Jinksy

I think I'd gamble on 2N.

[hv=pc=n&s=s4hakq987dq874c95&d=n&v=e&b=9&a=1d(Unbalanced)4s]133|200[/hv] Now what? Answer separately for IMPs and MPs if it makes a difference.

[hv=pc=n&s=sj64hak764d96ckj7&n=sahj3dajt7532cq82&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=1d(Unbalanced)1s2h(F1)p3dp3sp4hppp]266|200[/hv] IMP pairs.

[hv=pc=n&s=s97hq652dakq4c965&n=sakqjt85ht83djct4&d=e&v=n&b=2&a=1dp1n2sp2np3nppp]266|200[/hv] IMP pairs. What went wrong here?

4N. If P has any substance in hearts, I expect him to err towards optimism. If not, our hand isn't worth 12 points.

I agree with rmnka, that I'd just make the minor suit lead which most clearly expresses my holding. With most of my partners I play MUD, so it would depend on the second pip (the higher it is, the better).

(didn't read OP properly)

You don't *have* to. If my hand's got no side suits worth mentioning I might redouble, but for me it's the last option when everything else (inc 1N) is worse.

Here are the four hands I decided not to pull for the reasons given above, but 3N had almost no play, whereas 4♥ will make if hearts are 3-3 and at least one diamond honour is onside. Should E have done something different, or is this just rub of the green? It's hard to believe he can stop short of game once I've opened, and while Axxx isn't an ideal NT stop, trying to reach a suited game with that texture seems like trying to stop on a pinhead.

I think you've got it backwards. At IMPs, for Stayman to substantially gain, you have to be making two+ more tricks in your 4-4 fit (and for those two to be the difference between 3N making 8, and 4M making 10). At MPs, if you only make one more trick in 4M, you'll still get a much better score (regardless of whether you're making or going off). As for 'playing with the field', I can't see why - I would expect most pairs to go via Stayman (and in Australia, a handful of the field might be playing a weak NT, so very likely to find a spade fit if it exists).

How do you view that?

[hv=pc=n&s=s6543hajt8dajt74c&d=e&v=0&b=14&a=p1d(Unbalanced)2c3np]133|200[/hv] IMP teams. Your 1D promised an unbalanced hand. 1) Do you agree with the opening? 2) Do you bid 4♣ (or something other than pass) now?

I think our auction would get us to 7♦, where I agree with wank I don't want to be (I don't see why it helps if I can figure out W has the KH, unless I think it's getting ruffed out). But that would be because S would open an unbalanced diamond and after 1♦ 2♣ 2♥ 3♦ 3♠ we'd start cueing, with N and hopefully W rating S as much more likely to be 3451 than 4441.

The double is a standard penalty double of a weak NT: roughly 14+, no shape requirements, no upper limit. Restricting it to being a strong NT is not something I've ever heard of before.

[hv=pc=n&s=s2hqdqj9732cj8654&d=e&v=0&b=14&a=pp1n(12-14)d2h]133|200[/hv] IMP teams. What do you do now, and what's your plan over likely continuations?

From a quick glance at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_bridge_probabilities, and discounting West hands with 5 hearts as too unlikely (even a priori, let alone after silent opps), the initial chance of opener being dealt a void is about 0.03, whereas the chance of him having a singleton is about 0.21, ie about seven times more likely.

[hv=pc=n&n=sqj95hj9daj84cj93&e=s82h75dq73cat8654&d=w&v=n&b=12&a=1n(12-14)p2n(Xfer%20to%20a%20minor)p3c(Forced)ppp]266|200[/hv] Not sure how to complete trick 1 in the diagram, but you lead the Q♠, S plays the 6 (standard attitude), and W plays the 7. Scoring is IMPs. Now what?

edited out

Opps are GiB.

[hv=pc=n&n=sk53h65da8643c754&d=e&v=e&b=6&a=3hd4hdp5cp]133|200[/hv] IMPs. Questions: 1) What sort of hand is canonical for P here? 2) Had you passed and P had bid 5♣, what hand would be canonical for him then? 3) Do you agree with your X? 4) What do you think your X shows here (or should have shown, if you wouldn't do it on this hand)? 5) Do you raise now? 6) Would you raise him now had you passed initially?

Not going near 2♣. 1♠ seems fine unless you rate P to know what the 4N opening is.

Yeah, not sure why I did that :unsure: What's your call, though? (and what opposite KQxx QJxxx Axxx - ? :P)

Do we have fit jumps available?

I don't think there's a moral to this, but it was an entertaining hand: [hv=pc=n&s=sakqt86h9djt872c3&w=s9753hat76543d5c2&n=sj2hq2daq94ckj984&e=s4hkj8dk63caqt765&d=e&v=e&b=6&a=1c1sp1n2c2d4hpp4sdppr5hdppp]399|300[/hv] IMP pairs. The actual sequence after 4♠ was X P P lead facedown, XX by S on the principle that no-one was going to deprive him of his rightful call. West was a pro, whose double can be explained by him being about 5 whiskies into the evening. North had no idea whether either his 1N or X were correct, but didn't want to be left out of the entertainment. Both 4♠ and 5♥ were making, so South's redouble was one of the more costly actions I've seen in the history of bridge (especially if you count N's double as one of the consequences).

[hv=pc=n&w=sk862haq5dak75ck2&e=sat5hkt63d862caj8&d=n&v=e&b=9&a=3cp4cdp]266|200[/hv] IMP pairs.