Double !

2 1/2 spades is my bid! I voted for Double (of course) not penalty as was determined in a previous BPO hand, but card-showing, then rebidding spades. club holding is not very good, whatever clubs P has are being led through. I need some spade support over there: basically need 2 tricks and to be able to avoid a spade loser, or 3 tricks from P

LOL now I know that I am experiencing cognitive deterioration because I open that hand 2 clubs. I know that most will disagree but, when I have game in my hand or would be VERY unhappy if I opened with a 1-bid and wound up playing there (unlikely given this distribution- granted), I open 2C. Too many outside controls for 4H or stayman backwards.

Oh, great....sigh Now we need a poll to determine what kinds of hands people bid wjs on. Some play it like a mini-weak 2, about 3-7 with 6-bagger, some play it as weaker and less disciplined. Isn't it nice to know that there is such a thing as Standard? lolololololololololol

3 spades gotta look at whole hand your 4 hearts make it unlikely that opps are bidding game or slam in hearts, and your hand is flat. LOL, and partner could be on a real rag at favorable and took a risk: let the pre-empt do its work.

ALERT!!!! PASS is NOT a dirty word. You have no bid, and there be signs of a misfit.

2 diamonds is my choice, it says to partner, "tell me more", and permits P to rebid 5-card spade suit, introduce hearts (suggesting 5 spades), etc., etc. Just seems like the most flexible bid. Anything, I say ANYTHING else is taking a view on the hand, a no/no.

I guess that justin would still be in the tank if the diamond 5 was the diamond 4.

re: first hand I very infrequently overcall in a 4-card suit (although the frequency has increased slightly). However, if there was ever a time, this looks like the time to do it. A 1S overcall might be the last chance you have to get into the bidding safely. What you lack in spade length, you compensate for by your heart cards. Are you really balancing after 1H-P-1NT-P-P-?

A wise sage once said to me, "don't make unusual bids that partner can criticize." Actually it was my older brother (an extremely good player) who also threatened to kick me butt at the time. But, the idea of trying to not make a bid that is so inconsistent with your hand is a good guiding principle. lololol, That was 30+ years ago. He's older but I'm bigger.

LOLOLOL Then you are on a heart hook (if hearts are lead) and a 3-2 spade break to make 4S. And you'll have a plus score!

Was playing in main bridge club late a few nights ago. A new P tapped in as my partner with the SN of djb. He had a profile with canape, strong club. 10-12 NT etc. To make a long story short, it was Doug Bone, one of the authors of the Caroline Club system, and he was somewhat surprised that I recognized the profile (actually wasn't sure if it was Caroline club or a slightly different system.) Now, if I hadn't shown my true colors (aka: inept declarer play) and blew a cold strip and endplay....................................

Curious. How many spades could the opps make?

Is it my imagination, or have a number of these "how do you bid this?" problems involved hands where responder has had a hand than many would have considered to be worth a strong jump-shift when such a bid wasn't synonymous with novice or developmentally delayed (bridge-wise)? I am of the school that believes that there are just some hands that one has to get off his/her chest early in the bidding before things become convoluted.

If 4C promises solid clubs and Hxx in spades, well, then fine. Definitely considered 4C, but concerned about getting another zero for a creative bid. I selected 4D: has to show 3 card spade support, 0 or 1 diamonds, and enough to GF. Again, not sure we are so safe at 5-level opposite Qxxxx or Kxxxx of spades and whatever else outside. BTW: if P has something like KQ5th of spades, are you so sure that the hand belongs in 6S after a diamond lead, tapping dummy. Hand might actually belong in 6C! Nothing has happened so far to assure that partner has particularly good spades, (just 5 or bad 6 of them) or that P doesn't have wasted values in diamonds. (There are still a number of honor cards in hearts and diamonds somewhere.) So, I think I'll ask him/her. 4 diamonds seems to do that. oh, well. Maybe I'll get 20 pts for this one.................lolololololol

What difference does it make? Is it a blow to our egos if a bid doesn't "score" well Heck, I got a round zero for one of my "creative" answers last time. Didn't complain about it (after all, this is just cyberspace) Interestingly, I gave the hand to two people whom I consider to be quite expert, and both eventually agreed with me. No, I'm not running, pleading to have my score increased.....IT DOESN'T MATTER. I use these hands to learn something because, the more I know, the more I realize how little I know. Just enjoy the darned site!

interesting piece of info thanx

I assumed that the "relative" meant relative to other bridge players, in which case it is quite alright. Relative compared to the rest of the population is a deep postion to take, however. Eric Good grief, Charlie Brown Chill, man not here to offend anyone

my empathy for your decision to bid 6S at imps. You can afford small swings but not large ones. problem is, i never get the good fortune that you had with that crub shift. Please send some of that good fortune my way tyvm

Nonsense 2♣ is forcing, I don't care what you have. Pass is ill-advised, especially when P has game in his/her hand. lololol.............I pity partner who has to decide what's going on, and whether or not to take action in the balancing seat....NOT Ever get fixed at matchpoints by someone passing partner's reverse, only to find that that was the only contract that the opps could make and you were dead if you bid. Things even out over the long-run. How many imps did you win on following hands because the 2C opener didn't trust any bid that his partner made from that point forward?

I do wish I could remember who it was that answered, "under an assumed name" when asked how a certain hand should be bid. Oh, well, early Alzheimers. Have a good evening all.

can't say for sure, but I suspect that there's been people who have, shall we say, expressed dissenting opinions about scoring of various answers toward our esteemed host (judge and court reporter), giving him undeserved grief and aggrevation. If so, Ben, I compliment you for your restraint. It can be a thankless job. ......but you do it so well.

curious 4♦ bid. not my style unless feeling self-injurious.

true B) note that partner, albeit under some pressure, broke discipline by bidding 4S. The shape isn't that great. Sorry, but if one's agreements are all bets are off 3rd seat, favorable, then partner can't assume you have a 6-bagger, and decent shape is needed along with twump support. Are the opps getting to 4H if responder/advancer bids only 3S? doubt it.

Well, uh, let me say this about that. switch the heart and the spade holding in the diamond hand (Kxx, x, AQJTxx, xxx, now, do you think this might have made a difference? I strongly suspect YES, now you have some spades, the master suit. With the actual hand, especially if responder was able to inquire about strength and suit quality, if the partnership easily had game or slam in hearts, then it also likely had the abundance of the power. However, if this was an issue of missing a good heart fit and game on slimmer values then, well, the more we could make then the more the opps, presumedly with spades, could make.

3rd seat favorable, anything goes. CAVEAT EMPTOR (or caveat pre-emptor) especially if matchpoints. guess itz a matter of style. pard should feel lucky that i have at least 5 spades, I have known a few people who would open 2S on 4-bagger favorable- 3rd seat. (also 3 of a suit on xxxxx nv/ lolololol) and, I would rather make this type of bid that to open a weak 2 bid on a J or Q-empty 6th suit with outside cards such as seems to be in vogue these days. Told ye, I am a dinosaur when it comes to certain bidding principles.