benlessard

Wish i could bid 3nt with confidence and no hesitation but i didnt so i bid 5C

wtp 1nt

Facing a passed hand ill make lightish X so easy 4H in that case. Not facing a passed hand i guess its also 4H. Partner bid 3H expecting to make it a fair amount of times, at first i thought holding 2D was a big minus, but since partner probably got 2D hes guessing that ive got probably 2 and decided to bid 3H anyway i assume i can bid 4.

In standard its 3Nt is to play 3S is half a stopper 3H is game in H is still possible (5-2,or 6-2) I like to play that 3Nt is positionnal stopper 3S is 52,62 is possible 3H is ask for half a stop or ask for a stopper I like to play that 2 before 3Nt is asking for half a stop. It allowed to play 3nt from the right sire when Qx vs something.

X looks more flexible then 4H. However the problem i see with X is that over partner 4C if you bid 4H doest is suggest H+C or H+D or H + Nt ? Also im not convinced a X setup forcing pass (my feeling is that it should because the X is basically forcing the partnership to a vulnerable game that cannot be a sacrifice)

A very important question its MP or IMPS ? In MP i think its rarely profitable to pull 2Nt to play 3m (especially when partner hand isnt perfectly clear) so we have the understanding that 3m over 2nt is GF. I have really a hard time finding a hand where i bid 2H instead of 2C but with enough shape to pull 2nt The critical hand is the weak ?5?5 In IMPs it make sense more sense to want to play 3C.

I like your 2S bid i dont think missing game is that likely and im not afraid of 2S X. I dont care too much about ODR and AT8xxx is enough suit quality for W vs R. I agree that sometimes we will make a phantom but sometimes sac will be cheap. I suspect most of the overcaller would rebid 2S over (2C or 2H) in my sense its much safer to jump to 2S right away + you can also bury a H fit. Its enough compensation for some games that you will missed. Also 4S is still reachable, for this hand partner had a clear 3C bid and you have an easy accept.

I think its a phase of developpement thing 1-- learning is more important then winning. Beginner usually focus more on learning then on winning 2-- learning new tricks that you want to put in practice. At one point in learning you want to learn everything even if they are not that relevant in practice and any new tricks that you put in practice give greater satisfaction then winning (like your first trump squeeze) 3--Wanting to win because you are tired of losing. Average player tired of being in the middle often have strong winning instinct. They are also looking for recognition. 4- you have many win & many losses because of luck so you are focussing on playing solidly and dont mind losing if you play well. But you are still having a hard time accepting yours and partner mistakes. 5- You have win and lost often made brillant and stupid mistakes that you`ve realized that games are a complex thing and the fact that we make mistake in them is why we play them. This is the golden age of being able to accept defeat twist of fate and stupid mistakes with a smile. 6- winning is everything. When you are really focussed toward a goal it somewhat become obsessive. Some champion that are "in winning is everything" will tend to bend ethics, have low patience and sometimes choke under pressure. They are however the hardest worker and know every tricks to get advantage. (psychological, legal, etc) I would say that newspaperits is between 2,3 & 4

Was 1S forcing ? if not then i think i prefer 2S to 1S. 1♠ making 4 is a possibility. 2C was xyz so its "forced to 2D" so a 2S instead of 3D still show goodies right ? edited ( ok now that i know 2S show extras then 5D is terrible, from opener point of view responder could have just wanted to signoff in 2D with (xx,kqxx,xxx,xxxx) so with 2A he has to make a foward move. I would bid 4D if its GF) Of course its a good slam. After club lead ill play AD,AH low spade to the ten. If its working ill ruff A S ruff a H and pull trumps if its off side then i have a re-entry to try the D finesse. If LHO duck a Q 4th then bravo !

What i suggest instead is to play transfer response after an overcall. Before the cue-bids its natural and after the cue its transfers. (1D)----1S----(P)----??? 1Nt= nat 2C= nat (i prefer non-forcing with 3C GF) 2D= H 2H= weak of GF raise 2S= limit (1C)---1H-----(P)----??? 1S= nat 1Nt=nat 2C= Diamonds 2D= weak or Gf raise 2H limit raise the problem i have with switch is that you play 1 lever higher when holding the lower suit. After a 1 level overcall that is 8-17 i prefer to play non-forcing response because stopping at 2 is important. Other then that switch isnt complicated

What was their leads ? Because if they play 4th best then it look like the hand is 2155 -- 4414. So i go up with the A of D and play AJ of H followed by 2 top S and a 3rd ruffed with the 9. The problem i see is that you will miss communication to pull trumps and setup S if you play A followed by D West will return a D and East will ruff with the 8 or if you play 2 top heart but 1 from your hand. edited If east has 2S & 4 trumps there is nothing you can do because you cannot handle the D with no losers (but since its an aggrevating problem i assume East had the K :) )

Not strong enough to reopen RvsR imo

Its not a monster hand but still strong enough to X again, over 4H ill pull to 4S. If partner have 2D he will pass quite often and if hes got 1 then game has a fair chance.

On this hand X has denying 4S turn out better because opener will show 6D instead of 5-4 but i doubt its the best treatment (I much prefer if it guaranteed 5 in the other minor) and im sure that it doesnt compare to relays . I really think north second X is penalty and was a gamble at mp and a mistake if in imps. IMHO by default once opener bid 2 natural suit the doubles become strongly penalty oriented (ill only pull with extreme shapes) 1D---(1H)----X-----(P) 1S---(2H)----X 1D---(1H)----X-----(P) 2C---(2H)----X 1C---(1D)----1H----(P) 1S---(2D)---X I play all these X as penalty oriented and i assume its standard. Also the first responder X deny shortness in the opps suit and 1S instead of X tend to show 5 or 4 with a stiff in opps suits. In a weak field nobody reached 5D and i think that in a strong field there will be few pairs there. When we have shape we bid we dont relay from north point of view preemption wasnt a big threat for sure.

RED this look like a perfect 3H and an easy raise. My RED preempt in imps are overbid by 1 tricks. Not having this agreement (i dont even called those intermediate jump overcall) 2H is slightly better then 4H imo

With today overcall im passing more and more of these X and i like to play that our X show some length in opps suit so that we can passes unless we have shortness. However playing standard method partner X should really suggest doubleton S and 5/6H. So playing standard i would not X with your partner hand and i would surely not pass 2D with ur hand.

instead of X partner could have showned club and a limit raise 1Nt followed by 2D (but id expect real C suit) or he could have showned a limit raise immediatly (2H). Relay = i think ill be better place to make a decision (limit or GF in this case) if i know more about your hand. The relay will permit us to find almost any slam (if they dont raise the bidding) and to make a limit and stop in 2D if opener has D+C.(not really pertinent in this case) IMO from responder point of view it make sense to ask for description instead of describing his hand because whatever he will do its not perfect. But at the same time no matter what responder show D+C, C+D,D+S,6D or longer, its not clear the hand is strong enough to force to game. (what would you do playing natural ? show a limit raise ? we are not playing sound openings but we dont open light) Those who think X as relay is worse then X showing 4S dont understand the power of relays. IMO if you can afford relays there is no comparaison between 1D---1H (relays) and playing 1D---1H (showing 4). So its the same thing after 1D---(1H)---X except that you have to take competitive factor into account. With 4 trumps W/R responder is not that much worried about competitive imo, and slam is a possibility so relaying is certainly an interesting option. As for the 2C showing S its because over 1D---1H----1S show both minors. The switch is because when its D+S its 5-4 or 64 but when its both m its 55-54-45-64 so more space is needed for both minors

2H 3C 1st 1 is obvious. The problem with the 2nd is that 3Nt might be a much better contract then 2D X or 4S. At the table i would have X, but after thinking more on this one im pretty sure 3C is best.

[hv=d=s&v=e&n=sxxh9xxxdaxxcakxx&s=skqjxhxdkqjxxxcxx]133|200|Scoring: MP[/hv] 1D---(1H)-----X!----(P) 2C!---(3H)----X-----all pass 1D show at least 4D and is unbalanced X is relay showing 6 pts+ 2C = 5D+4S 12-22

Im afraid the AK of D will get ruffed. I suppose partner X of 2D show desire to play 3D. The 2H sound like 4405. Oups misread the 2D was natural.... but im still afraid my AK will get ruffed. So i pass

no, partner will never return to 3S with 3-3. In standard 3D showed better D then S because with any 5431 and some 5422 you will find a X. + you should really play 2Nt as artificial for these kind of problems.

I think 1S,2D and X can work well if you are on the same wavelenght. Ive got good result overcalling 1S in imps with those hand but im not convinced at all 1S is best. 1S vs X is mostly a matter of style i think, it depend on the type of hand partner will compete at 3C or at 3S. Off shape X and 4 card overcall both are playable just that you have to be coordinated on both side.

There is no comparaison between the effectiveness of LOB of a 3rd seat opening and in 1st seat. Im not a strong believer in lob but light in 3rd is at least 2 or 3 time more effective then light first seat. 1- from a preemptive point of view you are preempting 1 opps and no partner. in 1 seat you are preempting 2 opps and 1 partner. Whatever psych or garbage preempt or crappy opening can backfire in 1st seat in 3rd they rarely do. Of course 1st bid are affecting 2 opps but the risk make it no comparaison between the effectivness on 3rd seat light. 2- from a constructive point of view already having pass is a big advantage for constructive bidding. P---(p)----1H-----(p) ??? whatever 1st seat bid and whatever the continuation hes in much better position then if not a passed hand, this extra precision can allow for some slack in the requirement for the third set openings. Ill drink half a bottle of Johnny Walker and i still wont lose 3 imps per boards against nobody. Remove my 1C bid from my bidding box and i dont think ill lose 1 imps per board.

Make much more sense to have sound 1-2 seat and light 3 then having agressive 1-2 and sound in 3rd. From a constructive point of view an unpassed hand is 0 to unlimited but a passed hand is 0-11, so you can afford more slack for your bids facing a passed hand because partner bids are going to be more precise. From a preemptive point of view a 1 seat light opening take space from 2 opps but also from partner, a 2nd seat take steal space from 1 opps and your partner and a 3rd seat however take space only vs the 4th player. Light opening at 1C & 1D have no purpose imho unless they a 5 card suit. A 1H light opening wont give much profits vs strong pairs but do pretty well in a weak field. The real value of LOB is in 1S/1Nt but red a weak nt is slightly inferior to a strong nt IMO so for Nt range you should based them on vulnerability and not on seats. Playing regular strong clubs i think 15+ in all seat is better. Of course Polish or special 1C are complete different stories and i have no strong experience playing those.

1♣ - 1♥ 3♣ - 3♦ ??? 3♥ at least 2H with an honnor 3♠ half a S stopper 3Nt to play 4♣ none of the above 1C----1H 3C----3D 3Nt----??? 4♣= clubs fit (keycard in my case) tend to deny a S control. 1C-----1H 3C-----4C 4♣= clubs fit (keycard in my case) D+S control. 1C-----1H 3C-----3S 3Nt-----4C 4C= clubs fit (keycard in my case) tend to deny a D control. The danger of 3D are 1-that if partner respond 3S and you bid 4C its it forcing ? 2- if partner bid 3H and you bid 4C what is it choice of game or a cue ? 3- if partner respond 3Nt and you try 4C does it show choice of game or fit with advanced cue with no S control ? my strong preference is that 1- 4C isnt forcing in mp (we dont have a S stop i want to stop in 4C) but forcing in imps (choice of game 4H or 5C). 2- 4C is a cue & H is set as trumps 3- Advanced cue with no S controls. (if i had 3514 or 4513) i would have jumped to 4D over 3C and if i have 1534 or i would bid 4H over 3C.) I bid 3H with all hand with 67 H slammish or not and i bid 3D on hand looking for H support except the non-slammish 1534) The main point is that 4C after 3D simply doesnt have the same meaning then 4C directly. Whatever information you get by 3D will probably be useless. Making an advance cuebids will deny a S controls (the way i play at least)