phoenixmj

Question about a mechanical error - Can a mechanical bidding error come from two different sections of the box? Seems more like a lapse in concentration than mechanical.

I did open this hand 1NT and it proved to be a bad idea as we did have a heart suit fit, but partner did not have enough points to do puppet staymen which we play as a 3c bid over 1NT. I am reading a somewhat LONG diatribe about 1NT openings and responses. I am not sure if I would have opened this 1NT before reading that diatribe. It talked about tenaces and that with tenaces you want to be receiving the lead, and the best way to have that happen is to open no trump. Similarly, a king doubleton, you want to receive the lead. Then there is the rebid issue - with a suit open you need a rebid. All those reasons caused me to open 1NT. It is reassuring that those reasons occurred in the answers here - perhaps I am following the right track. The game we were playing in had about 30 percent Canadians, and they tend to play weak NT openings. So, they likely opened this 1H. In this case it worked well for them. So, about 30 percent of the people played hearts and the rest NT - which did not fare as well as hearts. So, I was curious if people who know a LOT more than me would have opened it 1NT - and I am seeing that many would. So, I guess it is just another situation where making the right bid does not necessarily work out. Thanks for all of the responses. It definitely made for interesting reading.

Had this hand this afternoon. I have been doing some reading on when you should open 1NT rather than a suit. I am curious as to how you would have opened this hand and why you make that choice. I will later post my actual bid and reasoning based on my reading to date - and would very much like comments regarding the validity of my thought process. Thanks in advance.

[hv=pc=n&w=sk2hq9543daq2ca64]133|100[/hv]

Disaster is a bit of an overstatement. But, the fact that east is playing it and my tenuous stoppers in the majors can be led through - presents a problem. We would have been down 2 non-vulnerable. But, we can make 4d and did so that was better clearly.

We wound up playing 4NT - due to miscommunication that actually worked out OK. We made 6 NT and it makes 7D and 7C. I wanted to ask for aces and after my partner told me he had a maximum 1nt - I thought I needed to explore slam but go only if he had aces. I said 4NT and much to my surprise, it got passed. We had never really discussed this type of a hand and bids after the 3C rebid. I thought that the only thing it could be was an ace ask, but he was thinking it must mean if you have a really strong 17 go to 6 - and he was missing an AK in clubs so he did not go.

We also play it as a splinter. Short in diamonds.

[hv=pc=n&w=s64h7dkt743cakq65&d=n&v=e&b=9&a=p1np]133|200|We play a strong NT open - 15-17[/hv] We had this hand yesterday and my partner opened 1NT - strong - 15-17 points balanced hand. My hand is strong opposite this open, but I am hesitant to suggest NT, but depending on partner's hand, I am also reluctant to suggest we play in a minor. We used to have a bid of 3c that would suggest 5-5 minors invitational, and 3d would suggest 5-5 minors game force. We have adopted 3c as puppet stayman so our 3d jump is a bit undecided. We need to discuss further but I think we will conclude that 3D over 1N must be a forcing bid - at least 1 round. Even with this bid in place, I might find out where my partner would like to play the hand but I don't know the strength and I really do want to know about aces and about points. Meanwhile, we did not have that understanding. With my hand I want us to be in game and frankly, possible slam if partner fills in the appropriate blanks. Our bidding got confused because I bid 2S - which we treat as a size ask that doubles as a club transfer. This is a relatively new bid for us and we needed to read more about subsequent bids. My partner showed a maximum bid by transferring to clubs. Then we got messed up (I think we had not decided how to treat a hand like this) so I am very interested as to how we should have bid this.

[hv=pc=n&e=st6h9dkjt53ca9864&d=w&v=n&b=12&a=1dp2d]133|200|inverted minor[/hv] As requested- this is partner's hand. No major. 2 five card minors so a very distributional hand. 1NT is not forcing for us over a minor - so had he said 1NT - there is a serious risk of a pass. We do not play inverted minor 2level raises as game force. We play them is 100 percent forcing 1 round. So, I see the value in that this hand is too strong to reply 3D - and going through 1NT to show the intermediate values with diamonds could cause a disaster. I had just never heard of counting short points in inverted minors and would like to know which is better. Partnership agreement could go either way. I am forced to bid so we will be at the 3 level at least - as I feel that partner should retreat from NT if I were to bid it. I typically have 4 diamonds, but with certain shapes I can have 3. We open better minor but if I have 3 d and 2c, I would open diamonds. In that case - opposite this hand, we would probably want NT.

Today we were playing at the club and our opponents for this particular hand are considerably stronger players than us. I opened 1 Diamond, and my partner raised to 2 Diamonds. There were no competitive bids before the 2D raise. I alerted because we play inverted minors. The opps then bid and I passed, and my partner raised to 3d - where we played making 4diamonds. When my partner's hand came down - i saw his hand to have 5 diamonds, but only 8 HCP and a very distributional hand. It had always been my understanding that inverted minors usually have a goal of playing 3 nt, and you would not count support points in arriving at the 10 point minimum to go to 2 diamonds. Our opps said they value the responder hand using support points so they would have also bid 2D. How do you play inverted minors. Do you only count HCP since you are really trying to get to 3N - where shortness would be far from an asset - or do you include support points. Thanks in advance.

This was a play of the hand question but they provided no explanation of one of the bids. The bidding on the hand went 1D by north, pass by east, 1S by south, 2S by west What does west's 2s bid mean to you? Thanks in advance.

We are relatively new to spiral 2NT and we had a hand today where we had interference after the 2M bid. The bid went - 1D, P, 1S, P, 2S, double So - if there had been an overcall after the 1 spade bid, I can do a support double (or redouble if that person doubles). But, if the double comes after the 2S bid - then how does the responder bid? Is spiral still on? Suppose they bid higher than 2N? As always, any help is appreciated.

We play flannery so 2D open has a different meaning. I chose to pass, although I have been known to sometimes open 3d with 6 because of the flannery restriction.

[hv=pc=n&n=sq4h53dkjt964cqj5&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=pp1n2s]133|200[/hv] We play a strong 1NT - 15-17. The 2S bid was natural. We play Lebensohl but we are relatively new to it. North has 9 HCP and a long diamond suit. North has no spade stopper, and 2 doubletons. So, NT seems like a bad idea. What should north bid now? Any and all help is appreciated. Let me add an additional question - what would the correct/best bid be if we played transfer Lebensohl? Thx

I think he felt he had told his story. 2-suited and at least 8 points. His singleton spades makes his void worth less if we are playing in spades. I think the initial mistake on this bidding was mine - I should have jumped in spades to better describe my hand. I do think his hand was too strong to not ask for key cards - but I went on bidding because of my two singletons in his suits. I was hoping I can sluff. Turns out he had both kings as well - so it was cold for 7.

Question - what does the 5NT bid mean or ask for? I can see that responder is in a better position to see 7 rather than 6 because responder knows about the kings. When I bid, Iknew we had first round control of all the suits and I certainly expected that I would get all the spades. My concern was the 2 losing diamonds - especially when I did not get indication of partner having spades. How do I know that both my losing diamonds are covered - especially since I know that there will likely be transportation issues with my 2 singletons. Could you explain the 5NT, 7S sequence for me? Thanks in advance. This has all been very helpful. We will definitely adopt the jump bid showing declaration of suit and a strong suit.

[hv=pc=n&w=sakqj853h6dakt2c5]133|100[/hv] OK - here is the other side of the story. South has passed when the bid came to me. I opened 2C. My partner bid 2H - so I know him to have 5 hearts and a good suit (2 of top 3 or 3 of top 5), and a minimum of 8 points. I now mention my spades at the two level. I know someone mentioned bidding them at the 3 level, but I know I get to bid again so I bid them at the 2 level. Curious to know if that is an underbid? Next, partner says 3 clubs - so I figure he is two suited - but they are my singletons. I really want to know if he has kings and aces in those suits so I can sluff my 2 losing diamonds. A void in diamonds is only useful if he has spades. I next bid 3 spades. My partner then made a bid that I think is an underbid - and he said 4 spades. By this point, I feel we should be in slam and I bid 4NT. He responded 5H and I bid 6 spades. I should have bid 5 NT to ask for kings - but instead I chickened out and bid 6 spades. WE made 7 and about 1/2 the field wound up in 7. Now - if I ask for kings, he would tell me he had the king of clubs. I still don't know about the kind of hearts or if he has a queen in clubs. I know I will have transportation problems in all likelihood. Frankly - we are intermediate players rather than advanced - and we do tend to back away from 7 bids. I would appreciate any advice as to how this auction should have gone now that you have both sides of the story. Should I open 1 spade instead of 2c? Should I jump in spades? Thanks in advance?

I had not considered jumping in spades after a 2 club open. We are basically in a game force tryng to find the right place and level, and I thought we were supposed to go slowly to exchange as much info as possible. This is interesting.

[hv=pc=n&e=s6hak97532dcakj43&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=p2cp2hp2sp3cp3sp]133|200[/hv] 2c is either 22+ hcp or 8.5 tricks 2h is a positive response showing 8+ points and 2 of top 3 or 3 of top 5 hearts - guarantees 5 hearts 2s is natural 3c is partner showing second suit as clubs, so likely 5 hearts and 4 clubs 3s is showing spades as a strong suit at least 6 How does the bidding continue from here?

Yours is different from my understanding. We would play it as a reverse. As almost everything, I suppose a lot is partnership agreement. I am an intermediate player - so I am curious to hear other opinions on this. We would take it as a reverse.

hi - after reading your post I looked at Robert Todd's description of extended Walsh. I think that is what you are indicating when saying bidding 1 spade shows unbalanced. Now in this case, without interference - it seems that a 1N bid is appropriate. My partner was opener and did a support double because there was interference. I am now including the entire hand. Any additional suggestions on this hand? East is the dealer and both vulnerable. They can make 3 diamonds so passing their 2 diamond bid is distasteful - and if that gets passed around to me (west) I am not strong enough for a rebid. We are down at 2 hearts but can make 2 spades. [hv=pc=n&s=sqt97hk93dk74c743&w=saj63hjt75dq93c52&n=s2h842daj852ckqjt&e=sk854haq6dt6ca986]399|300[/hv]

If opener opens a minor and an unpassed responder says 1H - this does not deny 4+ spades. Without an intervening bid, if opener has 4 spades opener's rebid bid would be 1 spade under our system With an intervening bid - Example 1C, p, 1H, 2D, ????? opener can do a support double with 3 hearts, bid 2 hearts with 4 hearts, but what is the correct bid to do with 4 spades assuming not strong enough to reverse? I am thinking that a 2 spade bid would promise 5, not 4. And also, I think it shows as a reverse. I know that this is pretty basic, but for whatever reason I cannot put together how this should be bid. Thanks in advance.

technically - we had not yet agreed on a suit. Would a jump to 4c imply willingness to play in spades? Just curious.

We play xyz - but we have not had an understanding that 1NT in this sequence would be forcing 1 round. I think we may change that. I read the analysis by StephenTu - and I have to start adjusting my LTC. I have been rather sloppy for that. IN this case - we bid the game, made 6. However - if the lead was on the other side, we should not make 6 as east held 2 aces. The hand makes both 5 hearts and 5 spades as it turns out. WE were the only team in 4 spades. It is easier to make 6 because the lead comes from the other side. It is also unlikely that someone would lead 2 unsupported aces when we were in 4 - but in 6 you would expect that to be set. So, it turned out to be an advantage being in spades played from south, instead of 4 hearts played by north. I have always played that my bid of 4 spades would show 19-ish points. I was obviously short of the mark but the hand felt stronger than it was.

[hv=pc=n&n=skj2hakq543dqt4ct&d=w&v=n&b=12&a=p1hp1sp]133|200[/hv] We play Flannery - so that means that if I have 5h and 4s - I will open 2D and NOT 1 heart unless my point range would trigger a second bid showing spades (a reverse). Consequently, if I open 1 heart and my point range matches Flannery, I do not have 4 spades and my partner's bid of 1S in virtually all circumstances guarantees 5 Spades. At least that is our partnership understanding. So, i opened 1 heart (denying 4 spades) and partner responded 1 spade - showing 5 spades and a minimum of 6 points - no upper limit. I now look at my hand and need to come up with a bid that will show a good hand, support and spades, and my partner is unlikely to pass. We have a fit in spades so i look at my LTC and it is 5. If partner has a 9 or better LTC, we should be in game. If we have a slam - I don't want to shut down the bidding. Since my partner bid I am assuming that his LTC is 9 or better. Is there anyway I can make a bid below game that is forcing to game? A jump shift shows 19 plus points for us, and I am short of that. As always - any help is appreciated.