bid_em_up

The big problem is if they weren't making game; then going down 4 is worse than their part score. If partner opens 3NT and you have lots of quacks, they may be enough to stop the opponents from making game, but not enough to make 3NT your way. Down 4 may be worse than their partscore. However, what is -200 against their 140? The difference is insignificant. But you also leave them guessing which is correct (defend 3N or bid 4M). How much you would you care to bet they get it wrong more often than not?

The opening is fine, just be aware that the longer your suit is, the more likely partner is to be void in your suit. Personally, I do not subscribe to the belief that you must have at least two (or all three) side suits stopped to pass the 3N bid. It is called Gambling 3N for a reason. You are gambling that you can run 9 tricks or that 3N undoubled minus however many is an excellent sac against opps (probable) major suit game. At favorable vulnerability or both white, you can go down 9 undoubled (its been known to happen), and the most you are losing is 450 against opps major suit game. Until you get doubled, why run? (Assuming partner is not void in your suit....in this case, he must pull). If you are vulnerable, is when you have to worry about stops in the side suits to leave the 3N bid in. Now two of three is a reasonable approach. The question really should be, what should partner have to leave an X of 3N in? Once it gets doubled, he really needs stops in all three side suits to leave it. With an 8 card suit, I would (almost) always bid 5C. The worst thats liable to happen is your down 3 against nothing but since partner would not sit for 3N, it is more likely that opps are making at least 4M.

Starting sometime last nite, the myhands website has been disabled. At first, when I tried to access it, I got a message that was signed by uday stating "The myhands service is currently under maintenance and will be down for 1-3 hours" but it was dated 6/23? (Sometime in June, I dont remember the exact date). Now when I try to access it I get: Forbidden You don't have permission to access /myhands on this server. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apache/1.3.26 Server at bridgebase.com Port 80 Whats up with that?

Grand Slam Force (GSF) is a (usually a leap to) 5N bid asking partner to bid 6 with one of the top three honors or Seven with two of the top three. Since no trump suit has been explicity agreed, it is normally considered to be for the last bid suit (most established partherships will also use this same agreement for RKC, where 4N asks for keycards on the last bid suit, where no trump suit has been agreed). While you may not have been familiar with it at the time, it is a fairly "common" treatment, and even when I was a beginner/intermediate, although I may not have known exactly what it meant, I certainly would have been able to deduce its meaning before I would have ever understood the meanings of any of the other sequences listed.

Of all the listed sequences, for what is supposed to be a Beginner/Intermediate forum, this one is the most reasonable, logical and achievable. West should be able to see all the side losers being covered, the only real key is how many of the top three club honors does partner hold? (What is all this talk about "Exclusion Keycard", and how many beginner/intermediates do you know that play it?! Or 3N showing spade control and forward going after a splinter?!! Come on!! ) I agree with Dwayne (keylime) that in a 199'r game any slam making is liable to be a good result, but the above auction should get you to the right slam 99% of the time. Even for the fancy folks, sometimes simpler is better. Hi, I am not sure, that GSF is a convention that a 0-199 should need to know. With kind regards Marlowe I promise you, a beginner or intermediate is more likely to be familiar with Grand Slam Force....than they are to understand Exclusion Keycard Blackwood or any other alternatives listed here. Which was my point....not so much as whether or not they actually knew it. After all, if they arent familiar with GSF, what chance do they have of actually completing any of the other sequences??!! B)

Of all the listed sequences, for what is supposed to be a Beginner/Intermediate forum, this one is the most reasonable, logical and achievable. West should be able to see all the side losers being covered, the only real key is how many of the top three club honors does partner hold? (What is all this talk about "Exclusion Keycard", and how many beginner/intermediates do you know that play it?! Or 3N showing spade control and forward going after a splinter?!! Come on!! ) I agree with Dwayne (keylime) that in a 199'r game any slam making is liable to be a good result, but the above auction should get you to the right slam 99% of the time. Even for the fancy folks, sometimes simpler is better.

No, I wouldn't. Never. Ever. Not in a million years. Not even if you held a gun to my head and said "Bid 1♦ or I pull the trigger. Can I make it any plainer? What part of this hand leads you believe it is an opening hand in first seat? Was it the quick tricks? Nope, doesnt appear to qualify. Oh? Maybe it was the sound 11 hcp it contains, 3 of which are a doubleton QJ? Nope, not it either. Oh? The great distribution compensating for weakish values? Nope. Hmmm, maybe it was the 4 card majors you held, so you could at least raise whatever partner responded or bid 1N instead? Hmmm, slight problem there. I dont have this problem, because I didnt open this hand, wouldnt open this hand. See above. (Well....ok, maybe if you put the gun to my head, I would at least take it under consideration, but thats about the only way.) Sorry, but I really think you should concern yourself more with the opening bid, than worrying about what to do for your next call on this sequence. It was the opening bid that created this problem anyway. EDIT: Apologies for questioning the opening bid, I was in the middle of typing this response when you posted your second post stating "For future posters,the fact that this is not an opening hand isn't in question". Had I seen that, I would not have posted the above, even though I would have still had the same feelings. :D

1♠-1N-3♦-3♥-3N As MC Hammer would say, "Cant touch dis, do doo doo do, di do, di do" :D

When I initially looked at this hand a few days ago, I really wanted to bid 3H asking for a heart stop (or partial stop). And, if your partnership uses 3H to specifically asks about a heart stop in this auction, then that is what I would bid. Unfortunately, one thing that I havent seen anyone address, after a little more thought, partner rates to take this as some form of cuebid agreeing spades at this point in the auction. While others may think that 3D is a reasonable alternative, I do not. How are you going to handle a 4D raise? If your partnership style is to bypass a 4 card diamond suit in favor of a four card major, this certainly could happen. Are you willing to play 5C or 5D? Rex's bid of 3N on his own, is a gross overevaluation of his own values. His suit is dependent upon a fit for 3N to begin to stand a chance. Any partial heart stop in partners hand will be wasted, as he has just wrong sided the contract. I would hope that if my partners hold Kxx Qxx xx xxxx (which is really about all that is needed for 3N to have some play from his side of the table), they would realize this and bid 3N over 3C without me having to bid 3H every time. I finally decided that the lesser of all evils was just to bid 3C and pray partner can do the right thing. I disagree with this assessment. Give partner as little as Kxxx xx xxx 10xxx (and he must have more than this for his 1♠ response) and 3N will at least have a reasonable play (expecting the diamond finesse to work). The real key to the hand is how good of a fit does partner have for clubs, as opposed to what values does he have. Since by freely bidding 3C, you should show 6+ good clubs (and a decent hand), partner is better placed to decide what to do. If he has a club fit, he can bid 3N with a heart stop of his own or bid 3H to ask if you have one.

Usually you go to dinner after the tournament... The other problem might be that these camps are usually held in the middle of nowhere which means a romantic walk in the forest but no dinner... Please explain exactly how is this a problem?! :) Other than maybe you go hungry for the night having missed the camp's dinner? (And if it is similar to the camp food I used to get, you're usually not missing much anyway). Ah, but when you're full of love (well, ok, temporary infatuation), whats a little discomfort of the stomach? Breakfast is only a few hours away.......and usually even the camp kitchen cant mess up cereal and milk!! :P

Be serious, who could really pay attention to bridge in this scenario? I dont do anything, cause we would have left for lunch/dinner long before now!!

Changing the display settings will allow you to have full screen. I think I use 800x600 on my 19".

Why all the secrecy with email adresses?

Ok I give up, why is it that I can get the hands succesfully posted once, but if I edit my post later, I get all this gobbley-de-gook garbage? (I reedited the above post to put the hands back in correctly).

West has a couple of choices of bids here. He can bid 2N (over 2H), followed by 3N over partners next call. If playing leb, where 2N is relay to 3C or 3C is positive with club fit, he can bid 3C then 3N over partners next call. After East has shown 9+ cards in clubs and hearts, it is pointless to be hunting a 4-4 spade fit with a 2S bid. i believe this auction is actually supposed to be listed as 1♣-(1♦)-x-(1♥)-2♣-(2♥)-3♣-(3♦)-p-p-x-all pass, right? the auction derailed with the 2♣ bid instead of 1♠ showing the four card major. I'm afraid to. :)

Sorry, I must apologize. In the version of 2/1 that I play, a 2♦ response to 1N forcing guarantees 4+♦. I have been playing it that way for so long now, that I usually forget that it is non-standard. Heck, its standard to me!! :lol: Therefore, the 3♦ raise is automatic in my methods. What you do in yours, is entirely up to you.

Is this the first board or the second? And if its the second, how do I feel about my result on the first? :)

To address the original question. I think the 2S call should show at least 6 (not just 5 as some seem to believe). Opener has already shown at least 9 cards in diamonds and hearts, and since you are looking at a diamond void, he is very likely to hold at least 6+ diamonds. Even if he only has 9 cards, the odds are against him holding at least three spades so every effort should be made to pick one of openers two suits whenever you can. Therefore, you must hold 6 spades. Given that, it is the 3S call that I find the least desirable here. Partner cannot hold any sort of fit for spades. On the actual auction, I still see no reason why partner cant (and shouldnt) be 0-4-5-4, and bid 4C over 3C. Having failed to do that, the cheapest available game now is 4H and thats what I do.

You really dont believe this do you? The GF was created by the reverse. Why on earth would you create a GF again??!! 3C should show a 0-4-5-4 hand. Cannot be 0-4-6-3, as this hand should bid 3D, not 3C. Ok why does a reverse create a game force? I assume we respond very often with less than 6 hcp and if opener is vcid in spades I cannot wait to see opener's forcing game hand that could not open 2clubs and risked playing 1D. Why would you assume that? If your style is considered "pretty much standard" then as responder, you certainly should be expected to hold 5+ hcp. Given a standard reverse, this auction is supposed to be game forcing....and to use your own question, why create a GF auction with 3C, when you didnt open 2C? At fav vul I thought Fred G said he would respond to 1D with any hand with at least zero hcp, but I may wrong. I know Kokish would. In any case are you saying most top class players promise 5+ hcp over 1D? Are you saying top class players pass with: Axxxx...xxxx...void....xxxx? or even less? Kxxxxx....Jxxxx..void...xx? It was not stated we play wjs, I do not, so I assumed responder may even have some weak hand with long spades and short hearts? Mike, I dont care what other "top" players do. I do know what works for me. Would Fred respond 1S over a 1D opening on Axxx xx xxx xxxx? I dont know, nor do I really care, since it is highly unlikely that Fred will ever be my partner anyway, and my partners are not usually as competent as his are :). I do know that I would not. Imo, I have found that responding on Axxxx xxxx VOID xxxx rates to lead to trouble more often than not. The next bid you are likely to hear is either 3D or 2N, now how happy are you? Pass initially describes your hand perfectly and may in fact be the last makeable spot. If it goes all pass, so be it, but most times opps will reopen, and now if you enter the bidding, partner will know you are competing on little or no values instead of actually attempting to place some real values in your hand. Why try to rescue partner before you are actually in trouble, only to make matters worse? Given that many partnerships will play leb. after reverse, it is wiser to play the 2S call as a bust hand with long spades and no pure fit for either of openers suit, and use the sequence 1D-1S-2H-2N-3C-3S to show a non-fitting spade hand with values. This way, you can play 2S a level cheaper using this sequence opposite A AKxx AKQxx xxx for example (opener should pass on the known misfit). The same would apply for the sequence 1C-1H-2D-2H (long hearts, bust), only now you also have the additional call of 2S (instead of 2H) to show certain other hand types, in addition to the leb sequences/inferences that are available.

You really dont believe this do you? The GF was created by the reverse. Why on earth would you create a GF again??!! 3C should show a 0-4-5-4 hand. Cannot be 0-4-6-3, as this hand should bid 3D, not 3C. Ok why does a reverse create a game force? I assume we respond very often with less than 6 hcp and if opener is vcid in spades I cannot wait to see opener's forcing game hand that could not open 2clubs and risked playing 1D. Why would you assume that? If your style is considered "pretty much standard" then as responder, you certainly should be expected to hold 5+ hcp. Given a standard reverse, this auction is supposed to be game forcing....and to use your own question, why create a GF auction with 3C, when you didnt open 2C?

You really dont believe this do you? The GF was created by the reverse. Why on earth would you create a GF again??!! 3C should show a 0-4-5-4 hand. Cannot be 0-4-6-3, as this hand should bid 3D, not 3C. EDIT: Scratch this....I see where you are the original thread poster now, and while in your system, this may hold true (and it was not stated in the first post), it still makes no sense.

He does play on occasion, although I rarely see him. I have his ID in my friends list, but I cannot access at this moment (no work access to bbo). I wont swear to it, but I believe it is MikeSL (for Michael S. Lawrence). That was also his ID on another online site as well, so I am pretty sure that is it. EDIT: I checked last night. It is mikesl.

Luke warm, thanks for your description although I admit I've never heard of anything like it so I'm not sure if it qualifies as "pretty standard"! An interesting idea though, which I'll consider switching to myself. I usually play 2D=K, QQ or better, most hands without a good suit (GF) 2H=negative, worse than 2D, any shape 2S=5+ ♠ suit, at least 2/3 top honors 2N=5+ ♥ suit, at least 2/3 top honors 3C=5+ ♣ suit, at least 2/3 top honors 3D=5+ ♦ suit, at least 2/3 top honors If I played with a random expert from the partnership desk, and we had 10 minutes to fill out a card and we agreed on 2♥=xx, this approach is exactly what I would expect. Likewise.

You're absolutely right. It was a lame attempt at sarcasm. Sorry.

#1) 1H. Who cares that RHO made a neg X. Showing partner where your values are located will leave them better placed later in the auction when you compete in diamonds. #2) 3N. I dont think I can take enough tricks to be profitable in 3C x'd to beat the game bonus. 4C is a close 2nd choice, continuing with 4H over 4D to imply both majors. #3) If 2♣ was g/f, 4♦ appears to stand out by a mile, with 4♣ a distant second. Since the problem says, 2♣ is a standard one round force, I think 4♣ is slightly better. Partner may pass 3♠ on a spade stiff or void, thinking the hand is a misfit (he will be unaware of our club holding) and we dont really care about his spade holding. I dont really care if we end up in clubs or spades, but we must at least reach game somewhere. #4) 2S, with X a close second. (Yes, I know its not perfect, but I think it will work on this hand). #5) 2S #6) 3N. Partner will be unable to bid 3N due to his lack of a club stop. Bid it now while I have the chance. #7) 1S #8) 9H. I see no reason to lead the JD. as it is only likely to help declarer. He had no four card major, so rates to be longer in the minor suits.