Hanoi5

I was also trying to decide between doubling and bidding 5♥ and was a little surprised at so many slam 'tries'. I choose 5♥ here.

Double

1♣-2N = 14+ Balanced 4333 or 4432 Over 1♣-1N-2♣ is transfer stayman. From Precision Today by Berkowitz and Manley, great book.

Yeah, some help. I suppose the rebels were 30 years waiting for a moment to seize the guns from Khadafi and suddenly they got to them and then NATO helped. And they lived happily ever after...

♠AKQ9xx ♥AKQxx ♦xx ♣--- 3♦-Pa-Pa-??? I knew I had to Michael's, but I chose to just bid 4♠. Before that I thought I might bid 6♥. BTW, over 4♦ partner would have bid 4♥, what's the 'right' way to invite to slam there? 5♥, right? Partner held: Then a little later I got: ♠AJ ♥x ♦AKQJT ♣AJT8x Pa-Pa-2♦-??? I asked what 2♦ was (knowing what it was, but just asking to see what they said) and heard LHO complaining how it had to be weak in diamonds as she didn't play Multi and her partner had to know, and blah blah blah. It was Multi of course. So I just remembered the other hand and... bid 6♣. I was lucky to find: Luckily this was no Spingold. Besides I was practicing for the Individual, which was a couple of hours later...

I might be entering a twilight zone with this question but, how's ousting Saddam different from ousting Khadafi?

[hv=pc=n&s=sakt7hj8daq963cj9&w=sj9653hqt95d7cqt7&n=sq8h7432dkt54c865&e=s42hak6dj82cak432&d=e&v=n&b=2&a=1n2d(DONT%20alerted%20by%20North%20as%20Majors)d(Presumably%20%27I%20can%20penalize%20at%20least%20one%20of%20the%20suits%27)2h(I%20prefer%20to%20play%20in%20hearts)3c(Everybody%27s%20talking%20so%20lemme%20show%20my%20suit%2C%20too)p3n(My%20HCP%27s%20just%20doubled%20up%21)ppp&p=sas3s8s2]399|300[/hv] This is my take on what happened during the bidding. I don't know the rest but when the smoke cleared E/W were down 3 (yes, they could have made). Declarer didn't try clubs since they might be 5-0 on the bidding. Director let the table score stand, what would you have ruled?

Takeout or negative which is the same as do something intelligent partner, i.e. if partner holds diamonds then he passes. x Axxx Qxx KTxxx

I like to play penalty of X. I also like the option of changing the meaning based on whether the opening was in a Major or a minor, if I double 1NT when they don't have the Majors then it's take-out and if they opened in a Major is penalty of that Major (great for exposing a psych). Anyway 1M-1NT-Pa is not a typical sequence as the 1NT is usually forcing.

I say penalty. I thought 2-way looked nice but it might lead to terrible results when they supported each other.

It's pairs, why would I want to play 5♣ when I can play 3NT?

We're white, they're red: ♠AJx ♥KQ ♦x ♣KQ98xxx Partner opened 1NT (15-17), I bid 2♠ and she bid 2NT which shows the ♣A in this case. What should I bid then?

[hv=pc=n&s=saq632ht72dq2cq95&w=sk984hkj865daj4c4&n=sh4d9765cakjt7632&e=sjt75haq93dkt83c8&d=w&v=b&b=4&a=1h3c(Clubs%20and%20Spades%20according%20to%20the%20agreement)4h4sp5cd]399|300[/hv] That was it. I bid 5♠ which was doubled and passed. Had I passed 5♣, what would the ruling had been from the Director. There was no body language (that I had noticed) but partner heard the explanation I gave when I alerted.

All red, pairs: ♠AQxxx ♥Txx ♦Qx ♣Q9x 1♥-3♣*-4♥-4♠ Pa-5♣-Pa-??? 3♣ shows clubs and spades. Is Pass ethical?

X or 3♥. X if there's a way to convince partner we don't have spades later. 3♥ if it primarily asks for a stopper.

Why did I bid 3♣ before? I suppose I'll KC now.

I didn't realize North had doubled an artificial 2♣ which shows clubs, so South was merely competing. If there was a way for South to show strength then that's the bid and not 3♣. 75% South.

I might just blast it. It would be interesting to open 1♣ and then bid 5♦, though.

North 75%. South could have passed 2♦ with nothing, and North knows South clubs are not that great so where are his/her HCP's? Of course the 25% missing goes to E/W who managed to make 5 bids with only 15 HCP's and whatever I missed form what South could have done.

WvR, imp pairs, after three passes you open: ♠Ax ♥KQ84 ♦J6 ♣AKJ53 Pa-Pa-Pa-1♣ 2♠-Pa-Pa-??? How do you reopen? Is X normal? Is 3♥ acceptable? What's better?

Imp pairs, they're red, you're white: ♠94 ♥8 ♦Q9875 ♣AKQJ8 Pa-Pa-Pa-???

babalu1997 has to be Brazilian. But seriously. 'Miranda' is the name given to the set of 'rights' read by policemen when arresting a person. I'm almost sure that's what it refers to.

♠KQJ ♥QJxxxx ♦xx ♣Kx This is 12 HCP's and you could go down in 4. I'm not saying I wouldn't have continued bidding with the hand given by OP but I'm known for pushing most hands. And going down. The thing is this pair is known for this behaviour of 'helping' themselves in the bidding, and in that case I say punish them.

It's not common for Advanced and Expert players to make a big mistake. This (and the fact that they commit less mistakes) is exactly what distinguishes them form beginners and advancing players in general. However I'm sure some mistakes slip from time to time or that they committed the sort I'm about to show and have some way of coping with them. (Or maybe not, and once you've messed up there's no way to recover). Say you hold: ♠865 ♥65 ♦KT93 ♣Q753 Playing teams, red vs white, bidding starts at your left: 1NT (15-17)- Pa- 2♦ - Now, you know it can be really bad but you decide to try and get your partner to lead a diamond. Perhaps you hit the jackpot and find partner with good diamonds or the Q in dummy. 1NT-Pa-2♦-X XX (I have no problem playing here)- Pa -Pa - ??? Is there ANYTHING you can do? Can your partner do something? You can't get time back. You can't change your previous behaviour. Is self-flagelation and not doing this again the only solution?