pooltuna

since we have no idea what the lead agreement is (caveat I don't remember one) 3rd best leads would be consistent with this holding as in Q742

What!? A voice of sanity in the wildernes...er forum? :)

I believe the applicable meta-agreement is "don't preempt over preempts" which can loosely be read as don't bid with a preemptive hand after they preempt.

Can I blame Helene...er Lady Luck :rolleyes:

The argument for xtra values is based on not bidding the same values twice and I agree with it so for me 2♥ shows xtras

Sure there is, but not without a lead agreement. assuming 4th best leads the 8 is only rignt in 2 cases. When declarer holds specifically KQ and remains with a guess with KQ2. The J is right and the 8 wrong when declarer specifically holds A92 or the A9. The K92 holding makes the play of the 8 require you to have an entry for a ♦ lead through. Consequently the standard play is right more often.

you need to do some calculations if you think AKJTxxxx is substanially inferior to AKQxxxx How about... if partner has a stiff then AKJTxxxx is about 15 % less likely to run than AKQxxxx? That is quite significant and not that unlikely of a scenario. it is not really about if one is significantly better than the other. My calculations show AKJTxxxx will produce 8 tricks 75% of the time. What you need to decide is, is that good enough to bid gambling 3NT?

1NT is known from CC 2♥ a normal transfer known from CC X is a lead director, potential sacrifice suit in ♥ 2♠ normal agreement is 3+♠ This is how I interpret what you were asking rather than what I would now bid and what those would mean.

Why is partner allowed to have 4♥ IIRC didn't the auction proceed 1♦ (1♠) 2♣? If he made no negative X with 4♥ then he damn well better be ready and strong enough to bid them at the 3 level

yeah it is probably safe enough to leave a trump outstanding so you have an entry to your hand to retake the ♠ finesse. What usually happens to me is that holding KTxx of ♠ RHO wins the first finesse and a ♠ accidently falls out of his hand and he feels obligated to lead it :)

2NT?

you need to do some calculations if you think AKJTxxxx is substanially inferior to AKQxxxx

guilty of not seeing the Bergen hand in the post which is equivalent to not reading the whole thing :)

100% to North TOXs are for takeout. By passing he is punishing partner for protecting him even tho partner knows N couldn't sit for 1♠X

100% EW as they didn't force you to slam :rolleyes:

It just feels like the game type is terribly significant here. At MP a strong argument can be made for pass but at IMPs possibly missing a ♥ game could be a substantial loss.

why X? are you worried about missing a game here :rolleyes: get your suit in fast and start blocking, clogging their bidding ASAP

you couldn't get away with saying "bergen" at the table so why try here? Just tell us what it shows altho I can't imagine not bidding 4♠ ASAP with the opening 1♠ hand.

in a heartbeat seems descriptively too slow. How about "so fast that parnter has UI" :rolleyes: .

partner shouldn't be using a mininal 4414 X of 1♦ to whack 3♦

seems like we have several scenarios in play to show the majors without any clear meta-agreements as to which applies in this particular situation. Plan 1] bid 2♠ planning on bidding ♥s later Plan 2] X to show ♠ planning on bidding ♥s later Plan 3] -X to show ♥ planning on bidding ♠s later Plan 4] bid 2♣ planning on raising pards M to 3 or 4M ...guess we bid ♠ if pard chooses to bid ♦s I think Plan 1 needs to be the stongest hand as it soaks up the most room. Next would be plan 2. Partner needs to realize Plan 3 does not really apply since RHO has not really shown ♠s. Not sure where Plan 4 should fall in this mix.

WHAT!! YOU EXPECT BOTH PhantomSac AND Jdonn to agree with you !?!? but yeah it is a 1♠ opener to me B)

3♦ would be my choice among what are all bad alternatives.

I also wanted to double. But we have UI that the title of the poll is "So, you think you have defense?" So clearly 7♦ goes for less than 1430. If I am not mistaken when you double it is not for lead direction <_<

You like the taste of Tweety Bird how much? <_<