655321

Of course you could also play 1♠ relay or 1NT relay or 2♣ artificial GF in response to 1♥, but (like MAFIA responses) that would not be relevant as an answer to a 'Curious about whether there is consensus on this subject' question either. In standard methods, responding in your longest suit with a strong hand is very much the consensus. Yet you reject the many correct answers and accept the fringe responses instead. Did you mean to ask a different question?

1) Pass, not even close to bidding. (edit) well maybe bidding is not as bad as I first thought, maybe I really would bid 1♥ at the table, not sure. 2) I would bid 1♥, if we were w/r I would probably double instead, but at equal vul there doesn't seem much point in pretending that this aceless nine count is an opening hand with support for the other suits. OTOH we do have 5 hearts and some points, so...

2♠, it seems safer for me to do this than for partner to find a bid when he has some diamond length.

I wonder why you did not include the link, people may wish to read the entire discussion. I can't interpret his views as being an endorsement of the ridiculous 2♥ overcall, a bid best reserved for the husbands in the husband-wife partnerships at the local duplicate.

Nothing wrong with the 1♦ opening, 1♦ does not deny a 5 card major, and if you always open your longest suit you won't go very wrong. Passing 2♠ planning to defend 2♠X was really really bad. I can't stress enough just how bad that was. You have AK85 of spades, i.e. just 2 spade tricks, instead of something like KQT9. You have 4 card support for partner, so not only can you probably make a contract, but also very few of your side's high cards in the suit are standing up. Now you need partner to take 3 tricks against 2♠X to get +100 instead of -470 or more. When partner then bid 3♦ you had another chance, but with Axxx of a suit partner opened and rebid on his own at the 3 level, you still couldn't support? Your partner must have superhuman tolerance, not only did you pass 2♠ planning to defend it doubled, not only did you double 4♣ for no apparent reason while still suppressing your primary support, but then you told your partner he misbid by not opening 1♥. If he had thrown the bidding box at you the directors would have ruled it justifiable!

I don't recall any such passage in that book. Instead there is a passage where Michael explains that he (not Zia) doesn't disclose to anyone his rules for opening when 4-4 (not 4-5) in the minors. He does go on to talk about opening the 3 card minor when 3-4 or even 3-5 in the minors and planning to rebid NT, but 4-5 in the minors was not discussed.

Hate 1NT, if you want to show this hand as balanced it is too strong for 1NT, open 1♣ and rebid 2NT - even a 2NT opening has more upside than a 1NT opening. Hate Stayman - why am I trying to play in 2NT (or 3NT!) with this soft 6 count opposite a 15-17 NT?

Agree with andy_h. Passing the South hand makes little sense when you know that 3♦ will be the final contract, and you will score something like -110 or +50, often when you are cold for 4M. Forcing to slam as North after partner's Michaels seems naive to me. Also I read andy_h's posts very carefully, and couldn't find the things hog accused him of saying!

The issues with times (fixed at one point, as reported here) have been happening again for a while now.

Yes. Don't understand all these later posts about a jump in a new suit being a cuebid (!) or stopper-showing (!).

Playing 3/5 leads, the 2 from 432 is mandatory. Leading 4ths, I would never lead the 2, I would lead the 4 or the 3, whichever we had agreed. So whether your agreement is 4ths or 3/5 seems the relevant thing here. One of you is saying mean things, anyway...

How is it a guess? If this is a normal 3♠ bid in your methods (I agree with everyone else that 3♠ was bad) then you have an automatic pass. If 3♠ was the wrong bid then the question is not interesting.

This is a 1D opening. Do you really want to rebid those tatty clubs? This thread should show you that these days you are very much in the minority opening 1♦ with a longer club suit.

If North had made the normal 1♥ overcall, South would have doubled 4♠. After North's strange pass, I wouldn't double 4♠ as South. And if you want North to double 4♠ (on the off chance that partner has 5 spades and couldn't double?) don't you think he would have been better off bidding at the one level instead of passing at the one level and coming back in at the four level?

In the beginning of the discussion we had, there were others of the same view. I think most eventually changed their minds. My argument was that after 1D-pass -? there is no particular reason to think 4H is not making. Yes, to bid 3♦ with a 4 card heart suit, the hand should be (IMO) way outside the range of a 'standard' 1♥ response. This hand, while admittedly only 5HCP, has some shape, some points, and no reason to be ashamed of a 1♥ reponse.

If 3♥ is invitational it seems ideal. We want partner to bid 4♥ with any excuse, I don't see the point in scoring up 170 and saying 'but my bid was constructive partner'.

Agree with karlson

I would bid 1NT, but double also seems a fine choice. OTOH, I have no words to describe what I think of the pass.

2♠, seems normal. Don't like double, but it could work. Hard to decide which of pass and 2NT I hate the most, for different reasons, but I didn't think that either would get any votes at all until I read the replies.

Can't find an option to vote for in this (push) poll, but I would double.

:unsure:

twofer, 2♠ shows 5 spades and 6 diamonds, it doesn't show 4/4. If you want to play a gadget here instead, good for you, however your posts generally read as though you believe that whatever gadget you decide to play in any auction is the standard meaning for the bid. Very simple auction, opener bid spades twice to show 5 spades. He opened 1♦ so his diamonds are longer than his spades. He did not reverse so he hasn't promised reversing values. Easy game.

What? Firstly, in the auction 1♦ - 1♥ 1♠ - 2♣ 2♠ 2♠ is not a reverse, and does not show reversing values. Secondly, when opener has shown 6-5 in diamonds and spades, responder will be able to look at his hand. He will usually notice that he has only three (3) HCP in partner's suits, and will give no thought to pushing for slam.

What are you doing if T or J appears from RHO on the ace, then LHO plays T or J when you lead up, and the K and 8 are outstanding? If you duck, then you lose to T8 or J8 offside when RHO false cards. If you cover, you still lose to KJ or KT offside when LHO false cards from T85 or J85. Of course it depends how often these false cards will be found. Yes, good point. Since the difference between my line and gnasher's was only the difference between a single 3-2 break and a single 4-1 break anyway, what you say seems enough to make gnasher's line better after all.

Agree with those who think our bad diamond pips mean we shouldn't be trying for +200. This seems wrong to me. Obviously you lose the benefits of Stayman/transfer sequences. But in addition if the balancing 1NT bidder is dummy in a partscore, you have the lead going through the stronger hand, and have let opener off the hook - you would like to force him to find an opening lead away from his tenaces around to the 1NT bidder. Anyway, I expect there have been threads on this subject already.