manudude03

My only objection with double on the first board is that it says that it shows 5+ HCP. While I would have responded on the second board, having done so it should certainly bid 3C.

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Yes I did pass with that hand. The actual layout wasn't exactly to be expected though. Let's just say LHO had a 3♠4♥3♦3♠ hand and didn't notice until play started. [hv=pc=n&s=shdkj9643cqjt8643&w=sakj875ht932da87c&n=s2hkqj87654dqcak5&e=sqt9643hadt52c972&d=w&v=0&b=16&a=1n4hppp]399|300[/hv]

[hv=pc=n&s=shdkj9643cqjt8643&d=w&v=0&b=8&a=1n(12-14)4hp]133|200[/hv] MPs scoring, no-one vul, your call?

The declarer is the hand that first mentions the trump suit for their side. As the stronger hand bid hearts first, the stronger hand is hidden either way.

When a side is vulnerable, it means that they score more points for making certain milestones, those being game, small slam and grand slam (and while rare, also scores more for overtricks on [re]doubled contracts). On the flipside, it also means they lose more points if they go down in their contract. There are a large variety of bidding systems out there, and what you should do on a given hand often depends on your agreements. Online, the most common system includes a 15-17 NT and 5 card majors. Here, you would open 1NT because you have a balanced hand (no more than 1 doubleton) and your hand is in the range of 15 to 17 HCP. I would highly recommend passing on the second hand, though you will get people who think it is worth bidding on. Generally speaking, you want your points to be inside your long suits. I would agree if the second hand was the West hand, but the OP says it is the South hand.

Qx KJx Qx AJTxxx is potentially losing 1 spade, 2 hearts, 1 diamond and 1 club.

Smerriman has explained it quite simply. When you play with GIB, you are playing its system, not your own. It's not making a slam try, it is just putting the contract where the fit is known instead of it's known 4-3 fit (if you hadn't misled it)

Who defines whether the play was optimum? And is it optimum line a priori or the optimum line given the information you have. Suppose someone overbids to 6NT where everyone else would be playing 3NT, would the overbidder be allowed to take his 5% line to only make 10 tricks 95% of the time instead of the 100% line to make eleven tricks?

[hv=http://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?sn=manudude03&s=SAKQJ52H3DAJ9CK92&wn=Robot&w=S87HAJ9754D73CQT3&nn=Robot&n=S643HT8D652CJ7654&en=Robot&e=ST9HKQ62DKQT84CA8&d=w&v=b&b=4&a=2H(Weak%20two%20bid%20--%201-4%20%21C%3B%201-3%20%21D%3B%206+%20%21H%3B%201-3%20%21S%3B%206-10%20HCP%3B%207+%20total%20points)P2N(Artificial%20force%20--%2015+%20HCP)4SP5C(18+%20HCP%3B%20strong%20rebiddable%20%21C%3B%2018-%20total%20points)P5S(biddable%20%21S)PPP&p=S8S3STSJH3HJH8H6S7S4S9SQC9C3C4CADKDAD7D2CKCTC5C8C2CQC6D8H9HTHQS5S2H7S6D4CJH2D9H4C7DTDJH5D5DQSKD3SAHAD6HK]399|300[/hv] Daylong tourney. See the description for 5C. Luckily, I knew someone didn't have their bid. What was wrong with a 4S contract that it needs to bid 5C on Jxxxx and overbid by 17HCP?

I had tricks in the trump suit, that is to say I had no trump tricks :) She may have had a point on the second hand, +400 would already have been a top if I had forgotten to double.

I remember once making a comment like that going down 6 vulnerable in 4NT, partner had misinterpreted my unusual 4NT, but the opps were cold for a vulnerable 4S! I had a comment tonight after I made a MP double which turned into 500 in a partscore board. Declarer told me afterwards "You're not allowed to double without trump tricks". I made a somewhat more clear double of a 3NT against them 2 boards later and got told I wouldn't make friends doing that lol. That one went for 1100.

[hv=http://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?sn=manudude03&s=SA62HAT9762DA75C2&wn=Robot&w=SKJT83HDJ983CA983&nn=Robot&n=SQ754HQJ8543DT6CK&en=Robot&e=S9HKDKQ42CQJT7654&d=w&v=o&b=8&a=PP1C(Minor%20suit%20opening%20--%203+%20%21C%3B%2011-21%20HCP%3B%2012-22%20total%20points)1H(One-level%20overcall%20--%205+%20%21H%3B%208-17%20HCP%3B%209-19%20total%20points)1S(Free%20bid%20--%205+%20%21S%3B%2011-%20HCP%3B%206-12%20total%20points%3B%20forcing)3C(Mixed%20raise%20--%204+%20%21H%3B%207-9%20total%20points%3B%20forcing%20to%203H)P4H(5+%20%21H%3B%208-17%20HCP%3B%209-19%20total%20points)4S(11%20HCP%3B%20twice%20rebiddable%20%21S%3B%2012%20total%20points)PPD(5+%20%21H%3B%2017%20HCP%3B%2018-19%20total%20points)PPP&p=CKC4C2CAD3D6DKDAD7D9DTDQD4D5DJS4H4HKHAS3C8S5C5H2H8S9H6D8D2H7STSQH5C6H9SKSJS7C7S2C9H3CQS6SAS8HQCTHTC3HJCJ]399|300[/hv] Robot tourney (IMPs) 4S would be a brilliant bid if it promised club support, but clearly East didn't take it that way.

Interesting enough, 3C apparently shows rebiddable clubs over 2NT. I guess that's the issue with the definition. I do agree with you in general though.

GIB plays 4NT on the first round as RKCB, 5C shows 0 or 3 key cards in diamonds, and it doesn't understand you sometimes want to play in a different suit.

I started the same way, but

[hv=pc=n&s=sk9875haj3daj54ck&n=sj432hk75d2cj8653&d=s&v=e&b=3&a=1s2n(minors)4sppp]266|200[/hv] You are playing 4S and LHO leads the ♣A followed by the ♣T. Your plan?

For some reason, it's not uncommon here to leave out the names of the last few pairs. I remember asking someone why that was, and was told it was to avoid public shaming/embarrassment of the players in those slots. It did always strike me as being a little odd. A few months ago, I was playing in the Inter-provincials (an all-Ireland competition between Ulster, Leinster, Munster and Connaught) and in the cross-imping rankings, 3 of the ulster pairs in the senior/open section were left out. It made it somewhat awkward to find out which one it was when one of those players wanted to know which one of the hidden pairs was them.

I don't think it's really bad, but it's hardly obvious to do so either. It may actually be an interesting one to simulate even if you ignore the (admittedly) slim possibility it's going 2 down and we assume that, given how uninformative the auction is, that LHO is always leading his longer minor and probably diamonds if there is equal length.

I don't think the club lead was too hard to find when partner has made a lightner double. And yes, I can blame Byrne for redoubling (do you really think West is doubling because they have the ♥A?), but was happy for the 3 imps in what was otherwise a fairly poor set. As far as I know (I didn't ask), no-one found the bid of 7♥!. 7S (and 7D) is naturally cold by the hand with no trumps :P

The point is that failure to open 1NT says you have extras in one form or another, even if it just means you might have an unbalanced minimum. If you play strong NT, then when you have the auction 1x-1y-2y you still have to worry about the possibility of partner having a balanced minimum.

[hv=http://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?sn=manudude03&s=SQT82HA86D43CAKQ8&wn=Robot&w=SAKHJT4DAQ75C9542&nn=Robot&n=S3HKQ73DKJT986C73&en=Robot&e=SJ97654H952D2CJT6&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=1N(notrump%20opener.%20Could%20have%205M.%20--%202-5%20%21C%3B%202-5%20%21D%3B%202-5%20%21H%3B%202-5%20%21S%3B%2015-17%20HCP%3B%2018-%20total%20points)P2C(Stayman%20--)P2S(2-5%20%21C%3B%202-5%20%21D%3B%202-3%20%21H%3B%204-5%20%21S%3B%2015-17%20HCP%3B%2018-%20total%20points)D(Takeout%20double%20--%203+%20%21C%3B%203+%20%21D%3B%203+%20%21H%3B%202-%20%21S%3B%2014-20%20total%20points)PPP&p=HJH3H2HAD3DAD6D2HTHKH9H6C3CTCAC9D4D7D8S7S9STSKS3SAD9S4S2H4HQH5H8DKS6S8D5SQC4C7SJCKC5H7C6CQC2DTCJC8DQDJS5]399|300[/hv] Free day long tourney (IMPs). Sure the contract made, but surely pass with the North hand over the double can't be right?

I thought the balanced SJS was out with exactly 3 card support. It just leads to all sorts of problems. I remember a hand I posted here ages ago where GIB made a SJS with a balanced hand and 3 card support, and led to a 3NT which should go off when cold for 6M.

I don't disagree, but I suspect 5H shows a good hand in the GIB system and so it gets stuck in a situation where it can never bid 5H in this auction.

Double is just penalty here for the GIBs. It's fairly well documented that GIB does terribly in auctions that are pure nonsense, and here North thinks South is bidding 4H to make despite the signoff in 2H.

2D, not close. The hand isn't strong enough to double and bid diamonds. I would double with the same shape with my points outside of diamonds, but here diamonds are the real feature of the hand.