pooltuna

This is not a reverse because the 2♦ bidder is in effect supporting one of the doubler's "suits."

Mostly south. The south hand has adequate defense and reason to suspect that 4♥ won't make so 4♠ is an overbid and got justly punished

When the distribution of a led suit will become clear at the finish of the trick there is a good argument for suit preference signals so I play the 2♥. It appears we need to ruff ♣ to beat this contract

Will partner ask himself why you bid 5♥ instead of 4NT?

Well the rarity of the Normal slam invitational 1NT-3M and the fact that it can be handled within most existing NT bidding structures makes it a duplication and reason enough to assign a more useful meaning.

Why players fail to use the words "No agreements" as an acceptable response to questions about the meaning of the second double is beyond me. I certainly would have expected it to be a DSIP double. With that thought in mind the failure to opening lead a ♣, East's bad ♣ play, and failure to switch to a trump to prevent a ♥ ruff in dummy suggest more evenly divided ♣

Well since you needed to act with this hand instead of playing a pedestrian 1NT and partner showing 3♥ or fewer I would invite with 3♠

unless you have specific agreements to find the ♦K just bid 6♥ you are at ~55% to make

I'll try 7NT. The odds are strong that partner's K is a ♥ so we may have 16 tricks

1) you can take ♥s out of the picture by bidding 5♣ 2) 3♣ should be forcing! 4♣ is Gerber? B) 3) show your 2 suited hand before they get ♠s in; 2NT

Jx J8 AJ9xxx Axx no majors, 2 exposed jack, K&R=12.15, only 11HCP = a pass Axxx x AQxxxx xx 6-4 bid some more, I have spades, all values in long suits, K&R=14.2, easy 1 diamond T98xx QJTx K AKx I have both majors, 13HCP, even tho K&R=12.25, I open 1 spade KJT 9 Txx KQJxxx no aces, short majors, even tho K&R=12.25 I pass

In bridge sometimes bad bids are rewarded and good ones punished. In the hand that got to a making 4♠ how would you like to bid into 4♥XX or have partner hold a similar hand to the one here that is asking what call to make after the X

This is why you pass with AJxxx x Axx AJxx in 4th seat when the auction is P P 4♥ to you. 4♥ rates to go down but you can't make anything so you end up taking a pointless sacrifice, going down doubled. With this hand, Pass and expect partner to set it with the pitiful help you have.

2♦ is absurd, anti system, and anti partnership

You can't call this a balancing DBL? No, it seems like a balancing double is defined by americans to apply at low levels only. Then again, if I define this position as low level..... :angry: You can't call this a balancing double because of position not level. Balancing doubles mean you have the option to end the auction but don't.

We need to know more about the EW bidding agreements. It might be difficult for E to hold 4♦ as he did not open 1♦ which would give him x 4 3 y and W x 4 5 y. Now if EW open 1♣ then even 3433 is possible leaving W with xx Qxxx AQxxx Qx

Did you ask the opponents if 1♣ was 2+ and 1♦ would guarantee 4?

East needs to realize all his values are in West's short suits and therefore less useful so I fault him for not calling 3NT over 3♦

3♥

2♠ might expose a secret, but I don't think its one you want widely publicized. A strong jump shift with a two suited hand and no fit for partner is an abomination. I thought that this bidding style had been consigned to the waste heap of history long long long ago... This is the easiest 1♠ response that I've seen in a very long time How do you figure no fit partner opened 1♥. We are slam bound unless controls prove inadequate

2♠ a SJS, let partner in on the secret early

100% South, who overvalued his hand. Treat the ♣Qx like the waste paper it rates to be and you will come up with the more adequate 2♠ bid. Some people may feel this shows a minimum hand in this auction but that is just wrong since the minimum action is pass. You need to remember partner may have bid 1♠ with xxx xxxx xxx xxx.

I haven't seen anyone describing 5-3-3-2 as an offensive powerhouse. And I hate doubling on xxx when partner might think I have KQ9x or similar or even better. Sure you can play a style where you double automatically with a balanced hand it just shifts ambiguity into the double. And why would he think you had any particular trump holding? High level sacrifices are not beaten by great trump strength as much as by just cashing your winners. The point of doubling this auction is not "I have a trump holding" but "caution partner, IMO at this stage of the auction, this is where we belong."

So we can play 1♠ when pard has a 2 or 3 loser hand? I'm sorry I missed where I said the bidding was idiot proof

Well since you hold the ♠A hard for him to hold that hand at worst I would expect KQJxx - AKJxxx xx and it would be a misbid when he had a chance to bid 1♠. In retrospect a 5♠ call [i originally thought 4♠ would be enough], asking for 2nd round club control, may be appropriate for this auction Heh good point. Make the hand KQJx, x, AKQxx, Axx then (not wanting to wrong side 3N). I hope you agree its 5-6 as well. What misbid are you referring to? The failure to open 1♠ with a strong 5-6? to rebid 1♠ over partner's 1♥