hotShot

We have time, so 2♥ now. If partner has 12 HCP looking at my hand this has to mean he has 2 entries playing NT. So 6/7 NT seems in reach.

Pass with 1♥ being a close 2nd. Opps don't have a fit in ♦, unlikely in ♥ and if they have a ♠ fit, the suit splits unfortunate for them. In such a nonfit situation I don't want to fool partner about my true defensive strength.

I take the trick with the ♣K at the table and finesse RHO with the ♠9. If it holds and LHO followed suit, I can play trump as often as needed. This way I collect 6♠ and 2♣. If the finesse does not work, I hope that LHO has only 6♣, so RHO won't ruff the 2nd round of ♣. If I get to play, I will draw another trump. If trumps are 2-2, I can ruff the 3rd round of ♦ in dummy and I'm home. If the trumps are 3-1 with RHO (who dbled) holding 3, I exit in ♣ and drop a ♦ in dummy if LHO continues ♣, hoping to ruff the 2nd round of ♦ or that opps can't avoid to let me get a trick in a red suit. If the 3 trumps are with LHO, I draw the 3rd round of trump and hope that opps can't avoid to let me get a trick in a red suit.

If 3♠= is a good result for our side or 3♠-1 is a good save against opps partscore, than 4♠-1 or 4♠-2 should be a good sacrifice against opps gamescore. At this board the bidding suggests that the player in 3rd hand has ♠ single or void, so that the defensive value of the ♠ drops. It also suggests that opps remaining values will fit well, so they are probably making 4♥.

Could 4♠ be a splinter heading for the ♦ slam?

All are red, this smells like some sort of 10-11-11-8 HCP distribution. Opener has an unbalanced hand and this hand is unbalanced too. If partner is sort of balanced, than RHO is unbalanced and we should be prepared for some unpleasant surprises. I pass.

(1)-1♣-(P)-1♥ (2)-1N-(P)-_P (X)-_P-(P)-?? LHO could open (1), bid a 5 card ♠ (1♠ at 2), bid 4-4 in ♠ and ♦ below opening strength (dbl at 2). If he has 4441 than he's short in ♠ or ♦. RHO could bid any 5 card suit except ♣ on 1-level or dbl if strong enough. Partner could SOS redbl or do we not have that tool in use? Partner could run to 2♥ with 3 cards, if he feels 1NT is a bad contract and he could run to 2♣, if he holds 5 of them. I have a balanced hand, a solid stopper in my suit, 3 of the top 5 cards in partners first bid suit and ♦T may be useful. Why would I want to run, if my partner feels comfortable in 1NTX (thinking I could hold minimum values)? I haven't seen a single reason for doing that up to now.

If West produces a ♠, he could have 3, so your line loses against: West Kxx - East J

Partner had an easy 1♠ bid available, if his ♠ had some quality he should have bid them. If they were xxxx, our 1NT contract is even better, because we have more values in the other 3 suits.

1) How do you know there are no swings? Opps could have tried to make some double trouble, maybe someone overbid to 3 or tried to play 2NT instead of 2 in a minor. 2) If you don't have reason to believe that other team has better players, be patient. Your chance will come, in fact it think it's there right now. 3) Lets count: Your partner does not have 4♥, he does not have 5♠ most likely not even 4. So he should have 7+ cards in the minors. I guess his shape is 4333 or 5332, I don't see much benefit in playing ♣, playing NT seems a good idea. Opps seem to have an 8-card ♠ fit. Since points seem to be split between opps and both did not overcall, they will be 4-4. I would pass.

How about something like that: 1♠ - 2♥ 3♦ - 4♣ 4♦ - 5♣ 6♣

The choice is between 6♠ and dbl. They are white we are red, how many down do we need for 1400? I go for 6♠. If partner really opened with: Jxxxx Jx KQJx Ax We will be down 1 or 2.

What Justin said or East passed down his game forcing values to lure you into dbl to win extra IMPs for the overtricks. (Does anybody believe that?)

How do you call the game, where your pickup opps can't remember/never knew their system?

Some people I play with use the jump to 5(trumps) to ask about trump top honors. 0 trump honors => pass 1 trump honors => slam 2 trump honors => grand

The 3 NT-opener should hold all 10 HCP in his suit, if one of our partnership has a single/void in that suit, a slam/grand is possible with combined twenty-something HCP. It's impossible/ difficult to find bids for all suit combinations and to include save slam bidding at the same time.

If opps 1♣ is 3+, 2♣ should be natural now.

South has 2 Aces with a ♣ suit full of holes. North did not show ♣ support and just his 6♥'s. How should South not double 6♦? Did North bidding promise 10 tricks? Because South can only assume he (South) is contributing 2. Why should he sacrifice if opps contract won't make, as far as he knows? So he sends the message: "opps contract won't make" to North so that he does not sacrifice either. North is the only one who might see that a slam might make, and it is far from obvious.

Well one might discus if there is a need to jump to 4♠ if West only bids 2♥ and partner overcalled. I'm not sure that I expect opps to bid game. If 4-card overcalls were agreed, 3♠ would have been enough.

Even with no points in partners hand, just fit in the red suits you have a good chance to to make 8 tricks for -500, while 4♠ can easily make for 620. ♥Q or even just having 4 cards can make almost sure you get away with down one. If partner happens to have tricks in ♠, he can convert your dbl.

1a) Double over a high preempt is the only chance to tell partner about your values, if you don't have a very long suit of your own. But you should have some defense tricks, because partner is allowed to penalty pass your dbl. In this case you should have GF-values to make a dbl. b ) Would you call this a GF? If you are not playing a strong ♦-System, I guess it's not strong enough. 2. In 1st or 3rd seat I would open 2♠, in 2nd seat I would consider to pass.

Is there a definition what shortness means? I would say 2 cards are a shortness. Seems that NS play mini splinter so that a direct 3♠ would have shown a single/void there. Maybe that should have been disclosed as well. But I don't see a misinformation here.

5♠

The bidding seems ok up to 5♥, if RKCB 41 30 is agreed. 6♥ is terribly wrong, XX is unneccesary.

Well at least I did not make my point clear enough. I don't care about the actual deal, because I don't know all the cards. But I can say that statistics over similar deals show that XXX is a good move for most of the similar deals. So if I don't know better, I will make the move hoping it works. Maybe I will lose this actual board, but I know that most of the next times when a similar situation comes up, it will work in my favor.