gszeszycki

while no strong scientific way to explore some thought on scoring might help with our decision. MP since merely setting 4s 1 trick x gains more mp than setting 4s w/o x the x by partner can be done on a small amount of power p will probably x 4s with as little as Kxx xxxx Qxxx Axx---opposite this I should be more than happy to collect my (hopefully positive score) and pass. IMP We do not worry about collecting a small extra + score for setting 4s 1 trick (r/w)thus the X by partner has to be much better either expecting to beat 4s 2 or more tricks or expecting us to make at the 5 level or higher when we have an average hand. The distributions are not balanced thus responder can only count on us for 1 1/2 tricks for our opening bid. This means partner has around 3 1/2 tricks in order to set 4s at least 2. Since it is almost impossible for P to be looking at 3 1/2 tricks on defense (we have too many controls) we can only assume they have a hand with sufficient values where making something at the 5 level is reasonable opposite a balanced minimum. Our hand is anything but balanced and any reasonable x by p must give us great play for 6 or even 7 (with 7 being very tough to discover) the process of elimination would make it seem that 5N is the standout bid which should be fairly obvious pick a slam btn clubs and hearts. I must admit some sympathy for 5c bidders since playing 5c will almost surely score more IMPS than defending 4s x. But the mathematics on minor suit slams 1370 to 620 vs -100 to 600 favors bidding even a 50% slam 750-700.

PASS I have plenty of time to show my minors (as in BOTH suits) later if it sounds wise. There is no reason to so completely misrepresent my hand in 1st chair even if once or twice in a lifetime something good happens from it. I am amazed at how many replies actually think starting with 2/3 d or 3c sounds remotely like a sound bid. I like to call those bid Las Vegas because they are pure gambles far more likely to lose than win. Pass not as much "fun" but a ton sounder.

all at matchpoints or bam 1. ♠Qxx ♥xx ♦KQxx ♣KQxx w/w 1♥-? 2. ♠AK98 ♥Jx ♦Txx ♣K98x r/r p-p-2♥-? 3. ♠K9xx ♥Txx ♦AQJx ♣Ax w/r p-1♥-? 1. NO if p cannot find a call over 1h we didnt miss anything doubling with this crud can lead to nothing but disaster. 2. YES great chance hcp spread out evenly cant let them steal 2h ---while we might get too high it wont be often since p is a passed hand. 3. NO not even good distribution for x what do we do if p bids 2c--x here not only isnt good for all suits but gives opps way too much information if/when they win the contract and the odds are in their favor since p is already a passed hand.

Dealer: North Vul: N/S Scoring: XIMP ♠ J53 ♥ KQ4 ♦ J6 ♣ AQ984 pass 1d and you are up pass IMPS is a risk/reward game much more so than mp. Getting slaughtered on a hand at mp is bad but entering this auction is hoping to not get slaughtered at BEST. Opposite a passed hand there is only the tiniest sliver of hope we have a game so the best we can hope for is we can come close to making some partial and splits are not bad enough to get us hammered r/w. Even is we can make something does not mean opps cannot make more and use the x in helping them play the hand. If the bidding proceeds 1d p 1n p p or 1d p 2d p p then an x makes more sense because at least we know p has some values and odds of a fit have increased. this situation is completely dissimilar to what action I would take if p were not a passed hand at least then game is still feasible here it borders on a pipe dream. If made an offer I can't refuse to choose between 2c and X I would X rating the bids i would give pass = 10 x = 5 2c = 2 all the while knowing pass is an unpopular choice in a bidders "have more fun" game. At this vulnerability at IMPS i would generally prefer to be much close to classic 4441 shape for a direct tox and not so much "crud" ie jxx jx :D

excellent analysis heart it is and I would try my smallest heart mainly to try and get a dia return.

I am unsure why N decided to bid 4h instead of 4n -----after hearing p has one key card and the opening bidder behind the powerhouse hand (and there being no huge benefit to being in a roughly 5050 slam and an impending heart lead through aqj) a reasonable course of action would be to sign off in 5s. Cue bidding is normally reserved for hands that lack controls everywhere N hand is well strong enough to take control. I assign 100% blame to N for failing to use bidding tools properly.

1. Matchpoints, favorable. ♠AQ9 ♥x ♦J9xx ♣KQJTx. Opps silent, you open 1C: 1C 1D 2D 2H ? Please rate the following bids: 2S, 2NT, 3C, and anything else reasonable that you can think of. on a scale of 1-10 2s = 3 showing something in spades at least so p might not go totally nuts if they ------are void in spades. 2n = 2 gets idea you have good spade stuff but gives totally wrong impression of ------your hand's playing strength at 3n clubs a superb source of tricks in a hand ------already limited by a 2d bid. 3c = 1 completely misguided attempt at humor. When you are not searching for ------majors NT is the next target and 3c shows good clubs and nothing to speak of ------in spades--if p is short in spades their next guess will be wayyy off base. 3N = 10 P is making at least a game try after we tried to sign off with 3d. We are -------not looking for a major so 3n is next target and not only do we have spades -------well covered but our club suit is a superb source of tricks at nt. 2. Matchpoints, both vul. Opps were silent during the auction, you are playing 3H: -------------AQJxxx -------------x -------------AT8x -------------xx x---------------------------Kxxxx Jx--------------------------Kxx xxxx-----------------------Kx AKxxxx--------------------Qxx -------------♠x -------------♥AQT97xx -------------♦QJx -------------♣xx LHO cashes ONE high club and switches to the spade 9. What do you make of this and how do you continue? The hand shown is a typical hand where I am slated to lose 2C 1H and 1D. So any LOP I choose should not jeopardize that result. With this thought in mind taking the spade finesse (hoping to pitch club loser) is probably a huge mistake since we might easily be creating a 2nd heart loser and a spade loser. At MP (where overtricks are a huge thing) LHO is taking a huge gamble switching to spades at tricks 2 if they have the K. My tendency is to play the A and continue with spade Q on which I will pitch my club no matter if covered or not. If rho wins the K and continues spades I ruff with the T (even if this creates a 2nd heart loser I have lost only 1c in compensation so I have broken even) A.--if lho overruffs with J no matter the return I play dia to T (unless dia K pops) ----if this loses to K and another spade comes back I ruff with the 9 play dia to ace ----and lead heart to Q. B.--if LHO overruffs with K win next return (unless dia then play T) and if able finesse to heart 9 else take 2 top hearts (limiting heart losers to 1 or none whenever suit breaks 3/2). C.--If LHO fails to overruff I would lead dia toward T then A (if needed) and lead heart to 9 if able else Q. If RHO wins spade K and returns a heart make the normal play of the Q do not let RHO talk you into making an inferior play of the T (creating 2 heart losers when there was only one) the recommended LOP will win under normal circumstances as well as allowing you to make 4 when rho has KJx hearts. It will also allow you to make if RHO has Jxx where you would normally lose 2 heart tricks 2 clubs and 1 dia.

3N what do i need to make a game? well if p has say xx AJ9x Axx xxxx we should have great play for 3n and we might not even set 3s. I would much rather gamble on 3n then worry about missing an almost impossible to bid minor suit slam. I admit i would run from an x to 4d also. it is a guess that is why opps preempt but being too much of a coward is bad at all forms of bridge.

2nt --my form of j2n includes balanced invitational raises from responder so with a balanced minimum opener responds 3 of their major as a sign off try. If opener has a short spade this hand has "how do we search for a grand" written all over it and 2nt gets us off to the best start. Bidding spades then belatedly raising hearts might show a tepid raise at best not this monster of a fit we have. The mantra raise with support is huge here becasue just bidding 2n alone might get a strong p to take control of the bidding :D)

Dealer: West Vul: E/W Scoring: IMP ♠ AQxxx ♥ ♦ AKx ♣ KQJ9x ♠ 10 ♥ QJxx ♦ xx ♣ A10xxxx 1♥-2♥-(P)-3♣ P-3♥-P-3NT All Pass 3♣ is pass or correct for the minors. 2NT would have been a game try in either minor. I guess this isn't really an ATB, but please propose an alternate auction starting with 2♥, since I know that now that everyone has seen both hands they'll be like 'obv I'd double, not bid 2♥' your auction got started off wrong not because of michaels but because of huge 3c underbid. Best bid by S is 3d pass or correct. This would show a club raise but a willingness to let bidding die if michaels bidder has diamonds. If you switched your 2 minors around you would have a nice 3c bid. rest of my auction would proceed after 1h 2h p 3d p 3h maybe asking for heart stopper for nt 3n ok i have heart stopper 4c I was just kidding about nt I have huge hand with clubs and 3h was a cue bid 4s cue bid the huge club length definitely improves this hands slam worthiness. ---could have bid 4n to sign off with a simple club raise. 5h this could be exclusion blackwood or a cue bid obviously asking for a top trump ----honor (a or k) no matter which way we will arrive in 7c.

Dealer: North Vul: None Scoring: MP bidding goes 2c by p 2h by rho now what? ♠ KJ98654 ♥ Q4 ♦ Q4 ♣ 62 Principal of fast arrival with a weak one suited hand applies here 2s is a fine response with AKQxx xxx xx xxx (or much stronger hands) this hand however has a much stronger desire to play spades but not quite good enough of a suit to demand it. My choice is 3s there are many hands p can now raise to 4s they never would after a mere 2s bid and failure to show nature of hand now makes it just plain impossible to catch up later. what does 4s look like you ask? KQJ9xxx xx xx xx

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There appears to be little to gain entering bidding just now. If p cannot balance somehow over 1h then we probably cant make anything. If opps start bidding then we can consider if it feels safe to enter the bidding later. For ex lets say they bid 1h 1s 2c 2h we just might want to keep to ourselves:) but if bidding goes 1h 1n 2c 2h p then an x (hoping for spade fit) seems warranted. Bidding now increases danger (if p is broke) or risks us getting overboard if p just short of an opening bid.

I do not know the limitations of your software but if possible maybe the best logical request would be 1n hand (any 5332) (any 4333) (any 5422) (any 4432) 3262 3226 2362 2326 responder 9-14 is fine but limit side suit length to 6. If this partnership is using puppet stayman then we have a huge variety of hands that need to be excluded from responder (they will generally have a max of 2 cards in either major) 2263 2236 2254 2245 <2164 2146 1264 1246 0265 0256 2065 2056> <> these are possible but will almost always use another method of bidding. if using regular stayman then also add 2335 2353 3225 3253 3334 3343 3244 2344 0364 0346 3064 3046 1345 1354 3145 3154 0355 3055 sigh i probably forgot something but this should cover it. We are also assuming the opps will search for major suit fit when able (an assumption that will much less guarantee the more hcp responder has). Im tired:)

A74 QJ63 What is the best chance of three tricks ? Nothing occurs in a vacuum---is there anything in the bidding or play that might indicate HCP or distribution to be a certain way. IE E, a passed hand, has already shown up with 11 hcp and cannot have spade K. W/O any side information (and assuming there is no line of play that will help you gather the needed information) we try to IMAGINE what holding by the opponents will most likely yield the desired result. Since we have no spots the only real hands we need to consider are where W has Kx singleton K or any hand E has the K. A very quick glance will show any time the opps suit splits 33 our play makes no difference (as long as we avoid leading the Q or J and playing the A when the K has not appeared sigh) we can very quickly count KT K9 K8 K7 K5 K2 as the only Kx cases for W (and K alone) just counting E for Kxxx we would get KT98 KT97 KT95 KT92 K987 K985 K982 K875 K872 K752. As you can see just giving E Kxxx the number of holdings E has outnumbers Kx and K possibilites by W by 10-7 and there are many more possibilites with E holding 5-6 spades. We are forced to conclude the best chance is to play E for the spade K and the best method is to cash the spade A first (winning when W has singelton K) then leading toward the QJ twice. This is not a guaranteed LOP but it is the best % play. Sometimes the best % play will fail and just be happy you did the best you could.

i am curious as to why any 4333 shape was eliminated as an option for the responder hand:)

Dealer: North Vul: Both Scoring: IMP ♠ A842 ♥ J9753 ♦ ♣ AQJ5 1♦-(1♥)-X-(p), 5♦-(P)-? The bidding can eliminate hands with solid dia (since our x showed sp/cl opener had an easy 3h bid asking for a stop if they held say Kx void AKQJxxxx xx or some such. What minimum kind of hand did we need to x in the first place? Kxxx xxx xx Kxxx more less? the answer to that question should answer whatto do next. If we feel we have the minimum pass since we are fairly certain p has at least 1 dia loser. If your minimum is like my minimum (shown) then we have to bid 6d since we are way above minimum and any reasonable 5d bid by p should give us play for 6d. We cannot bid their cards only ours and trust they bid theirs properly.

3N generally speaking if p had 3 spades they would x if they have 4 spades they will convert to spades. If p has less then 3 spades then our most likely game is 3n and we are not only max for our 1s bid but have a dia stopper to boot.

Dealer: North Vul: N/S Scoring: IMP ♠ xx ♥ AK10 ♦ AK98x ♣ A109 P-(P)-1♦-(X) 1♥-(P)-? This hand is a lot better than most boring 18/19 quacky balanced hands. To make game (which we stretch for at imps) we need little more than say xxx Qxxx Qxxx Kx to make 5d or even 4h. How about KQ3 xxxx xxx Jxx to make 3n or xxx Qxxxx xx Kxx to make 4h. How about xx xxxx Qx KQxxx and 5c? Risk vs reward seems to indicate we try for game but what is the best method? 2N seems too weak for such a powerful collection (aside from the fact we have 2 small spades). 3d also appears to be too weak that seems to leave us with 3c the most flexible bid by far allowing us to explore all of our game possibilites with small risk of getting overboard when p is totally balanced minimum. This bid also pinpoints spades as a probable source of weakness for nt. If I could not force myself to bid 3c my next best guess is 3N since I can make with as little as Kxx xxxx Qxx xxx from p.

This hand has a decent amount of trick taking potential (behind opening bidder) but need p to have several entries to take advantage of the situation. If we are going to play the hand we will probably be best served by getting p to bid their longest suit to increase the number of entries. I am not ashamed of any side suit and the known long suit with opps makes nt far less appealing (unless p can bid it). I choose x

Dealer: South Vul: N/S Scoring: IMP ♠ AQxxx ♥ AQx ♦ Axx ♣ xx at IMPS we strain hard to reach games so the concept of super accept is a bit looser because of the increased reward/risk ratio. In the case where super accept can be done bidding a side (hopefully 5 card) suit I would look at my hand and decide if 5/6 hcp in trumps/side suit would make a good game. If so I super accept. Certainly I would be more than pleased to have p bid game with Kx Kxxxx xxx xxx. Think of the super accept as a help suit game try ----when your values are in trumps and p help suit they are at their most valuable.

"A" centers on the spade suit because the other major is usually the easiest game to reach. Knowing responder has (or denies) 5 spades makes opening bidders job a ton easier. In situations where the HCP are balanced knowing there is (or is not) a trump fit makes a huge difference on how the bidding should proceed. The very simplicity of "A" is another reason why it is so popular. Following the support with support dogma is just plain a whole ton easier if the other major can be defined right from the start.

my personal favorite is 1444 0454 0445 short SPADES and 12 15 my main purpose behind this is to make me feel a whole lot better whenever bidding goes 1d 1s 2c 2h fsf it eliminates missing 44 (or rarely 54 heart fits when responder was weak and had to p 2c or bid 2d) and doesnt force responder to consider bidding 1h over 1d with 5s 4-5h and a weak hand (an idea i inherently dislike anyway)---- just because they are afraid of hands just like the ones my 2d bid shows).

Dealer: South Vul: N-S Scoring: IMP ♠ AKT ♥ AKQJ9 ♦ 54 ♣ 632 1♥ pass 1♠ pass ??? This hand has a TON of potential and is better than most balanced 18-19 count hands but it should make every reasonable effort to avoid playing the hand. Attempting to right side this contract (make p declarer) should be a primary consideration. The best bid to try and accomplish this mission would appear to be 3s this has many ways to win 1. p might have 5 puny spades and would never have rebid them maybe 4s best 2. p might have 4 small spades and 8-9 balanced (with both minors stopped) and rebid 3n rightsiding 3n 3. with xxxxx xxx Axxx x p might now be very happy to bid 4h they may or may not bid 4h over 3h (I probably would at imps) 4. p has 5 small spades a minimum and passes this has GOT to be better than 2n played from your side. thats my case now let the arguments fly:)

A xx KQJ AQJxxxx Kxx AKQxxxx void Kxx 1c 1h 3c 3d remember p thinks we are looking for nt first 3n spades stopped a 3s bid would have been asking for partial stop) 4c obvious slam interest 4d control 4s control 5c no heart control sign off try AND worries about heart stops for nt this bid allows you to convert clubs to hearts at whatever level u decide to play p has 2/3 small hearts. 5h delayed heart control grand slam try we are forced to 6c 5n two of top 3 club honors 7h just remember an opening lead ruff might be more dangerous in hearts than in clubs