G_R__E_G

I doubt E has the ♦J unless someone has snuck a second one into the deck. :D

I'm goint to assume that west started with ♦QJTx or at least ♦QJxx (in which case east's stiff T will drop on the first round. So if I duck the first trick that gives me 8 sure tricks. I've got some chances in both ♣ and ♠ but how I play it will probably be influenced by what happens next. I'll assume that west continues with a heart, because that's probably best defense. I think I'll immediately try to finesse the ♣J. If the ♣Q is on-side or if the ♣T and 9 are trebleton or doubleton I've found my ninth trick.

I'd let the result stand. South "knew" something was up and had ample opportunity to ask further questions but neglected to. I would however warn E/W that when describing a bid it is not acceptable to just name a system or convention.

I figured that would be pretty much the universal reply and that's what I did. The fun that ensued was what I thought qualified the hand as interesting. Wouldn't you know it, the 4 missing spades were all with my RHO (who was the one who doubled me), so I actually had 4 spade losers. My partner didn't have much but she did have the ace of clubs, so until I played a ♠ at trick two (♦ lead) I thought I'd only be down 2. So I was going to be down one too many, but when I played a club to the ace and came back with a club my RHO was kind enough to decide to ruff it so I was only down 2 after all. Unfortunately, as it turns out we could have put 4♥ down one.

[hv=d=w&v=b&s=sjt9765432h8da5c4]133|100|Scoring: MP[/hv] You're east, auction has gone P-1D. What's you call?

Yes, exactly. Partner would have less than 8 pts, and 3 or less diamonds (our 1♦ opening promises 4). Thank you all for your input. The varying opinions remind me a lot of the voices in my head at the bridge table. B)

We're red vs white, a little over half way through the session which is going very well, I'm dealer and pick up this: ♠- ♥A852 ♦AKJT9 ♣KQJ7 I opened 1♦, LHO doubles, partner passes and RHO bids 1♠. What would you do now? Would you have opened 2♣ in the first place? I chose to bid 2♠, I figured partner would take this as showing a big hand and spade shortness. Is this a reasonable assumption or does 2♠ show something else? After my 2♠ bid, bidding goes P-3♣-3♠. What now?

I'd like that Uday. There's been times when I thought GIB took an unusual line and I'd like to go back afterwards when time is not such an issue to do some analysis.

I really have no clue what any of you are talking about, but I find that at times the sound they make at night can be quite soothing. :P

I tried it out last night with Fred and Sheri (for a Canadian bridge geek like me, that was a thrill in itself). I have no complaints at all, it was an absolute blast. The new feature that lets you see how GIB will take your bids before you make them is very nice. I would highly recommend it and from a "selfish" standpoint I hope they stick with the 25 minute format (although they could add other lengths too), as it's perfect for me.

I have what is not only a conspiracy "theory" but in fact I have actual evidence of its veracity. I have been reluctant to say anything about it but I feel I can no longer keep this secret locked up inside of me. If you will all promise me that you do not work for the toothpaste companies I will share it with you...... Ok, good. So you know how it always seems that you can get just that "one more time" out of a tube of toothpaste despite how empty it may seem? Well guess what - it's true. I have used the same tube for the last six years!! Of course if word of this gets out to the general popultation the multi billion $$$ toothpaste industry would would be devastated. Please, if you decide to share this secret please do not tell anyone you heard it from me. Oh crap, what's that noise outside...must go.

As long as ♥'s break 3-2 and neither op has a diamond void you make the ♥ grand all day long. Win the ♥J, ruff a ♣, low ♦ to the Q, ruff a ♣, ♥A, ♥K, run the diamonds pitching ♠'s.

I'll give it a try. ♦ offer the best chance, but if you try them first it is too late to try hearts as you will no longer be able to take the third heart trick with N's J after the Q drops doubleton and then get back to S to take your long ♥'s. So take your ♥AK first, if the Q doesn't fall then take the ♦A followed by small ♦ to the Q. If ♦'s break you're fine, if W has J 4th you can still finesse him on the way back.

On the ACBL convention card the only response that is not alertable is the weak version. I would therefore go on the assumption that the non-alertable treatment is standard. Of course you might be playing with someone from halfway across the world that doesn't even know what ACBL stands for....

I think what they're getting at is that they would find this easier than the partner looking for a table. You can pretty much do it now. One of you open the table, then the other one can right click on your friends name and choose "Join x's table". Then click to sit. Just three clicks and you're done.

Nahh, it'll never work. :P

I'll try 3♣. If partner comes back with 3♦ I've got an easy 3NT. If they come back with ♥'s or ♠'s I'll show my ♥ support.

You've got some awfully good players all signing off below slam, so I don't think you should feel too bad about it. :) To me the north hand is on the border between rebidding 2♦ and 3♦. If my partner rebid 2♦ like yours did I probably would have signed off in 3nt too. If they'd rebid 3♦ - then I'd get excited.

I fully agree that I'd rather take my lumps once in a while than be unethical. That is why I'd passed the 3♣ bid. By our agreement my 2♥ bid showed a minimum hand with 5 hearts. It was more from the vibe that I was picking up from her that I thought she misbid, her return to her suit by our agreements showed an invitational hand with a strong preference for her suit. As I said, I suspected that she'd misbid, but ignoring that fact, passing 3♣ with my hand is not unreasonable. My LHO had made a vulnerable overcall on the two level so it would be quite possible that partner had xxx in hearts with all of the missing heart honours sitting over mine. I guess I got this off topic by mentioning my feelings that she'd possibly misbid, because that didn't really effect my choices in the bidding. Had I used what I thought was UI I probably would have bid 3♠ after her 3♣. Maybe I should start again - Is it illegal to psyche a support double if both partners bid as per their agreements after that? Does the fact that I've told the opponents wrong information about my partner's hand merit a penalty since it caused them to defend poorly? Without changing the auction, does her intentions of the double (ie whether it's a psyche or mistake) change the ruling?

Your assumption is correct, it is on our card. Here's the thing though, she hadn't forgotten that it was a support double. She was hoping I'd come back with 2♠ and if I didn't she was prepared to rebid her clubs, obviously running the risk that I'd get carried away on our "wonderful" heart fit.

Playing in ACBL sanctioned club game, I'm wondering what the proper ruling is on this and if you could tell me the exact rule number that applies. I'm dealt something like this: ♠Jxxx ♥KJ9xx ♦x ♣Jxx. My partner is dealer and opens 1♣, RHO passes and I respond 1♥. LHO then overcalls 2♦ and partner doubles. I alert, and when ops ask I explain that it's a support double and that it should show three card support for my hearts. I bid 2♥ and then partner bids 3♣. She plays with several partners and I'm the only one she plays support doubles with so I'm guessing she's made a mistake. I pass the 3♣ bid as I figure it's the right thing to do, even though I'm now quite certain that we have a spade fit. A diamond is led and I table the dummy. LHO wins the ♦A and then plays the ♥A which my partner trumps! It turns out that my LHO had 4 hearts and figured she could win her ace and then give partner a ruff since she thought she had a full count of the hearts. She was rather upset and called the director who had a look and said to call him back at the end of the hand. When it was all over she made her bid but the director gave us a two trick penalty. Is this the correct ruling? PS As it turns out partner's hand was 4=0=3=6. Playing support doubles how would you bid her hand after the 2♦ overcall?

Good 17. I figure the danger of bidding a game we can't make if I bid it strongly outweigh the risks of missing a game we could make if I downgrade it. Of course it would depend on my mood at the time. If I'd been having a "charmed" evening...

We had an auction at the club last night that started with my partner opening 1♠ and then my RHO made an insufficient bid of 1♥. If I were to have accepted his insufficient bid and then bid 1♠ who would be declarer, me or my partner?

Sorry. Ontario, Canada.

My regular partner and I have some specific sequences where we use 3nt as RKCB. Should this be alerted, or should it be divulged at the end of the auction? I'm of the understanding that at certain times one or the other of these two actions is required with bids like this but I'm not sure what the criteria are for each. Thanks.