cherdanno

I hate the double, but I also disagree with 6♣, 5N seems better (and pass expecting 500 would be quite reasonable). Obviously I think the auction should go 5D p p X AP.

Nooooooooooo!

And good bacon is usually called prosciutto, so I am skeptical...

I didn't post because I thought avocados are a wtp. Nothing beats a freshly made guacemole. Bacon on the other hand, that really depends on the bacon...

I believe strong and balanced is the only hand type that bids 3NT fast. I disagree. The only hand that bids 3NT fast is the one that has 8 or 9 running tricks after a spade lead. Bidding 3NT because you have a balanced 20 count is maybe necessary, but also quite dangerous, and a second double may be more appealing.

I don't think that opposition to any specific regulation can be translated as opposition to all possible regulations. But Lobowolf's logic would apply to any other workplace health or safety regulation. (If you can't handle asthma when you are 55, don't work in my chemical plant.)

Lobowolf, I understand you are against any regulation of workplace safety?

Uhm, I think even the most optimistic TSA freaks won't expect the additional security to reduce the number of successful airplane bombs by one per year.

3NT is a good laugh when it works (like a penalty double of a strong 1NT with 8 hcp), but someone who never tell your neighbors and friends about. (Not to speak of posting it on BBF!)

More shocking: The Matrix is 10 years old!

Maybe I am underestimating how desperate we are, but let me also point out that the ♥K lead very often does not lose a trick double dummy, where it would almost certainly lose that trick single dummy. (Imagine the suit being Kx xx JT987 AQxx around the table, with declarer having AQxx.)

Tsk tsk, careful Csaba.

They are safe. (Why else would you be allowed to use them while taxiing, i.e. during one of the most accident-prone times of the flight?) In fact, I am glad they are safe as I have seen someone using their cell phone/blackberry to send text messages during a flight a couple of times. The reason they are still forbidden is that - nobody wants to be responsible for that call, and - airlines aren't actually interested in pushing that, as most passengers would actually find cell phone conversations annoying.

Neither is America, made up of more than 50 states. Although it may well be more homogeneous than Europe is. Still you will get different answers to bidding polls in different areas of the country in many cases. Uhm, in terms of anything bridge related North America is more homogeneous than Germany alone.

Is inheritance not income for the person who receives it? No. How about a capital gain? (That's how it is getting taxed during the year 2010, I believe.)

♠=100, ♦=90, ♣=90, ♥=-10.

I think the main question is whether the MI caused declarer to misplay, but given that we weren't told how the play went we can't answer that question. Oh and I definitely think this was MI. It's my responsibility to ensure partner means the same thing when we agree "Michaels", or "2/4 leads".

!!

Btw, I have a better plan. Offer free drinks to everyone. Surely the terrorist, being a devote Muslim and needing all his concentration, will refuse.

That's a bit like saying that because banks are robbed so rarely, the armed guards and security cameras are obviously a waste of money. No, it's like saying it is a waste of money to pay armed guards covering the East side entrance when you are leaving the West side entrance open. (Why on earth would a terrorist, knowing the new regulations, wait until the last hour to try to detonate a bomb?)

If only you had waited a few days before posting this I could have called it prediction of the year.

WE can show 4 hearts by bidding 2♥.

That's not a reasonable comparison as it includes all "social security taxes", i.e. including unemployment insurance (probably comparable to USA), retirement plan (much more generous than in the USA) and mandatory health insurance (which is considerably cheaper than a comparable private plan would be in the USA, and which is not included in the USA figures).

Giving south a balanced 1♣ opening without four spades (4432, 4333 or 5332; 1C with (23)44), I get slam to be 12 HCP = 25% (3,351 deals) 13 HCP = 52% (2,346 deals) 14 HCP = 78% (1,443 deals) on a double dummy basis. On the auction 1♣-1♠-1N-6N, I would expect declarer to have only a slight advantage over double dummy, probably small enough to ignore. I got substantially different numbers: (That's 20.4%, 46.0% and 69.6%.) My constrainst were: North is balanced (5332 or 4432 or 4333) without 4 spades, and with exactly 3=4=3=3 or 4+ clubs. Btw, who talked about not bidding 4N? I just said I would rather bid 3N than 6N, and that still seems right to me. Whether declarer has an advantage compared to double dummy will depend a lot on defenders' pseudo-squeeze skills. Against good defenders I would think declarer will be at a disadvantage.

6N on the first is a serious mistake. I would rather bid 3N than 6N.