GaryFisch

What about 2♣ as possibly, not weak, but 12+ with a long suit (7+)? Would that be "brown sticker?" I don't play tourneys, so never heard of that. I would have at least an outside A or K as well. Eg, xx, Kxx, x, AKQxxxx. 10-11 and I'd open 1♣. 5-9, 3♣. The idea is to take away the 1 level AND the weak 2 from opponents to hinder their stealing the hand. What would you do with that hand, for example, if you open 1♣, and the bidding goes 1♠-pass-3♠? Do you compete to 4, hoping partner can raise you to 5? I'd probably pass there hoping opponents don't go to 4! Of course 2♣ COULD also be strong. The distinction would be made by the subsequent bidding. If opponents bid strongly, then the bid was a long-suit opening. If they pass, then opener will jump to the 4 level in the long suit on the next bid (this gives up the splinter if the response is positive). If opener makes a non jump bid at the 2nd round with no interference, opener shows a normal strong 2♣ hand. I just recently thought of this and haven't fleshed it out, but I'm thinking responder bids 2♦ with anything less than an opening bid and no interference, 2 or 3 in a suit with an opening bid and 6 cards, or 2NT with an opener with no 6 card suit. If there is an overcall, responder passes except with an opening bid hand. If opponents bid to the 3 or 4 level, opener would simply bid game in the long suit with a one-suited 12-17, double with 18+, any shape. Or opener could choose to pass, especially at unfavorable vulnerability.

Actually, a more interesting question might be what do you do on a heart or diamond lead?

One minor point more. If North holds up on the second spade, cash the ace, cross to dummy in clubs, and concede a spade. Win the club return in dummy and lead the diamond jack as before. North does better to win the second spade. First, declarer clearly started with AJ2, so the ace will be blocking. Winning the king and returning a club gives declarer a chance to go wrong by winning in dummy. Declarer would then have no choice but the losing heart finesse towards dummy (no entries). Second, declarer might actually have a red queen and be trying to steal a trick in spades, then play for an overtrick.

[hv=pc=n&w=saj2ha5dak96ckj53&e=sq985hkjt6dj8caq8&d=w&v=b&b=4&a=2np3cp3dp6nppp]266|200[/hv] If you want to skip all the analysis, I'm asking how you would play if North finds the strongest lead of a club. I was sitting East and used Stayman to check for a 4-4 fit after my partner's 2NT opening. Not only might a suit slam be better than 6NT, I didn't know my partner's 2NT range. If it was 22-24, we might have a grand. I intended to use Blackwood if partner responded in a major. Traditionally 4NT would be quantitative, but most BBO players automatically treat it as Blackwood. If 4♣ is not Gerber on this sequence (how I play it), 4NT is indeed Blackwood. Change West's diamond 6 to the spade K and 7♠ is cold on any 3-2 and almost any 4-1. My partner, who shall remain nameless, received a helpful lead of the spade 4 to the 5, 10, and J. Let's just say he didn't find the best line and leave it at that. The way to maximize one's chances, after winning the spade jack, starts by crossing to dummy in clubs and running a spade. This solves your problem entirely if South started with K10 or K103 (with the latter, South had to play the 10 or the 5 might have won if declarer had A2). On the actual deal, North wins and does best to return a club. Win this in hand, unblock the spade ace, then go to dummy with a club to cash the good spade, discarding the low diamond. Now lead the diamond jack, hoping for a cover, but intending to win in hand regardless. Suppose South does cover, and you win with the king. Here are the remaining East-West cards. [hv=pc=n&w=sha5da9cj&e=shkjt6d8c]266|100[/hv] Cash the club jack and discard the low heart. Now you have to decide who might have what and who might have been squeezed out of what. When you see South cover the diamond jack and toss 2 or 3 diamonds, you can reasonably conclude South has the diamond 10. So cash the heart ace and king, and if the queen doesn't drop, finesse the diamond nine. If South did not cover the diamond jack, you can assume North started with either the queen, the ten, or both. A good player sitting South will realize that declarer will not run the jack (not having a trick to give and having a threat in hearts) and so will not cover with Qxx or longer. So if a high diamond falls from North, there's a fair chance that South has the other. Cash the heart ace and king and finesse the diamond nine if the heart queen doesn't fall. The exception to this is if only one or two diamonds are out, when you should play the diamond king and fall back on the heart finesse if the remaining diamond honor does not drop. If neither diamond honor has been played, and three diamonds are still out, you will have to get the hearts right (you should be counting them all along). Either play to drop the queen or take the finesse. Cash the heart A, then the diamond K, and assume both follow (if North shows out on the diamond, assume that player has the heart queen). If there are two or fewer hearts remaining, play for the drop; if three, play the J if North plays low. The full deal: [hv=pc=n&s=st3hq87dqt754ct64&w=saj2ha5dak96ckj53&n=sk764h9432d32c972&e=sq985hkjt6dj8caq8]399|300[/hv] South can see the heart/diamond squeeze coming, so should try for the most deceptive play. Covering the jack might be the best defense. South should then discard one heart and two diamonds. North can help by seeing that South will do this and discarding a diamond on the 4th club rather than a heart. After cashing the diamond king, in the three-card ending, declarer will likely take the heart finesse, knowing that North has three of the missing five hearts -- North will discard on the diamond king. If South does not cover the diamond jack, South still has to toss a heart. A discard of the diamond Q or 10 is fatal; declarer will cash the heart ace and king and then the remaining high diamond will fall in front of the K9. But now, declarer is more likely to place North with a diamond and play for the drop, figuring that if North has the queen, it will fall on the second round. The moral is, sometimes it's most deceptive to tell declarer the truth about your distribution! This may be so when you want to encourage a finesse towards your unguarded honor, or towards an honor that you intend to unguard to protect another suit.

Mike, you are right about your line working on a 3-2, don't know how I missed it. By the way, I like your signature. However, on a 4-1, if you ruff the third club high in hand, then later ruff a heart high in dummy, aren't you down to 3 high trumps to draw 4? I was thinking about that when I drew the first two trumps in dummy, but ruffing the club was wrong as you pointed out. I agree with JLOGIC regarding the 4-1 break. The only reason I posted this was because I found it so strange that so many Norths gave declarer a free heart finesse after ruffing the second club. But now it's clearer why they did that. If they had returned a trump, then with the ♣K not scoring, declarer can still get home by playing to ruff a heart high and later leading a diamond up to the Q. So North had nothing to lose and everything to gain by playing for South to have the ♥A and trying for a second club ruff (if West started with 3). You pointed out something I missed, so I have egg on my face, but oh well.

With regards to discarding a diamond on the 3rd club, that still leaves a diamond and a heart loser. Only one of them can go on the ♣K, and that can be played only after trumps are drawn. Plus they have 3 tricks already in (after North ruffs the 3rd club and returns a trump. So I'm now playing for trumps 3-2 and the ♥Q onside. I don't see how that's better than how I played or the alternative lines I gave.

[hv=pc=n&w=saqj76hakjda74c74&e=skt2ht2dq96ckj652&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=ppp1sp2sp4sppp]266|200[/hv] This deal provided interesting decisions for both defenders and declarer. Sitting West, I counted 1 pt for my doubleton after partner supported spades and bid game. 4♠ was reached by most pairs. In all cases, North led the club 8 to the jack and queen. At my table, South made the interesting play of cashing the club ace, North discarding a diamond, before returning a low club. This might have been costly, say, I could have had ♦Ax, solid trumps, and only one heart loser. In this case, South's play saved the defense from a pitfall, as will be seen later. I ruffed the third club high, then had my own decision to make. One line would be to cash two trumps, then the ♥A, and then the third high trump in dummy. Assuming trumps broke, I would cash the ♣K, discarding the ♥J, then come to hand with the ♦A to lead a diamond to the Q. That would almost certainly be better than taking the heart finesse, given the club break. I instead decided to play for a heart ruff. To guard against trumps 4-1, I cashed dummy's high trumps, then played three hearts, ruffing the third low. Alas, South over-ruffed. With the ♦K onside, I ended up with just one diamond loser for down one. How would you have played it? I think the heart ruff line is best, but it was probably wrong to play to ruff a heart low. Had that held with North having 4 trumps, then what? I would have to hope that North started with the ♦K and 3 hearts, meaning that South had started 5-5 in the rounded suits. Not likely. Alternatively, I could take the heart finesse after the second trump, and then lead a diamond to the Q. That would require both red honors onside. Now here's the weird part. I was one of only 5 declarers who failed. All but one of the successful declarers saw their opponents ruff a low club at trick two, then lead a heart! This made it easy for declarer, who now could draw trumps and play for the ♦K onside. Understandably, every lead at trick 3 looked dangerous, and if South had the ♥A, the defense might score a second ruff (but then wouldn't South have opened 1♣ in third hand?). I think North should have figured out to play a trump. West probably had solid trumps plus honors in both red suits, so a trump was least likely to give away a trick, and if the defense had a red suit trick coming, it probably wasn't going away. What would you have done?

OK, so you are assuming the only reason East would double is with a club singleton or void.

Obviously, winning on the board and taking the trump finesse guarantees 8 tricks if the K is onside. If the K is offside, and clubs are 6-1, the defense can score club ruff, diamond, club ruff. Now the diamond spots in hand are crucial as to whether you can set up a winner in that suit. Also, if East started with HJx or H9x West with ♠Kx, and dummy's diamond spots are high enough that West must win the second diamond with the A in order to stop declarer from scoring a second diamond ruff. I can't see any alternative line that makes sense.

Well thanks for the interesting responses! And yes, I did lack patience. I have no idea why North didn't use Stayman. It probably wouldn't have changed anything. Frances already mentioned the problem with winning in hand to lead a spade. After East wins and returns a diamond, spades are blocked, and the defense is one step closer to establishing their diamond winner. Now that I've had some more time to think about it, I still think ♦K and a club is best because clubs will take the longest to set up, and you can always take a spade or heart finesse. I like the ♣10 best, because you can repeat if everybody plays low. If the 10 is covered with a quack, you can already establish 2 club winners by playing clubs from hand next round. If West takes this trick with a quack and returns a diamond, my next play is the ♥Q. Perhaps a defender has Kx and has to take this, or perhaps one will err by taking the K from Kxx. If the ♥Q is covered, I win the diamond return and try the spade finesse, having the heart entry to untangle the spades. I still need either ♥3-3 or the ♣A onside. If the ♥Q isn't covered, I continue with the A. When the K doesn't drop, I take the ♠ finesse. If this fails, I am going down as long as East holds up one round. Taking the heart finesse followed by a spade is intriguing, but you are still likely to need at least one club, so why not play that suit right away, especially since you can establish a second heart by playing from hand? Maybe it's not so thin a game after all.

Well, ok, since nobody jumped in so far ... I don't think I played it best. I won in dummy and led a heart to the Q, cashed the ♥A, and played another ♥, the suit breaking. I won the diamond return and led the ♠J. East took the K and returned a diamond. I won, crossed to dummy in spades, cashed the long heart, and played a club up to the K, hoping for East to be endplayed. No soup for me! West took the A and the defense cashed the long diamond and ♣Q. Down one. I think the best line is to win in dummy and play the ♣10. This requires both Q and J onside, but it's the best shot I see. Note that if East plays low and West takes the A and returns a diamond, it gets complicated. It's between playing on spades to get to dummy to lead a club up to the K98, or cashing the ♣K and playing for ♣3-3. The former succeeds if West has Ax and East has ♥K, but you'll have to guess the ♠K. But then, my play required ♥K and either ♠K or ♣A onside, plus hearts had to be 3-3 or East had to have started with K10 or K9. Several pairs did make 3NT, and I suspect East covered the ♣10 in those cases. The full deal:[hv=d=w&v=e&n=saq65hj876dk7c1076&w=s983h1095dj964ca32&e=sk742hk42d1052cqj4&s=sj10haq3daq83ck985]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv]

Since I play penalty doubles past 3♠, I am doubling automatically here. If partner bids 5♣ next, I'll correct to 5♠ - and partner better have a serious 2-suiter.

I'd bid 2♣ even if East passes. This is a game-force hand. Oops I meant to say 2♣ not "Other" - getting sleepy (I was thinking 2♠ but that should show a control or a real suit depending on your methods).

Didn't read the first post before voting. I would bid 2♦ without Michaels but 2♥ with Michaels. Absolutely bid 6♠ because opponents could have ♠void and make 6♥

[hv=n=saq65hj876dk7c1076&s=sj10haq3daq83ck985]133|200|[/hv] The scoring is IMPs, EW Vulnerable. And maybe it's not so thin. After 3 passes, I opened 1NT, and partner responded 3NT, ending the auction. West led the diamond 4.

Hey, at least I got you to explain yourself. :) Ok, my reply was rather harsh, but I'm just tired of seeing dismissive, one-line replies in a serious forum. People make mistakes. My 4NT bid on that hand was a mistake, and I owned up to it. The player in question could have just reflexively covered an honor with an honor. A lot of players do it. Yes, I agree, when to cover an honor with and honor and when not to can't be emphasized enough. I've been guilty of some reflexive honor covering myself, and I've been playing for a while. In a way, though, it at least gave me a bit of a refresher on the subject, cause it made ME think about it, rather than providing the explanation right out, so in a Zen sort of way I guess it's all right. Peace.

I was about to say that! Please. Such small-minded, nitpicking, "gotcha" attitudes, congratulating yourselves and each other on your cleverness in jumping on the trivial, the banal, the minute. Makes me wonder why I bother. :) Yes, technically, playing low was better, since I was more likely to have 5 diamonds than 3 given the bidding. But that's not a play most beginners would know about, and this IS a beginner and intermediate discussion. (For those wondering WTH this is about, if West plays low, declarer will probably play the A with 5 trumps, since the drop is more likely in that case than the finesse, so covering an honor with an honor is a mistake here). People coming in here who think they are good players who never make mistakes, jumping on some little nitpicking point in the play, without deigning even to explain themselves, (because of course, it's SO OBVIOUS!) are discouraging the efforts of those who are genuinely trying to learn and improve their play. If you're just going to take sarcastic, know-it-all potshots, why bother responding?

This hand was not actually played, but is an interesting exercise. [hv=d=s&v=b&n=sakq8752haq7d108ca&s=shk1084dak76ckqj72]133|200|Scoring: IMP[/hv] You reach 7NT played by North. The bidding is unimportant, but it might go like this: South North 1♣ 2♠ 3♦ 3♥ 4♣ 4NT (RKCB) 5♠ 5NT (No. side K's) 6♥ 7NT - All Pass East leads a diamond. You win the A, cross to hand with a club, cash ONE spade, throwing a diamond from dummy (optional, but more than one would squeeze the dummy). You have 12 high card tricks, and the 13th can come in spades, hearts, or clubs, plus there are squeeze possibilities up the wazoo. First, which entry do you use to the clubs? Second, how do you continue if East shows out of on the third club? If West shows out? Third, is there a 100% line? In answer to the first question, it looks right to play the diamond now, keeping the finesse opportunity intact. However, the heart is the percentage play. To see why, let's do an analysis starting with the heart and then looking at the diamond play. If you want to skip the analysis, I offer an intuitive argument that you could use at the table, in real time, to find the best play. Suppose you play a heart to the K. Assume all have followed low so far. You cash two more clubs, discarding spades from hand. If both follow, you have your 13th trick and can claim. So what happens if East shows out on the third club? Let's say East throws a diamond. Cash the last high club, East throwing another diamond. Get back to hand with a heart and cash the third heart (if you haven't already done so). You succeed when either major is 3-3, or the ♥J falls, or East holds exactly 4 spades and 5 diamonds, when East is squeezed. You also succeed when East holds both red suits. West must guard both black suits, so will have to discard a diamond from 4-4-3-2, giving you a double squeeze, or you have a simple squeeze on East if East started with 5 diamonds. However, you fail if East holds length in both majors, or if East has 5 spades and 4 diamonds, as long as West holds the Q, J, or 9 (East discards a spade and 2 diamonds, and West keeps the third diamond behind dummy). So far not looking so good for this line, but let's see what happens if West shows out on the third club. If East holds length in spades as well, he is squeezed in the black suits on the play of hearts. If East holds the long hearts and West the spades, either West is squeezed in spades and diamonds or there is a double squeeze. Say West started 5-2-4-2. West can throw a spade and a diamond on the clubs, but must discard another diamond on the third heart. Now cash a top spade. Poor East is squeezed in three suits. A heart or club is immediately fatal, so East discards a diamond, but now you come down to ♦K7 in the dummy. The 8 to the K pulls the remaining diamonds, and the ♦7 is the fulfilling trick. If East holds length in both minors, then East is squeezed in the minors, which may in fact be a double squeeze (West must discard a diamond from 4-4-3-2). And again, you give up nothing if either major is 3-3 or the♥J falls. So the heart to the K is 100% certain if East has the long clubs. Now, going back to the diamond line. How does this compare when East shows out of clubs? When West shows out? Well, you certainly gain when East holds both majors, since you cash all of dummy's minor honors to squeeze East, and you don't lose if East has both reds either. You don't have any more squeezes, but when you cash out the black suits and see East throwing diamonds, you have near certainty that the heart finesse is working. You DO lose in the specific case of East holding 4-5 (or longer) ♠-♦, since you no longer have the entries to squeeze East in these suits. Overall, diamond to the K first works better if East has short clubs. Now let's look at this second line when West has short clubs. Remember, the first line was 100% in this case. The second line, not so. You've lost the ability to play for the double squeeze, so all you have is the simple squeeze on West in the majors or in ♠-♦ and the regular breaks. This means that you will go down whenever West started with ♥-♦ and also when West started ♠-♦ as long as East has three diamonds, one of them being the Q, J, or 9. So overall, while both lines have excellent chances of success, the heart line is slightly better. Now for the intuitive argument. You should use the heart entry first, because the heart suit has a chance of producing the 13th trick on its own, while the diamond suit does not, and this chance isn't greatly reduced by giving up the heart finesse (the chance of the J falling is 50% a-priori). Therefore, when all the normal plays have been exhausted, you will need the diamond K as an entry so that dummy's threats - in hearts, clubs, AND diamonds, stay active as long as possible.

This hand illustrates the principle that, if you are in a tight spot as a defender, make the play that gives declarer the best chance to go wrong. The bidding proceeded East South West North Pass 1♦ Pass 3♦ 3♥ 4NT Pass 5♦ Pass Pass Pass This was what West saw after leading [hv=n=sj87h1092da98643c9&w=sq42h3dk7caq10762]266|200|West led heart 7[/hv] East won the A and returned a heart to South's Q. South led ♦Q, covered by the K and taken with the A, East following. Declarer drew the last trump with dummy's 9, then led the ♣9 to the K and West's A. What should West do now? Well, West is in a pickle, down to spades and clubs. Either one is likely to give away the game-going trick. West in fact led a spade, and when dummy's J held, the hand was over. The full deal: [hv=d=e&v=b&n=sj87h1092da98643c9&w=sq42h73dk7caq10762&e=s10963haj8654d5c84&s=sak5hkqdqj102ckj53]399|300|Scoring: Total Points[/hv] West should return a club after winning the A (anything but the Q). South surely has both spade honors for his 4NT bid, and has no reason not to play the J. That play loses only if East has the bare ♠Q or Qx and the ♣Q cannot be ruffed out. By contrast, on the lead of a low club, South might play to ruff out the ♣Q or drop the ♠Q. If he plays a spade from dummy instead, he loses immediately if East has the ♣Q. While it's still probably best to play West for the ♣Q, at least South has a chance to go wrong. Also note that South can improve the play slightly by cashing the ♠A before playing on trumps. A word about the bidding: I was sitting South. I thought partner's bid was standard, since we hadn't agreed otherwise. Of course, he'd already done some overbidding :blink: . Still, 4NT was not a good bid, especially at Total Points. First, East clearly bid on distribution, so a 7-1 was not out of the question. Second, even if partner had a maximum with 2 Aces, and there was no early heart ruff, slam might well depend on a spade, diamond, or club finesse. The best bid is probably 5♦. 3NT is probably going down if East has either diamond honor. Edited to say: By the way, declarer might also think of a black suit squeeze on West, but it's not happening. If he tries unblocking the spade honors, he has no entry left (after ruffing 2 clubs and a heart and cashing the high trump from hand) to the club J. If he keeps the entry, then his hand is squeezed before West.

I have to amend one statement - with Kx in the unbid minor, I'm always going to bid 3NT, since responder would be declarer in 5 min. I want the lead up to the Kx. Ax in the unbid minor might be a borderline case.

Playing SAYC, my style with 5+ in a minor and game-going values in response to 1NT (11+ in response to a 15-17 opening) is to start with Stayman if I also have a 4 card major. If not, I bid 2♠ to transfer to 3♣, then bid my minor (4♦ to show diamonds as 3♦ would be sign-off). With invitational values, I use Stayman and then 2NT with no fit (ignoring the minor) or respond 3 min directly with no major. The following sequences show game-going values as follows: 1NT-2♣-2♦-3♦ shows EITHER major and diamonds 1NT-2♣-2♥-3♣ shows 4/5+ spades/clubs 1NT-2♣-2♠-3♣ shows 4/5+ hearts/clubs The second case is especially useful, as opener has not denied 4 spades. Opener can place the hand in game in either of responder's suits, bid 3NT, bid 3♥ to show 5 in that suit (yes, I open 1NT with a 5 card major), or bid either of responder's suits below game as a slam try. 4NT is a quantitative invitation to 6NT or 6♣ if responder has 6+ in that suit. There's just one fly in the ointment. What if opener has 2-4-3-4 shape with Qxx or lower in diamonds? Opener doesn't know if the better choice is 3NT or 5♣. The opponents are going to lead diamonds every time. If responder has 3 small diamonds, 5♣ is down right away, but 3NT may have a shot if diamonds are 4-3 - the most likely split. OTOH, if responder has 2 small (or fewer) diamonds, then 5♣ is better, as a 5-3 split is more likely than 4-4. I suggest 3♦ as an asking bid showing precisely 2-4-3-4 shape. Responder can judge where to place the contract, or can cuebid 4♦ to show control, or use Blackwood (or RKCB) for clubs, or bid 4♣ to suggest bailing out in that contract. (With 3-4-3-3, just bid 3NT, which responder should pass unless seeking a slam.) Switch the minors, and it becomes more difficult, since the asking bid of 4♣ is past 3NT. I address this by tightening the criteria for 4♣ - opener should have a minimum hand with 3 small clubs (no Q or J). With Q or J, it's best to bid 3NT, hoping for at least Jx or Qx in dummy; with better than minimum and no club honor, 5♦ suggests itself (taking a chance that responder has 2 or fewer diamonds with at most 4 total in ♠/♦). Now, responder can bailout in 4♦, place the hand in 5♦, or even try 4♥. Consider the following hand opposite 1NT: ♠ -- ♥ AQxx ♦AQJxxx ♣ xxx After Stayman, responder certainly doesn't want to agree ♥ right away, since slam in diamonds is likely with support, so he bids a forcing 3♦. After opener bids 4♣, responder has an easy retreat to 4♥. The opponents take their three clubs, but declarer probably gets the rest. Responder would also correct to 4♥ with this hand if opener bids 3NT after 3♦. In sum, I think the above agreement solves the biggest problem with the use of Stayman with 4/5+ maj/min, namely, deciding between 3NT and 5 of the minor when there is no 4-4 major fit. It preserves all of the options for slam bidding, and also allows for a bailout in 4 of the minor when there is a vulnerability (3-3, no stopper) in the other minor. It does give up the 3♦ natural bid, but the chance that diamonds are the best spot are so remote that this is not much of a loss - both opener and responder can have at most 4 diamonds. It doesn't solve every problem - there are still the borderline hands with Kx in the unbid minor, where the right call depends on controls and suit texture. So my questions are: 1. What do you think of this idea? 2. What problems, if any, would come up? 3. Is this use of the 3♦ (or 4♣)bid included in any common system? I've never heard of it being used to show exactly 3 small. And please don't bother with a response like, "There are plenty of methods out there to deal with these kinds of hands, no need to reinvent the wheel." That's just a not-so-subtle put-down, and I've gotten it enough in this forum.

Hi. I am a (so-far) casual SAYC player who might eventually like to play this system after studying it at my own pace for a few years. I have been slogging my way through chapter 3, am still on the 1♥-1♠ subsection, and am starting to get lost amid all of the special, shape-showing bids. A few additions would be majorly helpful (no pun intended). First, a bidding chart for each section or subsection, with a complete chart at the end of each chapter, would help to memorize the bidding and as a reference. Second, and even more importantly, a number of carefully designed examples at the end of each subsection (1♥-1♠-1NT, for example), would really help to drive home the point. The most basic SAYC and 2/1 teaching books use these tools; your system deserves no less. Many players who have never used any form of Precision might be interested in reading your book, and maybe studying it in depth and becoming serious players using the system. For these players, the use of charts and example hands will help their ability, desire, and confidence in mastering the system. I have long felt that a well-designed and understood big club system is the most powerful bidding system available; the 2♣ opening wastes bidding space (not to mention the 2NT opening!). I play exclusively online, and always find it frustrating playing against opponents using Precision. They always seem to move right along to the best contracts, mowing our side down in the process, because we rarely come up with effective interference. Meanwhile, when we get an unopposed auction, we struggle with our prayer bidding loosely based on SAYC. I like showing majors with weak hands after the 1♣ opening right away. It's the same principle as in Reverse Drury as opposed to regular Drury, although for somewhat different reasons there. The omnibus 1NT is something I think even SAYC players could benefit from adopting. There is no reason why opener shouldn't rebid 1NT if that is likely to be the best contract given a minimum response. I would go up to 16 HCP if I could get my partner to agree.

Thanks for the thoughtful replies. I agree that one should make the right bids in one's system without worrying about partners who don't know how to bid. Perhaps I have been compensating a little, which is not good, since not only do the good players then see me as not so good, but I really become worse through bad habits. On the merits of this hand, though, seems to me game is very likely if partner has one of the following 1. ♠xx ♥xxx ♦ xxxxx ♣xxx 2. ♠xxx ♥x ♦xxxxx ♣xxxx 3. ♠J ♥J ♦xxxxxx ♣xxxxx and similar. Surely this is not too much to ask; all of the above would be passed after a 1♠ opening. Also, as pclayton pointed out, 1♠ followed by 3♥ may not be absolutely forcing. One could deal with up to 5♦ preempt in various ways (I would probably bid 6♦ asking partner to pick a major slam). Overall, 2♣ has a lot to recommend it. Gary

Mikeh, if I had you for a partner, I'd be happy to open the six carder, but you underestimate the randomness and/or cluelessness potential of players here. Perhaps it's because I'm only an intermediate player myself and rarely play on tables where permission is required, but I've seen too many players fail to respond with 8 HCP or so. If I'm not sure of my partner, I will always open 2♣ on this type of hand to be sure of reaching game, although I've also seen a pass below game after 2♣ with 6+ HCP. My 2♣ is "almost" GF - after a second negative and opener rebidding same suit, responder may pass (eg., 2♣-2♦-2♠-3♣-3♠-Pass).

For those who would double then pass 3NT, how would you feel if partner had, say, ♠AKxxx,♥Kxx,♦10x,♣Kxx? No way you could keep them from running clubs unless they screw up (LHO surely has ♥A or RHO would bid 2♣ instead of 3♣. If they lead ♣Q and partner wins K, LHO has ♣ left when in with ♦ or ♥A. If you duck the club, RHO shifts to ♥ to A, and they finesse out your ♣K. Even replace ♦10 with Q and you still need a lucky diamond break - K10 or Kxx to your right, with that player holding at least six clubs. 3NT is a recipe for disaster. Marty Bergen's Introduction to Negative Doubles gives the 5 and 10 rule for a 2 level new suit over an overcall - 5 cards and 10 HCP. At the 3 level, you need more, and you have only 8 HCP. You do have 6-5 but the 6 card suit is broken and your values are not so hot. Therefore, double is the appropriate bid, correcting to 4♦ if partner bids 3NT. Also, if partner bids 3♠, I would also bid 4♦. Partner may have something like ♠AKxxxx,♥K,♦K10x,♣xxx. I like my chances in 5♦ on that fit. Note: I think LHO with three clubs and ♥A, will surely raise the preempt to 4, possibly 5♣. Then, after 2 passes, you have another decision. I probably bid 4♦ over 4♣ but pass 5♣. BTW, what's with the convention of "T" for "ten?" What's wrong with just "10?" Much easier to read IMO. Gary