AL78

Game force opposite a constructive response to a takeout double. Probably fishing for 3NT, wants to know if you have a heart stop. QJX is just enough, so you bid 3NT and make ten tricks assuming a heart lead. If partner is looking for a club slam he will bid on over 3NT.

You have to go with the former if it is one of those biased evenings where the cards predominantly go the other way, because you are not getting into the auction very often.

That nearly happened to me once. My RHO opened a pre-empt and my partner ended up in a spade slam which required picking up the queen in a nine card fit to make. If I were declaring, I'd have played for my LHO to hold Qxx. My partner played for the drop. My partner was right, my RHO held Qx in spades. It illustrated that many club players will follow rules without thinking where they come from and when these rules apply (playing for the drop with a nine card fit is the percentage action if there is no information about the opponents distibutions).

Yes, the opponents strange double and lack of explanation was not our undoing, our lack of confidence that a double by either of us would be interpreted as takeout by the other was. I don't think calling the director would have been justified, it was our lack of agreement that damaged us.

I asked that and didn't get an answer.

This was with a regular partner, but it is becoming apparent we need to have more discussion on what bids and doubles mean/show in a competitive auction. She got back to me after the session and said she had the same desire to double for takeout but wasn't sure if I would take it as showing the majors or penalty.

The ♦K as an entry was considered, but I ultimately decided to pass, thinking it would be split about 50-50 across the field. At IMPS, I would have raised to game, but I think there is less benefit to bidding thin games at MPs. It is not just the entry, it is AKx opposite my lousy five card suit, combined with a 3-2 break which brings in the game.

[hv=pc=n&s=skq752ha5dt754c96&w=sat4hkq72da93cak5&n=s986hjt94dqj6cqj7&e=sj3h863dk82ct8432&d=e&v=b&b=10&a=pp2nppp]399|300[/hv] 2NT is 20-21. I didn't think my four count was quite enough to raise. I was wrong. A favourable layout and a heart lead taken immediately by South meant 10 tricks were easy. I tend to go by the guideline that you need a bit more than 24-25 HCP to make 3NT when nearly all the HCP are in one hand, it happened partner has a near perfect hand opposite mine. About half the field were in it, only a handful went down. I think it theoretically goes down on a spade lead, but North is never finding that.

[hv=pc=n&s=s6h983d87653ck742&w=saq75hakt4dt2ca98&n=skt32hq6dakj9cj53&e=sj984hj752dq4cqt6&d=s&v=0&b=11&a=p1ndp2dppp]399|300[/hv] The double wasn't alerted, and when 2♦ came round to me, I would have liked to make a takeout double, but there was too much risk of partner taking it as penalties and passing. One off in 2♦ was an average minus. Almost everyone else is making 7 or 8 tricks in 1NT our way, a few in a heart contract vmaking or going off.

Lead top of a sequence. Avoid leading unsupported aces in suits partner hasn't shown. Following that advice worked very badly on this hand: [hv=pc=n&s=sqt63h6542da8ckq4&w=s75hkqj97d65ct832&n=saj9842ht8dt72ca7&e=skha3dkqj943cj965&d=w&v=0&b=8&a=p2s3d4sppp]399|300[/hv] My 3♦ overcall is very marginal, but I was getting sick of doing little but passing and following suit by this stage. In the absence of anything from partner, lets try the top of sequence lead, that is usually a decent lead. Not this time. Dummy wins, and three rounds of clubs follow, declarer pitching a heart. Even taking the finesse into my stiff king couldn't stop ten tricks for 22.9% to us. I have to lead ace and another heart, then a third heart guarentees making the spade king, and we end up with a diamond trick, one down. I'm not good enough to know when it is right to break these fundamental rules (guidelines).

Just played in the EBU six round tournament, and it was a horrible evening with a massive bias the other way. This was one of the few times we had something on our way, but screwed it up. [hv=pc=n&s=sa9542h5d87caqj43&w=shq9dajt96542ck86&n=st76hak87642d3ct9&e=skqj83hjt3dkqc752&d=e&v=e&b=6&a=1sp2d3hpp4dp5dppp]399|300[/hv] I'm sure there was a discussion on here recently about whether rebidding a minor at the four level is forcing or not. I thought it was, based on the principle of not pre-empting over a pre-empt, I have already shown a weak opening hand with my failure to bid the second time, and what could partner have to bid to the four level missing KQ? I raised to 5♦ which was the wrong thing to do. Two off after ♥A, ♥ruff, ♣A, and partner missed the ruffing finesse line to ditch the club loser. 4♦= would have been a much better score, even leaving 3♥ might have given us a plus score.

It is not surprising a low probability slam can make if the layout means four finesses work.

I tend to think a penalty double of a weak NT is somewhat overrated as to its importance. I cannot remember the last time I took a decent penalty using it (decent means +200 or better). In my experience two things tend to happen, they either scrape it or go one off for -100, or they wriggle to something that either makes or goes one off. You have to have good agreements as to what doubles and bids mean after they wriggle (which almost everyone in the UK does when doubled), otherwise you end up having no idea whether doubles are penalties or takeout.

It comes down to the idea that in a civilised society, inflicting harm or violating the rights of others is wrong, beacuse having these things imposed on you is unpleasant. Most law is founded on punishing people who deliberately do these things. Externalised costs comes into a more gray area, some can be written in law, some comes down to ethics, which comes down to valuing life and rights, and the fundamental principle of treating others as you would like to be treated yourself, which covers thinking of consequences before acting and trying to avoid inconveniencing others.

South had a gun to his head and was told he would be killed if he passed, or is this a modern style of must open on any absolute garbage third seat non-vulnerable?

Interesting that on perfect defence, East can only make eight tricks in hearts despite holding a nine card suit that theoretically has no losers on the layout. Not very often that happens.

5 card majors, strong NT, MPs. [hv=pc=n&s=sj9842hadk964ck65&w=sk5hkt8432d5cq742&n=st6hqj5daqt832c93&e=saq73h976dj7cajt8&d=e&v=b&b=10&a=1c1s2hp2nppp]399|300[/hv] I lost the first seven tricks, and a club when the finesse failed. After partner's 2♥ response, I had a think and decided that bidding 2NT, showing a 12-14 HCP balanced hand with a spade stop is a more descriptive bid than raising hearts. Completely wrong here. Was my reasoning that bad?

I punt 4♥. It doesn't make on the actual layout but NS do have 5♣ on.

Somehow my post appeared in completely the wrong thread. I intended to post that in response to something completely different.

Cash ♥KQ. ♠A and small to dummy Cash ♥A throwing last spade Cash three rounds of clubs ending in South. If jack drops, ♣T is 13th trick, else diamond to ace and cash last spade winner. If jack drops, ten is 13th trick, else note East's discard. If it is the ♣J, ♣T is the 13th trick, else throw ♣T If at this stage none of the tens have been promoted or they haven't discarded their winning hearts, either cash ♦KQ or go for the finesse depending on what the defenders discards have told me about their hand shape.

For me the pleasure in bridge is the satisfaction of getting a good result through logical inference, problem solving, and cooperation. Random crappy nonsense detracts from this and ultimately just makes me frustrated. Unfortunately at my club the random crappy nonsense seems to have been on an upward trend over recent years, which is part of the reason I have now taken a break from bridge.

There was a year when the UK Met Office were issuing seasonal forecasts and predicted a greater probability than normal of a warmer than average summer. The media jumped on this and massively blew it out of proportion with headlines like "100F this summer", "Barbeque summer". Unfortunately the media (and most of the public) don't understand probabilistic forecasts, and the media are interested in sensationalism, not the truth. Anyway, this is OT for a bridge forum, sorry.

72F would be about average, that has been the dew point over the last week. Try 100F then 99F the following week. Temperatures that high are extreme for the UK. Trying to get to sleep when it is over 80F in your bedroom at midnight is not fun.

You make a completely distorted opening bid, try to take over the auction when it looks to be going pear shaped, and fluke a good result. Happens all the time, that is why there are pairs at my club that get 60+% one evening then 38% then next time. I think it is much better to play solidly and down the middle rather that try to find some Zia Mahmood master bid that will happen to work on the particular deal of the cards, unless you have the ability of Zia.

Yes it sucks, SE England is going through a heatwave and it has been 30+C (86+F) for several days, and will be for the next 2-3 days, with overnight minimums not dropping below 20C (68F). No air conditioning, so no escape from it.