pooltuna

consider Lt. America officially demoted :D

I'm not sure why I need to be so unilateral and why 3♠ does not show this hand. I really don't want to punish partner for just bidding competitively.

I agree w/Phil's comments. Additionally you need to ask yourself how much do you want a non ♦ small card opening lead from partner. That should enable you to answer the question about whether double is a worthwhile call :unsure:

Not upgrading to 2NT since that shows IMO 20-21 2NT because it shows a balanced 18-19 and does not deny a 4 card major.

The options look to be X, 2NT, & 3♦. Given that the first 2 passed I suspect 2NT is more palatable but I still hate it with a stiff x♣, 3♦ is a weaker call in my opinion so I will settle for X and rebid 3♦ over 3♣.

I guess that means a direct 2♦ is not forcing?

Distort? And the reason isn't to stop lower in clubs although that is nice too, it's to not miss hearts when LHO bids 2♠ or 3♠. Amen to this! In fact not doubling may be masterminding the hand.

X and pass

no need to apologize. In truth most of the time when I pick up the cards I also shuffle them 3 or 4 times b4 putting back in(for those who try to draw inferences from the ordering). As for Davy Crockett, do not know my relatedness, altho had a distant relative die with him and some relatives married Daniel Boone descentants. That doesn't keep me from hunting JBear and having a random sorted hand is just that, random. Live with it.

Don't worry about it! I often sort my hands after playing them to speed the game up as well as to cause problems for those who try to analyse presorted hands.

I am not a big fan of bridge hara-kiri so yeah I am passing. You don't rate to be in the lead often so if you can lead thru something you need to do it now. The Q♥ now is more likely to get you in the lead for an if needed ♦ or ♣ than vice versa.

This is not without cost. You are hosing the auction 1♦-1♥;2NT-6NT when responder has 15 or 16 or maybe he upgrades a 14 point hand (albeit hard to imagine holding no aces)

so he can't possibly hold [hv=s=skqjhkqjdk32cqj32]133|100|[/hv] and of course your target isn't 50% odds to make it is 80%. This tends to imply that you don't trust your partner's judgement since you really aren't invited to the party!

?! I was gonna mock josh but then I saw your post... wow. I would pass and think its not even close and would bet a simulation backed it up even if I spotted you .5 imps for the declaring bonus. edit LOL I tghought it went p 3C ? and you were overcalling 3N hahaha They deserve to be mocked as they are betting that the preemptor has a ♥ stopper and the diamonds are favorably placed about 25% probability. Seems a bit low for the colors and I'll take my plus score in 3♣ if I can get it plus I should have adequate defense to beat 4♥ often enough to make bidding it against the odds.

1) not wild about leading a minor on this auction but nevertheless I lead 4th best ♦ 2) Time to start bailing while the boat is still afloat

You are not invited to the table. Any call other than pass IMO is non-partnership bridge i.e. known as masterminding.

if both vul I would bid 2♠. At these colors you will probably survive 2♠ but why tempt the opponents.

Make whatever call you use for a limit raise of ♠

Hate your ♠ spots but yeah I will take a bite

1) X planning on a NT rebid 2) yes I am inclined to bid more. Partner had a chance for a constructive 3♠ bid but chose instead to go to game with no aces.

I thought Ewen wrote a book on opening leads maybe thinking of his book on doubles

I'm a passer as well

This is a valid skill just has to be with care

This is just a lot of nonsense isn't it? Hardly, the best player I ever played with insisted in 1st and 2nd seat we open ANY 11 point hand. Of course this required a great deal of discipline by both players but I found it to be a playable method. I never opened in 3rd seat unless I had expectations of a positive result.

For me 2C - 2D =waiting and DENIES a 5+cd suit w/at least 2 of top 3 honors. whereas a direct 3♦ would be positive and show a good suit. So, for me with a different hand than this one, after: 2C - 2D 2H/2S/3C - 4♦!jump = splinter ; whereas a 3♦ bid would show a 5+ cd suit without 2 of the top 3. you mean we are allowed to quibble over the OP's given bidding system rather than point out how failing to use your available tools is a waste of brain cells :rolleyes: