gurgistan

[hv=d=n&v=e&n=sakjt9ha6dj984ckj&s=s87hkt942dak75c83]133|200|Scoring: IMP In an uncontested auction, the bidding goes: Partner opens 1♠. I bid 1N. Partner rebids 2♦. I rebid 2♥. Post hand, we both agree that my rebid was poor. Partner suggests I bid 3♦ whilst I think my rebid should have been 3♥. What should my rebid have been? Also, if partner had rebid 2♠, should I have rebid 3♠ or 4♠?[/hv]

[hv=d=e&v=n&s=skj843hkdk97ckj83]133|100|Scoring: IMP Partner is dealer and opens 3♣. South passes. I bid game in clubs. It is passed out. Questions: 1. Was I right to put us into game in this hand? 2. Generally, what kind of point count am I looking for to put a weak 3 into game? 3. If converting a weak 3 into 3N game, then I need stoppers in all suits but with what point count? [/hv]

Sorry. I maybe more confused than usual. I read from www.wednesdaygame.com about constructive raises in competition. I took this to be the same thing as constructive raises.

I have some general questions about constructive raises. I do not play them. I am a recent convert to 2/1. Questions: 1. How common is the use of CR among 2/1 players? 2. How useful are they? 3. If we gain something then we lose something. Is the loss of 3C/3D worth it? 4. Should I be playing CR? Any and all help appreciated. Many thanks.

[hv=d=w&v=b&s=sjt87ha32d85cjt96]133|100|Scoring: MP This is partner's hand.[/hv]

[hv=d=w&v=b&s=skq32hk964d6cak75]133|100|Scoring: MP West passes. Partner passes. East bids 2♦. I make a takeout double. West bids 3♦. Partner passes. East passes. I make another takeout double. West passes. Partner bids 3♠. East passes. I pass as partner may be very weak. 1. Is my 2nd takeout double correct? 2. If not what options did I have? 3. What would partner have needed to bid over West's 3♦? 4. Am I correct to leave it in 3♠?[/hv]

Partner opens 1M let us say. RHO jumps to 3m. I pass. LHO passes. Partner doubles. RHO passes. Me? Questions: 1. What should I have passed with after the pre-empt? 2. Is partner making a takeout double? 3. What is partner's hand strength? 4. What am I bidding?

It is a common enough scenario, we compete in hearts and they compete in spades. We get to 4♥ and they bid...4♠. We have two options: bid on to five or double for penalties. Leaving it undoubled seems clearly wrong. Opponents have to go down 3 tricks doubled for us to earn more points than we would have playing game in hearts (assuming of course, that we make). How do we decide we are going to set by 3 tricks? It helps to have their trump Ace and Aces and Kings in suits other than hearts. If we cannot set by at least 2 tricks then we should bid on. Setting by 2 tricks is not as valuable as making game in hearts but should be better than going 1 down in 5♥. It is possible that 5♥ makes which is better than setting by 2 but not by 3. Am I reasoning this common situation rightly. Is my maths right? If I am misunderstanding something here could someone please point it out. Many thanks.

Hi, As you know, I have only been playing 2/1 since July. I am trying to clarify reversing seqq. Here goes: 1m 1M, reverse shown at 2 level. 1m 1N, reverse n/a. 1m 2m, reverse n/a. 1M 1M, reverse shown at 3 level. 1M 1N, reverse shown at 3 level. 1M 2M, reverses n/a. 2/1 seqq: find where to play and then show extra values if appropriate? The not applicable seqq are because partner uses blackwood, control bids, etc to find best place for contract? If I have got it wrong can someone say so please. Many thanks.

[hv=d=s&v=e&n=saq5h92dat84ckqt8&s=sk9832hk3dk95c743]133|200|Scoring: IMP I am dealer and pass. West opens 2♥. Partner doubles. East Redoubles. I bid Lebensohl 2N. West passes. Partner relays to 3♣. East passes. I bid 3♠. It is passed out. Questions: 1. Is it even Lebensohl if I am a passed hand? 2. What does East's redouble mean? 3. I misbid with 3♠. It shows a 5 card suit, a stopper and 10 hcp. I only have 9 hcp. As bid 3♠ is a game force according to my notes. Should not Partner have put me in 4S? 4. If the sequence is not Lebensohl could someone state just how a double followed by a redouble should be dealt with when I am fourth to act?[/hv]

I went back to my notes and I discovered I had misbid and I do indeed need another point for the course I embarked upon, which as you state would have been mistaken anyway. With the point count I had, I should have bid a simple 2♥. I chose to respond to your post as it told me what I should have done with my actual hand and what I should have done with a hand meeting the bare requirements for 1N, 3♥. I would like to thank everyone who responded.

[hv=d=e&v=b&w=sjt865hqt2dk7cqj2&e=sak2hkj753d62cak4]266|100|Scoring: IMP We are playing 2/1. An uncontested auction opens with partner's 1♥. I respond 1N intending to rebid 3♥ over a minimal response and 4♥ over a favorable response by opener. Opener rebids 3N! Opener is so upset with bidding he leaves the table! He questions why I did not bid 1♠. I tell him we had a known fit in ♥s and so there was no need to explore ♠s. So, 1♠ or 1N? What do people make of opener's 3N rebid? What should it have shown? Any and all help appreciated.[/hv]

Thanks for your post, Marlowe. I tried googling the phrase "When not to use stayman" in quotes and got 8 hits. Nothng but the obvious. I need the name of a convention that locates the 4333 shapes so I can research it. Much obliged.

This very interesting and very tantalizing. How am I to discover we are both 4333 or one of us is 5332?

Would it be standard to run from a redouble or should one trust partner? In the hand provided, it seems correct to run as I may have misled partner with my 2♠ but what as general rule?

Forget ten. He mentions this since, assuming you are playing a strong 1NT opening 15-17 HCPs so that your minimum balanced opening hand is limited to 14 HCPs, you can't hold more than a combined 24 HCPs, so there is no need to make an invitational 2NT bid with an average 10 HCP hand. Responder's 2NT invitation should show a VERY good looking 10 HCPs up to an average 12 HCPs, assuming you play about average strength minimum opening bids in a Standard American/ 2 over 1 / SAYC type system. Thanks for this clarification. Forget ten, seemed gnomic. But why cannot I be 15-21 unbalanced with a lot of clubs?

I admit I might be tempted to bid 3NT with ♠8732 ♥9632 ♦QJ ♣J86 (if I didn't pass 2NT) but with ♠QJ73 ♥9632 ♦32 ♣J86 I definitely use Stayman. Would anyone else take suit quality into account for whether or not Stayman should be used?

[hv=d=e&v=n&n=sak84haq7da86cak5&s=sqj73h9632d32cj86]133|200|Scoring: IMP It is passed out to me as North. I bid 2♣. In an uncontested auction it then goes: 2♦, 2N, 3N. It appears clear to me that Partner should have instigated Stayman and the contract should have been played out in 4♠. However, 11 tables played in 3N and 1 table played in 2N. Only four suit contracts were found; 1 South was tops with 2♥XX, 2 tables were in 6♠ and both went down one, and only one table found 4♠ and made an overtrick for second top. How could so many tables not find 4♠? I thought it was automatic to use Stayman in the above sort of hands. When would it be correct to not use Stayman?[/hv]

The alternative to 3NT is 2S. Given that your diamond stopper is Ax, you are in no hurry to bid 3NT fast, maybe p can bid it with Qxx in diamond. In general - all bids below 3m dont promis add. strength, and one should be wary to bid 3m too fast, similar, bidding 3NT very fast quite often also kills the auction. With kind regards Marlowe PS: Bidding 2S instead of 2D is also reasonable. Hello, Marlowe Right now, I am thinking of my 2♠ rebid as clearly wrong. 2N over 1m is 10-12 hcp. 3N over 1m is 13-15 hcp. They are bids responder could have made but did not. This should tell me that game is unlikely. So, the bidding should have gone: 1♣ - 2♣ - 2♦ - 2♥ - 2♠ - ????? I let responder place. He knows we have stops in all the suits. If he thinks 3N clearly makes he bids it; if he thinks it is a possibility he bids 2N, if he thinks 3m is the place to be then he bids that.

[hv=d=w&v=n&s=s865432hkdkjt982c]133|100|Scoring: IMP We are playing 2/1. Partner opens the bidding with 1♥. East overcalls with 2♣. I stretch to 2♠. West goes to 5♣. Partner doubles. East redoubles. I bail out in 5♦. West doubles. Partner goes to 5♠. East doubles and it is passed out. When Partner is redoubled I fear that my 2♠ bid has misled him. You don't see many penalty redoubles and I think it is best to run to 5♦, which even if doubled will cost us less than 5♣ redoubled. What do you make of my 2♠ bid? What do you make of my running to 5♦ and the reasoning for it?[/hv]

It did seem to me that I should bid my stoppers up the line but then a new problem presents itself. As bid his 3♥ sends me to 3N. It is all clear cut. However, if the auction had gone 1♣ - 2♣ - 2♦ - 2♥ would I just jump to 3N or would I take it as invitational and just go to 3♣ as I am weakish?

[hv=d=n&v=n&s=saq74hj4da3cqt653]133|100|Scoring: IMP In an uncontested auction the bidding has gone me 1♣ as East, partner as West bid 2♣ and I am to make my rebid. I rebid 2♠. I thought it best to show my four card major. Should I have rebid 2♦? This is the first time partner and I have played together and this was the first hand. Both our profiles said we played inverted minors. General Question: with inverted minors we are headed to either 3N or 5 of the minor, yes?[/hv]

I went back to my notes. Clearly, I have been confused about just what Lebensohl is. Over a weak two, I make the most appropriate bid. This may be a takeout double. Partner then finds an appropriate bid, which may be the Lebensohl 2N.

The consensus seems to be in favour of keeping it. So I will. I may well be missing something in my understanding of it. Time to go and reread my notes on it.

I am thinking of giving up using Lebensohl over opponents' weak twos. I have two reasons for this: 1. Aggressive opponents mean that partner may not get to respond to the Lebensohl double as his RHO has intervened. 2. There is a lot to remember which may or may not add to the existing methods. I intend to go back to playing the existing methods: making whatever bid I think is appropriate over the Weak Two; eg 2any with a 5 card suit and 12hcp+. Does anyone else feel the same way about Lebensohl over weak twos?