nigel_k

2♥. This is a horrible situation with a heart fit because opener and responder both have an enormous range so bidding is going to be inaccurate. For that reason I don't hate 3♥ but I still wouldn't do it. I would almost always raise to 3♥ with five card support. With four card support, 8 HCP sounds about right if they are working. Something like xx AQxx Qxxx xxx would be a pass, but add ♦J and it's a raise. We're going to get too high quite often unfortunately.

Definitely double on all of the above. Apart from being likely to work on the hand, I want partner to feel very comfortable passing with a decent hand and length in their suit. In this case I also happen to have useful cards for defence if he passes. With something like QJxx QJxx - KQxxx I would start to get nervous.

I haven't played against it or developed a detailed defence. However, my advice would definitely not be to treat it as natural. Doing so is playing into their hands by letting them have an unobstructed strong club auction. You could use your strong club defence or a modification of it, e.g. Pass Includes all 15+ balanced or 14+ unbalanced Dbl Majors All suit bids natural 1NT 8-14 takeout of clubs (or Raptor or something else annoying and frequent) It's always useful for responder to have a cue bid so I'd still use 2♣ for that. Pass then bid would be strong, obviously.

Pass. Double and remove 4♥ to 4♠ is a possible second choice but not particularly close. Partner could have hands where we make 4♠ but I think bidding will lead to too many 4 or 6 imp (or bigger) losses when nothing makes. Would not bid 4♦ as eleven tricks are unlikely and partner will often raise when we make ten.

Slightly prefer 1♥ to double. Would not pass.

I like this too. If you are a trick better than a standard four of a major preempt you get to preempt the auction without understating your strength. The gambling 3NT is less common and has never worked out well for me anyway. Anyway on the actual hand, the choices are 1♦ or 5♦. 4♦ is feeble. You may go down in 5♦ when 3NT makes (and they would have let you play it) but I think the upside of the preemptive value outweighs that.

4NT. Good problem. I play 4♣ as any hand worth a raise to game that has club shortage so partner will certainly sign off with AQxxx xx xxx xxx. This hand has four unattractive approaches, which are: 1) splinter and pass the signoff 2) splinter and bid again 3) open 2♣ 4) try to get cute with 3♦ I can live with any of these, but probably 4 is better than 2 because you aren't involving partner either way and 4 gets you more information and also brings the ♦K into the keycard responses if partner raises.

Prefer opening 1♥ rather than 2♥. Even without the jack of clubs, you have a very good 10 as all cards are working and you have the honour combination in hearts. Definitely 3♥ instead of 3♠. You could still have four spades here and now partner is looking for slam in a 4-3 when you have a minimum and no fit. I wouldn't bid 3♦ either as your hand is mainly hearts and 3♦ will encourage partner to bid 3NT on too many hands where 4♥ is better. If he bids 3NT over 3♥ then we are happy. 4♥ is a cue bid now so all you can do is bid 4♠ and hope partner passes and is able to make it.

If you are intending this to play then you need the clear agrement that 3minor is not forcing. I'd be interested to know what sort of agreements people have. Since I have shown close to a maximum pass by bidding 2♠ and he has limited his hand by rebidding 2♣ over 1♦ we probably belong in either 3♣ or 3NT. My hand has no particular reason to play 3NT beyond what I have already shown so I choose 3♣. If anything I'd say it makes more sense to play 2NT forcing than 3♣. It's possible I could have a hand where 5♣ makes but that's quite a long way off given how the auction started and still no reason that we have to keep bidding.

3♣ at IMPS. Pass at matchpoints - maybe hearts are 4-4 since they didn't bid.

1♦. Don't play Walsh and have no desire to. As others have said, the case for 1♦ is even stronger when you are worth two bids. I very much agree with the original pass as well.

Because a 5-3 heart fit with a ruffing value will play better than NT more often than it plays worse. KISS doesn't mean you refuse to seek the information you need when you have a straightforward and risk-free way of doing so. It's even more important to play in eight card fits at the slam level compared to the game level because it pays off whenever the suit contract plays one trick better. At game level it only pays when the suit contract plays two tricks better. What I don't like about the auction is the use of 3NT to deny a four card major. It does gain on hands of this type but often you'll bid 3♣ just to check for a five card major and otherwise play 3NT. In that case you don't want to tell the opponents that declarer has no four card major. Instead, just bid 3♦ with no five card major and responder can enquire further for four card majors if he wishes.

2♦. Not close to passing. If 2♦ was not available then I'd open 3♦, but in that case pass would be a decent second choice. I'll consider not preempting if I have more than one flaw. A flaw being a main suit that is weak or a card short, four card major, void or outside ace, or just being at the upper or lower limit of the action. Even with two flaws I may still do it. This is not a bad suit for me at this vulnerability so I have only one flaw.

Pass if you would have passed a strong NT. 2♣ with at least game interest opposite a strong NT but willing to play 2♣ if comic. 2♦ at least game interest opposite comic. 2♥ and 2♠ are to play opposite strong NT. Over 2♣, pass or bid suit if comic. Bid 2NT with balanced min and 3♣ (GF) with balanced max. 3♦ over 3♣ is then Stayman. Over 2♦, bid your suit at the two level. 3♣ and 3♦ are minimum, 3♥ is max with clubs, 3♠ is max with diamonds. You may need some agreements if they bid as well, but easiest is that responder guesses whether it is strong or comic and 1NT bidder assumes partner knows which he has. So for example, if they raise and responder doubles for takeout, opener may bid a suit with either strong or comic. This usually works and if not, you needed a sense of humour when you chose to play this method anyway.

Purely on values, I think it's on the upper end of a quantitative 4NT so I would not pass. The poor quality of the club suit is not such a problem opposite a good 22 to 24 with no major. However, the hand could easily play a trick better in clubs so I'm willing to play 6♣ any time partner has three or more of them. Playing from the wrong side is a slight worry but not so much that I'll reject playing in clubs. Who knows, maybe 6♣ protects my diamond tenace. Bid 4♣ now. If partner bids 4NT next, pass and hope he is 3352 or slam fails for some other reason. If he does anything else bid 6♣. If I could not bid clubs naturally, would just guess 6♣. Excellent problem, btw.

There are a number of hands for West that make 3NT correct from East's POV, e.g. AKx Kxx QJxx xxx. You have to work harder to construct a hand for East that makes 3NT correct from West's POV. Maybe Jxxx xx Ax AKQxx. I'd say West 80%.

If I have a close decision and my choice turns out badly, I often apologize. Not because I have anything to be genuinely sorry for (though I apologize often enough in that case as well), but because I don't want partner worrying it was their fault or a misunderstanding. It's kind of a way of saying 'your bidding was fine' without sounding condescending.

The idea is that partner will bid hearts with equal length so you'll reach the best fit when hearts are longer but not when spades are longer. Some people use Michaels with 4-5 as well. On the hand I agree with 1♠ and would now pass comfortably, if not happily.

1. 4♣. Pass could well be best but is too much of a position at pairs. I would not have bid 3NT on partner's actual hand. 2. 4♣. Pass 4NT or 4♥ and raise 4♦ or 4♠. Could get us too high but nothing else really fits. 3. Pass. 3♠ is ok though really we're halfway between 4♣ and 5♣ and probably should have guessed one of those. Partner will be expecting a different hand from us when he doubled but we do have decent defence. Ready to apologise if 5♣ makes and the penalty is inadequate.

The four diamonds are not a liability, in fact they increase the chance that partner will be short in diamonds and/or have something in hearts. AHhhhhhhhh no they don't! Stop spreading this myth! It's not a myth. Compared to the same hand with minors reversed, he is slightly more likely to have length and honours in hearts and a lot more likely to have diamond shortage. Anyone with a simulator can verify this but I already know the answer so don't need to. When they play diamonds this makes the difference between us overruffing them and them overruffing us. My main point was not that the diamonds are a huge asset, just that they are a small positive rather than a reason not to bid as was originally suggested.

3♣ is plenty. Pass is possible and 4♥ is far too much. I would just invite at IMPS opposite a constructive three card raise with opponents silent, and hope to make 3♥ if partner declines. This is considerably worse than that for the reasons given by Justin. Why does everybody overbid 5-5 hands?

The four diamonds are not a liability, in fact they increase the chance that partner will be short in diamonds and/or have something in hearts. I would bid though I certainly wouldn't say I have a fine suit or a fine hand, unless by 'fine' you mean barely adequate.

Double with East. Both majors, all working honours and some spot cards. It would be better if the ace was somewhere else but still you can double with a little to spare. West's pass is fine. North is a lunatic btw :)

A spade is best if partner has AQxxxx or AQJxx. He would probably have led a spade with the first one and might also with the second one as hoping for two entries with partner is optimistic compared to one entry and runnable spades. A spade is also necessary if partner has KJxxxx of spades and the club queen (or ace) with no spots as declarer has to duck the spade switch, and we can only get two clubs. A club works if partner has Q9x or better. It looks like a club is a better shot.