rogerclee

It is funny, this is actually one of the holdings that worried me a lot, but I discarded it as unlikely :). Let's say I pull to 2S. LHO has to make a 2-level penalty double with his trumps in front of the strong hand while his partner has promised nothing more than an 11-count with 3 hearts. Sure, he might hit this, but I'd say it's sort of unlikely. Now it comes back to RHO, and while I bet he has extras, he can't really double for penalty without any trumps and partner having promised little more than ♠Kxx. He has to either pass or take us off the hook by bidding. He might even not have extras, in which case he has an obvious pass.

I'm a 5♣ bidder; I think the chance of missing slam on these types of hands is often overrated. Starting with 1♣, even in Fantunes, makes it difficult to show this hand anyway. Calling this 10-13 is ridiculous.

1♠ then 3♠; this is clear for me.

Can't really imagine not bidding 2♠ here. I think they're making 1NT, and I don't think 2♠ is going for a huge number (or even getting doubled).

anyone call a director when an opponent bids almost immediately after a jump bid? Yes, but only when the other opponent made a bid. Usually I'll just ask if everyone agrees the pass was quick (or too slow, more frequently), and if it looks like there was an LA, I'll call the director.

3♥ for me. I like to penalty pass slightly more than average, but I won't do it without the spots. My experiences from trying this are pretty bad. Too often, we set them 1 when we have a cold 4♥ (even 6♥), or we don't set them at all. If you forced me to defend, I would probably belt out the ♥K to take a look and decide from there. It seems very probable that trying for club ruffs is the best defense, depending on how weak dummy is.

Passssssssssssssssssssss.

I wouldn't.

Agree 100%.

IMPs, Favorable ♠AQxxx ♥QJxx ♦Tx ♣Kx P-(3♣)-?

3♦ for me. The fact that partner is coming in with KJ empty means he probably has a pretty reasonable hand, though.

I thought the question was whether to try for slam.

5♣ seems normal.

I'd play 2NT by partner to be minors. He didn't open 2♦, so while not 100%, it seems partner's most likely shape is 2254. If he has the ♦K, there goes my club loser on the probable heart lead. I like my chances here, actually. I think I will just bid 6♠.

I did this for awhile but stopped, since I did not want my opponents to get paranoid about communicating things by the way I shuffle my cards during the play.

What did partner have? ♠xxx ♥AKQxx ♦x ♣xxxx? :D I would suggest not to go resulting if you preempted 3♦ and it didn't work and your partner told you never to preempt at those colors again. If you bid 3♦, your bid was 100% normal, and 100% normal bids don't work out 100% of the time.

No, I don't think so.

We established a GF and the opponents are favorable. I can't imagine even the staunchest of the "I'm too cool to play forcing passes" crowd thinking P is NF. Standard would be to play pass and pull to 5H to be a strong heart raise.

I agree with this, but I don't think partner would bid 5H without a diamond control. He might have Ax, in which case we're not dead yet.

I suck at dealing with preempts. 6♥. Partner could've x'd or passed and he didn't. If partner is void in diamonds, this slam rates to be great. If he has a stiff, it may still be very good. If he has a stiff and it's a bad slam, I might get lucky :wacko:.

My major Q's look horrible, but my Kx of clubs looks great, not to mention my diamond support. I think I am worth some sort of shot, so I'll bid 4H, asking for heart control. Edit: Oh, now I realize I probably can't bid 4H, since partner's "slam try in minors" bid is almost certainly at least 4H. So...I'd probably just go to slam.

"Standard" is to play 2C openers forcing through 2N. So If the auction starts 2C-2H 2S-? Responder is forced to bid on xx xxx xxxx xxxx. My preferred agreement after 2C-2H is less aggressive about bidding games, and I play that all rebids are NF (except 3H/3S) by the 2C-opener but sort of suggest strongly for partner to bid if he can. This has come up a few times and despite the "this is stupid" reactions I usually get from people, it has paid off more than not for me.

What's the standard meaning of 4C here? I would imagine it is a GF.

Playing IMPs, all white ♠xxx ♥AQxxx ♦Axxx ♣x Partner opens: 1♦-(P)-1♥-(2♣) 2♦*-(3♣)-? 2♦ usually denies holding 3-card ♥ support.

As a side note, I agree completely with passing over 3H. I agree with upholding the ruling but don't find the appeal frivolous. I would bet that a substantial number of good players would bid 4S here without the UI (even a majority), but not enough to make pass not an LA. That said, I am admittedly not terribly knowledgable about the laws, especially in countries other than my own (ACBL-land).