kayin801

Well, I was wondering if opening 1S on this hand actually HELPED to stay out of slam, like we did. We just went: 1♠-2♥ 2♠-3♠ 4♠-P Though in our methods 2♥ and then 3♠ shows slam interest, so 4♠ was the ultimate STFU. If you don't open 1♠ then you have to guess after P-1♥-1♠-2/3♥ unless you have a tool to show 3 card support. It just seems a little counter-intuitive that overbidding your hand might keep you lower.

Sometimes I like to stay out of bad 3NTs, and sometimes I don't want partner to sit in 3NT when he has 3 hearts.

4♥ looks too much like choice of games, huh? 5♣ is ugly cause it postmarks the spade lead through partner when we end up in diamonds (hopefully partner can correct to 6NT with an appropriate hand), but it's the best bad bid.

Also don't understand why 3NTW is a worse score for N/S than 4DW (4DXW I can understand) Edit: Just saw it was temporary, ignore me

Maybe nitpicking, but can you tell me why 5S is only 5? It makes the same score as 4S on a 3-2 break and on 60% of 1=4 breaks, when the 3NT bidder has a stiff honor, which is ~70% of the time total? Though I guess a bit less with 7=3 known cards, but it doesn't reduce it THAT much.

I opened 1♠ light with the South hand, did anyone else do that?

We had the same auction information wise (different bid-wise) to other people's, where 4♥ is mildly slammish, but when the North hand is completely in charge I can't see how you stay out of 4♥.

I was sitting south and I saw this auction: 1♣ (16+!!!)-2♣ (unbal no 5cM) 2♠!!!!! - 4NT (DNE, but must be RKC) 5♥ (2 no Q) - 7NT (2+2=5) I was mortified for a moment when I realized what I had done before seeing the entire hand, but considering some of the *&$## bids I had made before this SOMETHING had to go right.

Or there could be a club miracle, just so long as it's played from the South. I butchered a strong club auction here and landed in 4♥ thinking we were off 2 aces.

1♥-1♠ 1NT-P :( Fooled by the standard bidding contest question of "stay low and in NT or miss game?"

Yeah, it was actually a X by South (me), then 4♦, then after partner made a gutsy 5♦ bid I tried 6♣ and got lucky. Is that a viable sequence or should 6♣ be forcing?

We accidentally right-sided it after a lebensohl auction, with my intention as south to be to show a GF hand with 4 hearts and a spade stopper, but then partner bid 3♦ instead and I almost wet my pants.

This. Pass was REALLY tempting except it's a bidding contest ;)

My pair ended up in 5♠ which can't possibly be a 0, as it's definitely better than a lot of other contracts. Just as an FYI.

Clear 6♣ over 2♠, wtp?

3♣, then over 3X I'd bid 4♦, which hopefully shows a slam interested hand with 3 card ♦ support. With 4 card ♦ support I would have started with 3♥, I think, and then bid 4♦. Partner might not play us for a balanced hand and might be expecting longer clubs, but we weren't stopping short of small slam on this auction anyway (if partner has a light opener then hopefully he/she has long diamonds and shape, so 6♦ is easy)

KQJ94? 5♦ KQJ983? (Is this abuse of the system?) 5♦ and I would love it even more if I were playing a limited opening system.

Can I also just add that I'm sorta confused with partner's shape? They have to be something like 3730 or 3721, since I feel like with 6 hearts and 3 diamonds they would raise diamonds instead at imps. I guess sometimes partner has 4 spades and the doubler didn't get the joke with the 2♠ competition, and partner didn't want to X either cause his/her spades are lousy or for fear of them "finding their club fit"

Auto X at MP, I really feel +100 is likely and we really cash in when we get +300, but the extra 50 at IMPs doesn't outweigh the risk of -whatever 3♠X is. On a side note, I might lead the ♣K since if partner is void in clubs we want him/her to ruff right away and try to give us 2 heart ruffs (and he/she would bid this way with KQJxxx in hearts and a stiff club), which is more likely to happen if we lead the K than the A. The 8 should suffice as suit preference for hearts at trick 2 if partner can't ruff, so this also doesn't cost if clubs are 5-5-2-1 around the table.

This, sorry, guess I coulda been clearer. You need to be able to show raw values here, otherwise you're stuck passing with some opening hands that have no good bid and if the opponents know this then they can bid 4♠ on pretty much anything when white.

Hopefully this followed by 4♣ after whatever partner does shows something this good since we didn't bid 4♣ directly.

X is most definitely not kickback. 4NT can be RKC if you prefer it over being (ostensibly) pick-a-minor

Would have bid 3♦ with the east hand, it's too good for 3♠ on the auction.

Would much rather have seen a 2♦ rebid by opener, this hand is nothing to be ashamed of. With given bids though: 1♥-1♠ 2♥-3♣ 3♦-3♥ 3♠ (hopefully shortness on the auction)-4♣ (losing some lesser honors' value, but its not like we have KQ10xx in spades) 4♦ (furiously trying to catch up with my hand)-etc If we can rebid 2♦: 1♥-1♠ 2♦-3♣ 3♥-4♣ (should be cue for hearts, excited opposite opener's good 6-4, and now we get there easy)

If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck...