Apollo81

Pard actually held 9 AJ10xxxx xxxx xx 4♥ and 3NT go 1 down each. I bid over 3NT, they doubled and then misdefended.

4♥ either.

If RHO is good enough to duck with either holding, then it's a 50-50 guess. I think that Kx is a more obvious duck than Jx, so I would play the ace.

When your overall hand strength is tightly defined then you are obligated to cuebid if asked. Example: 1♠-(2♦)-3♦-(p)-3♠-(p)-4♣ There are some auctions that ask for a specific holding in some suit. For instance, if responder had bid 5♠ instead of 5♣ in the auction you posted, opener would be obligated to bid on with a diamond control no matter how much he had overbid his hand so far. If neither of the above apply, then I would say that you are not obligated to cuebid if you have a minimum.

lead the 9 duck if W plays low cover if W plays the J duck if W plays the K

All Red MPs. ♠J10xx ♥Qx ♦xx ♣AKJxx (1♦)-3♥-(3NT)-?

1. 3NT 2. 5♠

3♠

Standard is that this auction does not set spades as trumps. The following auction sets spades as trumps: 2♣-2♦-3♠ After 2♣-2♦*-3♠ I would raise to 4♠. * your meaning After 2♣-2♦*-2♠-3♣-3♠ I would bid 3NT....not ideal but its the only bid that leaves 3NT as a possible contract.

Pass

Declarer could just as easily have had A109xx KJ KJxx xx

You have a dead min. Pass.

5♦. We're red on white; this is a trick overbid but how can I bid less with a 10 card suit? edit: ok on second look it looks like we're 2nd seat favorable...now 5♦ wtp

I would raise to game with an ace in that auction. Partner should be bidding 3♥ to make opposite a bust.

1♠. The preemptive advantages (relative to pass) outweigh any other concerns. 2♠ seems a bit weird to me with 5-5 when you could open

I think you should save your "wtp" for "what do you do with KQJxxx xx xxx xx in 3rd seat" weak twos normally contain 6 cards or a strong 5-card suit, so 2♠ would be anti-field here

RKC

my choice would be 3♥ I don't think I am going to get that much help from 2♠, and I want to leave a non-game contract as a possibility. I think it is extremely optimistic to find partner with even 2 hearts on this auction.

I don't think this slam is very speculative. 7 would be speculative.

I would have just bid exclusion over the 3♦ call if that was an option, but 3♥ seems OK since now you know that pard is very short in diamonds and that you can probably discard some heart losers. Since this is a club game 6♠ rates to be an excellent score even if we are cold for 7, so that's what I'll bid. In a real game I would bid 5NT at this point.

7♦ obviously if partner doesn't have diamonds then this is a silly post

clear 3♦

I would bid 3♣ on the first hand if that is systemically weak. I would pass on the second hand hoping to show my suit later. They are guaranteed to have at least an 8-card fit on the first hand, so this gives me some degree of safety.

1. This hand is a normal opener, albeit a minimum one. 2. I don't think anyone bid too badly. South might have bid 2♠ (or maybe even 3♥) rather than 4♦. I don't think 3♦ is a very good choice.

I would have just bid RKC. I suspect that for every time partner has xx of clubs (I suspect almost never) then you will misjudge 6 versus 7 at least once as a result. It's pretty hard to argue that 5♠ isn't the best bid, so I won't go there. I would guess to bid 7♠ over 6♥. Hopefully partner wouldn't have bid this way without the ♦A.