TMorris

Jacoby works well with 4-card majors. I would guess it's more that much/all of the literature relates to 5-card majors.

The only time I defended this auction neither partner nor I had a take-out double of their 2C bid as we had a 4-4 club fit so they played in their 3-2 fit non-vulnerable 2C-4 was pretty close to a top for us as we had no game. So on very limited experience this option does not concern me :).

Thanks for all the comments. As it happened my partner passed it out. No doubt she would have liked to double for penalties but without an agreement this was not realistic. Dummy was not quite as most have expected in that he had a 4441 4 count.

We rarely come across this convention so have no specific agreements. In part I am asking what agreements should be sensible in this situation. Our general rule is that low level doubles are for take out so it is likely that a double is take out here. Should it be in these rather unusual circumstances? Thanks TMorris

At IMPs all vulnerable it goes 2♦ (as above 5-10, 5/4 in the majors) P P and you have Jx x AKJxx AKxxx What is your bid?

But in the case of the original post it is a matter of correctly describing your agreements to your opponents as you are obliged to do. If you regularly open 14 counts 1NT you should say so and both these hands if opened 1NT are IMO clear evidence of that.

I think if you are going to play 14-17 you should just say so.

I wouldn't open either first in hand. Third in hand is harder but I'd have to open the first one diamond systemically and that is not sufficiently lead directing for a third in hand opening - I can't open one club and pass one spade so I pass it. The second one I open one heart and pass the response. Opening the second 1 NT in third vulnerable would be horrible.

I double to start with & bid 4NT after their 4♠.

I use whatever partnership methods to play in 4 ♠.

The double of 3 ♥ from partner would have been penalties. I am not sure what a double here is, I doubt the partnership would have discussed it.

None vulnerable at matchpoints. The bidding is 1NT x P 2 ♣ P 2 ♦ 2♥ 3♦ 3♥ P P ? 1NT is 12-14 and the double is 15+ You have ♠ K10x ♥ x ♦ Jxxx ♣ 10xxxx a redouble immediately after the double would be a transfer to clubs. To show a weak hand with hearts immediately after the double the bid would be 2♦. Your opponents are a poor club standard. You are significantly better.

It doesn't seem rude to me. I don't see what you can do in the future bar going to larger clubs.

Way too good for 4 ♠. 4 ♦ is not ideal but the best option to show the hand

You play in a field where you are allowed to play in 2 ♦ with around half the points between you? To some extent these arguments at club level are around playing what everyone else is playing which means you play it from the same side as everyone else. Alternatively if you play a weak NT in a strong NT environment and use transfers I imagine you are playing it from a different side to most of your opponents which will bias your viewpoint on the matter. However transfers allow so many different hand types to be shown cheaply which you seem to ignore. The people who open a possibly short club and play transfers over it (an increasingly popular method) seem to me to be effectively playing transfers over their weak NT hand. Why do they do this if there are so many disadvantages?

Sometime last year an top class England international on vugraph made a similar comment ie competition over a weak NT should be constructive. It was somewhat ironic to me as playing against him a couple of weeks earlier he had competed all vulnerable on a complete pile of rubbish (about a 5 count) in the hope that his partner had enough to bail him out and/or we would misdefend. I disagree with the comment then and now - get in over a weak NT especially non-vul.

I think different commentators aim for a different audience eg David Bird tries to explain things to beginners and does so rather well. I only have one commentator as a enemy as he is pretty much guaranteed to say the exact opposite of what would be a sensible play every time - fortunately he is not on voice. Most try hard but things like stating the IMPs on an earlier boards when it is shown on the scoresheet do try my patience.

I would bid 2 ♦ and wouldn't consider anything else

When I watch someone the default is "Big Cards" and I always have to untick this to change it to something viewable. How can I change my default so I don't have to untick this every time? Thanks

Regarding alerting doubles and the EBU I reckon I am one of about three people in my local club who alert doubles at all. At tournement level it is rather different of course but at club level my experience is that very few understand or apply these rules. Of course most of the time it is obvious if a double is for penalties so it is not an issue.

Some years ago I was told off by an expert player playing with a punter for not claiming (in 1NT) at about trick 8 when I had all the remaining tricks. The punter was on lead & I was waiting for him to play.

My club which is loosely in the same part of the world as Vampyr's also has cash prizes for the first few places (maybe this is a small circle) although they haven't risen for the at least the last ten years so don't usually cover the table money most of the time (this has increased). We are in our 76th year and on counting have accumulated 16 trophies of various sorts, mainly cups. One (the individual trophy) is now never played for and one I believe is for our (small) rubber bridge section. People seem to like taking them home from the AGM which I think would have a rather lower attendance if no trophies were given out. With regard to keeping track of them the club secretary keeps a note of who takes them from the AGM but it would be easy enough at a county AGM I would have thought to get a signed receipt at some point after the formal business is over.

You are in 2nd seat after a Pass non-vul v vul at IMPs. You have A876543 x K765 x Thanks,

Thank you for this, much appreciated, not something I would have thought of at all. It would indeed work.

If you cash a 3rd spade I imagine the discard is a small club