jdgalt

Yes, I'm sure. If there were a way to do it I'd upload screenshots.

Still doesn't work. "Cannot load critical file."

I'm using Ubuntu Linux (which forces an old version of Flash that BBO's main page won't accept). Someone on this forum directed me to the mobile app, which worked for a while, but now gives the message "Can't load critical file." Please fix.

I'm locked out of BBO again. The regular BBO login has been unusable for over a year (it demands a version of Flash that doesn't exist for Linux). So I've been using the mobile URL. But today, that URL pops up a little box "Could not load critical file. Please check your Internet connection and try again." Using Ubuntu Linux 17.10 on a 64-bit AMD Athlon 5150 with 16G of RAM and 2TB of disk space.

I'm now using bridgebase.com/mobile, not because I'm on a mobile device but because my Linux system won't load the latest version of Flash which BBO's regular interface insists on. In the main, it's fully functional, but two peeves. (1) When the dummy is on my left, it places its trump suit at top of screen, not at the bottom (declarer's left) where the Laws say they're supposed to be. (2) Once I've begun playing a hand, I am no longer allowed to see the bidding, even though there's plenty of room to display it. There's no menu item for it either. Please fix.

I agree with BBO's idea that when a player's robot partner becomes declarer, the player is temporarily moved to that seat so that he gets to play the hand. However, BBO's way of implementing this idea is thoroughly wrong to the point of being stupid. So I'd like to petition the management to correct it. Here's the way it actually works now on BBO, as best I'm able to reconstruct the facts. Suppose you are sitting West, and your robot partner (East) wins the auction and becomes declarer. The hands don't move on the screen -- West continues to be shown at the bottom, with the other hands placed accordingly. The opening lead comes from your right, and dummy is at the bottom of the screen. In effect you are playing the hand upside down, and are forced to remember that the hand at the top is the concealed hand. And of course, none of this is explained at all. If you are new to BBO you are screwed. Here's the way it SHOULD work, because it is the only sensible way. Suppose you are sitting West, and your robot partner (East) wins the auction and becomes declarer. All the players are now moved 180 degrees around the screen, thus putting declarer's hand (temporarily "you") at the bottom and dummy at the top. The opening lead comes from your left, and play works normally. When the last card is played or a claim is accepted, all players are moved back to where they were during the bidding.

On this auction, as East I would raise 1S to only 2S on this auction because opener may be weak. With only 6-8 as East I would pass 1S instead. The opponents have taken Drury away from us, so I don't want to push to game. Thus as West, I'm going to take 2S as a limit raise -- but I'm still not strong enough to say 3. Pass. (This reasoning assumes matchpoints. Vulnerable at IMPs, I'd do the same thing as East but would raise to 3 as West.)

I like your first pass, but would reply 1NT after 1S. The hand sounds like an awful misfit and if either opponent bids again, let them play the hand!

As the opener, with a two suiter I bid my second suit even if it's only 4 cards. With more than one side suit I XX for rescue and expect partner to pick one. I will only pass in this situation if my suit is solid enough that I expect to make it, opposite a small singleton, against a trump lead. If the opps are strong enough to set me in two different strains they're probably missing a game of their own.

Assuming standard American, I bid 2S because, as someone else said first, 1S would not be forcing. And given partner's first response I want to be in game. What I want to hear partner do then is bid clubs. If he can do that, I'll say 3NT. If he goes back to diamonds, 5D. If he rebids hearts, 4H. The hard case to deal with is if partner raises spades (in which I've promised four). Since it's matchpoints, I think I'll pass him in either 3S or 4S. At IMPs I would bid 4 and pray.

I would certainly not have led back a low club at trick 3, since I can tell partner is going to lead more hearts and they will get ruffed -- and my trumps aren't good enough to profit by tapping declarer. I'd either continue with the AS to remove dummy's potential ruff, or lead back AC and another to get my own potential ruff. Maybe both in that order.

2S -- and that's the last thing I'm going to bid. If partner can't get to game by himself from that point, then we shouldn't be in it.

I interpret partner's pass as a suggestion that we defend, and it's hard to picture a hand on which I would open 2C and not accept the suggestion by doubling. So I probably have some sort of two-suiter without a heart stopper.

Why is this even a problem? Change it so their side is vul and we are not, or have partner double; then it might require thought. Otherwise, not only pass but "what were you thinking?" if partner disagrees.

The vulnerability will make a difference. If we're vul, I would bid it this way: 2D - 2NT (feature ask) - 3D (none) - 3NT. South has all suits stopped if he's declarer, and on a club lead I can count 11 cashing tricks. (After 2NT I can be pretty sure partner has the AK. If non-vul this might not be true, but I'd still bid 3NT, trusting partner to take it out if weak.)

Maybe I'm not getting it since I'm not a world-level player, but the only calls I would consider are pass and 5D. I prefer pass because if partner's hearts aren't better than my diamonds he should not have bid. (Of course what I really want to see is the opponents playing 4S or higher, which I will X in a heartbeat. I've seen a few of the hands Helgemo will bluff on.)

South's calls were all correct. 3D is debatable but OK. 4H, though, is clearly wrong. 3H was strictly a preference and needs to be passed. 100% North to blame.

I can't accept the 1S bid, it promises four. If we're playing standard I bid 2C and pass opener's likely 2H or 3H rebid. In 2/1 I have to say 1NT forcing (ugh), and still pass opener's likely heart rebid. Playing this - I lead the CQ from dummy at trick two. If it holds I try to cash the jack and ace, then cross-ruff the hand. I don't expect to make it.

If partner is strong enough to double, I owe him one bid. So I would probably jump to 3S on the second round, where you bid 3C (this shows 9-11, and I prefer the major because the double suggests it). But there I stop, unless partner says something further. If they bid again, I expect to set them.

Assuming that 2NT promises a balanced hand and the transfer promises 5 spades, West can have at most 3. That's not a business double.

I'm with PhilKing. Pard wants a spade lead against NT.

Lacking any special convention for this type of hand, I would have opened it 5D. I doubt I have to handle any opposing bidding then.

Not I. I've only got 2 pts above my opening bid. If we're playing Reverse Drury, partner has denied 10 pts, and if we're not then he's pretty much on his own. Let the experts bid it. They can make games that aren't there. I have trouble doing that.

I agree with low from dummy on trick one, then win C return with A. At that point I think I would lead a low diamond to the king. For this hand to be better than "two finesses out of three have to work," I somehow have to get North to lead a heart up to my jack. This hand seems to me a bad one to pose as a problem because there's not much I can actually do to affect the outcome, beyond "don't do anything stupid."

I see it as one of a whole array of ways to evaluate a hand -- raw points, Goren points, Quick Tricks (or Honor Tricks), Losing Trick Count, etc. If I have time, I apply all of them to a hand. If most of them tell me to do the same thing, it's probably right. Any one of them by itself will often be wrong.