AL78

Yes, it is obvious now, I didn't think of it at the time. My mind covered 2♠ (underbid), 2NT then 3♠ (doesn't get the length across), and 3♠ (misleading, strength is in shape not HCP), and I decided 3♠ was the lesser of evils.

HCP are well placed in the two long suits. Rule of 20. 10 HCP + length of two longest suits = 20: open. Rule of 22 vuln agains not. 10 HCP + length of two longest suits + 3 quick tricks = 23: open. It is a much better hand than the 5-5 10 count my partner opened a week and a half ago, where one of the long suits was ten high.

Correct. Prior to the last ice age Acol people would respond 2♥ but these days that hand is not quite good enough for a 2/1 response even if not playing 2/1 GF. After 2♠ you can't do anything sensible other than pass. If you had game potential partner would have bid 3♠, and if the hands look like a misfit, put the brakes on.

I'm glad I asked the question andc got some good responses about continuations after a reverse, as it has exposed something I need to discuss with my regular partners. One or two things I thought were the case are evidently not. I confess to never studying reverse auctions much as they hardly ever come up. I can see why there might be some confusion: This page states that after a reverse, rebidding your own long suit shows a very weak hand (5-7 HCP) and at least five in the suit. Larry Cohen's page says the same bid is a one round force. It looks to me like something that needs to be discussed within a partnership.

No, we definitely play 3014 RCKB so I don't know what she was doing raising me to the slam, unless she intended her 4NT bid as something else and thus interpreted my 5♣ response as something else.

I didn't realise you could click on the highlighted bids and see the expanation. I have no idea what QS means, I thought it was RCKB agreeing spades, hence I responded 5♣ showing 0 or 3 key cards (must be 0).

Some partnerships might not agree. Can responder with six spades and a drop dead minimum never sign off in 2♠? I thought that responder rebidding their suit shows weakness and a long suit, and opener can pass with a minimum reverse and a misfit. Hence with a long spade suit and strength there has to be another way to force the bidding and locate a 5-3 fit, so that, I think, is the idea of going through FSF, to find out if opener has three card support. If you are playing Lebehsohl over reverses things are a bit different.

These hands are from a friendly multiple teams match against a Dutch club I think. We lost unfortunately, but there are a handful off oddities where I may have misread the situation: Hand 1: https://tinyurl.com/yh2zhwsq I admit to not knowing what was going on when partner made a 1 level overcall and then bid over the opponents 2NT. I placed her with a seven card suit and too good for a double jump overcall, something like a minimal opening hand in HCP. I wasn't expecting a four loser hand so I didn't raise to the cold game that was bid at the other table. This brings the question of what is the maximum you should expect for a simple overcall and what is the minimum you should respond with. Hand 2: https://tinyurl.com/ygqdujhj 2♠ alerted as showing hearts and clubs. Partner raised and I raise to game. Opps compete to 5♥ (as usual), partner passing. I decided 5♥ has a fair to good chanced of coming in especially if they have a spade void and a double fit, so bid 5♠, thankfully undoubled. Unfortunately 5♥ is off so I should have shut up, the five levels belongs to the opponents. At least it was a flat board. Hand 3: https://tinyurl.com/ydrxpech Arguably the most ridiculous one. We were playing Lebensohl and I judged my hand to be worth game if partner has a standard TOX of a weak two with a spade suit. Unfortunately partner held a rock crusher and my points shmoints bid propelled us to a failing slam off two aces. I don't know why she raised me to six when she had just found out we were missing two key cards. I confess I have no idea what 5♥ meant, hence I made what I thought was the most practical bid of 5♠. Hand 4: https://tinyurl.com/yhptqhxq Nothing we could do here, our opponents bid to the cold grand whilst our teammates stopped in five. 17 imps out. Hand 5: https://tinyurl.com/yztx4f28 I think we bid reasonably on this hand, but I have five unavoidable losers. It did at least give me a chance to practice elimination and endplay technique. 8 imps out when teammates bid to a hopeless 5♦-3 (https://tinyurl.com/yfx2j8u2). I'd be interested in your views on hands 1-3 in particular. I seem to have a habit of misreading the situation and occasionally taking a view that goes badly wrong. I feel somehow I need to improve my judgement.

Responding to a takeout double is not the same as opening in a suit followed by bidding a new suit. Responding with the higher ranked major means that in the awkward case your partner bids a new suit (like here), you can show both your suits at the two level and have the option of playing in either of them there. If you ahow the hearts and partner bids a new suit, if you then show the spades you are forcing the auction to the three level when partner wants to show preference for your hearts.

I would double then bid diamonds with that hand. Seven playing tricks and the ♠K is likely a trick given an entry to dummy. If a simple overcall can be done on a hand that good, it puts a lot of pressure on partner to find a bid with a scattered 7 or 8 count or risk missing game. The hand is so good that 3NT is there with just one trick opposite, admittedly thanks to a very favourable layout.

I'd pass. Partner has something like a seven or eight playing trick hand with diamonds, and game is unlikely. It depends on how strong your simple overcalls are. Those who play a simple overcall could be up to 18 HCP would play a change of suit as stronger so bidding on would be reasonable. I play simple overcalls up to about a bad 17 HCP.

Yes it probably is that simple in the end. I'm not worried about it, it is not going to happen again for years if ever, I was merely curious if any agreements existed in this situation.

This hand came up years ago in a county mixed pairs qualifying event. I was East. [hv=pc=n&s=saqj9654htdcqjt96&w=sk7haqj9542d94c43&n=st83h63dqjt872c72&e=s2hk87dak653cak85&d=e&v=n&b=2&a=1d4s5hp6hdppp]399|300[/hv] One down for a bottom after a diamond lead ruffed followed by ♠A. 6NT is cold. Is there a way of countering the Lightner double to bid the NT slam the right way round depending on who has a stop? Those who played in 5♥ made 12 tricks as they didn't get the diamond lead, a couple were defending a high spade contract getting +500 or +800.

We were not playing 2/1.

I think South forgot they had the ability to show a two suiter in the majors so treated it as a one suiter, so I don't think I was damaged, the explanation of 2♦ was correct.

2♦ was explained as any single suiter, XX wasn't explained or alerted, so I made what I thought was the most logical bid at the time.

5 card majors, weak NT. [hv=pc=n&s=skjt63hqjt743d4cj&w=sa85hak62dkqt5c64&n=sq97hd98632ck8532&e=s42h985daj7caqt97&d=e&v=n&b=2&a=1n2ddr3c3h3nppp&p=sts5s9s2s6s8sqs4s7h5sj]399|300[/hv] ♠T lead was explained something like may be top of nothing or hold a higher honor (I can't remember the explanation exactly). I'm not sure I've got the play of the first tricks right, but it was definitely three rounds of spades. With eight tricks it looks like I have to generate a club trick through a finesse. Thinking South is marked with all (or nearly all) the outstanding HCP, and so holds the ♣K, I played a club to the ten. Wrong, South wins with the singleton jack and cashes two spades, one down. I didn't expect South to hold five spades as well as a heart suit. -3.33 instead of a moderate positive score. Quote from North: "You could have bid 2♣ to show a two suiter".

5 card majors, weak NT, X-imps. This was at the beginning of round 3 where a tedious bias in the hands was becomming apparent (slog slog slog to fail to generate anything, it took until board 13 out of 21 to get a game score our way). This was one of those hands which really annoys me. East on this hand is notorious for bidding on crap and I wanted to punish him for it. [hv=pc=n&s=saqj75ht9863d4ck5&w=sk93hq5dj932cq876&n=st8ha42dkq7cjt943&e=s642hkj7dat865ca2&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=1sp2c2d2h3ddppp]399|300[/hv] Partner led the ♣K and despite my best efforts and both of my diamond honors being tricks, we could not take more than four tricks. 11 imps out. East goes away with the satisfaction that overcalling on garbage suits works, doubtless he'll do it again against me in future :(.

5 card majors, weak NT, Jacoby 2NT. I was North. [hv=pc=n&s=sa3haj63dqckq8753&n=skqj9hkt972d643ca&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=1hp2cp2hp4hppp]266|200[/hv] Defence cashed the ♦A, hearts were 2-2 so 12 tricks were there. Would you be happy being in a slam at imps which depends on playing a nine card fit for no losers missing the queen? How should this have been bid? I'm not sure what more I could have done, but should South go through Jacoby? If so, what do I respond? We play the basic version of Jacoby but responding 3♣ with a singleton ace seems wrong (and it would give partner the wrong impression of the compatibility of the hands) so I'd probably treat it as intermediate and bid 3NT. I guess partner then would drive to slam, what do you think?

I don't like the idea of faking a major suit. Too much risk of being put into a poor game on a poor fit.

I'd pass, my understanding is East would need a stonking maximum overcall for game to have a chance, which they are almost certainly not going to have.

I can't comment on whether or not they are inferior since I can't remember the last time I made a splinter bid. they pretty-much never come up in my experience, so maybe there is a better way to play the double jump in a new suit.

Is there a limit on strength for a splinter bid? I've never come across that and this article doesn't suggest an upper limit. https://mrbridge.co.uk/assets/docs/library/articles/bidding/Slam_3.pdf

You might want to be in 7NT in case opener has eight hearts to the jack and you run into a ruff at trick one. I'm surprised he didn't have eight hearts, is that what passes as a vulnerable pre-empt in 1st seat these days?

Not really, I just looked at the West hand in isolation. I would very likely go for a penalty, as I said where are NS's tricks coming from? If partner can't trust me and pulls it to a hopeless game I'll have to pay out, but partner ought to deduce I have doubled for penalties when he has shown and could easily have nothing, so it is not the same situation as doubling a weak NT for penalties. If I do my best to bring in a fair or good score and fail I'm not going to cry over it.