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2S is 6+ good spades with an opener. Max would be just short of a X followed by 2S, so probably a bad 17 or so, although with 16-17 and a self-sufficient spade suit, opener would bid 3S (GF) or 4S, depending on the hand. 3C by North ought to be GF with 1- spades. Bidding 3C just because you are two-suited and don't like spades isn't a good idea without a good hand. Cheers, mike

A very tough hand. Someone should post this on bridgewinners and see what the results are. I don't normally play non-Leaping Michaels here (but it's a common enough treatment). If you do, then you have an easy 4D bid. If you don't play non-Leaping Michaels, then your choices are twofold: 1. Double, planning equal-level conversion of clubs to diamonds. This gets you by the first round OK, but it has several problems: A. What if partner passes? Not likely, but possible. Partner is going to have 3 spades and occasionally will have 4 (people have been known to raise 2S to 3 on 2 pieces NV with the right hand). What if he has a standard seven-point balanced hand like: KJx xxx xxxx Kxx I would pass that hand. Opposite most (not all) Xs, if the opponents are making 3S, then 3NT or 4D doubled are likely to be almost as bad (maybe worse). If partner passes here, however, you are apt to get a very bad score. B. What do you do if partner bids 3NT? Not easy. 4H is an overbid at this point. Whatever you do (pass or 4H are the choices) is a complete guess that could go very wrong. C. What do you do if partner bids 5C? Yuck. D. Even if partner bids 4C and you correct to 4D, you have only suggested 4H, not 5. Partner is going to play you for 6+/4, so what have you accomplished? He will almost never correct to 4H even when that would be the right spot. 2. 4H. This looks rather inflexible, but partner rates to have 2.67 hearts (8 hearts split among three players), and maybe slightly higher than that, since of the 12 spades out, partner rates to have 4 but should only have 3. If partner has 3 hearts, you belong in hearts. If he has 2, then maybe you can pick up the diamonds, in which case you can handle 4-2 without losing control. If RHO has a heart stack, you are of course in the wrong spot. Anything you do can go very wrong. That's why people preempt. If 4D non-Leaping Michaels isn't available, I would bid 4H with my fingers crossed. Cheers, mike

"Standard expert" today is probably cheaper of fourth suit or 2NT as negative. But a really good treatment is cheaper of fourth suit or 2NT as good-bad (that is, negative if responder follows by bidding 3 of opener's minor or passing 3 of opener's minor if that's what opener rebids, and better than GF otherwise). I'm with several others here. I would bid 2NT and then correct 3C to 3D or pass a 3D bid (which opener will make if he has no club tolerance). Cheers, Mike

Cashing the AK clubs before embarking on your spade plays avoids this problem, no? Cheers, Mike

Once GIB West leads the 9h at trick 2, you can be quite sure that GIB East has the Qh. GIB will not underlead a trump Queen this early. Almost 100%. If East has Q87x, you can't make it, so you have to assume East has Qxx. In that case, GIB's line is pretty obvious, and the only one with a chance to make. You have 9 top tricks, and the tenth needs to be a ruff. Unfortunately, East has a doubleton spade (West overcalled), so you can't win an extra trick by ruffing a spade. Instead, you need to turn the spade ruff into a diamond ruff by simply winning the As, leading spades, and pitching diamonds. This will work just fine so long as East has at least 4 diamonds (if West is 5242, East can beat you by pitching diamonds on West's spades). West can lead another trump the first time he gets in with a spade, but he can't lead a third trump when you lead your fourth spade (he doesn't have any more trump), and he has no way to put East in. So the Th eventually ruffs a diamond for your tenth trick. Cheers, mike

I guess I would cash the spade, diamond, and heart winners ending in dummy, so that dummy had two spades, a diamond, and a club, and declarer had AKQx of clubs and then if my spade or diamond weren't good, play clubs and hope one of several possible squeezes had materialized. I'd much rather be in 7H even in MPs. Many won't bid the grand, and virtually no one will bid 7NT. No point risking a 70% score for a zero. Mike

Second seat vulnerable at IMPs: Playing a 2/1 system, I would open one spade (not without some trepidation) on hand 1, one club on hand 2, and pass the rest. But with respect to hand one, remember that I don't allow 1NT forcing on any game-force hand (max of a really bad 12). No bidding 1NT forcing with 13 and then jumping to 3NT. So I will pass a 1NT response with hand one. Another reason to play 1NT as forcing with exceptions. If partner makes a 2/1 call, I'll try to steer things into 3NT rather than 4S if I can. Playing GIB tourneys, however, all of them are easy openers. Playing a strong club system, you can probably open all of them, although hand 5 is still a bit of a stretch. Cheers, mike

Good points, but under Preparation, you really CAN just pass a 1N forcing bid, especially at IMPs. If partner can't bid 2/1, you almost certainly don't have a game (yes, I can invent some hands where you might, but they aren't worth considering and you probably wouldn't get there, anyway). The only time you might go wrong doing that is if partner has the three-card limit raise in spades, but even there, you're just as likely to go plus in 1NT as in 3S, maybe more so. Cheers, mike

Exactly as the hand should have been. 14 HCP 5233. Can't have had much of anything else, really. Maybe a great 13 or a bad 15 with the same shape. Opener can't have 6 spades, 4 hearts, 4 diamonds, or 4 clubs, or he wouldn't have passed 1NT. So he is almost certainly 5332. And the doubleton pretty much has to be in hearts; otherwise, how can he make the reopening X? So opener should be 5233. As for strength, opener is pretty much marked with 14 or thereabouts. With a good 15, if he chose to open 1S rather than 1NT (I would open 1NT, but not everyone would), he probably wouldn't pass at IMPs; responder could have 10 (and even if he has a great 8 or a 9 count, I've made a few games on 23-24 before, haven't you?). And if opener had a mediocre 13 or fewer, he probably would just go quietly and pass, since it's not at all certain that his side has the majority of the high cards. But with 14 (maybe a great 13 or a bad 15) and 5233, it's probably worth it to risk a X. Maybe partner has a long minor. Maybe partner has a heart suit and can pass. Maybe partner has 9-10 HCP with heart stops and can bid 2NT. Who knows, but defending 2H is probably not the best spot. Cheers, Mike

5/4 as opposed to 6/4 isn't that big a deal. Wasting an entire level of bidding and going past 3nt to show a splinter is a huge deal -- and not a good one. The 3M showing shortness treatment is much, much better, and I would suggest you adopt it. Here that leads to 6d easily. 1nt 2nt 3d 3h 3s 4c 4d 4s 5c 6d There are only four cards responder needs to know about: Ad, Kd, As, and Kc. Once opener shows three of them it's an easy 6d. If you want to ask about trumps with 5nt instead of 6d you can (shouldn't be pick a slam here as we have agreed diamonds). Then you'll hit the grand if partner happens to have all four key cards (not likely with a 12-14 NT but just barely possible). Cheers, Mike

I think you meant to say that 3D doesn't need to be forcing. It doesn't need to be; you can certainly play it as "help in diamonds." But it probably ought to be a game force. A limit raise is pretty well-defined. When responder makes one, it's generally not useful for opener to make a return game try. That's why 1H-3H limit and 1H-3D Bergen don't have room for them; you don't need them. 1H-3C Reverse Bergen has room, but 3D is generally played as slammish after 3C. There are better (slam-oriented) uses for the intervening bids. 1H - 2H, of course, is another story altogether, because the 2H bid is far more wide-ranging than the limit raise. Now both opener and responder need to be able to show additional features of their hands. Cheers, mike

There are at least two sensible ways to play 3D in the auction you describe. One is as game-forcing with a diamond control; the other is better than game-forcing (i.e., slam-oriented) with a diamond control. After then 2S bid, opener will bid 3H with all hands that do not accept a game try. The question is then on what sort of hand should opener simply bid 4H? There are two good options: 1. Bid 4H with all minimum accepts 2. Bid 4H as a "picture" bid showing no first or second round controls outside hearts If you play 1, then 3D becomes a slammish cue-bid. If you play 2, then 3D is just a game-forcing bid showing a first or second round diamond control. I personally prefer method 2 in IMPs. It's a lot more accurate. If you bid 4H on all minimum accept hands, what happens when responder has a rock-crusher? Cue-bidding at the five-level is NOT good strategy (you should do your cue-bidding and the 3 and 4 levels). In MPs, I think it's a closer call, because although method 2 is more accurate, it gives the defenders more information about declarer's hand. Cheers, mike

2H is 17+ or so. It's only forcing one round, but of course, if you have a game-force hand opposite a minimum from partner, you won't let the bidding die below game. 3H is a "self-splinter." It ought to show something like 3154 or 4153. Very useful bid to (A) avoid 3NT when your side is both short and lacks a stopper somewhere and (B) hit some fit-oriented minor-suit slams. Cheers, Mike

It's not applicable on this hand, because your stiff is in clubs, but a useful gadget to have is the "self-splinter." That is: 1m 1NT 3x where x is higher than m shows 5m, 4-3 in the other suits, and a stiff in the bid suit, with at least a game force hand. So if the diamonds and clubs had been reversed, a 3D bid on the second round would show the hand nicely. This bid allows you both to (A) avoid some bad 3NT contracts and (B) find some tough-to-reach slams. As others have noted, a 2H bid on the second round works a lot better than 3NT. You don't want to bid 3NT immediately here, both because 6D is possible AND because partner could have something like 3343 with three small clubs. You won't like that hand at all. Cheers, mike

I guess to pass but I wouldn't have this problem b/c I would have passed rather than opened 1c I suspect n/s had a big d fit and 4nt was the winner Cheers Mike

If you play 2H immediate double negative (which a lot of folks do), then you can bid 2D game force on the balanced hands (and wait to see what partner has), and 2NT becomes either positive in H or in S depending on how you play it (standard is positive in H, but there is a lot to be said for 2S being positive in H and 2NT being positive in spades). Cheers, mike

Passing isn't likely to work out so well. Partner probably has 1-2 hearts and has 8-17 HCP (let's say opener has at least 11). His expectation is probably 1.5 hearts and around 11-12 HCP. He isn't likely to bid again if 2H comes back around to him (he'll only do so with 15+ or so). So your side rates to have 23-24 HCP (maybe a couple less or a couple more). The opponents rate to have 8 or 9 hearts and around 16-17 HCP. Do you really want to let them play 2H? You're not likely to get it for 200 (opener probably has 6 good hearts and an outside trick, and you don't have a heart trick). Don't you think you can make something? Isn't that something likely to be 3C rather than 2S (partner would have overcalled 1S with five of them) or 3D (partner would have overcalled 2D)? Yes, bidding 3C could turn out to be wrong, but I think in the long run you will be better off playing 3C than letting the opponents play 2H.

West ought to rebid 2NT, not 2H. You should then have methods over 2NT to find your 5/3 major fits (i.e., some form of Puppet Stayman). It's much easier to bid accurately after a 2NT rebid than after a 2H rebid. Over 2H, East should bid 2NT. Balanced hand with some stoppers, fewer than 3 hearts, and 0-1 controls. Seems like that's what you have. I don't mind 2S with four of them on certain hands, but in this case you have a better bid. But the upshot here is that you should almost always rebid 2NT, not 2M, with 5332 and a 22-23 hand. And you should consider playing Kokish relays, so that you can show the 24-25 balanced hand and still stay at the 2NT level, so that you have your methods on. Cheers, Mike

X can be card-showing or penalty depending on partnership agreement. Each has its advantages. On the hand you had, I'd rather have a card-showing X available than have to bid 3C. On the other hand (so to speak), if you have: Kxx QT87x Axx Kx I'd sure like to have a penalty double available, wouldn't you? If X is card-showing, then you're stuck bidding 2NT with this hand, which may not be a good spot at all if partner shows up with something like: AQxx x Kxxxx xxx I'd rather take the sure thing by doubling. If X is penalty, then with the hand you had, I would bid 3C. What else can you do? You can't pass; partner could have a good hand. So downgrade your hand slightly for the bad distribution and the bad club suit and bid a pedestrian 3C. Seems normal enough.

A rather common agreement is the following: 3S = minor suited puppet to 3NT. After opener bids 3NT: 4C: clubs, slam oriented; opener bids 4NT to sign off or any other suit as a cue bid 4D; diamonds, same 4H: both minors, longer/better H than spades (i.e., spade splinter) 4S: both minors, heart splinter As Stephen noted above, if you are willing to use 4C as an artificial bid, then you can have 3S represent one of the hand types (single suited or both minors) and 4C the other one. Also, one hand that Puppet Stayman and its variants don't handle well is 5 spades 4 hearts. So some players use 3NT to show that hand. The only problem there is that if you want to just raise 2NT to 3NT, you have to bid 3S and pass the puppet 3NT bid. If you are prone to forgetting you're playing this gadget, you can have some disasters. Cheers, Mike

Ah, now I see the source of the disagreement. Your reading is not correct. By "Notrump Overcall," the ACBL means just that -- an overcall of 1NT, 2NT, 3NT, or the like. It does not mean an overcall of the opponents' NT bid. What you quote allows an overcall of some number of NT to be a two-suited or three-suited takeout, but if two-suited, at least one suit must be known (for example, an overcall of 1NT after 1D showing clubs and a major rather than the more familiar clubs and hearts). What you should have quoted was #7.b under COMPETITIVE: 7. DEFENSE TO: a) conventional calls (except see #10 RESPONSES and REBIDS above and #7 under DISALLOWED below), b) natural no trump opening bids and overcalls, except that direct calls, other than the following, must have at least one known suit. - Double - Two Clubs - Two Diamonds showing a one suited hand in hearts or spades c) opening bids of two clubs or higher. Thus, any defense to a natural NT opening bid is permissible, but direct calls OTHER THAN X, 2C, and 2D Woolsey must show at least one known suit. The X does NOT have to show a known suit. Indeed, if X had to show at least one known suit, DONT would be impermissible, since the DONT X does NOT show at least one known suit (it doesn't show ANY known suits). The fact that it is one-suited does not mean it shows a KNOWN suit. Cheers, Mike

This is basically Meckwellian DONT. Allowed in all ACBL games to my knowledge (someone correct me if I'm wrong, but DONT is allowed in all ACBL games and no suit is known there, either). Responder bids 2C over the X with most hands. Opener then: Pass Club suit (not a moose) 2D Diamonds 2H hearts and spades (not a moose) 2S either a moose with majors or a very strong 2S overcall (take your pick of treatments) 2NT game forcing with major-minor two suiter The other bids over 1NT are 2C clubs and a major 2D diamonds and a major 2H hearts 2S spades 2NT minors 3NT GF major two-suiter Cheers, mike

I think 2S is right at teams as well: 1. It might make 2. If you play 2S it fails, it won't be down much, and the opponents almost surely would have made 1NT. 3. The opponents might bid to 3 of a minor, which could go set (more likely to go set than 1NT). Much more likely to go plus bidding 2S than defending 1NT, and the risks are pretty small. Cheers, mike

Bidding obviously worked out very badly on the actual layout. But in practice, I think it's a tough choice. 4S, X (with equal level conversion if partner bids 5C), and pass all seem like reasonable choices to me. Mike

This thread reminds me of an interesting treatment that Chip Martel recommended to one of my partners one time. If (i) the opponents make a key-card inquiry; (ii) your partner lies over the responder to the inquiry; (iii) your partner, not you, will be on lead; and (iv) your partner has the Ace of the suit bid in response to the key-card inquiry, your partner should still double, even though he, not you, will be on lead. The idea then is that if you have a singleton, you can double the final contract to indicate to partner that he should lead Ace and give you a ruff. If you don't double, it suggests to partner not to lead the Ace. Cheers, mike