semeai

Similarly, it made me wonder whether this sort of thing, i.e. making the person care about you and helping you not fail at your job, is sometimes a possible technique or whether it's likely to make the person mad that you're making the discussion about you and not them. Does anyone have knowledge of or a reference to anything relevant?

5♣ looks good. Partner should have 5+♦, so we have few if any losers there, and partner should have fewer than 5 spades, so we can pitch two from partner's hand and then ruff one or two assuming we have a control in the suit. I'm not strong enough to force to slam, as partner could have wasted middle diamond honors or club honors without a spade control.

How about: 1D-1H 2D-3C 3H-3S 3N-P 3S is a punt, asking about spades for notrump. East can count 8 tricks, plus a trick from the stopper hopefully.

There is a school of thought that allows passing a forcing bid by opener if you responded with sub-minimum values. I suppose GiB subscribes to that school of thought and this isn't some strange bug.

This is interesting. I didn't know invitational was standard, and have always played 5-5 forcing. If the meaning isn't 5-5 forcing, I suppose 1H-1S;2C-2D;any-3D shows 5-5 forcing? What do you do in the auction 1H-1S;2C-2D;3C-? if you have e.g. a 5-2-3-3 hand without a stopper? 3H shows a GF heart raise, 3S shows a GF hand with 6+ spades, and it seems 3D shows 5-5 GF. There was a thread started by Phil recently with this auction and hand type. It seems this question has come up while I've been writing this, or before I wrote this (I guess I left the window sitting there for a while!). I imagine the suggestion would be to again use an xyz-like structure, with 2♦ a relay to 2♥ for a signoff there or invitational hands (2♥ rebid not required on hands that would bid over a standard 2♥) and 2♥ as game forcing. It seems good. I suppose you'd want it to apply whenever 4th suit is at the 2-level and not a reverse, and just have 4th suit be game forcing and as usual when a reverse or at the 3-level. (The same dichotomy as in BWS for deciding whether 4th suit is F1 or FG.)

Let's say West has 7 hearts. Then clubs 0=4 is 14%, but the compound squeeze line reverts to your line when finding no clubs in West (though you do better when diamonds 4-2), so I'll ignore this. My numbers will be off a bit because I'm now really assuming clubs not 0=4, but it shouldn't change them too much. Given 7 hearts in West, a split of 0=6 or 1=5 in diamonds is 26%, 2=4 in diamonds is 40%, 3=3 or 4=2 in diamonds is 34%. Given 2=4 diamonds, West having ♣J is 1 in 3, and stiff ♣J is roughly 1 in 9. So you're down roughly 30% of the time and making seven roughly 34% of the time. I won't work out how often the compound squeeze line makes seven. Let's just do the spade-diamond simple squeeze against East: West needs at most 2 spades and at most 2 diamonds (or longer diamonds without ♦QJ, but I'll leave this out). This is almost 23%. It will go down due to clubs 0=4 more often than your line, because it needs to pick up diamonds with one ruff, but even 23-14 is more than 34-30. So even if you're playing BAM and expect your opposition to get to 6♣, you want to play safely with the squeeze chances.

I thought the thread was about using blackwood to try to confuse the opponents into doubling, but you would have to bid 7 for that to work, I'd think. In any case, I thought the recounting was funny, though not because anything was bad. Of course one could remember to bid 5NT grand slam force if you and your partner play the same responses, but failing that it doesn't much matter how you bid, does it?

Congrats on the win, and condolences on the loss. :) Was playing the modified Fantunes pair in any way eventful? Did their wide-ranging (in suit quality) two bids lead to any interesting hands?

Here = all of England, or many expert partnerships in England, or some expert partnerships in England, or your partnership?

I'm not passing, if that's what you're suggesting. :) I'll just continue as though I really do have that queen extra and bid 3♦. 3♥ after 2♦ 4th suit forcing would be the way to show a game forcing heart raise.

One could play that conversion to 2S over P-2D-P-P;X-P-2H shows 4♠, longer clubs, and that you just bid with hands with a 5 card spade suit and takeout shape instead of offering the penalty first. I wonder if this is best at the 2-level (or 1-level). You run the risk of partner jumping in hearts, of course, so maybe best just to pass these hands as gnasher suggests. I will agree, however, that what Art says about the allowing the penalty pass is likely best at the 3-level. I was worried about my X-3♥;3♠ being taken properly, but it appears it would be.

No, you either get the one trick penalty or you get an adjusted score (if the one trick was not enough compensation), not both.

Not ever 4-2-2-5? I suppose that hand would always pass at this level. Maybe it's a better question over 2♦.

As the hog says, 4H doesn't show a great fit, and is often a doubleton heart with a good hand instead of four hearts and a poor one. I think you either bid 2S over 2H (my choice) or just pass throughout.

I'd expect smolen then move over 3NT to show slam interest, like a jacoby transfer then raise to 4, whereas texas over 1N-2C;2D shows none. 6-5 hands can be bid as 5-5's initially (then, e.g. rebid your 6 card suit), and are in any case more rare.

I recall when I was starting out, this would happen occasionally at a particular club I played at. When it did, I tended to announce it to the table. I doubt that would be my solution now, and surely such behavior is frowned upon legally, but it always seemed to have a certain sense of fairness to it (if possibly in a randomizing sort of way), while letting the somewhat casual game go on. Carry on with the legal discussion.

If East has QJ9-seventh, for passing it looks like 1100 if we can make slam (1430), i.e. lose 8, and 800 if we can make game (620), i.e. win 5. There's also 800 against go down in slam (-100), i.e. win 14. Slam seems more likely than not, and 8 is more than 5, but that 14 looms large. I think I'll pass, but I don't feel confident that I'm right Oops, matchpoints. I'll bid. Thinking about this more: 14 isn't that much more than 8. My IMP vs MP positions seem inconsistent., or shooting for a very narrow target, at least. Probably I was supposed to conclude that I should bid at imps too.

It's GiB's attempt at the standard "jump to 5 of a major" showing doubt about trumps. Notice it says it has 5 or fewer "8421" points in hearts, meaning A=8, K=4, Q=2, J=1, so at best ♥KJ. It's claiming the side suits are secure (fat chance on this hand) and asking you to evaluate your trump holding. Your raise to 6 with one honor seems normal.

Yes, it works now, or at least I get a comment box and no error. I didn't follow through and report anything, though.

I'd play at least 2♣, 2♥, 4♥, 5♣ as natural. I suppose at the 3-level they might be western cues. Not sure about 4♣, but best not to bid it then. Here I'd bid 2NT.

You mean Horn Lake, Mississippi.

A. I'd just bid 3NT and not give away info. Your spades aren't a small doubleton and you have healthy enough values. B. I feel I have to make the play of a low spade though a high one is likely better given the actual position. After low spade, J, A, it's clear I have the King or 10, so even without smith echo, West knows the position, and East's opinion of the suit's prospects can only improve. I think I would run the clubs, hoping someone pitches from 4 of a red suit, and then guess whether to exit a spade or try for diamonds 3-3. It may be better to try playing hearts. The heart play looks suspect, given that we're known to only have three, but it could work, especially if whoever wins gets the feeling you were trying to steal a heart trick.

My first thought is just to bid 6NT. Hard to ever know well enough whether hearts or diamonds are running to ever bid a grand. Hearts could be ♥AKQ10xxx or so. If you still want to try for the grand: I'd play that 4H shows a solid suit, i.e. no losers opposite a singleton excepting maybe the Ace. Hence I wonder: assuming 4NT is keycard, is then the queen ask is understood as "does your suit have no losers, even opposite a void" instead of a queen ask? 5NT should similarly check on trump quality as some modified form of grand slam force which maybe checks whether there are no losers opposite a void, but it's also barely possible partner doesn't have the two side aces.

3♠ and see how things go from there. Partner likely has a singleton heart and most of the values remaining outside hearts. Slam in diamonds or possibly spades is not unlikely, and 4♠ or 5♦ (or even 5♣) are likely better than 3NT, which will often enough see them run 6 tricks.

1. 5♠ 2. 2♦ unless it's game forcing, in which case I tank, which ends up making my best solution to bid 2♦ anyway.