pbleighton

5-5 GF. Peter

"I double. If pd bid 4S, I bid 5D. " That's what I did. "If pd bid 4H then you can find 6H." Ah, there's the rub. You have forced pd to bid, your CK is very likely worthless (it was), and even 4H is tough opposite the wrong dummy. Would you bid 5H? Peter

IMP pairs, all vul. 4C-? You have AJ-A9xx-AK10xxx-K. Pd has xxxx-KQ10xx-QJx-x. Red slams are cold. 3 out of 16 bid slam (all 6H). We were in 4H, -1.0 IMP. I have no regrets, but... Would you have done better at the table? Peter

Peter Leighton (pbleighton on BBO) In reality, strong intermediate. On BBO, I label myself Advanced to get better games, and to synchronize myself with BBO Grade Inflation. I tend to play on the weekends, though sometimes during the week (U.S. Eastern Standard Time). I will play the flavor you like. I currently play 10-12 NT NV 1-3, 14-16 NT else, 2C = 6+ cards, 1D can be 1 card. Peter

"To be fair to north, this was an individual so the bidding style of the opener was probably very well unknown. One needs to bid somewhat conservatively in an individual because most people overbid in them. " I agree. Pd could have adjusted and bid 2NT, but it is hard to blame him. Then 3S is down 1 for a 58% score. The pairs who did well didn't open my hand, but I would open it again without hesitation, with no criticism implied for those who wouldn't. Peter

3D, but only because it looks better if it's wrong in the post mortem than does 2NT :rolleyes: Peter

"Was there a bad break? It looks like down 1 to me. AS, AH, H ruff, AD, AC, KC, D ruff, trump. If -2 was 38% then -1 is probably even a pretty good board." Trumps were 4-1, and had a trump lead. 5-1 diamond break, too. Lost 3 trumps and two hearts. Peter

"I think the fact that you felt you couldn't trust partner's judgement on this auction shows that deep down you felt that you shouldn't have opened the hand." No, when I opened the hand I was going to drive to 4M, and let pd bid 5m if he wanted. I don't think 6M5M hands belong in 3NT. Peter

"However, if I did open it I would always, always, always rebid 2H." Opps, that's what I did - I corrected the original post. And I got a trump lead. Peter

I double. My 1 level overcalls are never this good, and I'm not bidding 1NT with a stiff jack. Peter

MPs, unfavorable. indy, you hope you are playing some type of SAYC. You deal, and get A8xxxx-Axxxx-8-10. Pd has xx-8-AJ10x-AK8xxx. Our auction went 1S-2C-2H-3NT-4S. Down 2, 38%. Would you have opened my hand? What about our auction? How would you bid this in your favorite system? Peter

I agree that 2S is forcing, but I play that a subsequent 3H is invitational. Peter

With no authority whatsoever, I play that an advance at the one level shows 4, and an advance at the two level shows 5. Peter

"what about an heart fit? wouldnt you want to be in 4 hearts in front of most minimums of partner that have 3 hearts? even 5-3-3-2?" There is no way to show your hearts playing 2/1 - 2H is a weak signoff, and 3H shows a decent 6 card suit. Peter

Well, since I was going to rebid 3S anyway, that is what I do now. Peter

I play a 10-13 NT and love it when people do things like this. Peter

Would pd interpret 4D as a splinter in support of clubs? If so, that is a possibility. Otherwise 6C. Peter

The ACBL's Alert Procedures state: "If it is your partnership style to routinely open hands with fewer than 11 HCP... the opponents must be pre-Alerted." Two questions here: What are "HCP"? What is "routinely"? Under a strict definition of the above, anyone who plays Rule of 20 openers, and opens some large percentage of 10 counts which are 5-5s, 6-4s, and 7 card suits need to pre alert. Obviously the ACBL doesn't want roughly half the room to pre alert, so what is the cutoff? One extreme could be that anything more aggressive than the Rule of 20, plus the occasional upgrade for excellent suits (in a 5431 or 6331, for example) must be pre alerted. The other extreme is that you can open any 10 count which by some reasonable evaluation method is equal to a mediocre but not terrible 11 count. What do you think? Is there a ruling from an NABC which clarifies this issue? Peter

Let's see.. We are limited to 26 hcp and probably 9 diamonds (if 10, not a great suit). I am singleton (though ace) in pd's primary suit. 3D is just fine. 5D might make, but it is substantially against the odds. Peter

I have to admit I would have been a chicken as South and signed off in 4H. The hand has enormous potential, but also has only 8 hcp, and I have no way of investigating intelligently. I'm sure this won't win a bidding prize, but it is what I would do. Peter

""Nice spades" might also consider a 1♠ overcall. Yes, I know it's a four card suit. Read Mike Lawrence's book on overcalls - though I think he'd opt for double on the hand as described. " Not with this partner. With my primary partner, certainly. "I don't see how the auction now being at the four level makes a takeout double any less flawed." Because the opps had a ten card fit (but they didn't - see below), and I had a spicy pizza. "maybe x over 1h in the first place?" Not quite strong enough, though I certainly wished I had :) "Not sure how you can pass and now have a pure penalty x in any event on this auction, was partner void in hearts?" No, I had a singleton heart. The actual hand was weird - the opps were experienced but aren't too good - 4H was a balanced 13 with 3 card support, and they missed a slam. Peter

None Vul, MPs 1H-P-4H-P-P-Dbl Penalty or takeout? I had a 4135 10 count, nice spades. Our card says double through 4H is takeout. I doubled, pd passed, she thought it was penalty. The culprit was lack of an agreement (and excessive friskiness on my part, perhaps - pepperoni and bacon pizza before bridge possibly not a good idea :) ), but what should the agreement be? Does vulnerability and/or scoring matter? Peter

4S. I don't like slam on this hand. Very bad suit, and neither you nor pd has a singleton. Not the stuff of which good 29 point slams are made. OTOH, it's posted in the Forums, so... :P Peter

Yuk! 2NT, with double close. If I was 4-3 in the majors, double would be clear. Pass is out of the question. Peter

Double. Peter