Hanoi5

I'd take out the last trump and lead the ♠Q, what did LHO bid on? ♣KJT only? I also win if RHO returns a club instead of a spade.

The 5♣ bidder held: ♠x ♥Axxx ♦Kxx ♣J8xxx 6♣ can be made (how would you play it?) and I think it's a reasonable contract but, how can it be reached less problematically? At the other table 3NT was bid and made with an overtrick.

I would have bid 3NT, but that is rushing things, so double is better. 4♥ is a great contract, I'd prefer partner to double with that hand instead of bidding 2♥, though.

3♥, maybe partner will agree to play with a 4-3 fit. I first thought of 3♠ asking for a stopper, but partner rates to have a singleton. Pass also came to my mind, can partner have a real minimum?

1) Yes, I pass on my first round 2) I reluctantly bid 3♥. 3) Pass and 3NT are options in my opinion. I think I would bid 3NT at the table, though I usually regret that kind of bids.

I could have bid 2♦ previously, but I'll try 3♦ now.

Taems, you're white, they're red ♠xx ♥KT98xxxx ♦x ♣KQ 3♣ Pa 4♣ 4♠ 5♣ ??? Would you have passed with an eight-carder? Do you pass now? I also had a 'problem' with another eight-carder: ♠QJ9xxxxx ♥--- ♦98 ♣AJx MP's, all red and my partner opened 2♦ (either weak in a Major or strong 4441), what would you bid? What would you bid if you need a top (shooting)?

My first reaction was :blink: , but then I understood and I'd table dummy.

I also voted for the ♥Q but a small diamond could work fine, too.

I like mikeh's sequence.

Double seems to cover all possibilities. Partner can pass or bid his suit, the only trouble arises when he has 4♠ and 3♥ and we belong in hearts.

There lied my mistake: I thought there were squeeze possibilities and that I could squeeze North in diamonds and other but this is impossible since West discards before North. This is one of those hands where you just have to count and by the end of the hand (last three tricks) you'll have enough information to take a winning line on how to play the key suit (spades), why would you want to set-up a diamond or a club when all you need is to know who holds (or who can hold) 4 spades? When I got to this point I played another heart and threw a spade (North threw another diamond) and another spade to my K and another diamond from North. South had 4 spades to the J and my only hope was for him to have ♣QJ but no such luck. By the way, if I had played the ♦K earlier I would have discovered diamonds were 7-1 (wasn't there an inference from South non-diamond return?), but even if they had been 6-2 or 5-3 I could have made it by counting the hand.

It's sort of funny how these discussions can turn into fights. There are many issues to be discussed (I didn't mention that you played support doubles but I have to ask, do you support double with 18-19 HCP's?) but the main one is, is your partner's bid final? I believe that those who pass think so and those who bid 6♣ leave the door open for re-evaluation. Of course there is the other issue, if partner's bid is not final, is our hand good enough to go on? I think it is, but I see some people don't. I find this issue very similar to another hand I recently posted, you held ♠x♥KQJT8xx♦Qxx♣xx, LHO opened a weak NT (12-14) and you showed your hearts through Hamilton and partner bid 3NT, do you leave it there, do you take it out? The situation is also similar when your partner doubles for penalty and you have to decide whether you take it out or not. Is Pass obliged? Can you use some judgement? I find these three issues very important in bidding, is there a standard? does it depend on agreements?

[hv=pc=n&w=sk742ha6dk862cat8&e=saqt9hqjt85dack32&d=n&v=n&b=5&a=p1hp1sp2cp3np6sp6nppp]266|200[/hv] Let's not talk about the bidding. The ♦Q was led to the Ace, a heart to the A and another heart to the 9, Q and K. South returned another heart and West threw a diamond on it (you also did). The ♠A only gets small cards, how do you continue? Is there a 100% line?

Team match: [hv=pc=n&w=sak9hk5da976ckqt6&d=e&v=n&b=2&a=pp1cp1h1s2np5cp?]133|200[/hv] Do you pass or do you go on?

But those are the hands where more points can be lost or won, aren't they?

So, what was 3♠? If it shows a two-suiter (hearts-minor) I'd say he was lucky. If it shows only a strong hand then it could be cheating. If it shows hearts, then it's a great understanding There's a thin line between crazy and genius...

The first hand could be a choice from three: ♠A7 ♥KQJ865 ♦AK ♣K95 This is more likely to be a 2♣ opening, but then how do you treat it? Do you have a special sequence for this kind of hands? ♠A6 ♥AKQT98 ♦A6 ♣K75 Finally two which are pretty similar: ♠AKJT9842 ♥5 ♦A8 ♣A5 ♠A7 ♥5 ♦AJ ♣AKT9xxxx Can you elaborate why you would/wouldn't consider each of these hands a 2♣ opening bid? Would the conditions (vulnerability, seat, scoring, partner) affect your decision?

What was South's pass over 6♥? Did it show no loser in hearts or is that only over 7? I blame South mostly but could be convinced otherwise. Is the spade finesse called for because of the 4♥ preempt?

I think I'll try 3♠ first but when partner reponds 3NT I won't know what to do. The thing is I don't want to play at the 5-level if partner's hearts are ugly, maybe doubling 1♠ would have fared better? (I think that's the best solution) Would partner understand 5♦ over 3♥ as Exclusion KC? I really don't have a clue as to what should be the final strain, let alone the level.

I'd try the same as cloa513, although I could try winning the first trick in my hand before ♦A and another ♦. If I'm playing for diamonds 4-3 and hearts 4-3 wouldn't it be the same to ruff a heart and set up the eight? They haven't played a heart back yet anyway and they might blindly continue the trump defense. Edit: Just saw the hand and the way to make it doesn't seem very...intuitive?

I sent Ben a hand from the IPBM's bidding contest that included a psych. It's the only one I've seen, they used to take hands from real tournaments.

Red vs White, you hold: ♠xx ♥KQJT8xx ♦Qxx ♣x Bidding goes: 1NT* 2♣* Pa 2♦* Pa 2♥ Pa 3NT Pa ??? Where 1NT shows 12-14, 2♣ is a one-suited hand, and 2♦ asks about which suit. Do you pass 3NT or take it out to 4♥?

All White: ♠A ♥Q ♦AQJT ♣AQJ9xxx You opened this with 2♣ (agree?), partner bids 2♠ (which shows 5+♠ with AK, KQ, AQ) you bid 3♣ and partner continues with 3♥, what about now? 2♣-2♠ 3♣-3♥ ??? Would your decision change if your trailing by 21 imps? Edited: It was Nil Vul

Don't you consider the opponents when deciding this? There are 21 HCP's outside you hand and 11 spades (not to say 13 clubs). How likely is it to have the bidding go 1♦-Pa-Pa-Pa? I suppose being fourth changes this a bit, but by how much?