jdeegan

:P ♥ 9. I hate these situations. Not much to go on.

:P I think the majority of the posters are correct. 3♠ denies a heart stop, and it either shows a spade stop (normally) or is a prelude to some other kind of strong auction with a well understood (at least by pard) strain to play in.

:P Pass and develop a quick case of amnesia before the next hand. Your counterpart at the other table faced the same problem you did and may have done even worse.

:P About 20 years ago I played in a men's pair in a well-attended New Orleans regional. It consisted of one 13 table section. The field was the strongest section I have ever played in. All the male pros in the room were playing, mostly with one another. When Meckstroth and his male customer came to the table it was actually a relief. In any event, that particular auction actually came up. The pro on my right slid with 4♠ over 4♥ after passing on the first round. I doubled with four spades and enough high cards that I had a heart game to protect against. The pro on my left passed, and dummy hit with a doubleton spade. -1100 later RHO with the 4-6 hand recriminated to the pro on my left that it was 'obvious' what he had and to pull to 4NT without spades. Does everyone play that auction showing 4-6? I guess some do and some don't.

:P 4♥. In the old-fashioned style one bids 1♦ with any hand good enough to make a game try opp pard's declared minimum. We have plenty of strength for that. When pard rebids 1♥, our hand is good enough to bid game because of the doubleton spade. Chances for slam are very slim since pard didn't rebid 2♥.

:P Pass at MP, but 3♥ at IMPs. I am playing pard for at least Q9xxxx in ♥. ♦,♠ and/or ♥ finesses figure to lose. There could be a club ruff out.

:P 3♥, intending to bid 4♣ next time.

:P My thoughts exactly.

:P The book lead is a small ♠. In this case, I am afraid I would lead the ♥Q. I am guessing the heart suit is divided 4 on my left and two on my right. The hope is that pard has good heart spots and can put a ♠ thru later if dummy shows some ruffing value. Otherwise, maybe he can use his heart spots to uppercut declarer.

:P OMG Weenies RULE!

:P People on this side of the Pond are getting nervous again about the Euro and its problems. The German taxpayers are going to have to bail out Greek swindlers, lest Italy and Spain go down the drain. Or so it is said on TV. Am I a poet and didn't know it.................................?

:P When your name is 'Big' it don't matter.

:P For Christ's sake, you jumped into the auction with two kings, Where is my skateboard?

:P I love chopped liver, esp. at the Carnegie Deli. Yummmm... for a moment of silence. If you rule out almost anything extreme the 3-2 becomes somewhat better, how much better, that's the point of my posting.

:P For sure. I am tempted to bring into the mix Pavlicek's hand generation machine. It would be a service for all us duplicate plodders to know what the real odds are when the opps deny 9-8-7 or possibly even 6 card suits.

:P A fine fix you have got me in now Ollie. I am going to put fingers in both ears and pass. No double, no trouble.

:P [hv=pc=n&s=sak75h654d54cak65&n=sq432hakd862cqj32&d=n&v=b&b=13&a=1cp1sp2sp4sppp]266|200[/hv] There you see it. Odds on a 3-2 trump split. What do you think?

:P I should have added a good 5 bagger as well, sry your point is well taken. It all goes back to Al Roth's original notion that a negative double shows any hand that has some values and can survive whatever bidding trap ensues.

:P I love to watch Hamman. I love to watch Zia. But, not together, they are both pitchers in a game that favors pairs with a pitcher and a catcher. I love to watch Meckwell dash in harm's way and swindle the opps out of a game. I love to watch H-H I love to watch Fred stroke the dummy. He can be amazing. I love watching the young, up and coming pairs like Justin and Joe Grue. Let's face it, I love watching them all.

:P A couple of issues that no one has mentioned so far: 1. A very good local Texas player named Imogene Hawes once told me "you have to try hard, but be careful and not try too hard." In sports you burn up the extra adreneline, but bridge is sedentary, and you can easily over amp. 2. Second, don't accept bidding lessons from your peers. If you have questions, try and get your advice from people named Jacoby, Lall and the like.

:P One additional use for the negative (Sputnik) double is to show a good six bagger and some modest values. Having failed to make this call, I can't have the sort of hands you envision.

:P One ♠, pass, 1NT, double, pass, 2♦. Hmmmm... usually the HCP will be about equally split with the advantage (if any) most often to the side that opened the bidding. If there is any spade fit we will hear it now, and we didn't. LHO made a dangerous bid, so he must like his hand, probably 4♥, and maybe even 1-4-4-4 distribution. Even so, I want the long knives on this auction. If pard pulls, well that's OK too.

:P That's a serious 'job'. Even if the pro had decided to bid 3♦ before the hez, he absolutely can't do so after the hez. It's just a game. You have to play by the rules.

:P Bridge players are by their very nature typically very competitive and usually passive aggressive. This makes for a certain amount of unpleasantness. We all have to deal with some of this to play the game we love. :D Try to ignore as much as you can and report any serious sickos to the management.

:P West is a fraidy cat. When you have the values and the distribution for 3NT you just have to bid it. The ♥ could be 4-4 with no stop. Nothing in the West hand argues for a ♦ contract. The language of bridge bidding is too limited to offer 100% certainty.