655321

My mistake, I thought you were talking about the initial double (which is normally played as takeout and doesn't have to be anywhere near 20 points). Still, doubling and bidding a suit doesn't show the strong single-suited hand either, normally it shows a flexible hand, playable in clubs as well as other places. I wouldn't have bid 5♣ on this hand, but would have passed 4♠. A very strong hand that is only playable in clubs usually has to guess between overcalling 5♣ or 6♣.

Sorry, but that is complete nonsense.

Because he has a void in hearts, support for all the other suits, enough values to bid, and he doesn't want to get robbed.

I like the 3♠ bid. I don't expect to make 4♠, but I also don't expect to beat 4♥, and I would rather bid now than hope 3♦ gets passed out (doesn't seem so likely), or guess what to do over 4♥.

Well I don't know, I tried searching on +Lawrence + overcall +length, you might be able to think of other search terms. This post gives results of a simulation: http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/20253-overcalling/page__st__40__p__207460#entry207460 The thread itself has posts ranging from intelligent discussion right down to jtfanclub posts.

I admit I would always overcall the first hand NV, but vulnerable it doesn't seem quite as clear to me. And the second example, although it is not a terrific hand, I would always overcall 2♣ even when vulnerable. So I don't agree with your rankings. Try searching the forums for replies to this one.

I disagree. Whether or not your statement about level of brain power is true or not, it is completely irrelevant to the OP question about actually learning the skills that you will be applying during this period of concentrated brain power. It is simply not true to say that a 15 year old and a 40 year old learn equally well. Our brains absorb knowledge much more easily and effectively when we are 15 than when we are 40.

Presumably this controversial claim was a typo for "Aquawoman and I happen not to use checkback in this auction."

Congratulations!

I agree completely with wank and disagree with mikeh. I would only open this hand w/r, although I don't actually hate the opening. But having opened, we have a singleton in the suit the opponents have bid and raised, and we have 4 spades, bidding 3♠ seems completely obvious to me. Passing because we are ashamed of having opened, with the plan of blaming poor partner for passing out 3♣ with his club length, doesn't make sense to me.

I would just lead a low diamond.

Terrific stuff, congratulations!

Heart for sure, I would lead the Queen because it seems more straightforward somehow, but I can see the Ten working too. Opener will often have a singleton heart on this auction. I would have led the ♠A against the original auction (1♠ response).

Seems like a routine textbook 3NT, don't understand pass.

Nothing new to say so normally I wouldn't post again, but just clarifying my previous post which has apparently been misunderstood. I wasn't claiming that the hand proved anything, I was trying to say that the fact that you spent so many words on partnership discipline (IMO a very low priority when talking about w/r preempts) and so few words (no words at all) on the effect the preempt would have on the opponents (pretty much the whole point of a w/r preempt IMO) gave a big insight into the way your style prioritises these things. I then tried to say that I disagree with these priorities, I wasn't claiming to have proved them to be wrong with this hand.

We are talking specifically about a w/r preempt, and you have written a lot of words about partnership discipline etc, and no words at all about the difficulties a preempt will cause the opponents. That is a great demonstration of where (IMO, obviously) your chosen style has the wrong priorities.

3♥ for me, the choice seems to be between 3♥ and 4♥, never pass. Completely disagree with mikeh, the suggestion that we must not preempt w/r with bad hands lest partner thinks we have a good hand is not sensible.

As North passing the 1♣ opening with this hand wouldn't occur to me.

Yes, people who talk about Zar points make me think of General Zod too. http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/25243-your-opening-style/page__view__findpost__p__278226

Maybe it isn't ever necessary I don't know, it is only a general principles thing. In your earlier version the ♥Q won and you crossed to dummy again in clubs. Now if diamonds are 4-1 dummy has no more entries until all the trumps are drawn, maybe it doesn't matter but if you used the ♦Q instead of the ♣Q dummy would still have a safe club entry. Well as I said before it is hugely percentage to pay off to singleton King, i.e. play South for the hearts. Even if you assume that North would play the 3 100% of the time from T653, 3-KT65 occurs just as often as T653-K, and maybe North really would occasionally play the 5 or the 6.

Pretty sure the ♥Q was winning the trick when I started my answer... Did you happen to notice which heart your LOL North played on the first round? Anyway in the heart suit it is percentage to pay off to the stiff King, and pick up the singleton 3,5 and 6. Even if North did play the 3 you might decide that with a singleton trump South might have returned a diamond to give a diamond ruff, or that North with T653 would not just play her lowest trump all the time. Either player knowing that trumps aren't breaking might have played another round of spades, not sure if it means anything that nobody did. Also it may not matter much, but on general principles I would have won the ♦Q in dummy, preserving club entries for later on (crossing to ♦Q may sometimes run into diamond ruffs.)

http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=39623&view=findpost&p=467330 http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=40418&view=findpost&p=479763 http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=44454&view=findpost&p=530031 http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=45233&view=findpost&p=544666

I would always pass this double. If I was not allowed to pass I would bid 1NT, so all these 1♦ bids look a bit odd to me. Yes, it is good enough. One sure trump trick maybe, but very often QJT84 will be 3 trump tricks, and if partner has the Ace or King we might have 4 trump tricks. We don't have an eight card major fit (partner would overcall 1♥ with 5), we expect to have at least half the pack and often more, and we have a stack in the opponent's suit. When the deal is a partscore, passing will often pick up 200 or 500, with some -140s. When we have a game (3NT) we will often collect more than 500. The only problem with passing is that opener will often run - the opponents have an 8 or 9 card spade fit, and I won't defend 1♠X.

Remembering that ArtK78 made several posts to announce that this match would be on Vugraph, I looked up this board from the BBO Vugraph archive. As it happens the answer to the ATB was there. After the previous board finished, while waiting for this board to begin, the BBO operator typed: "Goecker tells Korth to be quiet, as he is resulting the last board." 100% East.

1) Yes 2) Pass But as always, the vulnerability etc would be nice to know.