Quantumcat

I've spoken to my partner and he pointed out that he actually held ♠KQT97 ♥xxx ♦Qx ♣xxx, not ♠KQT986 ♥xxx ♦Qx ♣Jx. Obviously he would have bid with six spades, I just remembered his hand wrongly. Also, he said I should have mentioned that 1♦ was artificial, showing 1+ diamonds.

As many other people have said, it is probably the amount of learning needed to start enjoying the game that puts people off. Any other game, a quick five minute explanation of the rules is all that is needed. I played 500 in high school, so I didn't need to learn too much before I could play without constantly asking questions - I could handle basic auctions already and knew about drawing trump, returning partner's suit etc. Probably the same for the others who said they started with Spades. Maybe it is better to be content teaching kids to play Whist (or other partnership trick-taking games that are simpler than bridge) and not bother them with bridge until they communicate that they are ready for more of a challenge?

I would play 4♣ as non-leaping Michaels, therefore 4NT is keycard for spades (4♦ would be keycard for clubs) :-)

You have: ♠J73 ♥4 ♦AKT32 ♣AK43 RHO opens 1♦. You can overcall 2♦ natural, if you wish. We usually have a very good six card diamond suit (or club suit for 2♣ over 1♣) for this, since partner almost never has support. Other bids: a double would show 16+ any shape (except takeout shape) and a 1NT overcall would be takeout. Auction continues 1♥ from LHO, 1NT from RHO (they are playing a 14-16 1NT opening). Do you bid now? If you still pass, the auction continues 2♥ from LHO, pass from RHO. Do you bid now? I considered a double, but partner might have four good hearts or even five, and not a lot of strength (and won't be expecting so much from me), and won't be able to pass out the double when they go off. He might even bid a bad four card spade suit or heaven help us a three card suit, all when 2♥ was going off. On the plus side when he has equal minors or 1-card longer clubs he will bid 2NT, expecting me to bid clubs with equal length. All in all I decided to pass, being content if 2♥ went off one or two. What would you do differently, and please give some good reasons :-)

Had a relay auction a while ago where the opponents came in part way through with an insufficient bid. Our general rules on interference over a relay was pass was first step and double was second step, if the interference was three steps or less above the relay bid, otherwise we reverted to natural. The insufficient bid allowed us a gigantic amount of room which we used to find an excellent grand slam, with room to ask about 9s and 8s if we had needed to. Without the insufficient bid we might have still bid it but it would have required a slight gamble at the end once we ran out of room (not enough room to ask about a jack in a particular suit). One opponent was quite annoyed at her bottom board and grumbled that we weren't allowed to use the room given to us by her partner's insufficient bid since you are not allowed any agreements. However she didn't call the director about it (edit: still called the director about the insufficient bid, when he said "you may accept it.." I said "sure, I'll do that" and that was it). If an opponent makes an insufficient bid over our relay bid, are we allowed to use pass and double (and all the bids in between their bid and partner's relay bid) as relay steps? Or do we have to start with the next bid over partner's relay bid, same as if the opponent had passed? Thanks.

lol yeah. He decided it is too risky opening 3♣ vul with his balanced hand and not so good suit. Yet he decides it's OK to walk into a live GF auction, still vul, still not so good suit, and still balanced!

I just reread your post and I understand now :-)

What do you bid over 2♥ by partner? I know it is very unlikely (no negative double), but they will have a very weak hand if so and mightn't they take your double then 3♣ as a strong hand, or maybe a strong hand with diamonds and longer clubs? They might do something silly. Also with such a weak hand opposite you may not be able to make nine tricks even if they do pass. Over 2♦ you can probably pass though you might be in the wrong contract (if they have mild club support, or have a decent amount of HCP but not quite enough to bid 2♦ the first time and no stopper to bid 1NT the first time). Partner could easily have a spade stopper/length but be too weak to have bid 1NT to start with. But then you only have eight tricks (your seven clubs, partner's spade stopper). So you still don't want to bid 3NT over that. I think the opponents probably have the majority of the HCP and not a spade fit (no spade raise, yet no 1NT or double by partner). It might be right to pass (1♠ goes off, but they bid a better contract that is not going off over 2♣, and 3♣ goes off), but I'm a chicken and if it is wrong partner will look at the hand record afterwards and say, "you didn't rebid that suit?!?!". Anyway partner might have a bit of club support and some useful cards e.g. the QJ of diamonds, and 3♣ makes. So 2♣ for me. I was going to respond to MrAce's reply only I couldn't figure out if he was saying you should or shouldn't double :)

This hand is a great argument for transfers over interference of our one-openings. When we have a stopper ourselves, it does not matter who declares because the stopper is over the bidder. But if our stopper is Kx with opener then it has to be played by opener.

Here are some problems: - Sometimes everyone else is playing in 1N and you are playing in 2m or 2 of your major. This might win sometimes and might lose sometimes (depending if you can make more tricks than them). - Sometimes if you guess to pass 1NT, partner might have had a three-card raise with whatever strength you assign it, and everyone else will be playing 2M, which might win and might lose (depending if you can make the same number of tricks as them). So, you have to make more tricks than them when you end up in 2M on the seven-card fit, and you have to make the same number of tricks as them in 1NT as they make in 2M with their eight-card fit. That sounds tricky. Of course sometimes you can win when partner has a six card diamond or heart suit, and you bid 2♣, and they can sign off in 2♦ or 2♥, making more tricks than 1NT. But sometimes you can lose too (maybe you have a good fit and 1NT makes almost as many tricks). There is a way to solve this. Play a weak 1NT opening - now when you open 1M on a balanced hand, you will be strong enough to be happy hearing an invitational 2NT rebid by responder and will have no need to pass 1NT, or you might be extra strong and be able to make your own invitational 2NT rebid. If you are not strong, you will be unbalanced, and will be happy bidding a new suit and will end up in the same place as everyone else. Now you never need fear passing will miss out on your major suit fit (or responder's weak takeout), and you never need fear bidding will get you to 2NT going one off.

Shouldn't 2♣ then 3♥ show an unbalanced hand with five or more clubs and four or more hearts? So then, shouldn't East bid 4♣ over 3♥? Assuming West bid 2NT over 2♠ to show his balanced hand, now it can go something like (E) 3♣, (W) 3♥, (E) 3♠, (W) 4NT, (E) 2 keycards and trump queen* (W) 6♠. * I play that if one player shows two suits and the other is balanced, OR if a second suit has been supported, its king counts as a keycard. If you don't play this, then substitute in 1 keycard, then queen ask with yes as response. Anyway I think East should support clubs after partner definitely shows five, and I think West should only bid two suits when he actually has two suits.

2♦. Over 2NT I will bid 3♥ in case he has five. Over 2♠ (5-7 3-card raise or 2 cards) I will bid 3♠. Over 2♥ I will bid 3♥. These all show around 15-17[-] TP which I sort of have. If he passes 2♦ he probably has 5-8 HCP with 4-5 diamonds (and not two good spades) so it is porbably a good contract. There might be a very few hands he could pass 2♦ with that will make 4♠ but not enough for me to worry about.

This is what I do. I think it allows you to bid every hand you can have. After a transfer to a major, - If opener has three or more, he accepts. Now new suits are cues, and 3NT/4NT is RKCB. - If opener has two or fewer, he bids 3NT. A new suit is now natural, and step is RKCB for that suit, and 2NT 3♦/♥ 3NT 4NT is quantitative invite with a five card major. 4 of a suit is a slam try (hoping for mostly aces/kings rather than queens/jacks). Step is RKCB. 4NT after 4-minor shows a crap hand for slam. 4-minor could be forcing to slam or a try, but 4-major is only a try. 3♠ minor suit stayman OR 6-card major that wants to force to slam. 3NT shows a crap hand for slam in a minor (cards are mostly kings/queens/jacks in the majors). 4-minor shows an OK+ hand for slam. Then step RKCB for the minor. 4♠ is RKCB (setting hearts) and 4NT is RKCB (setting spades). Over 3NT response, 4♣ is RKCB for hearts and 4♦ is RKCB for spades, 4♥/4♠ show shortage and at least 5-5 in the minors and invite to slam (if they don't have kings/queens/jacks in shortage), and 4NT is seriously just pick a minor but I've given up on slam. Muppet stayman. 4♣/4♦ over 3♦/3♥ is a slam try in clubs/diamonds - proceed as over a 4♣/♦ immediate response. 3♠ over 3♥ proceeds same as 3♠ initial response. I bet you can't come up with a responding hand that will have trouble over a 2NT opening using the above :)

Alternative opening to 1♠ or 2♣ is 2NT. You'd probably like at least three card support opposite before you played a slam in spades so there is no real harm in pretending you only have five. Opening either 1♠ or 2♣ could leave you with bidding problems later.

It is only in American English that the double letters are dropped in some words. I did some reading and found out that the letters are always doubled (in both English and American English) when the preceding syllable is stressed (e.g. occurring, permitting), but that American English drops the doubled letters when the preceding syllable is not stressed (e.g. travelling, cancelling). Words look ugly to me when they are spelled the American way too (it annoys me when Microsoft Word autocorrects 'colour' to 'color' on the uni computers - we can't change the default language so I always add 'colour' to the dictionary) - just depends where you are from :)