bftboy

do people generally agree with these options after a dbl, esp. with correcting 3♠ to 3NT? B)

[hv=d=e&v=n&s=sq105hk6daq5cak876]133|100|Scoring: MP[/hv] After 3♥ on your right, what is your call? If you choose dbl, what will you do with P's most probable responses? :D

It would take a lot of evidence to convince me that is it losing bridge to just make a normal disciplined pass with this hand. Bids like 1♠ and 1 NT seem like crap shoots, failing as often as they succeed, and are very destructive of partnership trust when they fail. I'll regret 3♣ when P bids 3NT, and I have to pull to 4♣. I mean, I like to bid, but there have to be some limits-- don't there? :)

1st choice 2♣/2♦/2NT. If P bids 2♥ negative, I have an easy 2♠ bid. 2nd choice is 1♠/1NT/3NT whether it shows 6 ♠ or only 5. :)

Can't sleep, so... anyway, playing to ruff two ♦ per billw55 is line 1, and works whenever both ♣ and ♦ are 4-3 or 3-4. You can survive 2-5 in ♣ if ♦ are 4-3 and you can also pick up ♥ K. You can probably always survive 5-2 ♦ as long as trumps don't break crazy, since you can ruff both ♦ high. Line 2 is to win in hand and finesse ♠ K. If wins, pitch ♦ on ♠ A, and finesse ♥ K. If that wins, you can repeat and pick up K 4th, but if it loses on the 2d round (good defense) you are in danger of an overruff after the defense cashes 2 ♦. If the ♠ finesse loses, you need 4-3 ♦ and no worse then K third of ♥ onside. Line 3, as Dellache says, is to win in hand then take the ruffing finesse in ♠. If not covered, probably best to pitch a ♦ and assuming LHO wins, you again need 4-3 ♦ plus pick up ♥ K. If the ♠ is covered, however, you are in great shape, needing pretty much only 3-2 trumps. Ruff and play low ♥ to Q. If someone wins, ruff 3d ♦ high in dummy, draw trumps, cross to dummy in ♣, and pitch losing ♦ on good ♠. If no one wins ♥ Q, cross to ♥ A, then to dummy in ♣, and pitch 2 or maybe 3 ♦ on good ♠. All 3 lines look very sensible to me, and would be grateful for any help figuring out which is most likely to succeed. thx :)

[hv=d=s&v=b&n=saqj102hqj2d64ck73&s=s9ha10963dj872caqj]133|200|Scoring: IMP[/hv] 4♥ with no opp bidding. Opening lead is ♣ 10. What is the best % line for this one? would be very interested to see briefly how you arrive at your % for various lines. thx, :(

I'd pass at all scoring and vul. P is still there to balance if needed, and I trust him to do so if he has the hand for it. I hate having only 3 ♠ here. If I dbl now, how will P judge correctly should opps bid 3 or even 4 ♥? If I were something like 4-2-4-3 with abt the same hcp, I'd prebalance. :)

This is kind of the flip side of the hand I posted the other day. P bids 1♠, and you hold a charmer like x Q10xx xx KJxxxx. You bid 1nt forcing and P rebids 2♦. What now? I am just trying to sound out some opinions on how to handle these sorts of hands, relative advantages and disadvantages of methods, etc. thx, :)

P bids 1♥ and I hold something like Jx Q xxx AKQxxxx. My pref is to bid 2♣ GF, then when I rebid 3♣ over, say 2♦, the GF is cancelled. P can pass, bid 3nt, bid 3♥, raise ♣'s, etc. obviously if P makes a strength-showing bid, the GF is still on. I guess my question is, if you're NOT playing the agreement that rebid of one's minor cancels the GF, then how do you handle in-between hands like this in 2/1? thx :P

On the actual hand I did X, my LHO bid 4♠, P, P, and I guessed to bid 5♠. That worked when P bid 6 ♦ with a 6 card suit to the 10 and nothing else but a stiff ♣ and a stiff ♠. They can save at 6♠, but they don't know whether we can make 7♦, and neither do we. Turns out we can't. Over 4♠, wow, I'd hate to settle for a likely + 300 or 500 when slam odds look so good. I think I'd probably have risked 6 ♣ (which fails on a bad break). Maybe they'll bid 6 ♠?? BTW, am I right that 5NT over 3 or 4♠ by RHO would be pick a minor suit slam? (altho not the right hand for the call) :)

It's a silly bid, but you used to see much more of this kind of thing back in the old days. It was more fun, tho it wasn't better bridge, and it did create some hard feelings. I once had a P who psyched ♠ twice on the same hand. When he ran out to his real ♦ suit, opp doubled and of course he made it for a top. :)

[hv=d=w&v=n&s=sahak4daqj8cakqj2]133|100|Scoring: Rubber[/hv] P,P, 3♠, ? This hand actually came up while playing a few hands of bridge before the poker game started! I don't think anyone fixed the deck, but who knows. Anyway, what's your plan? How about if RHO opens 4♠?

2♠ at IMPs, game is still possible, and worth a small minus to explore it. At MPs, I'd think about passing to protect a plus score, but I'd still bid 2 ♠. Game is still possible, and if the hand makes 90 or 110 in ♦, perhaps it will make 110 or 140 in ♠. :)

[hv=n=sj86hakqj85dk94c7&s=saq9542hdacak10652]133|200|[/hv] You reach 6♠ with no opposition bidding. What is your plan on the lead of the ♦ Q? Can you handle all 4 trumps on your left? How about on your right? :lol:

[hv=d=s&v=n&n=s5hkqj95daj10853c9&s=sak108764ha103dkcak]133|200|Scoring: IMP[/hv] 1. How do you reach the good 7♥ after 2♣ by S and 2NT by N, which shows a ♥ suit with 2 of top 3 honors? Related, what do you think generally of using a 2♥ response to 2♣ to show a complete bust? 2. If you wind up in 6 ♠, what is your plan on the lead the ♣ J? When you cash a top ♠, RHO plays the J. :)

LHO had 10x xxx Qx QJ10xxx and RHO had Qxxx Axx 98xx xx so you can see how the lines would work. The actual declarer played on hearts immediately, eventually got stuck in dummy with the spade K after the club return, and pretty much had to take the diamond finesse the wrong way. Seems better to me to start with the spade hook, then cash the A. Assuming honest cards in spades (!), you can then play hearts, and begin to count the hand so you can make a better guess in diamonds, and manage them correctly once you decide who has the Q.

[hv=d=n&v=n&n=sk954h10632dk1054ca&s=saj7hkqjdaj6ck763]133|200|Scoring: IMP[/hv] A couple of European experts bid as follows: 1♦, 4NT, 5♦, 6NT. oh, well. So how do you play on the lead of the Q♣?