vuroth

Not sure what to make of the trump lead. Prefer the K♥ to the Q♥, in case they duck. If it matters, I'll win trick 1 with the J♠.

Agree with the destroyer of Herculaneum.

Happy anniversary of the day you were 1 day old... ;)

Wild speculation hidden V

Pass. My aspiration is to make the killing lead on defense. If the colours were W/R, then I'd have trouble seeing 3NT as scoring better than 3♥X. In R/W, it's possible, but given that partner didn't start with X it seems like a longshot. Defense seems the safest road to a plus from where I sit. If partner bids on without encouragement from me, then so be it. If I wind up defending, is the T♣ always going to be the right lead? Or should I start with the A♥, in case dummy has a short suit?

I don't understand how Man U could lose with the Player's Player of the year in their squad! /sarcasm off Both great teams. I'm inclined towards England but away from Man U, so I wasn't overly concerned with who won. I'd certainly rather see Messi succeed than Ronaldo. As for van der Sar, I'm not sure what the point is. There are better keepers in England, much less Europe, though I do agree that he's decent.

:D Speak for yourself!

Agreed. I play too fast all the time. I would do far better to play slowly and look for "problems" in the play of the hand....

Key is trick 1, I think. Seems like people are seeing it.

No idea how common 5-4 is, but I abhor that style. 54 seems to be to be much weaker than 55.

You can . No? True.

Not expert, but I'll hide, even though I'm usually wrong.

I guess we expect dummy to have 2♥ and 3♦. I don't really see our winners being ruffed in dummy, so no, it doesn't look necessary to my n00bish eyes.

Sorry, I'm B/I. We passed out this hand. :)

Again, why are we citing American Law when we're talking about people who aren't american, and weren't on american soil? Are we going to start applying Panamanian law to them next? THE CRIMINAL CODE DOES NOT APPLY.

I had exactly the opposite impression. I don't mind the 2S bid (though it would be better if he had a singleton somewhere). The double is completely terrible. What is East going to do if the opponents run to 4H - look sad and say 'doh'? And if they don't run they're probably making 3nt-x. I don't see any upside to doubling here. And East really should give West some room given the vul and the fact that he's a passed hand. Everywhere I've ever looked, 2♠ was at least 6 HCP. If opponents are making a 4 level game with only 23 points and no more than a 10 card fit, good for them. Against B/I opponents, there's no reason for me to think that they aren't up the creek no matter where they play, at this point.

Wait, it's a complicated, bizarre conspiracy that people who break American laws on foreign soil and are not American citizens can not be tried in a criminal proceding? :blink:

My first thought was 3♦. After some thought, I'm not sure. If partner has ♦s, would I rather be defending 3♦X or dummy for 3NT. You know, maybe 3NT isn't so bad. If nothing else, it gives me a 13 trick head start out the door. :) Clearly, I want to make a strong bid, and clearly I want to encourage partner to show her long suit, even if it's clubs, even if we have to pass 3NT to get there. I'm just not sure what prototypical 3♦ and X bids look like, and how they differ.

Excellent hand to demonstrate the value of the hold-up play. :) I would have doubled as east, too. Granted, when I play rubber, I will sometimes open when I have 13 cards, so bidding a weak 2 with any 6 card suit isn't unheard-of. Playing duplicate, though, I don't really think 2♠ can be right.

1♦ P ? [hv=d=n&v=b&s=skxxxhqjxxdckjxxx]133|100|Scoring: MP[/hv] How about [hv=d=n&v=b&s=skxxxhqjxxdckjxxx]133|100|Scoring: MP[/hv] Part 2 is that V

Obviously, this is a blind spot with me, but I just can't bring myself to like 1NT there, nor opening 1NT with any 5422. If I'm not balanced, I don't want to tell partner than I am....

I can tolerate 1♣/2♣. I can tolerate 1♦/2♣. Either way you prefer it, an alert partner should know that 1345 is a problem distribution.

I can't see how it can be forcing. Opponents have some cards, and partner didn't open 2♣. That said, I wouldn't pass with xx xxx xxx xxxx. Partner has longer clubs than hearts, and enough points to compete at the 2 level. I would pass or bid 3♣, depending on where the fit lay, trusting that partner wants to compete this far. With the given hand, I would pass. V

Wouldn't be sure that 2♥ would be understood. Is X now, followed by up to 4♠ later, clear in that case?

OP was IMPs, not pairs.