AL78

If you have to ask what to do after Blackwood, it means you shouldn't have used Blackwood. Bid 6♠ and hope, and in future go slowly to find out more about partner's hand before deciding whether or not to look for slam. It usually take at least two bids for opener to nail their hand down to a narrow margin.

Yes, a bit of luck in either direction can make a significant difference to your score.

When it comes to 1♦ - 1♠ - 2♥, and 1♥ - 2♦ - 3♣, what really matters is not the absolute correct name for the second bid, but that you and your partner are on the same wavelength as to what it shows, both in terms of suit length and overall strength.

This site suggests a high reverse is bidding a new suit above the rank of your opening suit, but at the three level rather than the two level: [hv=d=n&v=0&b=1&a=1d2c2sp3h]133|100[/hv] Which is not the same as: [hv=d=n&v=0&b=1&a=1sp2dp3c]133|100[/hv]

3NT I think. A club lead is the most dangerous, but even then, I can afford to duck a diamond if the clubs are 4-4 or the jack provides a second stop, and if the diamonds lie badly, I have a chance the spades lie well. 4♠ and 5♦ look less likely to make.

As always you are right, apart from calling yourself a "pretty good player". I get the impression from these boards that you are far better than that, and if you and your regular partner played at my local club, you would destroy the field frequently. I also like to learn from mistakes which is one reason I post hands with poor results on here. The feedback I get is very helpful, however when it comes to reducing mistakes, I have difficulty with that. I still get hands when I am defending where I struggle to come up with a decent defensive plan, and I still have lapses of concentration. I think my vision during the cardplay needs quite a bit of work.

I agree you don't want to be in it, but if you are in it for whatever reason, you are playing for a layout where South has the heart ace only, so the favourable lie of the cards here allows you to make on any rational declarer play. Reminds me of a hand last Thursday when partner holds a minimum opener, I hold a 10 count, we got to 2NT making 12 tricks, because we have a double minor suit fit with both major aces, and both minor suit finesses work with the diamonds 3-3, so we have ten minor suit tricks and two aces. On more likely layouts we should just make it.

This sort of bidding is common at club bridge. On a bad day they stuff you up.

The bidding is poor but 6♥ is there. If a club is led, win, run the ♦Q (doesn't matter if South covers or not), cross to the ♠Q, dump the club loser on a top diamond, play a heart to the jack. Only loser is the heart ace. You can instead use a spade to dump the club loser if you wish. East is way too strong for a simple overcall in the protective seat, but going by this hand, it looks like East is an inexperienced player.

This hand came up earlier this evening: https://tinyurl.com/yz527jxn South has a nice hand but can she do anything other than pass once the opponents barrage to 3♥? Almost everyone else is playing in black suit contracts our way with a handful in NT.

Seems to be a clear 1♠ to me. A yarborough is not a hand that wants to penalise the opponents opposite a TOX at the one level. If it goes badly wrong, so be it, if my partner is asking me to bid my best suit and I do so because I haven't got a penalty pass, they are responsible for the consequences.

I think 6NT is a reasonable punt. 32-34 HCP combined it will make more often than it doesn't. If your partner has a habit of upgrading 14 counts it may be prudent to bit a quantitative 4NT with the risk they pass with a suitable 16 count. It is a little unlucky the eight HCP missing are exactly two aces, on many other hands with 32 HCP combined it will either be cold or there will be decent chances.

Why would a strong player feel the need to psyche regularly against weaker players? Their superior skill and judgement should be sufficient to get them a decent score the majority of the time.

1. and 4. sound more like poor judgement by your partner than a misunderstanding, unless the misunderstanding on 1. was partner thought she was inviting and you thought she was weak with five diamonds and some shape. 3. sounds like a lack of experience by your partner. I know some players at my club, even experienced players, would mistake a quantitative NT raise with Blackwood, but a strong player should recognise the difference. 2. is more understandable. I play 2NT - 3S as 5 spades and 4 hearts, pick a game, so if a pickup partner played that as showing both minors without any prior discussionb we too would have a disaster.

Yes sorry I meant 4♦.

4♣ if playing Namyats, otherwise 1♠. I can see a case for opening 1♣, hoping partner can support, then bid 5NT GSF, but that won't work as opps will be bidding one of the red suits to a high level quickly.

Does that apply if you are playing a system that can show strong Acol 2 hands? I can see this being the case if you are playing 2♣ as the only strong bid and at least some of the strong Acol 2 hands have to be opened at the one level. If you are playing something like Benji Acol and you respond 1♠ to 1m with your example hand, sods law says partner bids 2NT which is unlikely to be a success. If the spade suit was six cards, it would be less risky because over 2NT responder can bid 4♠ which is more likely to make.

All but the first hand have more than 13 cards so the first thing to do is call the director :D . A jump rebid, which is non-forcing, shows a hand that is not strong enough for game opposite a mimimum (5-7 HCP) response, but is strong enough to play at the three level opposite a minimum with no support. This puts it in the 15-17, maybe bad 18 or very good 14 HCP, the hand can generate about 6-7 tricks on its own. Given you could be passed, the suit should have some quality (i.e. not Jxxxxx if possible), so with a weak 5-6 carder and no top honors it is probably best to find another bid to get the strength across, such as a NT rebid if that fits your 1NT opening, or open 1NT in the first place if playing a strong NT.

I'd make a game try, a long suit trial bid in clubs. The thing that puts me off bidding game immediately (pretending I can't see the North hand) is that I hold two red singletons, the opps hold over half the HCP, yet they have said nothing. That to me increases the chance the hands do not fit together well (i.e. partner holds useless honors in the reds and a club shortage). I'd bid 2S over a Muiderberg 2H.

You missed the best contract of 6♦ but you can't beat anyone who finds that if it makes. My inclination would be to think a lot pairs will be in 3NT and that looks to be making at least ten tricks, and the only way to do better is if 3NT makes exactly 10 tricks and you can come to 13 tricks. Hope the diamonds are 3-2, hope the heart finesse works, dump the club losers on the top spades, if the heart finesse works you have a ruffing finesse against West. Do all that in the order which makes the most efficient use of entries. If you can only make +600 or +620 I think you have to accept a poor score.

I picked up a similar hand although I didn't double: [hv=pc=n&s=s974hktdakq65caqt&w=sat3hqj72dj4ck952&n=sk2ha963dt73cj876&e=sqj865h854d982c43&d=e&v=e&b=6&a=p1dd1h1s2s3sppdppp]399|300[/hv] Not difficult to take +800.

Such a hand came up later in the session: [hv=pc=n&w=s7hkj6dak74cq9642&d=w&v=b&b=4&a=1d2sd3spp4dp]133|200[/hv] I opened 1♦ to make my second bid easier (weak NT and didn't want to open 1NT with a small singleton) I chose 4♥ rather than 5♦ being MPs. I played in a seven card fit which should have made but I carelessly messed it up halfway through and went one down. Should have been a complete top instead of a complete bottom :(.

We don't play support doubles or penalty so double would be classic takeout showing a club shortage and tolerance for anything I respond. I would read it as showing a heart suit and almost certainly three spades.

She can, and I would have done that or double, but many people I have played with at the club don't like showing support with three cards when there could only be four opposite (which is one reason for playing support doubles).

A unanimous choice to bid on to slam which is reassuring as that is what I did. I correctly guessed partner held a slam going hand with two top spade losers and that is why she didn't go through RKCB, and I felt I had enough extras to justify going on. The full deal: [hv=pc=n&s=sakhaq96daj2cq842&w=s743h8732dq9754cj&n=sjthkjt4dk863ca53&e=sq98652h5dtckt976&d=s&v=n&b=15&a=2np3cp3dp3sp4hp5cp5dp5hp6hppp]399|300[/hv] It turns out whatever I do we are destined for a bottom. I couldn't make 6♥ and drifted one off for a bottom on the ♣J lead (I ducked, RHO won and returned a diamond, but I still couldn't quite do it). Two pairs were in 4NT making 11 or 12 tricks, one in 6NT=. They all conveniently got a diamond lead into the AJ which gives declarer a 12th trick with the ♣K right as well. Glad to know I can occasionally get these types of bidding judgements correct, even if on this occasion it was punished.