skjaeran

It really looks like partner is sitting there with a penalty double. So I'll stick my neck out and double. I'll look very stupid if RHO has a nice hand and partner bids 3♠....

Clear double IMO. I'm leading the heart ace.

Yeah, I'll overcall 1NT too.

Obvious pass. Might be able to butt in later with a t/o double of ♦s or be able to show a good hand with clubs and one (unbid) major, depending on the development.

This is a style question. Being a light opener, this is an automatic 1♠ for me. If you're opening style is semi-solid it's very close between 1♠ and 2♣, and playing a sound opening style there's no question this is a 2♣ GF response.

In my recent partnership we had the possiblility to raise 1M in these non-GF ways: Weak 3-card raise (2 in the suit below (2-way bid, weak raise or NAT)) Invitational 3-card raise, very good 8 to bad 12 (direct raise) Bergen raises (6-9/10-12) Mini-splinters Over 1♥, 2♠ showed any mini-Splinter, and 2NT was a relay, 3♣/♦ was Bergen raises Over 1♠, 3♣ was a mini-Splinter in a minor (3♦ relay), 3♦ Bergen (3♥ range inquiry) and 3♥ a ♥ mini-Splinter

If you just mean Vinje's trump signal (where you signal your distributional pattern - 3 suits with an odd number of cards and 1 suit with an even number or vice versa), of course that should be legal. There's no sane reason why not. If you don't have any 'tools' for using these signals, they're pretty demanding. You'll spend a lot of time and energy on adapting the received information to something meaningful for the actual hand. I guess this will be far easier with practice. However, some people have extended on this idea, and discovered that there are relationships between the four hands on any deal, and that you can use dummy as a 'prism', to put together the information you have, and more easily learn more about the two unknown hands. See http://www.prismsignals.com/.

60, is that really correct? I thought it was 65 3-4 years ago, and going up.

Agree with 2♣. Having bid vulnerable, this is a clear pass now IMO. Partner wouldn't just take preference with 4-card support and short spades.

1. AKQxxx AQJxxx x v or AKQxx AQJxxx Kx v or similar. 2. 3361 most probably, with a good minimum (12+ - 14- hcp) 3. 3451. Very good 14 to 17 hcp. ♣A or K.

1) Double. We might have a game, though I doubt it. Can't let them steal us blind, odds are they go down. 2) 5♥, wtp. This one seems very obvious to me. Partner made a t/o double and I've got a 6-bagger in the unbid major. They might make 4♠ or we might make 5♥ or both.

Agree that the full hand was presented far too early. Remember there are posters here from around the globe. Passing 4♠ almost wouldn't occur to me with this hand. Sure, the 5-level MIGHT be too high, but that's pretty remote. And we still might even might have a grand on (OK, that IS remote). Passing is an extremely pessimistic view, I'd give partner another chance with 5♣. If partner signs off again I'm passing, but any sign of life from him gets us to slam.

So did I for five years (1984-89). In a strong club system. We modified the 4-5NT convention. We did very well in slam auctions.

I've got no idea where the 5♠ bid came from - it really looks stupid to me. Why not rebid 3♥, get 3NT from partner and then just sign off in 4♠? Jumping to the 5-level on a known 6-1 fit that rates to be not_too_good isn't sound bidding. With that said, the worst bid was the ridiculous redouble. Totally agree with Justin's comment on that.

With clubs 6-0? I doubt you'll make on any lead...

Canape needs to be alerted? Depends on the regulations that applies. But I'm definitely of the opinion that canape should be alerted. Since it's not something you normally expect. And since opener might not take another bid, the opening bid is the bid to alert, not the rebid in a longer suit.

2♠, not close to 3♠ for me. 7-loser hand, no source of tricks. Of course the aces are good, but they don't take that many tricks....

I'm in the 5♦ camp.

Suit preference is the signal I use the most in trumps. I'm also used to echo (hi-low) to indicate 3+ trumps and an ability to ruff. In situations where we're playing a forcing defence, the defender lacking trump control gives count, so that partner knows when to cash out, thus restricting declarer to the lowest possible number of tricks.

I have to admit, 2♣ did not occur to me. What, you don't play transfers here? :D (I do).

Even with my light opening style, this is a clearcut pass. It's 7.5 losers - not close to accepting.

Why would you have Ekrens in your arsenal? It's more than ten years since I quitted playing that convention, because the bad results was vastly more frequent than the good ones. (Of course around here everyone and their mother knows how to defend against Ekrens...) Btw, if I ever would agree to play Ekrens (abroad), I'd not use 2♥, rather 2♦. Then we can play there on some hands.

3♥.

You're still playing under the 1997 laws I assume. Under the 2007 laws the correct time to call is after the board is fulfilled. (It's not illegal to call earlier, but not proper procedure any more.)

I took this to mean that N and W were on the same side of the screen. That's one logical conclusion, and the one that at first glance seems obvious. However, if you're used to playing with screens, you'd assume it was a typo, and that north and EAST didn't see the 3NT bid. :)