miamijd

About the only way to reach 7 here is to upgrade opener's hand and start with 2C. I would. How can you get a better 21 point balanced hand than this? 2C 2D(1) 2NT(2) 3C 3S 4NT 5H(3) 7S(4) (1) waiting (2) 22-24 ostensibly (3)All five and the Q (4) Hmm -- sounds like four spades three hearts three diamonds a club and two club ruffs. If the opponents really have a ten-card club fit, even then partner has a Jack that hasn't been accounted for (22-24), so unless he has AJ tight of clubs, there is trick 13. If you play some form of Puppet Stayman, the auction is a little different in the middle, but eventually the same. Cheers, mike

Ruff two clubs; draw trump; and claim. WTP? Cheers, Mike

In part, this depends on how you play opener's X after the 2H bid and how you play responder's X if 2H is passed around. In "standard," opener would X 2H for penalty with AJTx of hearts and a decent hand. Responder will have at least two pieces in H and often 3, with 8-10 high or so (I like bidding 1D on 3334 with 5-7). A good time to X. This would be my preference here for treatment. But some folks play a double by opener as takeout here, showing something like 4135 and a good hand. If you do that, you can't X with a H stack. Likewise, there are different ways to play responder's X when 2H is passed around. You can play it as takeout or card-showing optional. Takeout would suggest 2H; card-showing optional requires 3 pieces. I prefer card-showing optional, because there aren't too many times you're going to bid 1NT over 1C with anything other than 33 in the majors (1NT over 1D is a different story).

You only take the safety play if it will gain 50% or more of the time. It doesn't matter what you do vis-a-vis those in 4H. You'll win if 4H goes down (even if you make only 8 tricks, you'll go down fewer tricks than those in game). You'll lose if it makes. So take the proper play vs those in part-scores. Cheers, mike

Like other posters, I can't see why you would bypass the diamond suit here. With xx in hearts, bypassing D is going to leave you very badly positioned if the opponents compete (as actually happened). Against that, I don't see much potential gain from bidding 1NT instead of 1D. Having bid 1D, it seems like either X or 2S ought to work here. It sort of depends on what your agreement for X is. There are two ways to play it: purely takeout (probably with a doubleton heart) or card-showing optional (something like 3334 with a 9-10 count). I prefer the latter treatment, chiefly because when you bid 1NT over 1C, you generally will have a good 7 to a decent 10 (with 5-7, you can bid a 3-card diamond suit) with 33 in the majors (with a doubleton, why are you bidding 1NT when there are other bids available that will let partner declare the NT?). If partner has 3 good trump or 4 pieces that he didn't want to X on, X by you can let him pass for a big number. If you play X is pure takeout, then that works fine here and would be my bid. Partner will take you for 3343, which is not quite what you have, but it should work out OK. If you play X is card-showing optional, however, you need 3 hearts, which you don't have. You can accomplish the "takeout" effect by bidding 2S as you did. That would be my bid, too, in this case. Partner knows you don't have 4S, so this basically means you should have 3244 or thereabouts and are telling partner to "do something intelligent." Cheers, mike

And just how do you do that without getting too high when partner has a poor hand?

2H here not only could be a doubleton, it IS a doubleton. If it can show 2 OR 3, then there is no good way for opener to evaluate his hand sufficiently to know whether to go on with a 15-bad 17 count. This is why you have to raise hearts with 3 and not bid 1s, unless you have a hand strong enough to either invite game (by bidding 3H) or force game (by bidding fourth suit or 4H) at your second turn. Cheers, Mike

As to how to handle this hand, a good convention to use over 2C is CRASH. It stands for Color, Rank, and SHape. X of 2C shows 2 suits of the same color. 2D shows two suits of the same rank. 2NT shows two suits of the same shape. This handles your two-suiters. Why am I raising this here where you have a one-suiter? Well, if I held your hand, I think I would pass 2C. You know what's going to happen. Responder is going to bid 2D, and then opener will bid 2H. Now I would come out of the bushes and bid 3H showing a very, very strong one-suiter -- so strong that you think it's OUR hand, not the opponents'. Remember, the two-suiters were shown with CRASH. Partner is going to be able to work out what your suit is pretty easily, and now you'll have a fighting chance to stop at 5 if he has neither minor King (you won't have the entries to hook the diamond); bid 6 if he has one minor King (even with the club King, you won't have enough entries), and bid 7 if he can show second-round control of both minors. But for gosh sakes, don't bid this way with GIB!! Cheers, mike

This is a very different hand than the first one (which was an easy pass). Whatever you do here is apt to be wrong: 1. Pass. This risks finding partner with something like: xxx KQx Jxxx AKx It's not like that's some sort of great opener; it's a nondescript minimum. But you ought to make 6 clubs. The opponents can probably make 5 spades. You really want to let them play 4 spades? 2. Double. This is card-showing, and you don't have cards. Partner will pass with the hand in 1, and now 4SX comes rolling home, maybe with an overtrick. 3. 5C. This risks finding partner with four hearts to the KQ and a stiff or void club. Maybe LHO will be nice enough to make a very loud X if you've picked the wrong place. 4. 4NT - This is OK if it shows the two unbids, but I don't think that would be the popular expert treatment. I think this bid ought to be natural with a diamond fit and something like Kx or Qxx in spades. I would bid 5C, because I think the chances of landing on your feet are best with that bid. But I'm sure whatever I do would be wrong :) Cheers, Mike

You are citing the new charts, which aren't in effect yet. But even there, the Basic chart isn't going to be used except in novice/intermediate limited games. Since the player in question was playing with a very advanced partner, they probably play Open events where the Open chart is going to be used. The Open Chart allows this sort of 2c bird Cheers Mike

Even the ACBL General Convention Chart (the lowest of the three charts) permits a 2C bid for any "strong" hand. AKQ ninth of hearts is a trick away from game, so that ought to qualify. It wouldn't be my style to open 2C with that hand (I think it's unsound), but that doesn't mean it's prohibited. And per the ACBL Alert procedures, it's not alertable, either. Obviously, the Mid-Chart and the SuperChart permit the bid, too. You just got unlucky on this one. Cheers, Mike

1S. 2nt(1) 3c(2). 3s(3) 4c(4). 4d(5) 4nt(6). 5d(7) 5h(8). 6h (9) 7s (1). Forcing 4 card raise (2) 0-1 clubs (3) not a great hand but does have first or second round control of one or both reds. If you had a better hand you'd cue bid. If you didn't have first or second round control of either red you'd bid 4s with a min (4) I will assume non serious 3nt. If serious 3nt you make that call here. With non serious 4c shows a void or stiff ace as you have already shown a stiff (5) first or second round d control (6) now becomes exclusion key card as you've shown the void c (7) one (8) queen ask (9) queen plus Kh. You've already shown Kd so you don't show it again Don't bid this way with GIB. Cheers Mike

These sorts of things happen at bridge. That's what makes it such a great, but sometimes frustrating, game. Bidding 5C is insane. I think someone above described it as a "New Partner Asking Bid." I concur. If you do bid 5C, I think partner should raise to 6 in a flash even with xx in hearts. How do you have a 5C bid if you are off all four Aces and have two hearts? Possible, I guess, but highly unlikely. If you pass 4H as you should, I agree that it's a coin flip whether to X with partner's hand. There are huge risks either way. If you don't X, you may find that the hand is like this one. If you do X, however, partner is apt to bid 4S with four of them, and now North may X for a phone number when the opponents weren't making 4H. I honestly don't know what I'd do with the East hand in balancing seat; what do others think? Cheers, mike

So what would you have 1NT show as a passed hand? The only logical alternatives are (A) 5/5 or better in the two unbid suits or (B) 5/5+ in the minors. Against "standard" bidders, where 1D almost always shows 4, it would seem that (A) is the better choice. On the other hand, if the opponents played a strong club system, with an "all-purpose" 1D opener, then I would play 1NT = minors here. Cheers, mike

Seems like an obvious 1NT call to me. Let's get both black suits into play. Double is wrong, because it tends to deny five spades. A one spade overcall is OK, but what if partner has 2 spades and 4 clubs? Don't we want to compete to 3C? I don't understand your partner's criticism or his failure to bid 2S. Maybe he didn't understand your bid? Cheers, mike

I'd suggest partner adopt a different preempting style.

Partner won't necessarily bid 4 of his major. If he does, you pass. You've shown a game force with a stiff club and it's not like you have substantially more than that. The Kc isn't worth much more than a small stiff Cheers Mike

Thanks for posting the full hand. East made a very bad 4H bid. He has a 3H call, not a 4H call. Anyone who would bid 4H there needs a course in hand evaluation. As I suspected, +100 was a perfectly good score: 60%. Yes, on this hand doubling would get you nearly all the MPs, but against good opponents (a good East would never bid 4H with that pile of junk), 4H will make some of the time. From a pure expected value point of view, you are risking 60% to gain 40%, so you'll need to set it 60% of the time. I suspect you might do that -- barely -- but in the long run that kind of risk isn't worth it unless the field outclasses you and you think you need every possible MP you can get. If you think you are competitive, just take your 60% and move to the next board. Indeed, a many-time Bermuda Bowl winner taught me that in MPs, you just try to get average plus on every board. The tops will come from opponents' mistakes; hopefully, you won't get too many bad fixes. If you have average plus, don't gamble it away for a potential zero unless it's pretty much a sure thing. This one isn't. Cheers, mike

How do you know you can make a contract above 3H? In fact, you can't. So once the opponents bid 4H, there is no plus score to protect, unless you think other e/w pairs will sell to 3C and not bid 3H. If the opponents can make 3H and you can't make 4C, you will get a good score for defending 4H. If 3C is the last making contract, then you will set 4H two tricks instead of setting 3H one, again for what should be a pretty good score. If you are playing against good opponents, they likely won't be off more than one at 4H (given that your side has no hope of a game) and might have a make. I'd like to know what the full deal was, because the idea that E/W could ever sell to 3C seems odd to me. Cheers, mike

You are right about the last making contract -- it's 3C. I misread the problem and thought E/W were vul and thus had 9 tricks in H. My mistake. But my original analysis still stands. The opponents have a 10-fit and 18 HCP. They should NOT be allowing N/S to play 3C -- ever. So all of the other E/Ws should at least be bidding 3H, if not 4H. If you set them two instead of one (or instead of going off one in 4C), you will get a good score. In a good field, +100 is going to be a good score, and 4H will often make. I would be interested to see the E/W hands. I can't imagine how they let N/S play 3C unless West's heart suit is so bad it isn't worth an overcall. And I don't think that a 2D bid here means that a pass by opener is 100% forcing, but that's something to agree upon with partner (I can see playing it either way). Cheers, Mike

Sometimes the field doesn't do what it is supposed to do, and as a result, you get a bad board. This is NOT your hand; it turns out it is the opponents' hand. The last making contract is 3H by E/W. Since that is the case, any plus score your way should be fine. If you are telling me that a lot of N/S pairs got to play 3C, then you have E/W pairs with 18 HCP and a ten-fit not bidding 3 over 3 in MPs. That is insanity, but sometimes the other E/W pairs give you no protection. In a good field, +100 would be fine. It would not be 32%, as a previous poster suggested. All of the E/W pairs should bid to 3H or 4H. No one should sell to 3C. As far as doubling goes, I would never double with either hand in a good field. There is no point. Do you think we can make 4C? Probably not. Do you think we will defeat them 2 tricks doubled looking at North's hand? Highly doubtful. So what are we protecting? Any plus score our way should be average or better. And against good opponents, I would expect 4HX to make a good deal of the time. Cheers, mike

North has a 9-loser hand; that's too weak for a splinter (but see below). 4S is the only realistic option unless you have a gadget available to show a game-level preempt with some defense. South didn't bid perfectly. A balanced 17 with AQx in the splinter suit with the King known to be offside isn't so great. XX over the X seems clear to me. As far as splinters go, they are not slammish. They are game-forcing picture bids that allow partner to move ahead if he thinks the hands are a perfect fit (or if he has a lot of extra strength). Anything beyond a minimum opening bid is too good for a splinter. Make the Jh the Ah and you have a splinter (slam still isn't so good). Cheers, Mike

I trust your calculations a lot more than mine, Stephen, although I think you neglected to split the diamond line in two: 1. You find out about the bad break before you lose a diamond trick (5-0 or West is short). Then your line 2 above is right. 2. You don't find out about the bad split without losing a diamond trick (Ad, small d, duck in dummy, East shows out). Now you can't try line 2 and in fact are reduced to playing East for Kx of spades. It's probably more likely that West is short in diamonds than East (West rates to be slightly longer in H), but I think the possibility that East is short in diamonds (you don't find out until some of your options have been eliminated) reduces the diamond pline %age slightly. Actually the main point of my post was that on the diamond line, ducking the first diamond, as everyone up to the point of my first post suggested, is very wrong. Best, Mike

It's close, but it looks like playing Ace and a small diamond is marginally better than playing on spades first. Diamonds first: If you want to play on diamonds, A and low is MUCH better than an immediate duck, because without losing a trick, you'll not only find out if either opponent has all 5 diamonds (low first only finds out if East is void) BUT ALSO if West has a stiff. If one of these happens, you switch horses. If 5/0, play a diamond to the King and hook the spade. If it wins, you play on clubs for the ninth trick (and if that doesn't work, hope for Kx doub with East); if it loses, you hope for stiff or doub ten or 3-3 spades. On the second diamond, if West shows out, you again switch horses by winning the King and hooking the spades. If it wins, play AKc and if that doesn't work, hope for a doub Ks (doub ten won't help you; you can't lose another trick, as the opps will have a spade tow diamonds and two clubs). If it loses, hope for stiff or doub ten of spades. If East shows out, then you have to win the heart, play to the Kd, hook the spade and hope for Kx of spades with East. This line works out to about: .68 + (.14)[(.5)(.68) + (.5)(.08)] + (.14)(.08) + (.04){(.5)(.68) + (.5)(.54)] or about 77%. Spades first: No West is going to duck the Q or J of spades here. Get that out of your mind :) If the spade hook wins, you are pretty much home, as a previous poster indicated (AKc; if clubs don't split, A and duck a diamond; if D don't split, then second spade hook). Since I think the second spade hook here is 100%, I will take the full 50% if the spade K is right. If the spade hook loses, you have to hope that someone has a singleton or doubleton ten of spades OR that spades are 3-3. A doub ten is about 16%; a stiff ten is about 2%. These aren't quite right, because you have to take into account the fact that West must have the Ks and so can't have the stiff ten of spades, but they are close enough. So this line looks like: .5 + (.5)(.36) + (.32)(.18) = approximately 74%. Not quite as good.

Depends on whether you want to use science or not. Personally, I would bid 6H even at IMPs (definitely at MPs). It sure looks like the opponents have a double fit in the black suits (although partner could be very short in diamonds and have a few clubs). If that's the case, there's a fair chance that partner has a stiff club. If not, maybe he has the A or Kc. If not, maybe the opponents won't lead clubs (they have a lot of spades). If not, maybe the opponents can make 5S. Lots of chances for something good to happen. If you want to use science, then 4C over 2H ought to be a control-ask in clubs. Cheers, mike