vuroth

At the table, I would bid 1NT on the first, but I would have no confidence that it's the right bid. The second is very close between 1NT and pass, but I think I'd bid 1NT. Change the tens and nines for threes and twos and I'd likely pass.

The dealer - south - bid 3 diamonds?

Gah. I overlooked this. Thanks. This was what I wanted to verify. V

Sorry about that. :P

♠AT4 opp ♠K76532 I play a low spade towards the king, and RHO plays the queen (LHO plays the 9). Play the split, or finesse the ten? If it changes anything, I've likely shown at least 6 spades from the bidding.

I agree with Gwynn's solution.

All I know is that my brain sometimes disappears into one while I'm playing....

I was reading today that Canada had to absorb (process, house and feed) more than 44,000 people that day, due to diverted flights. Pretty amazing.

[hv=d=w&v=b&s=sjt74hk65d86cjt63]133|100|Scoring: IMP 1♠ 2♠ Pass ?[/hv] Is it worth mentioning the clubs, on the theory that I can always show my heart support if partner preferences diamonds? Or is it better to just bid hearts straight off, on the theory that my hand is only worth one bid?

With all the unintended/unexpected benefits scientific research has windfalled to us over the last century, I'm all for spending even more on scientific enterprises like the LHC than we do now. V

At the core, I think that 1♥ - 2♦ 3♥ and 1♥ - 2♦ 2♥ - 2NT 4♥ Should mean different things. Sure, both are game forcing, but having 2 different ways to game force should show 2 different types of hands. Making redundant bids descriptive can only help communication with partner, right? The above explanations seem reasonable to me as to specifics. 0.02 V

I strongly suspect they'll both win. Otoh, I guess there's a decent cahnce RHO was dealt Ax in hearts.

T♠. If I can induce RHO to cover, the J5 on the board will prevent spades from being run immediately. If RHO covers, I'll play the AK♦ first (assuming I wind up in hand) to see how many tricks diamonds is going to give me. This can also produce an entry to board if the queen falls. If the ten holds, I'll run the club finesse twice, then play the AK♦. I can also play the A♣, hoping to drop the king. On a very very good day, I might be able to make this without trying hearts.

I'm fairly certain that my profile screams lack of skill. Then again, I do possess a certain lack, so that's ok. Something like: SAYC. Cue = limit raise or better I'm sure some other B/Is who have "SAYC, Jacoby xfer, Jacoby 2NT, stayman" etc in their profiles think they know more than me. Otoh, I've read the ACBL's SAYC description. ;) V

Wow, so to progress I need to amass conventions and squeezes? I must be working on all the wrong things. (Though I suppose that as my counting improves I may be occasionally able to pull off a pseudo-squeeze). V

I think I remember this hand. At very least, I remember seeing a weak 2 - 2NT - pass lately, and wincing. :( V

I completely understand the bad rep masterpoints get, but yeah, I do care about them. I knew a local chess master who made bridge life master in about 2 years (less?). THAT, to me, is the kind of thing I'd like to be able to say about myself someday, even with the caveat that "life master" is not necessarily an indication of actual skill. I suppose the other thing that appeals is getting my life master before I'm a certain age - say 40 or 45. Once I'm on the other side of it, maybe it won't matter to me as much as I think it will. /shrug Ultimately, my long term goal is to become a very good player. If I'm not pulling in the big master points in tourmanents, then chances are I'm not there yet. V

I hope that someday (soon!) I'm able to return some of the debt I owe to the BIL. V

That works fine for me. There are probably a lot of people in the world that I would not enjoy playing with - this kind of behaviour naturally filters a lot of them out for me. :angry: V

[hv=d=s&v=e&n=s832hkj752d32caj3&s=sj6hat8dkj7ckt542]133|200|Scoring: MP Bidding: 1♣ (P) 1♥ (X) P (1NT) P (2♦) all pass[/hv] This board did not score particularly well for us, and we were the only board (of 13) to defend 2 diamonds. Were we overly wimpy, or unlucky, or something else?

No you are not. Noone who posts so many questions, baring their potential mistakes for all the world to see and risking looking like an <insult> could possibly be described as too sensitive. I concur

Way back when I played in clubs, the convention card asked for a "general approach" at the top. If my profile on BBO says "SAYC + inv. minor + cue = limit raise + odd/even discards", am I a sinner? V

Off the top of my head. 1. Specify what 2NT means over a weak 2. (I know SAYC specifies this, but many play something different.) 2. Specify what exactly game tries mean (i.e. 1H - 2H - 3C). 3. Do we really want 1X - 2NT to be 13-15 (GF) and 1X - 3NT to be 16-18? 4. What flavour of Stayman will we play? 5. Negative double through 2S (as per SAYC), or higher? 6. Takeout double through 4D (as per SAYC), or something else? As for additions? 7. Will we play cue bid as limit raise or better? 8. Is 1NT (2C) X stayman? 9. Inverted minors? How will we bid a forcing raise in a minor? 10. Splinters? That's all I can think of. V

Happy Birthday, jillybean! As a student of the game, I find your zeal, work ethic, and constant questioning to be admirable. V