mghmaine

Pass. WTP ? He said it was NF, so 2H isn't 10-15 or 7-16 or anything including opening values. You have a minimum opener, know pd does not have 3S cards and have tolerance for Hs. This may well be your last plus score.

I do like SJS, but regardless of that your adv partner erred in bidding 3H IMO. That bid took up bidding room and just repeated his values. He perhaps wants you to learn some system where a 2H rebid is all but meaningless and so one must bid Hs 3 times to show a good 6-carder. He should have bid 2NT or 3C over 2S. On the auction you had, I suggest 6D over 5C.

First, I'd likely get to 6S or 6NT. Second, I would likely not open as West but, with all due respect to Mike 777, I would rather open as West than open 2C with the East hand.

It makes no diff whether 2D is GF or not. 2H would be forcing in any non-weird style, so 3H is a splinter. If you play splinter, a good rule that the level above a force is a splinter. In this way, over 1D-1S, 4C would be what you need to say to splinter.

In a pinch I've had good luck asking partner to just bid 1S.

Ruff S. Play C to K and take D finesse. Ruff second S. Draw trump and cash CQ. Run Ds. In 5-card ending dummy has SK, HQJ, CA8. I have HAX, Dxx, Cx. When I play 2nd to last D I pitch SK (unless of course LHO pitches S ACE :)). On last D LHO is squeezed between his HKx and C109.

1) 1C=17+ 2C= Ds, positive 3D = big D fit 3H = Q 3S= Q 4C=Q 4H=Q 4S = Q 5C=Q 5H =Q 7NT 2) 2S= 5+S,4+C, "anti-canape" 6S allowed only if min or sub-min 2NT= relay 3H = 5-3-1-4 decent opener 6D

Seems not to hard in not very sophisticated natural methods 2C-2D,3C-3S,4C*-4NT, 5H*-6S In the above, 3C is natural and denies 4-card M. 3M is natural. 4C, in our style, is a cue in support of Ss. An opener without Ss would have to bid 3NT so as not to punish partner for trying for a 5-3 fit. 5H is 2KC without.

Pass. Spades on my left and partner has values in my singleton. No problem

1) Clear Pass 2) Clear pass 3) 4S. Pass terrible. Slam tries not ridiculous. 4) Pass in any seat.

puppet stayman isn't unreasonable bidding, in my view... the garbage aspect doesn't detract from that... i think it adds to it... +++++++++++ OK then: Qxxx, xx, xx, KJxxx. The garbage puppetty thing works only with Ds. But really, I wasn't disparaging puppet, which I play myself (though always invitational). I am just saying I am passing with the above, then bidding 4S over a 2H balance, and in doing so I am pleased that partner knows I have 4 spades only.

Josh said: A typical hand: Qxxx xx KJTxx xx Partner is expected to bid 2N in seach of your minor with 2 spades or with 3 spades but length in both minors. ++++++++++++++ This is a good hand, but actually I'm not that sophisticated. Partner bids 2NT when 2S doesn't seem right. I might well now bid a minor if I have one, that is true. There are many hands at MPs where one doesn't want to defend 2H in the auction 1NT-P-P-2H. I'm not going to adopt garbage puppet etc when just reasonable bidding will do.

When I pass 1NT and my LHO balances with, say, 2H, I want partner to know I have only 4 when I now bid 2S. That, added to the many comments about not knowing if a fit or not, leads me always to transfer with 5.

It seems 1H risks a raise with 3, perhaps under pressure. It is hard to hate 2C. Surely if you have a H game you will find it, but perhaps not a partscore. Dbl showing both Ms is not universal BTW.

Marlowe said, 2C, I dont think, I want to force to game, so 2C. ============ 2C also my choice, but it does not force at all, much less to game, in any system I've played.