lenze

I once tabled a 6 card suit, and at the time remarked THAT was a record!! The previous record was 4!!! :)

J. This does not surprise me. I vaguely remember your dad opening 1N with Qx Qx AKQxxxx Qx . Must have been 30 years ago. I believe we ended up defending 2S for a top. lenze

My rules regarding 1NT openings are simple. After finding my point count to be in my range (usually 15-17) 1) First I check to see that I don't have a singleton or void. 2) I next check to see that I don't have more than 2 doubletons. 3) Then I check to see that I don't have a 6 card major. So far, so good. I open 1NT. This comes from my belief that it is better to have a rule to handle situations then to try and GUESS what to do each time it comes up. If your rule isn't working and gives you bad results, you can ALWAYS change your rule. lenze

Hi Free: that was the winning play!!!

[hv=n=sa986hq93dkqj873c&s=skqj7ha7d6ckq7632]133|200|Scoring: IMP 6 Spades by south(IMPS). West leads the Diamond Ace(Thank you)and shifts to the heart 6. Dummy's Queen is covered by the King. How do you play?[/hv]

Thanks for all your comments. I had a great time with my EX. She did not touch a wrong card all night. (Not really true, She made the mistake of leading my suit once) We had a 65% game!!

Playing bridge tonight with my Ex-wife (8 years divorced) She has played only once in the last 16 years. SHE HAS FORGOT MORE ABOUT THIS GAME THAN MOST PLAYERS WILL EVER KNOW" Looking to have a great time.. Wish me well!!

I had a nice experience regarding this topic last night. I played with an an old partner from 30 years ago in Dallas. On one hand, I placed him in a aggressive 6 Diamond contract. He was NOT afraid to lead the last trump, executing the squeeze, making 7 for a top.

[hv=n=sh9dcaq6&s=st3hdc75]133|200|I was dummy, sitting north when my student of over a year had this four card ending. Spades were trump. It was known that west held the only heart bigger than dummy's 9. South correctly played the spade ten, pitching the club 6 from dummy. She then fell from grace by leading a club to take the finesse. If she had played the last trump, west would be forced to come down to one club (Having to hold the high heart). So now when she led a club, and the king did not appear, she would play the Ace from dummy, dropping the king offside. [/hv]

I disagree wih the original double of 1 ♥. I've come to the conclusion that at this level, it is best to go for your contract. I would have bid 1NT over the 1♥ bid. Having doubled 1 ♥, I now have little option but to bid 1NT

[hv=d=w&v=n&s=s76hat64dkq76cat3]133|100|Scoring: MP West deals and bids 1♣. North bids 3 ♦ and you compete to 5 ♦. The opponents continue to 5♠ by East. You lead the Diamond K and partner overtakes with the Ace and returns the Heart Jack. Your play!![/hv] Dummy is xxxx, Q9xxx, x, KQJ

This is IMPS? The opponents were in 7 Diamonds, which I know is going down. But I doubled so they could run to a lucky 7 spades!!!! NOT A SMART MOVE!!!

Just a note... your partner can not have a "big hand" as you are playing precision.... you might have missed that as the text appeared above the table with the hand in it.... Ben No Ben, I did not miss that inference. Allthough it's been over 25 year since I played Percision, I would suspect that partner would compete with a good 6 card suit and a good 11-13 hcp. But with a great suit and a max(14-15), I would expect a redouble. I repeat my previuos question. "Who owns the hearts?"

I pass. Partner was simply competing. If he had a big hand, he would have redoubled!!!. By the way, who owns the hearts??

This is an interesting subject. And I don't have an answer. I have no problem remembering hands or cards played or even hands played in the past. I've been at it, however, for over 35 years. My good friend, and doctor, who also plays bridge can't remember the previous hand played. However, he is an avid golfer, and he can recall EVERY shot he made during any round of golf. It's just a matter of your interest.

A very good point. With a trusted partner, your are correct. I just don't feel most players are up to this type of analysis.

NO!! The only alerts required are for your partnership agreements that are not standard. Your decision to bid 3NT has nothing to do with your partnership understandings. If you have a partnership understanding about what 3NT shows then it may well be alertable. Wayne How can there be a partnership understanding in this sequence? As Ben pointed out, 3 NT is a desire to play in 3 NT. I can bid it with Ben's example hand (Tactical), or I can bid it with S-Kxx H-Ax D-x C-AKQTxxx Since partner is clueless, it is up the the opponents to work it out. If the bidding proceeds: 3♦ (P) 3NT (4♠) ? Is partner allowed to double based on your 3NT call? If not then you have a special partnership understanding that must be disclosed.' Wayne NO! Partner can not double 4S. No partner I play with will ever preempt and bid again unless forced. That is called partnership disciple!! Look at it this way. When partner preempts and I bid, I am saying to him "STAY OUT OF MY AUCTION" It's as simple as that.

NO!! The only alerts required are for your partnership agreements that are not standard. Your decision to bid 3NT has nothing to do with your partnership understandings. If you have a partnership understanding about what 3NT shows then it may well be alertable. Wayne How can there be a partnership understanding in this sequence? As Ben pointed out, 3 NT is a desire to play in 3 NT. I can bid it with Ben's example hand (Tactical), or I can bid it with S-Kxx H-Ax D-x C-AKQTxxx Since partner is clueless, it is up the the opponents to work it out.

NO!! The only alerts required are for your partnership agreements that are not standard. Your decision to bid 3NT has nothing to do with your partnership understandings.

Desire to play 3NT.. in fact, I would love to play 3NT (undoubled of course). Now whether or not I anticipate making it is for me to know and everyone else to figure out. If I were north and were asked, I would reply, " He thinks he can make 3NT."

There really is a difference!!! RHO's 1 Heart bid is clearly a psyche. He had no idea where the ball would land. He has no idea where the final contract should be placed. Also, his unlimited partner could easily raise him to 4 Hearts (or even 6). Also, his partner could correct 3NT to 4 Hearts. In fact, if his partner failed to correct to 4 Hearts holding Axxx of Hearts, it would easily be argued that he had fielded the pysche. It would then appear that RHO has psyched enough in the past to establish a pattern, and has therefore created an implied partnership understanding. This would be illegal under most bridge jurisdictions. Compare this with Inquiry's example. Here South's partner has preempted and is almost certain not to bid again. Also, south has a fairly accurate idea of who can make what. He also knows the correct strain for his side. He knows he is not going to sell out for less than 5 Diamonds, so his 3NT bid becomes tactical in an attempt to achieve the best result for his side.

3 NT here is NOT a psyche. It is a tactical bid!!! Lol ok.. so now imagine a rule that says that tatical bids are allowed but psyches are not... here we have to decide... is 3NT a pcyhe or a tatical bid on the hand above. Is opening light in third seat, say with 8 points or 7 points a psyche or a tatical bid? Is a false splinter a psyche or a tatical bid.... what a can of worms, beauty being in the eye of the beholder and all... Ben There is a difference between a psyche and a tactical bid. When one psyches, he is placing the ball in the air with no idea of which side of the net it will come down on. When one, however, makes a tactical bid, he has a good idea of where the ball will land. In Inquiry's example hand, south can be reasonably sure the ball will land in 5 Diamonds

3 NT here is NOT a psyche. It is a tactical bid!!!

A Match Point Problem: Playing in a club MP game you hold: S – AK98643 H – 2 S – K65 C – 85 All vul, in second seat you open 3S Partner raises to 4S and west leads the club Q Dummy is S – QT75 H – AQ74 D – Q C – AT74 You win the Ace and draw trumps in two rounds, West being void. Question: Do you take your 11 tricks, or risk the heart hook in an effort to make 12? If the heart finesse loses, you will only make 10 tricks.

For those who would open the hands in this tread in all situations, please, if you ever pass through Montana, PM me. I will arrange a seat for you at our monthly 10 cents a point game. We are ALWAYS looking for dead money.