pbleighton

"I wonder wich cards do you need for making it likelly that he is strong" The facts that 1) one opponent opened in the first seat, 2) the other made a limit plus raise, and 3) you have a king make it very unlikely (though possible) that your partner has 17+ hcp. Peter

"No, pass has more than one way to win. 2N shows limit+, they may stop at 3S. Pd could be strong, opp may bid 4S and and pd may defeat it alone. 5Hx may go down three." I said I'm assuming that Michaels is either weak or very strong. If so, pd is VERY likely weak, in which case opps will bid 4S and make overtricks, and quite possibly a slam. If Michaels can be intermediate, things get muddled, and pass is reasonable. Peter

"pard's 2H overcall (all vuln) was based on the following hand ♠J2 ♥AKQ84 ♦86 ♣9752 Do you agree with this overcall at IMPS ? What about MP?" No for both. Yes at any scoring method when not vulnerable. Peter

1) Tough. Double, then pass 4S reluctantly. QX in hearts is bad for slam. Over 3S, bid 4D. 2) 3H, though pass is reasonable. At MPs I pass. Peter

1NT is clear. Live by the sword, die by the sword B)) I LOVE playing 1NT white undoubled, especially when the opener is weak enough that most of the field will be passing it. That's why you're playing 10-12 NT, right? And no, you can't reverse. Peter

"So you put all eggs in one basket." So do you. So does anybody. The auction doesn't have room for two baskets - that's what makes it a challenge. Peter

1) 4H 2) 2D 3) 4H 4) If pd's 2S was either weak or very strong, I cue bid 5C. If not, I pass. I should have bid 4H the first time. 5) Spade.

"You guys are bidding too much, if partner is strong you are getting 500 against nothing, or maybe -790, thre isn't much to gain bidding when both vulnerable." There is if the opps have slam. Peter

5H. 2nd choice pass. I'm assuming that Michaels is either weak or very strong (possible but unlikely, in view of the opps bidding). Peter

Landen-Pratap open all 10 counts NV, per their cc. They open 4 of a major when light, and may have a longer minor. It is a more aggressive version of The Science. I play something like this, except that: 1) 1M openings are a bit lighter. 2) 1NT is 11+-14 3) 1m is sound (12+ unbalanced, 15+ balanced) 4) 2C is weak 5) 2/1 bids are forcing for one round. 6) We do this at all vulnerabilities. Peter

Agree completely. I play super-light openings (down to a decent 8) in the majors. If light, the hand may have 4 trumps. A 2/1 reponse requires 13 (good 12), and is forcing for one round. 1M-1NT goes up to a somewhat above average 12 count. The following rebids are minimum (8 to a somewhat above average 11) and NF after a 2/1 response: 1) Rebid of major (shows 5+ trumps). 2) 2NT (shows 4/terrible 5) 3) 3 of partner's suit. Peter

1D. 3-1 in the majors, you are unlikely to be passed out, and you need the bidding space. Peter

"I bid 3♠, showing a decent overcall (opening values) but not a great overcall. This seems to fit with what we actually have." Agree. Peter

"Scanning through the thread I found someone wrote an article on this. So I will ask this: Who is Zeke Jabbour and where can I find his article on opening 1NT with a 5-card major?" He writes a column for the ACBL Bulletin. The article is in the April issue. It isn't available online. Peter

A few things: 1) In light of pd's 5+ spades, I value this at 17 - 3 for the singleton, though I have no quarrel with 16. 2) In SAYC, 3S shows 17-18. When SAYC was invented, openers were sounder than they are today. A 2S response showed 13-16 then, today it would be a wider range. 16 counts are tough to rebid with lighter openers. He may also not be assuming negative doubles, for this class, though it is part of SAYC. 3) Many of those who teach beginners teach them to bid conservatively, in order to compensate for trouble with declarer play. I think 3S and 2S are both reasonable. Your spades are shabby, but there is a 9+ fit, and the AKx of hearts means no heart losers. Peter

1H, but I'm not happy with the suit quality vulnerable. Peter

"1C p 5C? are you serious?" Only favorable at IMPs. "This is just total unilateral bridge. You have a 5332 hand with a queen!" With ONLY a queen. "partner has opened and the opps have not bid. What makes you think that this is their deal?" You have 2 hcp, and the opps likely have an 8+ major fit. "As for this being a perfect hand for inverted minors, it really isn't. " Agree. It should have a singleton. It is, however, very weak, perfect for a preempt. "In inverted minors the jump to 3m isnt truly preemptive..." Most people I know play that it is. It's certainly possible to play it differently. "... since all you have is limit+ and 3C. So with x xxx xxx KQJxxx what would you bid?" 1NT. These are the orpan bids of inverted minors. Peter

4S, second choice 3NT (close). Peter

Win with the CJ, and play the SA, SK, SJ, pitching a diamond. If the SQ falls under the A or K, life is good. If not, >80% chance of 3-3 or 4-2 break, ensuring 4 spade tricks. This masks declarer's hand as much as possible, encouraging club and diamond leads. My (intermediate) crystal ball is flickering now, but I do know that I will win the next club lead with the ace, and will attack diamonds the first chance I get (unless I am in the dummy and can run spades). If I get to attack them from dummy, I will run the 10. Peter

This hand is a good argument for inverted minors. You would have bid 3C on your first bid, describing your hand very well (at equal vul you could bid 4C, at favorable you could bid 5). In SAYC, you must pass the first time. The second time you should bid 4C. 5C is possible, but at unfavorable with no singleton I would bid 4. After 5H, pass. Peter

I open 5m422 1NT routinely, except that I will open in the minor if the 4 card suit is spades, as long as the suits are reasonable. I open 6m322 1NT with scattered values only. I open 5M422 1NT only if the suits are both bad, and the 4 is a minor. Peter

"part 2. Whether you psyche or not lho ends up driving to 6H. Do you bid 7D?" No. If I was willing to bid it, I would have done so directly. It's close, though. Peter

A partner has suggested to me that we incorporate Namyats into the Precision system we are using. I am not entirely averse, but feel that Namyats is less useful in a strong club system than in standard bidding, because you can always open the "strong" 4M bids 1C, whereas they aren't always strong enough for 2C. It does let the opps find their fit, however. I like 4m as natural, too. What do you think? Peter

6D, and I won't repeat Fred's arguments :) Peter

Pass. I would bid 3C white. Peter