sailoranch

Unlikely on West's preempt?

Also, West might have chosen to bid higher with a four card diamond suit, so an overruff seems less likely.

That's fine, but that wasn't the agreement here. You wouldn't just whip out a treatment common in your country on an unsuspecting partner and then shame her on BBF, would you?

Didn't South ask North to choose between clubs and diamonds? By bidding clubs and diamonds?

1♥- 1X - 4♥ is different from 1X - 1♥ - 4♥

On the crossruff line, East may ruff with the jack from ♠Jx. If you overruff, it promotes West's 9xx. If you pitch your heart, it leaves East to lead a plain card for a promotion. You're also going to have guesses when East ruffs jack from either ♠Jxx or ♠J9xx.

I assign blame to the reality that these are inexperienced players in an unpracticed partnership playing unclear methods (on BBO). North should note that, under standard methods, this is a negative double showing four spades. A cuebid of 2♥ here is typically a limit raise (or better) in clubs. South should realize that it's matchpoints and there's no risk in trying to guess our way out. Also, South should assume that North's bidding makes sense. Spades splitting 3-4 between the opponents is still somewhat consistent with the bidding so far. Perhaps North felt that the surest way to make a slam try was to cue the opponents' suit? The real lesson for North is not to indict partner for misjudging in an awkward situation that North helped create.

If 4♦ is kickback, does 4NT become a replacement cue? Maybe Last Train?

Thanks for your replies. In real life, I wanted to contest the partscore despite the diminished values, but all of the actions seemed flawed so I passed. Lefty raised to 2♥ and I resisted the temptation to come back in with 2NT. I thought the decision to concede a possible 5-6 IMP swing was hard. I didn't think this was wtp as partner's pass isn't just scary on its own. But I am concerned about the suitability of the clubs and the ability to safely explore for a minor suit fit. The suggestion that West has a likely club stack over me is interesting. I also thought that East was likely to have something in spades for her balance, which with the lack of double would suggest a greater chance of diamond shortness and, as a result, of a diamond fit. But I wasn't so confident in this inference to do anything. I do like the idea of bidding 1NT and getting to 2m through the back door though.

You're right, thanks. With ♠Jx and two clubs, East should have a fifth red card to lead. But I'm rethinking how the other layouts would go. I think East is still supposed to ruff high with ♠J9xx, and sometimes ♠Jxx. If declarer chooses to discard the last heart, then has to guess whether to ruff high or low on East's next lead, depending on whether West can ruff with the ♠9 or not. Then would East ruffing with the ♠Jxxx provide a losing option as well?

I guess this is a prime example of a falsecard-uppercut that gets you to throw him in for a trump promotion.

Actually, it's a bit worse when East has two clubs. He can ruff with the ♠J from ♠J9xx to give you the option of playing to drop ♠9 in two rounds. He can also play the jack from ♠Jxx to preserve the chance to promote West's ♠9x if you choose to put him in. Alternatively, West can drop the ♠9 from ♠9x if East doesn't ruff with the jack, but won't do this more than a third of the time? I think the equilibrium is that you play for ♠J9 tight if West plays the nine, and you play for ♠J9xx with East if he ruffs high. You should win on these occasions, but lose when it's ♠9x opposite ♠Jxx.

If East is out of clubs, he can uppercut you with ♠Jx, promoting West's ♠9xx. You also lose if West has ♠Jxx, since it's likely East will be able to win or ruff your heart exit. So you're basically playing for a 2-3 or 1-4 (or maybe 4-1) division. If East discards on the third club, you can either play to drop West's ♠Jx, or instead cash a spade and exit with your heart. East will get in and likely play a red card, promoting ♠Jx if West has it. So ♠Jxx(x) or ♠J9(x)(x) on the right, or exactly 4333 on the left? If East follows to the third round of clubs, West is likely to overruff when able. If you ruff with the ♠8, you need the ♠J9 on the right. If you ruff with ♠T, you need to drop West's stiff ♠9.

You'll find most pairs use minor suit transfers in order to lump in as many hand strengths as possible, not just signoffs. The 2♠ pass or correct bid you describe is what's in SAYC, but it only includes signoffs. The common scheme, 2♠ for clubs and 2NT for diamonds, asks opener about accepting an invite. Responder can then signoff or make a slam try or bid game when partner has accepted a hypothetical invite.

It's going to be difficult to score eight separate trumps. If you ruff two hearts, it'll promote a trump trick for the defense, and you don't have enough entries into dummy to win your four trump spots through ruffing. You may be able to drop the ♣A after ruffing clubs twice. You ruff a heart with the ♠A and pitch your final heart loser on the established ♣K. The hope is that the opponent with the short clubs also has the three spades and must ruff with the promoted trump trick. You must also hope that this opponent cannot lead a red card for a further trump promotion.

Yep, inverted minors are on, with 3♣ being appropriate for the vulnerability. Hands with responding values and no convenient response would bid 1NT.

[hv=pc=n&s=sa6hqtdkqj9caq974&d=e&v=b&b=10&a=p1cpp1h]133|200[/hv] Both vulnerable at IMPs. Thanks in advance.

Thanks, 4♥ seemed clear. East led a diamond on this layout: [hv=pc=n&s=sjhq9532dq72cqt94&w=sa6543h7daj54ck73&n=skthajt6dk863caj8&e=sq9872hk84dt9c652&d=n&v=e&b=9&a=1np2d2s3h3s4hppp]399|300[/hv]

Link

[hv=pc=n&s=sjhq9532dq72cqt94&d=n&v=e&b=9&a=1n(15-17)p2d(transfer)2s3h3s]133|200[/hv] Favorable at IMPs. Thanks in advance.

Resulting: If we pass, aren't opps likely to bid and make 2♠ on the actual cards?

I would not. There are only five clubs, and the suit quality is lacking for a two-level overcall. Plus we have xx in their suit. But styles vary, and 1♦ - (2♣) is always a pain for the opponents, as it takes away tons of bidding room and makes LHO's double nebulous.

Can you bid 4♠ to pinpoint a heart control? If you're willing to take your chances on partner's shape opposite the ♥K, this tells partner what you're looking for.

What was the agreed meaning of 3♠? If it's supposed to be a natural preference, declarer should have hearts, so a diamond lead looks normal.

Perhaps, but 3♦ also becomes more dangerous because partner may play us for less than we've got and pass while 3NT makes.