Jinksy

Interesting. I was the criminal in question, and reasoned that since we had stuff like EKCB, Jacoby, splinters, possibly Josephine or other GF bids followed by 5♥ etc that it had to be preemptive. I also figured that since after 1♥ P, 2♥, 3♥, 4♥, 6♥ and 7♥ are all to play and (except 2♥) preemptive, 5♥ would naturally fit into the pattern. The 1♥ opening was a Fantunes bid, my hand as responder (favourable) was x QJxxxx QJTxx x.

If it's asking for H honours, how would the hand differ from one that could bid 5N or EKCB?

1♥ P 5♥ Assume you have reasonably detailed system elsewhere but have never discussed this auction (or any 'unnecessary' jump to 5M). What would you expect from responder? Does it make a difference if your 1♥ is a) SAYC, 5+ b) Acol, 4+ c) Strong C (either 4+ or 5+), limited to about 15HCP d) Fantunes, 5+ and about 15+ points ?

That's a textbook reopening double.

Agree with others' pass, but there's no way I'm doing it in tempo.

When (they're) in doubt, cash my ace. Cs and Ss are probably both running (or if they're not, cashing the AD is unlikely to make them do so), so it might be my only chance.

Double. If in doubt, see if I have a clear lead - I wonder if anything stands out here?

I'll add my vote to overcalling 1D. It's a style question, but this is not a wildly unusual hand and it seems to help here, since it surely makes the 1S overcall show 5. After 1C 1D 1H 1S / 2C I prefer 3C to 3S (mainly because it's harder for a pick-up P to recognise as inv+ on values - I can imagine them taking 3S as competitive. It also might guard against a W who did still bid 1S on a 4-card suit), but it should get us to the same place.

Pass. I think the honours are lying such that this is their hand, and I fear going for a number.

If 5♥ would be lead directing, what would 4♥ have been? If an alternative place to play, why didn't we bid it? We're highly likely to be on lead if they play the hand, so the risk of P consequently carving a holding like Kx is minimal.

Evidently you've never met my instincts.

*Someone* had to for all that bidding. Clearly not him. Therefore you ;)

Had she acted on the strength of the hesitation? Otherwise it seems kind of a normal thing to hear, albeit usually laced with a dash of sarcasm.

? Restricted choice assumes randomly chosen pip cards. If you think you can read extra info from the opps' non-random play, that's further info.

I lean towards penalties, but the defender with most Ss is surely S. E is allowed to have his bid, in which case a bunch of low Ss might not be enough to set the contract reliably. Why aren't we told the form of scoring? Pass seems far more likely at MPs, unless S now confidently decides he can make three of something. Hard to imagine what hand he'd have for that: maybe xxxx KQ xxxx KJx or similar?

Yes, one rule for you, one rule for everyone else. I wasn't accusing you of consistency.

This is a strange comment coming from someone who keeps complaining about people on these forums who don't agree with expert/majority opinion.

[hv=pc=n&s=sajt3h4dkjt2cakj4&d=w&v=n&b=12&a=pp1c(12-14%20bal%20%5Bno%205cM%5D%2C%2015-17%20Cs%2C%20or%20any%2018+)]133|200[/hv] IMP scoring. What's your call? What if you have one more small C and one fewer a) small D, b) small S? Assume no special agreements (though if people have simple recommended defences to a Polish C, I'd be interested to hear them). [eta] tooltip is obscuring some of the description. It's 12-14 bal with no 4cM, else 15+ with Cs, else 18+ any shape.

Honestly I'm not sure. Looking at it now, since a Polish Club is forcing I'd probably pass, though with little conviction it was the right call. The hand is a bit hazy, anyway - I remember a stiff Hx, inadequate side suits for an overcall, 16-17 points, the rest is guessing. I might have been 3145 or 4135. I might stick it as a poll in one of the forums, anyway.

I’ve had some painful moments at the hands of BBO tournament directors. In the most memorable, holding something like AJTx x KJTx AKJx, fourth in, the bidding went P P 1♣ to me. Rightly or wrongly, after a long tank, I bid 1N, which my P raised to three. I received the dreaded ♥ lead, and P revealed something like Kxx Jxx AQxxx xx. Two or three tricks into my hammering, RHO suddenly alerted 1♣ as Polish (either nat, weak NT, or 18+ any dist). I immediately called the director and said that had they actually disclosed their system, we might have bid the hand very differently. She looked at the four hands, and observed that RHO in fact had some ♣s. Therefore, she said, ‘the bid was natural’ and there would be no adjustment. I forget my exact reply, but I’m now banned from that tournament.

3N makes me woozy, but I can't see a better call. After the first three bids, it seems like you've more or less described your hand, modulo the C intermediates? I'm not sure if 5N is spurning your suggestion, in which case I'd probably have passed it, or some kind of forcing enquiry, in which case I'd prob bid 6C. We seem to have the trump suit sewn up opposite as much as a stiff, and surely have better communications in a club slam. Meanwhile, P could be missing the AQ of Ss or have something like stiff QH, giving 6C play when 6N (and maybe 5N?) is straight off.

Double meaning? ;)

Not a chance. IMO distribution is significantly more important than intermediates, esp intermediates in short suits. You have a bunch of very slow tricks, which pretty much means you're off in 3N if either opp has a five card suit. If either of them happens to have a four card suit, that might work too, after they've established the 4th trick and cashed their four aces (or two of them and a couple of honours offside). Should they have misdealt, none of your 10s is even a single solid trick, so you might still struggle to reach 9 tricks before someone runs out of cards and calls the director.

With most pickup partners, I suggest a simple maxim at the start of the session (nicked from someone I used to play with): 'If in doubt, it's forcing.'

[edited] answered my own question