PhantomSac

3-0 trumps also seems quite likely here, and if trumps are not 3-0 then clubs are often 5-2, and if RHO is actually 1273, then the HK was likely on to begin with.

Pass

edited: Miscounted tricks lol. I would just hook a heart and then try to ruff 3 diamonds after pitching a club.

Different browsers obv, though it's possible I post on IE by accident I guess.

Sure I meant to say, against perfect defense, there is no extra chance from the squeeze. As you say the main point is to fork RHO, I was just focusing on the squeeze.

U,Udiot

Because partner passed when we overcalled at the 2 level rather than doing something else, and we have a complete min for offense, and good defense, and no extra shape at all?

Your shape is not nearly as important as your honor location when deciding whether to jump to 3N. For the same reason you would not jump to 3N over a 1D opener with Axx Axx Axx Qxxx even if you played it showing 13-15 balanced, but you would with KJx KJx Qxx KJxx. If you bid 3N partner is going to assume a stiff somewhere and a little extra shape is not enough reason to bid, and he's going to pass. Since there are some hands like that where you will be in the wrong game, it is worth it to investigate that possibility at a low level.

As it should be! That's debatable. Brogeland > Helness? Haha well you know I think of Brogeland as god, so I am biased :P

Ban old people and women, it's agreed :(

I was thinking about this eariler. I hope he does that. I already did that in this thread heh

But it is correct (assuming we ignore the hcp restrictions). Yeah but as has been said now, those hands would open 1N or rebid 2N a lot so I'm glad to see my inclination to think that was the problem was correct heh.

I play 3H as preemptive, not sure what is normal. 2N seems fine. I dislike 5D not so much because I am worried about missing slam, but because I have 2 aces and partner opened so I don't see the urgency to preempt, and I am willing to stop below 5D in a constructive auction.

Umm I doubt it. Bidding 1S on this auction is normal so that you can show both suits if partner cuebids, I don't think anyone is just saying it because of this particular hand.

Note that it would be very strong for LHO to duck a diamond to the king smoothly. You really need the first diamond won or the squeezes are irrelevant. For instance if RHO guards hearts and spades he can just pitch all of his diamonds while LHO comes down to 2 diamonds and 1 spade so there's no showup squeeze in trumpace's endgame nor any endplay, you have to guess who has the SK. If RHO guards hearts and diamonds, he just pitches all of his spades, while LHO guards spades, so there's no squeeze. If RHO guards spades and diamonds he comes down to 2 spades and a diamond while LHO comes down to 1 heart and anything (declarer has to guess), and declarer has to still just guess whether to hook or play for the drop or endplay LHO with a heart. If LHO guards hearts and spades and diamonds he can come down to 1-1-1 while RHO holds 2 spades and 1 diamond and declarer has to guess to play for the drop rather than the endplay or the hook. If LHO guards hearts and spades but not diamonds he can come down to 1-1-1 or 2S and 1H while RHO comes down to 1 diamond and 2 spades, and declarer must guess whether to drop, hook, or endplay again. If LHO guards hearts and diamonds then he can again come down to 1-1-1 and declarer must guess what to do. And if guards spades and diamonds he can come down to 2-1 or 1-2 and declarer has to guess what to do. On paper the trumpace line pretty much doesn't gain anything against optimal defense. In reality since LHO will always win the DA, you can tighten up your position because the count will be rectified, and the opps will often not stiff their king smoothly etc, so it will gain a lot.

I have to admit that I've seen this type of auction a couple of times from top polish pairs, and it was right every time. Of course it violates beginner maxims, but sometimes the 2♠ bidder has a lot more offense than expected. As a compromise, I've started playing double here as "I want to bid 4♠ unless you have this beat". Of course beginners will still do well never to reproduce this auction, but also, beginners will do well to think of what's going on in the auction and what contract they want to play as opposed to following rules. Yeah I agree this auction is definitely possible, but it should not be used by beginners, and should not be used with any hand that would be opened a traditional weak 2.

any non 2C then pass is LOL.

Lol the Meike/Andy partnership is going to take over the world?!

It's not that hard to knock them off the bars. But the more common problem there is that people seem to have trouble closing the bottom of the bidding box properly. So even if the box stays attached to the bar, the cards often slide out of them. Yeah I agree people forgetting to close the bottom is the biggest problem, but it's still far better than without the bar where people constantly knock the boxes over imo.

4342 being 3 times as likely as 4351 seems weird.

I agree with a club, and don't regard as a spade as that safe. As I have the 10, there is a big risk of a layout of something like AJxxx opposite K9 where the lead may cost. So, the club is not much riskier anyway. You have come up with one specific and unlikely layout where a spade has MAYBE cost a trick (it's not like you blow a trick that you had coming, you give them one extra trick, and quite possibly the 3rd pitch doesn't matter at all), and deem that as almost as risky as a club, which can cost a trick quite easily? Ok then. Blowing a tempo is a huge concern but a spade trick costs by setting up a trick for them probably 1 % of the time.

I'm going to reword this so it's clearer: If partner is expert enough to bid 4 clubs with a control in the suit, realizing that it confirms diamond support, then partner is also expert enough to realize that 4 hearts is an offer to play instead of a cue. Alternatively, if partner does not realize that both 4 clubs and 4 diamonds confirmed diamonds, then he's more likely to take 4 hearts as a cue bid supporting diamonds and cooperate/understand the rest of the auction I accept this rewording. I was simply taking issue with you saying it is fine if partner misinterprets 4H as a cuebid, it seems like a common error for people to cuebid even when they have no control in a suit that partner has denied a control of. However, as you say people who don't realize 4H is an offer to play probably don't realize that if it was a cue it should show a club control. With your example perfecta I would expect any expert player to cuebid 4C (unless they decided 5C was the right bid I guess), they have the spade ACE (obviously good for slam), great trumps, and a stiff club. If partner does have a stiff spade and 5-5 in the reds obviously that hand is massive, if he has a doubleton spade or 6-4 he will clarify it now. I don't see the advantage of partner not cuebidding with a control by agreement, especially in an auction like this. If 4M is natural, and 4N is keycard, partner is going to have only 5C available as a slam try. Clubs is the unbid suit, so knowing whether you have it controlled is very important. "Everyone" is very aware not to endplay partner in certain auctions, this auction is maybe deceptive because it looks like we have a whole level left before partner gets endplayed, but in reality bidding 4D with a club control might do just that. The lesson here is really to be careful to show your control in the unbid suit if it is going to be your last chance before partner has to sign off without one himself, and that applies here with bidding 4D.

At the nationals here there are metal bars that you can stick into the side of the table, and then attach the bidding box to, so that they can't be knocked off the table.

As it should be!

Hmm, why can't you be 4-4?