wank

people in the expert forum don't bid michaels over weak 2s on 5 counts.

4♥ - someone has to bid and partner will likely have too many spades unless he's strong enough to bid 3nt. when your hand is as distributional as this you just have to do the manly thing - there are many hands where partner's not strong enough to act and we're making game and opps are making 3s. if lho cracks 4h i'll run away.

north bid terribly. 2nt is beginner standard bad. he doesn't really have an opening bid either but that's a matter of style. playing mainstream (imo) methods north should raise to 1♠ to 2. playing minority methods where that guarantees 4, he should assuredly bid them over 2♥. 2♥ doesn't ask for a stop. it asks for further information. of course one such piece of useful information is a heart stop, but nowhere near so much as 3 spades.

playing gazilli 2♣ is forcing. not playing gazilli it's not forcing.

i continue diamonds. i think it's more likely p has 1 than 3 to give declarer a bit of shape as he seems to be rather weak in hcp. jt stiff in p's hand is fine too, but that gives declarer an unlikely hand. basically i'm thinking p is 6313 and declarer has something like qx akqjxxx jxxx void the only hand where we're getting it off with a spade switch where declarer might bid 4h is 2821 imo. as to whether it's a guess or not, the sad fact is partner normally has a less-than-sporting way to make it clear whether he has 3 or not, so i might well feel aggrieved as declarer if leader got this hand right at the table.

i voted for other - i didn't hear of anyone, jec excepted, who thinks north can play the game well single-dummy. bbo vugraph commentator syndrome.

to be honest, if you're bothering to ask this, you must have very confused ideas at to what partner will pass with. i would expect -3 or 4 on average if partner passes - you have a much better spade holding and defensive strength than double promises, so the answer to your question is, 'yes, i would be delighted'.

literally everyone will double. i'll save you the effort of waiting for their answers. any other answer would be beginner standard bad.

someone else on the forum, can't remember who, already does this. personally i value my 2d retry over 2c too much because i open soundly and bid drury aggressively so it's got a wide range.

3nt. easy

yes passing 1s is very bad. 99% of the time partner only has 4 and you play a 4-1 fit. you can bid 1nt or 2c to escape spades.

i bid. if we find a fit, our hand improves massively, going from a contract that's very likely to go off to one which is probably 50-50. if we don't find a fit, we just increase the 50s.

i doubt any experts would prevent themselves playing 3cxx. there are similar schemes with pass showing a club stop and 3d being restayman, which obviously allows you to play 3cxx when opener shows a stop.

ro15 is for marginal openers. this isn't a marginal opener.

i mean bid 7 with aq of trumps. it might not make but it's going to have some play and it's our best tool available.

5nt grand slam force

2NT over 1 minor is normally played as hearts and the other minor. with spades and the other minor, just start by bidding spades. majors are more important. it's much easier to make 10 than 11 for game. if you're thinking it's only 1 extra trick, think of it in reverse. in 5m you can only afford to lose 2 tricks. in 4M you can afford to lose 3, that's 50% more,

3d diamonds. invitational with diamonds. problem solved.

having to start with XX on all 10+ would be foul, so no 1♠ isn't limited

3h. partner overcalled vul against not on a pony suit at the 2 level. it means he's got a good hand. our clubs will solidify his. pre-empting past 3nt would be laughable.

considering his system has, among other goodies, a forcing pass, i doubt his next question was going to concern whether this was a legitimate method for Tuesday afternoon duplicates in Tunbridge Wells bridge club .

yes masterpoints in england are essentially meaningless and pretty useless. in fact not having them is good in a way because in national tournaments there are certain prizes available for the highest ranked pair below a certain master point level, though EBU prizes are pathetic and making any particular effort to get them isn't worth it, plus some people might consider ducking them to pick-up bunny prizes to be a little dirty. the ngs - national grading system - is a far more worthwhile measure of achievement for club and county level players. the ebu magazine which is mentioned up-thread is a waste of time for anyone who can count to 13. it was dumbed down under the previous ebu chairman, so hopefully it might perk up now there's someone new in.

pass - no raise, 3 or 4 quick tricks, maybe more with ruffing potential in p's hand, and a partner who forced us to the 2 level, and if it makes it's only 180, and as long as you don't look too pained while passing, there's a good chance of partner making some cheap trump tricks on finesses. game prospects for us on the other hand look slim - even if partner provides a club stop, we're rather lacking in potential for 9 tricks.

people who raise on 3 normally do so with an unbalanced hand. it's pretty rare to find pairs raising on weak NTs with 3 card support, which are the hands where protecting is least desirable.

4d by north should be a cuebid then south can cuebid hearts.