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I did not think it was this clearcut, but am willing to be corrected. Suppose in this hand I had something like 3154 shape with 12-13 HCP...should I not be competing to 3D in that situation? This issue arose because partner held (approximate) Qxx xxx KJxxx Tx, the bidding continued after the 2♠ with 3♥ from one of the opponents (can't recall which) and 3♠ by me which is passed out. 3♠ making 6 with K♣ onside. I thought partner could have raised to game. He thought I might just have been competing for the partscore. I thought that in this instance it should be clear I would have a strong spade hand (any hand that merely wanted to compete would have bid 1♠ or 2♠). However, I did think there are situations where further bidding by a takeout doubler would just be competitive...but probably only if I was raising partner's suit after interference. So with all that as background...is it truly so clearcut that 100% of bids after a TO X show a monster, or are there some situations where it is just competitive?

[hv=pc=n&s=sakt986h2da9caqj3&d=n&v=n&b=5&a=p1hd2c2d2h2s]133|200[/hv] 1. Specific question - Is 2♠ here showing a big hand with spades (too strong to overcall), or is it just competitive? 2. General question(s) - How can partner distinguish between the monster hands and hands where you just want to compete? Can we only be competing in partner's suit, or would we ever bid a new suit just to compete to the next level?

I pass. 1. My bridge judgment tells me to pass. East has shown real strength by not overcalling 4H directly, making it more likely that partner could be the minimum 13-14 hcp you say is possible. That seems to make 3 losers pretty likely for us. On defense we have a heart trick, probably at least one ace from partner, and a very good chance for a diamond ruff. But since I don't completely trust my bridge judgment, I have backup evaluation methods... 2. LOTT tells me to pass. Probably 18-19 trumps on this hand, meaning that even if they make 5 (-420) we are down 2 or 3 (-300 or -500 as I assume E would double). The possible 3 IMP gain if we are only down 2 when they make is not worth the really bad IMP results when this is a phantom sacrifice. 3. Losing trick count suggests that we can't make 5S. If partner really has 6-loser hand, my 8-loser hand suggests down 1 in 5S.

Don't just think of this as a rule...understand the reasoning behind it. Because partner is asking about the queen, it's very likely partner has the K♥. By claiming the queen when you don't have it, you are suggesting that there are no trump losers. With a 9-card fit, partner's strongest and weakest possible queenless trump holdings would give you these two situations to keep to zero losers: KJTxxx Axx or Kxxxxx Axx Are you confident there are no heart losers? Assuming you play for the drop, I think the probabilities of no losers will be between 41% and 53%. Not very good. With a 10-card fit, the strongest/weakest holdings would be: KJTxxx Axxx or Kxxxxx Axxx Here, your odds of zero trump losers are between 78% and 89%. Very good. On the off-chance that partner doesnt' have the K♥, the reasoning is much the same but you're thinking about your odds of holding trump losers to one rather than zero. Percentages will be slightly different, but general point will be the same.

[hv=pc=n&s=sqt6hk95da984cj96&n=saj2h4dqj63cak853]133|200[/hv] You are vulnerable in a team game. Opponents do not bid. Name the contract you want to be in...is 3N worth the risk?

I'm not in District 18, but am very pleased someone is trying this to work out the kinks. I strongly suspect this will work (or have only minor problems, which will be solved for) and that many other districts will adopt in the future. Our district is not anywhere close to as large (District 4 is Eastern PA, Delaware, and parts of upstate NY and southern NJ), but even here some teams don't travel for GNT especially at the C level.

My matchpoint average against 3 GIB robots in ACBL robot duplicates: 52.6% over ~5,000 boards My matchpoint average against 3 humans, usually in ACBL tourneys but occasionally in main bridge room: 52.5% over ~800 boards

Swiss teams. Playing pretty standard 2/1 with pickup partner. [hv=pc=n&s=sakqj32haj9dk2c32&d=s&v=n&b=15&a=1s2s(hearts%20+%20minor)p2n(which%20minor%3F)]133|200[/hv] What should South do now? [hv=pc=n&s=sakqj32haj9dk2c32&d=s&v=n&b=15&a=1s2s(hearts%20+%20minor)p2n(which%20minor%3F)p3cp3d]133|200[/hv] Suppose you passed to learn if W held diamonds, planning to discount your KD if so, but to bid further if not. 1. Appreciate comments on the approach 2. What to bid now?

Hi all...I am looking for a partner for the last two days (March 19-20) of the Louisville NABC. I would have a mild preference for finding another pair to play a team event (or events), but am open to pairs games. Prefer 2/1, but can also play Standard American, either/both with most standard extras. We're not likely to have huge preparation time, so for any time we do have I'd want to focus on general bidding style and defense rather than extensive conventional agreements. I self-rate as Advanced on BBO, which may or may not mean anything. In BBO ACBL tourneys (mainly individual since I need to be able to pull away frequently for my kids), I average in the 52-54% range. I like to discuss hands AFTER the session, and prefer to limit during-session discussion of bidding/hands to ONLY necessary clarifications. If possibly interested, please message me here or on BBO, where I can share phone number or e-mail.

1. Pass. Agreement with partner is not to pre-empt with an outside 4-card major, and I'll stick to that discipline. 2. 3♠. Vulnerability suggests caution, added distribution suggests some additional leeway, so they balance out to a normal 3-level pre-empt with this hand. 3. 4♠. We have a shot at a vul game, so must bid 4S or 5C. No science to it, but gut feel is that Moysian should play better to lose 3 than clubs will to lose 2.

I play vanilla SA or 2/1. NT opening range is 15-17, and I typically agree to 15-17 or 15-18 as the NT overcall range that we disclose on our ACBL CC (or if asked). However, I will overcall 1N in direct seat with 14 points and a balanced hand virtually whenever I have a strong tenace over RHO's suit. Typical hand for this came yesterday when I overcalled 1N holding AQxx KJTx KJx xx after RHO opened 1S. I have never explicitly discussed this with any of my regular or semi-regular partners, although I suspect they have or will notice it over time. Question: should I adjust my NT overcall range on the CC to 14-17 or 14-18? Or am I simply re-valuing these type of hands as being "worth 15" making the stated ranges accurate? Bringing this up because the opponent yesterday questioned the accuracy of our CC.

Not sure I understand...meaning you would have jumped to 5♠ right away or not at all? I don't get that; seems like you would be throwing away points in those non-rare situations where they wouldn't push to 5♦ and our limit is 4.

[hv=pc=n&e=sqjt982hjt9d5ca75&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=p1s2d4s5ddp]133|200|Matchpoints[/hv]

My partner deals and opens against a weak intermediate pair... 1C (2N*) P (4H**) P (4S***) PO *No alert **My partner asks my LHO about 2N; is told "Unusual Notrump." ***I double-check about the 2N bid, and am told that over a minor suit bid, they play "Unusual Notrump" as showing the other minor and an unknown major. After we object that that isn't really "Unusual Notrump", LHO tells us "you learned it one way, we learned it another way." Later, explaining things to her confused partner, LHO says something along the lines of "most people play that it shows the two lowest unbid suits." She's not to happy with my next comment, which is that if she's aware that they play an unusual variation, they should be alerting it. But in the end, no harm because they overbid and 4S was down one for a good board for us. But I have a number of questions about what could/would have happened if we did think their actions had harmed us: 1. Are my partner and I culpable in any way because we accepted the "Unusual Notrump" explanation and didn't demand specifics? Would this prevent - or make less likely - any potential adjustment in our favor? 2. Is my LHO more seriously guilty for explaining the bid as "Unusual Notrump" when she's aware that their variation is not the norm? Is this subject to penalties beyond a score adjustment? 3. Does my later comment (telling my LHO she should be alerting their "Unusual NT" bids if they know they are non-standard) open me up to any possible penalty (Zero Tolerance? Anything else?)?

The actual auction went off-the-track after 2♦, so that won't help. But I'll just lay out responder's hand for any further comments. The two hands are: AT875 A95 AT AJ8 Q KQJ8 KQJ984 74

Matchpoints, them vul AT875 A95 AT AJ8 Partner deals and opens: 1D-1S-2D What are your thoughts and plan?

[hv=pc=n&s=skhqj92d95cakqj98&n=saqjt4hkt853dk7c3&d=w&v=n&b=12&a=p1sp2c(GF)p2hp3hp4hp5cp6hppp]266|200[/hv] Playing basic 2/1. Who (if anyone) is at fault here?

Matchpoints. Playing 2/1, relevant agreements include Ogust, "sound" 1st/2nd seat weak 2 bids, and that upper end of weak 2 is around a 10-equivalent. Is this South hand worth exploring game by using Ogust? I don't have the exact hands...would your answer change if any of the spots were stronger?[hv=pc=n&s=sqj2hkq2dkq2cjt32&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=2hp]133|200[/hv]

Playing 2/1 with an infrequent partner. No specific agreements on defense against their NT interference, but you specifically would NOT assume any Lebensohl or related methods with this partner. What is/should be the standard meaning of the doubles in this sequence? 1N* - (2♥)** - X - (2♠) P - P - X *15-17 **55 majors

Agree with 2♠. 2N advantage is to right-side what may be our best game, but that could still happen later regardless. But 2N might forever lose a chance at a diamond slam as partner likely won't anticipate 5 diamonds after we have shown both 4 spades and a "balanced" hand.

[hv=pc=n&s=skh6dq9832ckqjt43&d=e&v=0&b=14&a=2h]133|200[/hv] Scoring is IMPs...none vul. Question 1: What's your call over 2♥? Question 2: Suppose you pass, and it goes around to partner who doubles...what now? Question 3: Suppose you bid 4♣ over partner's X, and he bids 5♣...any further action?

FWIW, at the table I bid 7♣. I was slightly influenced by the prospect of taking the risk against the stronger team, but I also thought there were a lot of chances to get 2 tricks beyond the 11 in my hand. I basically need two of the following from partner: 1. K♠ 2. J♦ 3. Chances if partner has 0, 1, 2, 4, or 5 diamonds. With less than 3, I have ruff opportunities. With 4/5, I have opportunity to establish the suit. 4. K♥ (although need in conjunciton with an entry from 1-3) 5. Q♠ (although need in conjunction with #1) Obviously, the math here is impossible at the table (anybody run a sim?), but my gut feel was that chances were >50% so I ran with it... ...and it paid off. Partner held K♠, singleton ♦, and 3♣.

My apologies for the omission...the limited agreements do include lowest minor rebid as a negative, so the 3♠ bid does suggest more than a bust.

Playing a 12-board team match against a better team (they beat you 16-36 IMPs on an earlier 12-board match). Only basic agreements with your intermediate partner, who is a solid player but can get flustered in unfamiliar bidding territory. [hv=pc=n&n=sajhadakq2cakq432&d=w&v=n&b=12&a=p2cp2d(waiting)p3cp3sp4dp5cp]133|200[/hv]

A couple years ago, I played a number of boards against Barry Greenstein on OKB. His profile had his full name and mentioned one or more of his poker books.