nigel_k

I'd value this as a bit over 20 HCP so I'd definitely prefer a 2NT opening to a 2NT rebid. But I don't expect to miss many games if it goes all pass and I don't have a rebid problem so will open 1♣ and rebid 2♦.

Agree with the previous bidding but I would always balance with this. The vulnerability only matters when you don't make.

1. 3♠. I'd prefer to have both majors or a game force for a double, i.e. if I pull partner's 3♥ to 3♠ he cannot pass. 2. 2♠. This is a maximum 2♠ bid for me. I play double and 2♥ as both showing hearts here so 2♣ is the only forcing bid. This is probably overkill and you could use either double or 2♥ to show another hand type but I've never found a need for it. 3. Prefer 3♥ to 3♦ but it's close. Having bid 3♦ I would pass 4♦.

It's hard to bid if the splinter has a wide range, especially after 1♥-4♦ as there is no room to investigate below game. North is probably safe at the five level if they make another move but on a bad day partner could have something like Jxxx Axxx x KQJx. I would definitely try again with South after the signoff though. If you want a simple way to limit your splinters, use 1♥-3♠ as any splinter with 10-13 HCP (3NT then asks) and 1♥-3NT/4♣/4♦ as a 14+ HCP splinter with 3NT showing spade shortage. Do a similar thing one step higher after a 1♠ opening.

Playing weak notrump, I'd recommend something like the following: Immediate suit bid is natural to play Redouble is spades and another Pass forces redouble and includes two suiters without spades I don't know if this arrangement has a name or is played by anyone else. It seems as good as anything at finding your best fit at a low level and has the advantages that opener can compete further when you have a 5-4 fit or a 4-4 spade fit, which are the hands you're most likely to want to compete on. Despite the double it could still be an evenly balanced part score battle. 4333 hands aren't catered for - you have to treat them as something else if you don't want to play 1NTXX. I don't play strong notrump enough to know what works over that but I really doubt that system on is the best approach.

1♣ and agree with Ken's reasons. I'd say both tens add value because jacks combined with tens are much better than on their own. Obviously the five card suit could be more robust, but it's enough combined with the other plusses to merit an upgrade. I don't see any reason to adjust this based on position. At matchpoints I would open 1NT because it's close enough that I don't want to go against the field.

Sorry I thought that was meant as a challenge.

Agree with the others about trying to find out more information. Many players show count when partner leads the king and obviously I would be especially interested in that. On the problem as given, I think the finesse has a slight edge. The honour sequence increases West's expected spade length just because there are more ways for the small cards to be distributed, ie there are 5 ways to have KQJx opposite xxxx and 10 ways to have KQJxx opposite xxx.

A four part question: 1. Is is best to open 1NT with a 5 card major and 5332 shape? A. Almost always B. Only with five hearts C. Only with 2533 precisely D. Amost never E. Other 2. Let's say you have agreed option D above - so you open 1H with 2533 shape and any strength. What is the best way to proceed if partner responds 1S? A. Stretch the 1NT and 2NT ranges to cover everything from 11 to 19 and use your normal continuations. B. Stretch 1NT only so it is 11-17 and use artifical continuations to sort out the range. C. Rebid 1NT with 12-14, 2NT with 18-19 and bid a three card minor with 15-17 D. Rebid 1NT with 15-17, 2NT with 18-19 and bid a three card minor with 12-14 E. Other 3. How would you answer 1 if playing 2/1 with an unfamiliar but competent partner with no special agreements? 4. If you have agreed not to open 1NT with a five card major but have not discussed continuations, would you prefer 2A, 2C or something else?

1. 2♠ 2. Pass. The contract will usually fail but a good declarer will expect something like this, not a trump stack, if you double so will proceed on a near double dummy basis. You are far from certain of beating the contract so cannot afford to help declarer with a double. It might be ok at matchpoints though. 3. Pass. Another hand where double will help them place the cards plus they might redouble. Could easily make overtricks.

I prefer 'difficult' bidding excersises. A hand generator risks to generate lots of hand where the bidding is straightforward. The number of hands where the bidding is straightforward is quite low. What I do is generate the hands and my partner and I separately write down how we think the bidding should go. Then we compare. This is much faster than bidding the hands together so you can get through a lot more hands and mostly in your own time so when you get together you only discuss the ones where you disagree.

1. 3NT=10, 4D=7, 5D=2 2. Dbl=10, Pass=8, 4C=3 My bridge aggressiveness 9/10

I ran a simulation on this assuming the 2NT bidder has four spades, but not five - so you use Puppet Stayman and bid 3NT over 3♦ thus missing a 4-4 spade fit but not a 5-4. Out of 10,000 hands: 5188 times 4♠ was a better matchpoint score than 3NT 4244 times 3NT was a better matchpoint score than 4♠ 1611 times 3NT made and 4♠ failed 894 times 4♠ made and 3NT failed So the 4-4 spade fit has the edge over 3NT double dummy at matchpoints. The defenders are more likely to err against 3NT, especially on the opening lead, plus looking for a 4-4 spade fit will reveal extra information about the declaring hand when it doesn't have spades. I don't know if these factors are enough to make 3NT better but I doubt it. 3NT fails less often so is better at IMPS.

2♣ and pass 2♠. Quite close to another move playing standard but not if using Bart as he'll bid 2♦ on the hands that are normally a maximum 2♠ preference.

I overcall more than most people in this situation but I would pass this one. The case for overcalling light(ish) is that when they raise spades, partner can support hearts. But here you don't really want that as your values are so defensive. 3♥ would be minimum but ok if you had xx AK109x xx AJxx.

I would bid 3♠ Minor Suit Stayman. If partner has a minor I will just bid slam. I would not show spade shortness here as slam is likely to make even with spade wastage and I would prefer a spade lead to a heart. If partner bids 3NT over 3♠ I will try 4♣ as slam is still a good chance. If partner is really unsuitable he can still sign off in 4NT and I hope he doesn't make exactly nine tricks.

When declarer makes a faulty claim and the defenders agree, I don't think that is a the same as a concession. Instead of law 71, you want law 69: Agreement with a claim or concession (see A) may be withdrawn within the Correction Period established under Law 79C: 1. if a player agreed to the loss of a trick his side had, in fact, won; or 2. if a player has agreed to the loss of a trick that his side would likely have won had the play continued. The difference is 'would likely have won' instead of 'could not be lost by any normal* play'.

I wouldn't alert just because it could be a three card suit. That is general bridge knowledge and is highly unlikely to damage the opponents anyway. However I think you should alert if you routinely or systemically bid 2♠ on xxx instead of 2♦ on AKx.

It's a strange but true feature of poker that people think they are better than they are. This is also the reason that poker is played much more for money - people who lose are willing to keep playing and losing again because they don't accept that other players are better and will beat them again. Bridge is not like that. Weaker players learn fairly quickly that they are inevitably going to going to lose. I wish they didn't because it would make playing bridge for money a much more practical option. I think the observation says more about the nature of bridge vs poker than necessarily the people who play them.

Maximum and minimum preempts at various vulnerabilities are something you need to agree with your partner. There is no right or wrong answer and I'm not sure there is even a common default agreement as standards for preempts have changed over time, and changed faster in some places than others. Having said that, playing with a random expert I would open 3♥ and consider it clearly too good for 2♥.

I like the agreement that a cue is choice of games, not a slam try, when both are plausible. Without that agreement I would probably still bid 4♦ but would be a little nervous.

I would certainly assume it means the same as whatever we have agreed when they open a weak two in spades and we cuebid. If you have no agreement about that either and have been playing together for 20 years then maybe you are due to make one. Apart from that, I'd say it is either a stopper ask or a two suiter. I would definitely expect a two suiter, discussed or not, if the cue bid is above 3NT. When it is below 3NT I think stopper ask is a bit more common but two suiter is used by many pairs as well and I personally prefer it. On the actual hand I would probably bid 4♣ if it was undiscussed. This handles the stopper ask hand or red suits, and if he has hearts and clubs maybe 4♥ is down anyway or he has extra strength and tries 4♥.

I could be wrong but with that North hand I would expect spades to make an extra trick a bit more than half the time when partner has four of them. The holdings in the other suits suggest that a ruff will very often gain when there is a doubleton opposite. And I think 4♠ should make on those cards if played correctly. So 40-45% of the field bidding and making 4♠ and a few also making 3NT would not surprise me.

3♦. Not great cards but still pretty good for a 6-9 1NT and really don't like passing these auctions unless (sub) minimum or a misfit. If it was a forcing NT I would bid 2♠.

I'll bid 4♥ then 5♥ if necessary. RHO has limited his hand fairly closely since he could have bid either 2♠ or 4♠ instead. Therefore he is going to be out of the auction and LHO will be making all the decisions. It's quite unlikely we will get to play 4♥ but even more unlikely that bidding 5♥ immediately will give opponents (ie LHO) a more difficult problem than if I bid it slowly.