit (the key issue IMO), and/or a very strong 5-card club suit such as AKQxx? I always have problems with these inferences and seem to get them wrong. What agreements do you have regarding the meaning of responder's next bid over 4C? (e.g.: 4D = cue establishing clubs, what do 4H and 4NT mean? Is 4S/4C a simple preference showing xx of spades and denying slam interest [insufficient aces in the red suits] or is it forward-going showing Hx or even stiff high honor?) again, TIA DHL

"How many wins must one man(woman) have before we call him(her) an expert? The answer, my friend, is Blowin' in the Wind. The answer is Blowin' in the Wind"

RKC for spades Neg X for 2-suiter. Interesting question: how would you play a bid of 5 diamonds? Exclusion RKC? Cue bid/ control? RKC and make 4NT takeout? Forum's been getting more interesting lately. Less focus on toys (systems/ conventions, and I like toys), and more focus on handling situations and judgment/ decision-making. DHL

5NT should work fine on this hand. agree personally, I am having difficulty constructing any hand that might respond 6S that couldn't/ shouldn't be bid some other way.

FYI The Double Negative bid in bridge is a specialized convention for partners who have severe cases of Oppositional-Defiant Disorder, abbreviated "O.D.D." It (O.D.D.) manifests itself in many different ways at the bridge table such as refusing to raise partner when holding trump support, refusing to show a 4-card major when P opens 1m, or ignoring partner's defensive signals. (And, yes, this is a real Psychiatric diagnosis. Does anyone know anyone who qualifies? Treatment is available.) lol: double negatives can obviously also refer to responses that show very weak hands in response to forcing bids. DHL

A fit-raise of 3 clubs would be nice to have available. This way you have pretty much described your hand in one bid, and this should put partner in a good position to judge what further action, if any, to take. Otherwise, you might as well make whatever bid you have agreed on that shows a limit+ raise with 4-card support. Curious about how people would differentiate a 3C bid from a 4C bid? DHL

The following hand came up during a practice bidding session with an excellent bridge partner that raises the issue of how to distinguish between two types of hands that differ by only one card. The first hand was the actual one dealt. The second has been constructed for the purpose of this post. Hand A: ♠ AQJxxx ♥ x ♦ x ♣ AK8xx You open 1S, partner responds 2 diamonds. What is your plan for bidding this hand. Should you choose a 3-club rebid, partner will then rebid 3NT. What is your choice then? Hand B: constructed for contrast ♠ AQJxx ♥ xx ♦ x ♣ AK8xx How do you bid this hand? For starters, not playing some specialized opener (e.g., no 2S opener to show C-S 2-suiter), what would be your opening bid? If you select 1 spade, partner will respond 2 diamonds. Take it from there. The implications of how you all handle these two hands might or might not be as significant as I perceive. as always, thank you all in advance. DHL

ELC = equal-level conversion (takeout doubles) I.e.: to double and then bid a higher ranking suit than the one P responds in doesn't promise extra values, just that you had something like hand BPO-006B.

Not familiar with this method of hand evaluation. I thought that "Binky" is either a baby's blanket or a pacifier. Therefore, Binky count might be a measure of how many of these items are missing around the house! DHL

Who am I to dispute such an overwhelming expert opinion in favor of a 3 diamond rebid, so please help me to understand where my reasoning is going astray? If I rebid 3 diamonds after responder's 2D, and responder has a relatively balanced opener that was good enough for a 2/1 response with xx in spades whereby 6D will not have a good play, how do we play in 4S vs. 3NT? My point? If it goes 1S-2D-3D-3S, isn't that showing 3-card (probably) spades support and an opening hand (as opposed to an Hx or xx holding)? Maybe I am missing something, but I am having difficulty seeing how to get to spades on a 6-2 fit unless I rebid 2S to start with. I can then support diamonds including likely pulling 3NT to 4D. Responder should have a reasonable idea of my hand i.e. being 6-4. Keycards including trump queen can then be asked for if necessary or desired. I don't know how to communicate to responder that I have 6 spades unless I rebid them immediately because the auction will be at 3NT or higher by the time it's my bid again if my initial rebid is 3NT, and the spade suit is not good enough to pull to 4S with. (3H by resp after an immediate 3D raise as a checkback for 6 card spade suit would be nice, but many people might interpret 3H as showing concern about clubs, and a 3S rebid by opener at this point might then simply be a default response indicating not much in clubs.) Responder will also know that aces, not kings and queens outside of the two suits are prime, and judge the hand accordingly. I guess I'm wrong, but it just seemed to me that this sequence would allow partner to better decide where the hand should play. DHL ;)

lol stop picking on me! I've been lost for a long time, perhaps never to be found!!! Yes, I will admit that I learned to play bridge yesterday (Al Rothism), but it costs extra to find out exactly what time yesterday. (BTW, just for exercise, I also tried to count zars: cover all bases.) DHL

Wise sage (or was it "wise guy?") once said: When you hold 2 suits and a hand worth bidding, you might wish to start bidding them. DHL