benlessard

If you want a bid for that (i think you should) than use 4H and keep 4C for the S raise. COG bids tend to be less slammish than strong raise hands so you should put them where they take less bidding space.

At MP i think X is pretty clear. Sometimes there are going to make it but +300/+100 instead of +100/+50 will make quite a difference in MP. At Imps partner is rarely going to have a weak Nt hand, most of the time hes going to have 5D or 4D & 5C. So RED i slightly prefer 5D and white i prefer pass.

I strongly believe in making the signal as clear as possible. So i drop the K of S. I would have bid 5S and X is a close 2nd. X tend to suggest some D cards here.

I forgot an important fact. We were playing namyats. So 4D as a D preempt isnt available. Imo penalty doesnt make any sense here. Expert standard for is to say i want to save but X just in case you want to defend . (at least after a game preempt) Here its possible to have a borderline preempt between 5D and 3D. Wich you decided to open 3D to keep 3Nt in the picture. Kxx xx KQJTxxxx void. As a general rule preempting "twice" is a bad strategy but exceptions do happen.

W vs Red imps 3D*-----(X)------pass-------(5C) X 3D show a good preempt. What does the double mean ?

a maximum raise to 4S

With the T9 of S and only 3D i think playing in 4S is pretty clear. Partner as so many bid available that 1 one them show Hx in spades and a D fit. In a standard partnership i would assume 4S i had a limit but ive upgrade my hand because of the 2D bid. 4H splinter d fit 3S limit raise 3H good hand unclear direction. However i prefer that the upgraded limit is in 3H because of slam possibility. So for me 4S show the huge D fit and Hx in spades.

I think XX to show 1st round, bid to show 2nd round and pass to show no control is the standard treatment. After a pass 4C isnt GF since 3S could be a half a stopper bid.

xxx x Kxxx Kxxxx Is a hand where you have a sure + but bidding 5C isnt cold. AKQx Kx Axxx Axx AKxx x Axxx AQxx etc. If you decide to bid 5C you might hit partner with a doubleton club. Red vs W i can live with a 4Nt bid but i think passing is ok too. Still since this "borderline" hand make 6C, the doubler should bid 6C. Those who bid 4Nt or 5C with only 1 king and no H void are off the track.

I think with 3145 shape he would pass the X easy unless a lot of extras wich on this deal is impossible.

I think what is popular is that a minor positive response show 6 carder with 2 of the top 3, its pretty much impossible to stop short of slam on this deal. 2C----3C 4C (extras k or A ?)-------4D no 4H Q of S?---------------4S no 5D Q of D ?--------------5H no 6C. On a bad day 6S is going to make and 6C fail but the opposite is also true if i bid S and partner has 3 spades without the Q. Ive really think that you need some sort of leaping michael to deal with 2 suiters after a 2C opening. These strong 5-5 happen all the time their frequency are way higher than any splinter you could have. There is nothing more pathetic than 2C----2S (S pos) 3H----??? is a new suit natural or a cuebid agreeing H ? 2C-----3C 3S-----??? opener can have 6-5 and its going to be tough. etc...

With 5S and a so-so hand can partner X 1S ?. I mean there are hand with 5S not strong/shapely enough to bid 2S and it would be sad to pass them because my X show exactly 4S with no exception. If so partner is showing real values for his 2S and i have an easy 4S. Otherwise im a bit stuck. Ill probably bid 4S anyway.

if 1Nt isnt forcing i think X is penalty with good H. But if 1Nt was forcing and opener decided to pass we might need to protect from a small lie or a psych. My 1Nt overcall are heavy (16+ to 19) or (artificial) so for me this is a Mp double. 14-15 bad 16.

Hehe. The funny thing is when they do these kind of play but instead of being proud they are clueless as why did you go down by finessing.

In imps 5C is saying i have a shot at making it. To bid 5C as purely sac is nonsense. However with a better hand we could have bid 5C earlier. Can 5C show a doubleton ? I think only when the opps are red and when they dont play 4 card major. (You are sure partner got a stiff). Here i think partner is showing 1- Kxxxxx in clubs 2- a stiff H + extras Here its seems the only extras can be 6-4 shapes, a 7th clubs or the K of D or a H void. So raising to 6 make sense. Im a K stronger than what is expected.

easy 1S for me. my 1Nt tend to suggest more 16-19 than 15-18

Easy pass. You are in imps, partner didnt double because he wanted 100 instead of 50. Either hes expecting -2 (playing you for 1 trick and having 3 sure trick in his hand) Or hes X to stop you from bidding 6H. I would have bid 5H on the first turn because the chance of buying the hand at 4H are so slim.

http://www.osh.dol.govt.nz/order/catalogue...texplosions.pdf page 27 for cinnamon

Not only it burn im pretty sure it can explose too.

With a 4 losers and partner providing 1 cover you are still down at 5m.

LHO didnt lead a H so RHO probably has a H honnor. If RHO also have the Q of D than the A of S is surely in LHO hand and the contract is doomed anyway. So you have to assume LHO has the Q of D. Low trump on trick 1. And diamond finesse right away. Then low S to the K. Im not sure but i think wasting the T of trump might be costly.

Pass. i want them to bid slam as accurately as possible so that i can take a good save and not a phantom save.

Our partnership default is good bad applies when game is still possible and that scrambling or shape shwoing 2nt(3Nt) applies when game is unlikely. Our 2nd rules say that the direct bid show that the 2nd color is stronger then the first and that the Nt bid show 6-4 or 5-5 with first suit stronger. 1S--------Pass-------(pass)-------2H 3m show better m then S. 2Nt show 6-4 or 55 with bad 2nd suit After an overcall at the 1 level and partner pass we assume that game is unlikely. If partner pass a weak JS overcall than game is still possible so its good-bad 2Nt When more space is available you can even show that the 2nd is longer than the first (if 2nt,3nt & 4nt are artificial) When extreme shape you have to leave your noble principles at home and be practical. 1C-------(come back to you at 4D) does 4M show 6-4 7-4 types of hands ? or does it show 6-5 type. No need to tell you that the 6-4 7-4 are much much more frequent. To solve this problems some make a neg X but ask responder to bid the cheapest 4 card suit. So that with 6S & 4H you respond 4H. I think its a poor solution since when you X with the (34)06 or (34)15 your might play in the bad major. My suggested solution is that 4M show a good 4 card suit or a so-so 5 card suit. Same goes at the 3 level. 1m-----(3Y)-------pass------(pass) ??? 3M here could show a 4 card suit. If you double instead you risk partner passing or bid 4 in the wrong suit. Its an advantageous trade off, you treat the rare 5-6 where the 5 card suit is good like a 6-6 so that when you make a force high reverse you are showing more frequent 46 type (good 4 carder & medium 5 carder).

5C but i doesnt mean that i wont reach it. 1H-----(2S)------pass---------(pass) Here most have a way to show better clubs than H or to show 5-5 with so so hearts. Also for each hand where you are 32 and clubs play better than heart youre going to have 2 hand 2-2, 2-3 or 3-3 where 4H play better than 5C. If the opponents dont overcall spades then I agree that ill reach some 4H instead of 5C but trust me i dont expect it to happen.

oups... Ducking the H early seems to work. D ruff A of H followed by a H if the J or 9 doesnt fall. H 3-3 & J of S in lho & S 3-2 Seems better than the squeeze line.