flytoox

agree, with this hand pd should overcall 1s then dbl later to compete.

4S first hand is clear cut. Pd overcall 3H at adverse vul. and RHO bid 3N,he should have sth in H, so pd should have sth in S and D. I think 4S should have some play. Second hand, I would bid 2S first round, then after 3C bid 3D if you like. As for over 4C what i would do, i bid 4S. Pd should have about 15-17hcp, and it seems pd is 4252, or 4243. If pd has SAK, and DAK, 4S should have play.

Maybe you can reverse the 2N. Direct 3H shows weak hand, 2N then 3H shows better hand. If opp bid 3S after ur 2N, you can dbl to show a good hand. The downside is you may risk to lose H fit sometimes. If you play limited opening, then this should not be a big problem. Hongjun

pass seems right, if I have t9 in spade, i will xfer to 2s. pd rates to have doubleton spade

Bidding: complete book on overcall/balancing, 2/1 workbook by mike lawrence. And Better bidding with Bergen. Def: killing and more killing defense by Kelsey Play: Reese's Expert game and most puzzling hand in Bridge, Kelsey's logical play Any student finished these books throughly can beat most of expert on BBO easily. Hongjun

1) English books about 30, Chinese books about 25. 2) Expert game by Reese, Killing def by Kelsey, Complete book on overcall by Lawrence. 3) Inference at Bridge by Miles, ok, but not great. 4) Lawrence/Kelsey/Reese 5) same as 4) 6) Read all Lawrence's books. He is kind of author who really tell you all his winning secrets. Hongjun

I will be very happy with 3N, after pd's 2c, raise to 3C, and pd will bid 3N. this is better than most of contract. forget about 6/7c. u never lose for these hand.

i agree that it is better to play dbl here as responsive. This 1N usually is quite serious, and you seldom have chance to profit much from dbling it. Hongjun

1N, not because i want to declare, but because it has much better preempt effect than 1D. If u open 1D, then LHO will easily overcall a major. But after your 1N, he will be very cautious to overcall at the 2 level, esp. when they are red. Hongjun

I will try 5C.

I like 2C, whatever pd rebid I have a nice rebid. If pd has a balanced hand, I will hit 3N if pd rebid 2N. If pd has unbalanced hand then 5D should have good chance. THis hand has too much offense strength. Hongjun

If so, what do you bid with this hand? ♠xxxx ♥AQxxx ♦xxx ♣x 2♥ forcing? 2♦? Pass? First dbl is correct, but as 3C is gf, you can bid 3H after pd's 3c. then pd will rebid 4d, and u can raise to 5d. Jumping to 4H looks more like 6h4/5s. hongjun

Free, 3C is not picking a major, it only shows a good hand. Jumping to 3D is not gameforcing, it is only invitational. I think 3C is reasonable with this hand.

I also think the declarer is lack of sports spirit.

can the opening leader claim 6 tricks before his pd play the card? this can avoid it.

I think you should play h9 in the second trick. As you mentioned opp r weak, then if he didnt cover with h ten or jack, then you can assume he doesnt have it. if rho play small, play h a, then go back to dummy and play another h, in the case lho played hj in 2nd round, i would play small in 4th round. Hongjun

Hi, Mal, Thanks for your nice article. I like it very much. However it seems it is not finished yet. Will you write more on it and if yes could you please post it here and let us share it? THanks again. Hongjun

Does this mean anybody from anywhere in the world can get ACBL master points without playing in us?

Ben, I fully agree with your analysis, esp. that pd is likely to have only 3card spade, However, 43 moysian game is not good here, as you will be forced to ruff in the hand with 4 trumps.

I think 4D should deny 5card spades, if pd has it, he should bid it rather than fool around with 4D. Pd is likely to get lost in this crowded auction. If you plan to bid 5c after 4d, then what is your goal? are u aiming slam with 4d as control bid? This doesnt make much sense.

I like your first round pass, but i think 4c is better after pd's reopening dbl. If you think you have a game, just bid 5c. In competitive auction, when possible, always choose the clearer bid which pd can understand easily. 4D really tests pd and it costs a lot of energy, which will be useful for later game. hongjun

All these discussion remind me of a famous economics theory: revenue equivalent theorem, which roughly says all auction rule, be it sealed bid auction or english auction, or other auction, will usually generate same revenue for the seller under quite general condition. What do i want to say here? Well, I think most system should be equally good, or very close. Who will win out depends on not the system, but the players. There are many world champion, they play different system. This should explain my point. Hongjun

are u sure, misho? pd will respond 3N with the heart king. if u bid 4N then and pd has no ace, u r down for sure.

cannt agree more.

Does it mean 1D opening is forcing? If it is, what would you respond with a weak hand? If not, you may have a disaster if pd has club suit. Sounds not very good idea.