Quantumcat

Doesn't the person with the shortness have to bid? What is pard going to do with ♠T543 ♥KJ ♦T765 ♣AQ4 Or ♠54 ♥AJ76 ♦T765 ♣AQJ Doesn't he have to pass? And you can make game. If you have a bad hand with length in diamonds there's no problems passing, but with shortness, your partner may not have a bid, a bid by you should at least be considered!

Raising says if you have a max, we can make game, since you pass when game is impossible. If responder has a max with four spades, he bids 3NT, which you can correct if you have four.

It's not THAT awful - he thought he'd be bidding 3NT next round and didn't want a heart lead. But anyway I bet he was turkish.

Playing the queen caters for any king onside as well as a long king on your right and all 3-3's. Loses to short king on your right. Playing the nine caters for any ten onside or long ten on your right, loses to short ten on your right, but in addition, loses to 3-3 with ten offside. Playing the ten loses in one more case than playing the queen so I think playing the queen is right.

Life is easy if you play all takeout doubles except when we have found a fit or are in a game force auction.

I think playing multis only gains when your opponents don't know how to defend against it, and muddle themselves up. If they do, it is way easier to get to the right spot after a multi than after a weak 2, because you have the extra option of passing in various places. You also can't pre-empt effectively (by the time you know what opener's suit is and want to bid 4H/S - the opponents have already talked) and like lots of people mentioned, constructive bidding is made much more difficult. It's been said that they free up 2H/S to include a minor suit, but who does that help? The opponents when they declare! Nobody wants to play in a minor game and more often than not, it will be the opponents playing since you have a weak hand. Does anyone like this system of pre-empts? They are called Brad Twos. In 1st/2nd seat: - 2♣ is 4+/4+ clubs and spades - 2♦ is 4+/4+ diamonds and spades - 2♥ is 4+/4+ hearts and spades - 2♠ is 5+ spades In 3rd seat: - 2♣ is 4+/4+ clubs and hearts - 2♦ is 4+/4+ diamonds and hearts - 2♥ is 5+ hearts - 2♠ is 5+ spades - 1♠ could be a psyche with short spades

Ah, another fan of transfers! I don't think transfers are so good in this situation because there will be times where you need natural bidding and the similar situations where you use transfers or natural bidding might get blurred and then you have horrible misunderstandings. With two of my partners we have transfers after interference of 1-suit opening and after any 1-1-1 auction, which works well: you can have weak bids and standard 2/1 bids with one bid. Also that a jump transfer (after interference of 1-suit opening) shows a bad pre-empt or single-suited slam interest (probably a bad agreement but I like it) so here it would go 1♦ (1♠) 3♦ (P) 3♥ (P) 3♠ cueing showing slam-interest and that hearts are trumps no matter what partner has.

lol, in australia three quarters of the old ladies in clubs play multi 2♦, then you see less and less of it the higher you go in competition level. Just because your opponents don't like your system doesn't mean you're not allowed to play the parts they don't like! If a tournament allows forcing pass for instance, your captain shouldn't have placed you against that pair. Or in a pairs tournament, you are told before you enter what systems are allowed. If that includes multis, you shouldn't have entered in the first place if you can't deal with them! And if you do enter, it is your own responsibility to decide on a defence before you start play. If you didn't bother, then it's your own problem, your opponents are not obligated to let you figure one out on the spur of the moment. And in addition in BBO you see your cards immediately, and you can't have system discussions after picking up your hand. I'm sure that's illegal even if opps say you can. Mandatory announcement of system makes no sense. As long as things are alerted, you can ask either opp privately without letting their partner know they are being asked something, or even about half the alerts. And multi is way easier to defend against than regular weak twos, because you get twice as many opportunities to bid. It's like the difference between playing transfers after 1NT or weak takeout bids - you can show more hands.

The club suit play: Try the ace and then leading the jack. If West has queen doubleton (or queen third and covers), then we just lose the ten. If East has the queen doubleton, we can finesse West's ten. This also takes care of ten doubleton in either hand. This line wins whenever the queen and ten are split or are both with West. Does anyone have a better line?

Everyone who agreed with overcalling 1♠ on AJxx.

Bid 4♣ - opener will accept with aces outside clubs and middle cards inside clubs, and reject with small clubs and kings and queens outside clubs. He can bid: 5♣ with a weakness somewhere or he really doesn't like his hand for some reason and can't bid 4NT. 6♣ with all the aces outside clubs and non-minimum. 4NT with middle stuff in all suits outside clubs and not a club fit. 4♦/♥/♠ (cue) with a non-min but not all the aces outside of clubs and a club fit. Opposite 4NT and 5♣ you will be happy to play there (if in the bid of 5♣ he had a heart weakness - that would be a shame but the opponents would have bid 3 or 4 hearts at some point in that case) and after 4♦ you will bid 4♥, after 4♠ or 4♥ sign off in 5♣ (and be disappointed you're not in 3NT). With regards to a 1NT opener and a long suit, it will only be worth something in NT if you have a potential entry to it. Just try to imagine your partner with three small or jack or queen doubleton, and if it'll run for four or five tricks, you can bid 3NT with a 6 or 7 count. If it is not of this quality, you are better off playing in the suit (then your small cards in the suit will be worth something, but will be totally useless in NT).

I play! After ruffing the third club high, play the other high trump (West unblocks) then play three rounds of diamonds and ruff one, and the ace of spades. Now exit with your trump, and you get a ruff/discard on the club! If West does not unblock, then you play two diamonds and exit with heart and get a lead into your spades. Contract made!

I wouldn't ever overcall a four card suit, my partners always raise me as high as they have an excuse to. Except perhaps if he is passed and the only honours I have are in the suit and they are good ones (help partner avoid a bad lead). Aren't you worried in overcalling the AJxx that 1) it may be a bad lead (it catches the jack for the opponents and they make a trick more than if they had to play it themselves) or that your partner might feel aggressive and bid 4♠?

Nope, no beers when diamonds are trumps. On defence beers are doubled but unfortunately 2*0 = 0.

Even more fun is to just bid 4♠ yourself on your first bid - you know you will end up there anyway no matter what your partner says, so you may as well bid it now while the opponents have no idea whether you hold: ♠KJ97654 ♥- ♦QJ98 ♣76 or perhaps ♠AKQ98732 ♥A986 ♦- ♣5 or the hand you actually held. It's true you may miss slam by bidding 4♠ but it is a faraway consideration. Partner would need to have just the right cards, and by the time you have described the fact that you have a powerhouse while still making forcing bids, there may be no room to find them.

Yes, it is standard. People are only having a problem because they think having a five card major makes them unbalanced, but then later in the auction, they realise they are balanced and have no bid - tisk tisk tisk!

He was intending to bid 3♣ over whatever his partner bid to show a hand too good to just rebid 2♣ over 1♥, which could be done on any hand with six clubs and one heart or worse, so why didn't he continue with his plan after the 2♣? Or maybe even 3NT, with a club fit you have nine tricks! This isn't too bad because not only will they probably just lead their partner's suit if they don't have solid diamonds, but partner could easily have some diamonds, because he would choose 2♣ over 2♦ with four clubs four diamonds, five diamonds four clubs, four diamonds three clubs, and he might even choose 2♣ with five bad diamonds and 3♣ and short hearts, because he might realise you must have a few hearts (no raise) and are offshape, and probably have four/five clubs, four spades and a few hearts, and therefore probably not three diamonds. Opener could have chose any of these, any of which may have led to game: 2♥, 3♣, 2NT, 3NT, 3♦ (what could this mean? if he had a good hand with clubs and diamonds he would have reversed, and if he was so good that that wouldn't have sufficed, he'd have a 2♣ opening) Since opener had so many options, all of which would have led to a game (except the pass that he chose), it has to be all his fault. None can be for West, opener could easily have an 11 count with a nice shape.

Well, Burgess can be very rude. I was present on one occasion where he made a certain partner of his so upset she got up in the middle of the tournament and left the country, literally! Anyway, a big part of getting good results with a client isn't only the managing of said client to get the best out of them. It is also knowing how to get the most out of the opponents. When you are experienced in knowing what sorts of mistakes they tend to do and in which circumstances, you know to take advantage of them (when it isn't obvious that they've made one yet - but you can see the circumstances are present) and to create the circumstances that will cause them to make these mistakes. I think winning a club game is mostly about not making these mistakes yourself and taking full advantage of them at every opportunity from your opponents. I know a professional who plays with a really awful old lady that can hardly tell her diamonds from her hearts, yet he wins with her, and other partners, almost every time, even in quite good fields. He doesn't do well in real tournaments against real people and playing with very good partners, but he wins club games every time. I think it is due to what I said above.

I think pass is best, you can still bid 1NT when your pard doubles. If he passes, defending should be good! If you were a little stronger you'd probably have to bid 1NT. Maybe if you had shorter spades, 2♥ would be an interesting choice, because they would likely end up in 2♠ and your partner will feel better about leading a heart. I have a partner who is fond of doing this. We have ended up in some fun contracts but at least when he doesn't raise, i have medium length in their suit, and I know from the auction he has a few high cards, I know he's not going to have the king doubleton.

It should be fairly obvious by now that when you don't open 1NT holding a five card major, you totally screw yourself for the rest of the auction. I don't know why people do it! You can still find the five card major sometimes, even without playing any fancy methods. After 1NT 2C 2S 2NT, if you have a maximum, you can bid 3S. And after 1NT 2D 2H 2NT, with a maximum and 2 hearts and 5 spades, you can bid 3S.

oh ok so you can use 4 of a minor as both a slam try in the minor and a choice of 5 minor or 4S - if you correct 4S to 5 minor you had a slam try which opener has rejected. And you use 2NT if you are not sure exactly which suit to play in? Do you play this at imps as well? Can I explain how the transfers work after 2♠? (I love them B)) 2NT is transfer to 3♣, 3♦ to 3♥, 3♠ and 3NT to play. To make a game invite and show your own side-suit, transfer to the suit and bid 3♠. Without your own side suit, bid 3♥ and opener bids 3♠ or 4♠/cues. With a slam invite with a side suit that could use a little help transfer to it and bid 4♠. If you have slam interest no side suit and can still make slam with a crap hand for opener, bid 3♥ and cue over 3♠ or keycard. To play in your own suit, transfer and pass or bid game. With two of your own suits, transfer to the longer and bid the other. You can splinter. If you have a hand that wants to know about a side king or singleton to bid slam: bid 3♥, after 3♠ (rejecting gametry) bid 3NT (if you wanted to play there you'd have bid 3NT immediately). If they had accepted you'd have just bid 6♠.

It's great to have new suits be non forcing if you pre-empt on very bad hands, but you miss out on being able to get to games, you have to just bid the game you think may make, and you can't make splinters so you have less tools to find slam in your partner's suit. (By the way how do people who play new suits non-forcing treat 2♠ - 4♣/♦? a splinter, or slam try in clubs/diamonds, or maybe choice of 4♠ or 5♣/♦ {maybe responder has 2 small spades}?) Perhaps it is a good idea to play RONF in imps (to make it easier to find games/slams), and non forcing new suits in MPs? Of course you can have both if you play transfers!

On a club lead declarer doesn't have time to get diamond tricks as well as heart tricks. One ace will knock out the 2nd stopper, and the second we'll be cashing five tricks. Without the club lead he can knock out both and we won't have set up our club suit yet. Although, I think most of the time when 1NT is overcalled over partner's minor opening, the opponents has an actual suit, and attacking it will either hurt the defence or else lose tempo if it were solid. This is kind of similar, he was just too strong to just overcall 1NT. I think if you have an ok alternative to leading the opened minor, you should take it (not that you really had one here).

Yes it is probably just a bit of fun, and you don't have to deal with any annoying opponents. Perhaps their partners cancelled their practice at the last minute and they need something to do. They can also win points that they can spend on GIBs which is handy for practicing with their partners too (having GIBs as opponents) since you can't practice competitive bidding or defence on the partnership bidding rooms.

Bidding again once you've pre-empted, assuming you're not a complete beginner, is like saying "stuff you partner, your judgement's awful, I bet I know what you've got and that you should have bid 5♥. Since you aren't capable of bidding your own hand, I guess I'm going to have to do it for you". Which is fine for a professional playing with a 99 year old altzheimer's patient who is being paid to look after them, but not for a partnership of two actual players. The partner should take it as a grave insult.