r8864

Well it's a legitimate strategy and people do so at their own risk. As long as there is no concealed agreement it's not up to opponent to judge them.

Why is it sometimes that idle players don't get removed by the system? I find it quite unfair that I'm forced to leave the table and have my completion rate affected.

[hv=pc=n&s=sj2haqt5dakt42cat&w=st865h8632d6cqj82&n=sa7h94dq973c96543&e=skq943hkj7dj85ck7&d=e&v=b&b=10&a=3cdppp]399|300[/hv] Today I played a game which went like this. The contract went down 5. East claims to be an expert while West is an "intermediate" with 4700+ login. I wonder whether the 3C opening is any convention that I don't know, followed by miscommunication?

The host is probably a kibitzer

I always have this problem. As a responder to 1NT, after transfer, I dunno how to explore slam and at the same time allowing the 1NT opener a chance to correct the contract from NT to major.

thepossum I totally agree with this. I always think Bridge is a game for well mannered people. As long as one is polite and doesn't behave obnoxiously at a table, I'm OK. Taking offence at trivial things runs counter to the spirit of the game. But anyways, I think those in this thread are not those kind of people. They have all provided useful feedback so I appreciate their input.

We frequently have a situation where as a declarer you have in your remaining cards all trumps (no outstanding trump at defense) + 1 loser. Do you claim all and concede one, or do you cash all trumps and see if your opponent will make a mistake in discard? I never concede in this situation since I risk nothing but 1 out of like 10 times an extra trick is gained. What's your view on it?

I thought sitting and leaving table without bidding doesn't affect MCR? Maybe I'm mistaken?

Are there lots of people leaving table when they see a 4-3-3-3 hand with 5 HCP, or other hands that as defender you don't have much control, hopping everywhere until getting a good hand? Very often when you see a number of people come and go without playing, you can infer that the particular hand has very low HCP.

Thank you all (except steve2005) for your input. I now have a much better idea. :D

Let's say my partner open 1H and I have 4 HCP with a 3-card support. RHO overcalls 1S. If I bid 2H, partner probably expects me to have 6-9 HCP. Last time this happened to me, the bidding went like 1H-1S-2H-2S-3H-P-P-P. Are there any ways to show my intention to stay in competition without showing value?

More than half of the table played 3NT, when E did not open or S overcalled E's weak 2 open. For those who played 2Sx, they had the same bidding sequence as my table.

[hv=pc=n&s=s7hakjt5daq2cat62&w=sh987432dj543cj95&n=skt9432h6dk97ckq3&e=saqj865hqdt86c874&d=e&v=b&b=10&a=2sdppp]399|300[/hv] I played this a few days ago on BBO. I did a takeout double. My partner decided that it's more beneficial to defend this contract. The result is down 5 and we got +10.93 IMP. At most of the other tables, S/N can make 3NT. I think opponents were simply unlucky. I wonder how the opponents could have done better?