vuroth

Of course, declarer can never be 4432 from the bidding.... As for 4x4x or 4x5x, I guess that depends on bidding style...

Partner has the K♦ foo. Furthermore, partner's high heart discard should show the queen, I think. My problem is I can't picture how it matters. If declarer is 4432 without the Q♥, she's down no matter what I do (barring something mad like underruffing). If declarer is 4342, 2 hearts go on the clubs and she's making, no matter what I do. I see diamond ruffs coming, but I can't do anything about them. J♠, return a ♠ still leaves 2 trumps on the board. I know declarer doesn't need 3 diamond ruffs from the bidding. I can see discards coming on the good clubs, but again, I can't do anything about them. I can play J♠, K♥, or I can toss a small club. I don't see a difference between the two lines, so I play a club.

NYR: Bridge: Finally finish Watson (edit - if I can find it in all these boxes). Count more often. Read a whole entire bridge book, cover to cover. :( Non-bridge: Half-iron in June.

Indys are easy to jump in. Pairs requires a partner. ;)

Cool beans. Another one to kibitz. :)

I'll take a shot. 3♣ Pass Pass/Pass

♣ If partner has a ♦ trick, I don't think it's going away. ♠ looks like it can only help partner. My only other thought is a ♥. Partner normally shouldn't lead this way if a ruff could cost her a natural trump trick, although there are enough points in the deck in this case that partner may have been hard up for a lead. V

If trumps are 3-2 and the K♣ with north, I can make 12 via: 3♠ 2♥ 2♦ 5♣ (1♦ruff) So win, ♥ to board, run the Q♣ If it loses, my backup plan is to cash the AK♥ in case the Q drops, then run the ♦ finesse. I'd better have sorted out the spades by then, though, as transportation may be an issue. 0.02 V

I would say 2♥, and let partner bid 2♠. The big thing is probably to be on the same page as partner.

Looking for someone to play with at least a couple of times a week. My details: US Eastern Time Zone Currently play SAYC, but will look to move to 2/1 at some point (soon, I think) Typical availability: M-F 8pm-9:30pm, weekends variable but generally more available Skill level: Intermediate Long term ambition: Expert+ :) ACBL member BIL and IAC member I'm somewhat anti-convention. With SAYC, I've played the basic handbook for a while, with the goal of understanding the system, warts and all. Most of my focus over the last year has been cardplay and counting, though I have a long way to go. I've recorded a lot of my bad hands on my blog, so a quick look over it will probably give a fair assessment of my current skill level. I'm a father of 2, so bridge isn't always my top priority. I'm improving, but not always as quickly as I might like. :) V

Wow, I'd love to take part in this! Barring that, I'd love to kibitz it.

:P

Wow. Huge congratulations are in order! Well done.

If any of you happen to cross my path, you're more than welcome to psych against me. :lol:

In rubber bridge, if you have to leave the table before the rubber is finished, you are awarded bonus points as follows: part score in an unfinished game: 50 game in an unfinished rubber: 300 Ergo, one could say that in duplicate, these bonuses are awarded after every hand. :lol: V

Around here, I think I would guess Western Cue Bid - asking for a stopper for 3NT. Whatever it is, it seems like a strong bid, I'd be tempted to try 3♠, though if you're not clear on what's going on, maybe 3♥ is safer?

Brilliant. Makes total sense now that you mention it. As for inverted minors, they're not in SAYC, but really, I think you only really need to have the right hand once before it's totally obvious why they're needed.

Inverted minors will help you when it's right to stop in 2NT/3m instead of 3NT/4m. Valuable, yes, but it is possible to float without them. You'll just miss some hands that IMs could have helped with. Playing SAYC, the OP question is a good one. 1♣ - 3♣ 3♥ - ? Does 3♠ show/deny a spade stopper? Show/deny a diamond stopper? Same for 3NT? I suppose the same thing happens in inverted minors? 1♣ - 2♣ 2♥ - ? 2♠ shows spade stopper, denies diamond stopper? 2NT shows both pointed suit stoppers? Since the question is "what's standard?", maybe there is not good answer, as most people don't play SAYC. Maybe the best answer is - discuss with partner?

This is getting tiresome - SAYC unplayable? I think there's a huge gap between "has its problems" and unplayable. Furthermore, I suspect that playing SAYC and finding the holes in the system is probably an excellent learning experience. V

What matmat said.

ArtK78, I would imagine it has a lot to do with partnerships not knowing forcing auctions. After all, as an unpassed hand, I've been passed out in both a 1-over-1 response and a 2-over-1 response before. Heck, if you grew up with the gorenesque idea that you jump bid with an opener, then there might even be some logic in concluding that 1♠ - 2♣ wasn't going to make it to game, so why not pass? 4♠ then, on these hands, is being gunshy/not trusting partner to know their system. IMHO V

SAYC, responding to 1 of a major:

The one regular partnership I had is on hiatus due to each of us adding children to our respective families. Work schedule/family commitments are probably a principle reason that I haven't formed another solid partnership yet. 0.02 V

Inspired by another thread. 1♠ - 2♣ 2♦ - 3♠ vs 1♠ - 2♣ 2♦ - 4♠ What's the difference? Or should responder always bid 3♠ as a courtesy, in case opener wants to try for slam? V

Agree with 2♣.