quiddity

[hv=d=w&v=e&n=skq762haq98dq2ca5&s=st854hjt6dkjt95c6]133|200|Scoring: MP P 1♣ P 1♦ 2♣ X 3♣ 3♦ P P P[/hv] 1C = 15-20 hcp , any shape 1D = 0-6 any shape or 6-12 with no 4cM Random club-game opps.

This is the kind of problem I always get wrong. I would be very tempted to bid 6 despite the fact that minimum doubles will have problems with diamond losers and even good doubles might go down on DA, D-ruff.

5H. We seem to have reasonable chances opposite a 1444 13-count.

Assuming penalty doubles of 1NT, I like the agreement that advancer must run with any weak hand and pass with values, and that a 2C bid is scrambling.

I'm never sure what to do with weakish (0-6 hcp) hands with a 6-card minor when partner opens a 15-17 1NT. I usually transfer with a singleton and otherwise flip a coin, but I'm not sure I'm doing this for any good reason. How do you bid these hands?

4S. Agree that a cuebid here is crazy with no aces and 2 little spades; I can't understand why anyone would think this hand is "slammish". I would bid 4S rather than trying for 5D because we could easily be off 3 top tricks in either contract, and because I hope my slow round-suit holdings provide some insurance against a forcing defense.

Hate the idea of a rating system for regular play, for all the reasons awm mentioned. I do think rated robot-races could work.

Hey West, what do you call a solid 7-card major? edit - If West does take the 2H/3H approach then I would bid 4C instead of 3S with the East hand to avoid an accident.

I would bid 3S over 3D with the South hand.

Donn's No-trump Enigma?

Thanks all - partner had a 5251 9-count so 2S definitely works out best.

No idea what this would mean from an expert partner. For the intermediate answer I'd guess a 4522 maximum - maybe 15-17 pts. I would just bid 3S though I can imagine missing games opposite some perfect 16 counts.

Do you have an agreement about jump overcalls? The standard meaning of 4C is preemptive.

Do you prefer 2S over 2H with any 3 card suit here?

[hv=d=n&v=n&s=skqjhaq987d64cq82]133|100|Scoring: MP P P 1H 2C X P ?[/hv] 1. I thought it was close between 2H and 2S here. Are both reasonable, or is one obviously better than the other? If 2S is obvious, what is the worst 3-card spade suit with which you'd still consider bidding 2S? 2. I chose 2H; lefty rebids 3C and partner bids 3D. What now?

In 3rd/4th I would always open. In 1st/2nd it depends. One of my partners insists on a 2 quick-trick minimum and playing with him I would pass. The slight positive expectation of opening will not make up for an unhappy partner, and partner WILL be unhappy when he enthusiastically whacks 3H and it makes an overtrick. Opposite a random I would be very tempted to open. Opposite my strong-club partner, I would always open; light 1M bids are part of the system.

I think if partner has the SA you'll probably get to the right place either way. The question is whether you can get to the right place when partner has the SQ or when he doesn't. I like the splinter, since it tends to suggest points and length in each of the other suits and in that context partner might be able to see some value in the SQ. Having said that, I can't really imagine stopping in 4H with either approach.

blind or invisible?

A slightly harder problem: what if declarer plays a low spade instead of the 9 to the first trick?

Agreed obv that West cannot pass the double with his actual hand and that both double and raise should lead to good results on this hand. But double still looks dangerous to me. If West has his actual hand, East's action risks a pass-out of 2H when game was cold. If West has a bust, even with bad shape, he'll have to pull and the fact that South was able to take a second bid might allow North to double us. If West has something like xxx J9xx KQx xxx he'll probably pass (won't he? why else are we doubling except to give ourselves a chance to defend when West has trump tricks?) and 3D-X will be close. What does West do with AJx of diamonds?

I tried coming up with candidate East hands to support this point and couldn't. East needs a really pathological hand for 3D-X to be right, and most of those hands would have overcalled 1NT or doubled 1S for takeout.

I think East is mostly to blame. He passed 2H and North did not raise diamonds, so the double sounds penalty-oriented to me. With a singleton diamond and just a single ace, I can't see how East can expect the -2 he needs for this double. And given the 4-card support and offensive honors I don't understand why he isn't raising hearts.

I would bid 2C. I don't see a good follow-up bid after doubling.

IMO, it is not a rare occurrence. Opponents will strive to bid over the NT and they will occasionally be wrong, taking you out of a doomed 1NT when they have no 8-card fit. If you are forced to bid on with your 4333 2-count, the opponents may not have to double you to get a good score. Occasionally they will double you, and you'll be slaughtered. And occasionally you'll feel pressured to pass out a close double of their 2M contract with your balanced 5-count and they'll make it.

At the table I doubled. Unfortunately the bidding was at 4S when it got back to me so I never had a chance to bid hearts, and afterwards, during the dinner break, I was surprised to find that almost everyone disagreed with the call. The general consensus was that double implies a balanced hand and that it was not worth misrepresenting the distribution to show such meager values. Most preferred to pass, hoping to bid hearts later. I'm not entirely convinced, but it did play a role in our subsequent misdefense of 4S.