Hanoi5

It depends on agreements as like the others have mentioned you should support spades and show your strength very soon, specially after a double. If you don't have a structure to support after the double and were actually showing a delayed support for the Major (opening+ values and support) then your partner should have gotten to game. Actually if you were showing diamonds and support for spades with a 11-12 hand your partner should have gotten to game himself (he has the ♦A a great card given your sequence!).

You opened a very weak hand and your partner bid twice with quite a minimum. This would have been better: P-1♥-1♠-X P-1N-2♠-P (or X???) P-P-(P?) A second double by your partner would have been exaggerated, but your sequence was...

I'd go with 4♦, what are partner's spades that he didn't bid 3NT?

2NT rebid, though I agree that opening 2NT is far from bad. 2♠ if you want to be more 'accurate'.

Improvement in bridge doesn't come fast unless you're gifted. I'd say 2-months (2-3 classes per-week) is enough to be able to enter a live tournament. From there you have to be a 'good student'. You need to keep on reading theory and playing but analyzing everything you do after a tournament (or a session). I'd say that after 6 months of having started to play in tournaments if you follow the advice to keep on studying and analyzing what you play (in order not to make the same mistake twice...or thrice) you should see some improvement and could be easily be part of the intermediate crowd.

4♣ and 5♣. I'd love to be able to ask for a heart lead but partner will have to guess that with my double. 3♠ is an interesting alternative, slam is a possibility I think.

East is a passed hand, what could partner do over 1NT that wouldn't allow him to find the heart fit (in case there's one)? Of course West could/should bid over 2♥ since he could have only a 5-1 fit but then again what if East has 6+ ugly hearts and rebids them over 2♠ (or worse, s/he passes 2♠and they end up in a 5-1 fit when they were in a 6-1!). So I voted mainly East.

X or 3NT. Bus ticket? I don't remember what that is. 3NT is more aggressive than X but after there might be no way to return to that game after doubling...

Pass is my call now. I wouldn't have doubled in the previous round, I see no way to rectify this.

North.

1. Your partner should have opened 1S. His/her 2D shows 5-4 or 6-4. 4H is to play BUT your partner had a void so he thought he was improving the contract. If 1♠ had been opened a superior 4S contract could have been reached. 2. Doesn't 1H show 5 hearts? Unless you're playing ACOL or 4-card Majors you should support partner's hearts. 3. Yes, it is competitive. It shows 3(4) hearts. 5-9/6-10/6-9 HCP's unless you have a special agreement.

Whether you play four-suit xfers or 1N-2♠ minor suit stayman, 2♠ after a red suit answer to stayman asks for holdings in the minors. If opener shows only spades to stayman then 3♥ is minor suit stayman.

minor-suits stayman.

After calling the director on the two ♠3's present at the table I figure I'd take the ace, ruff a spade, heart to dummy and ruff another spade. If the king hasn't shown yet a club to dummy and ruff with the ♥10. ♦A and another, hoping to ruff the third diamond and finish drawing trumps. Is this better than the 50% of the first-round finesse in spades and ruffing only 2 spades? Maybe it's not 50% on a lead against a slam. Is it better than the 37ish % of a small diamond to the 9 and then to the J? I don't know. Can someone show the numbers for these 3?

What? If your partner doubles 1NT for penalties you either pass, takeout to your best suit (or invite if you think you can have a game) or get to game. I don't know of any system to deal with it.

Between 1NT and Pass I'd prefer 1NT. 2♠ should be 6th so I don't like that.

I'll follow Adam's start (Spades,♦KC) but I'll punt to 6♦ instead of 6NT.

True. I thought of this and decided it would be a good idea to rebid 2♥ over 2♦, which should complete the description of our hand.

I'm not saying the '♠ were not raised' argument is wrong, or that we haven't got a balanced hand, but I think 1NT is a false statement about the spade stopper in our hand. 2♣ will only get us to play with the 4-2 when partner holds 1 diamond, in which case he has 10 cards in the Majors (not likely). 2♣ and let's wait to hear the 2♦ in front.

I might have bid 4♦ instead of 2♠. 3♠ now.

So that's how Geoff Hampson became such a good player...

1♣ and 3♠ later.

I like 5♣ but at these colours I don't think it's worth it. I'll go with 3♥ to let partner be part of the decision.

If South was so clever as to think all that then he should have been very clever in designing the play and the hesitation so I'd rule against him.

2♦. I'm too afraid of bidding a Major and play at the 2 level with a 3-3 fit. 2NT with such a lousy stopper, I don't think so. Partner will find another bid if we belong to 3NT.