My new favorite hand ever...

[Guest Jlall]

Playing against Michael Seamon and Sheila Ekeblad you pick up:

 

Ax xx AJx AJT98x. You open 1N, partner bids 2C, you bid 2D, partner bids 6N. Everyone begins to pick up their cards before the auction is over (improper but standard the way the table had been going and we were all friends and it seemed like no one could ever bid here etc), and Sheila says wait a minute, studies the auction, and doubles. Now everyone starts picking up their cards again (lol), and you just sit there in the tank for a while... and feel the burn of everyones eyes on you... and run to 7C! You get spite cracked and Michael Seamon then has to find a lead which is pretty much random, leads a beautiful diamond, and partner claims.

 

Partner had KQJx QJxx KQx KQ. You knew that Sheila must have the AK of hearts for her double since you had 3 aces (thus not off 2 aces), and if Michael finds the wrong lead which he rates to then partner is marked with the rest of the HCP give or take a jack, and may be able to get 2 pitches if he has KQJx of spades or KQ of spades KQxx of diamonds etc.

 

This was a great hand for 3 reasons:

 

1) I had an AK and DIDN'T double 6N recently and got mocked for the 2 imps I lost. Vindication.

 

2) I created a new convention because of this. The other table went 1N p 6N p p X and now my hand couldn't run to 7C and have pard play it. So obv the system should be after 1N p 6N p p X p p you play transfers (XX=7C, 7C=7D, etc). OK, not a real convention to be played unless you play with kenrexford.

 

3) The previous hand we had gone for 1100 vs a very shakey game. Nothing was said and I was able to stay mentally composed enough to run to 7C despite having never seen this type of situation before. Since we ended up winning 21 rather than pushing, I felt really good about this. As it turns out the 1100 was a push too.

[ArcLight]

>Ax xx AJx AJT98x. You open 1N

 

Is this a typical 1NT opener? :P

 

How bad is it to open 1♣, then rebid 3♣?

[mikeh]

good presence, good hand :P

[Guest Jlall]

>Ax xx AJx AJT98x. You open 1N

 

Is this a typical 1NT opener? :P

 

How bad is it to open 1♣, then rebid 3♣?

Yes I will always open that hand 1N. No it is not for the purists or for the faint of heart, but it seems like what the "winners" do (meckstroth, hampson, pretty sure fred would open it 1N, etc etc). Gary Cohler also opened 1N at the other table.

 

Opening 1C and 2C is textbook and I wouldn't criticize you for it, opening 1C and then rebidding 3C is horrible though, the hand isn't worth it.

[kenrexford]

I'd open 1NT also, which may be a point against Justin. LOL

 

Great call, also.

 

As for the correction scenario, I'd actually suggest a much better approach. I'm surprised that you did not think this through entirely.

 

A redouble of 6NT should transfer to the lowest suit not bid by either partner. If there is onl;y one plausible contract needing a transfer, even if not the lowest unbid, then the redouble should transfer to that suit. This is superior to transfers, as transfers allow lead-directing doubles and passes. That is not ideal.

 

If that is not available, such as the 1NT-6NT option, then redoubles and transfers are the only good option, as you mention.

 

I'm also not convinced that this "treatment" is all that complicated. The redouble seems fairly obvious. The transfers, as well, seem obvious. Who could possibly miss that? :P

[Blofeld]

That's awesome.

[helene_t]

If you bid 7♣ as a transfer for diamonds, opps can play for example:

X followed by X of 7♦: lead a club

Pass followed by pass of 7♦: lead a heart

Pass followed by X of 7♦: lead a spade

 

Now we get a long thread about whether ACBL requires you to pre-alert those transfers and provide the above suggest defense.

[SoTired]

This is such a great hand... and a cool story.

[kenrexford]

If you bid 7♣ as a transfer for diamonds, opps can play for example:

X followed by X of 7♦: lead a club

Pass followed by pass of 7♦: lead a heart

Pass followed by X of 7♦: lead a spade

 

Now we get a long thread about whether ACBL requires you to pre-alert those transfers and provide the above suggest defense.

That's what I play against Lall-Rexford Grand-Slam Escape Correction Transfers.

[Halo]

Excellent bridge, well done.

[pclayton]

Pretty funny story.

[Guest Jlall]

I'd open 1NT also, which may be a point against Justin. LOL

 

Great call, also.

 

As for the correction scenario, I'd actually suggest a much better approach. I'm surprised that you did not think this through entirely.

 

A redouble of 6NT should transfer to the lowest suit not bid by either partner. If there is onl;y one plausible contract needing a transfer, even if not the lowest unbid, then the redouble should transfer to that suit. This is superior to transfers, as transfers allow lead-directing doubles and passes. That is not ideal.

 

If that is not available, such as the 1NT-6NT option, then redoubles and transfers are the only good option, as you mention.

 

I'm also not convinced that this "treatment" is all that complicated. The redouble seems fairly obvious. The transfers, as well, seem obvious. Who could possibly miss that? :rolleyes:

Yeah you're right, I had a blind spot

[joshs]

I think there was an almost identical hand in one of Mike Lawrence's books. Anyway, good job at the table!

[skjaeran]

>Ax xx AJx AJT98x. You open 1N

 

Is this a typical 1NT opener?  :)

 

How bad is it to open 1♣, then rebid 3♣?

It's an atypical 1NT opener for sure, in the sense that most 1NT openings doesn't look like this.

 

But surely most experts will open this hand 1NT. I'd routinely do so, and expect all I routinely play with or against to do the same.

 

1♣....3♣ I like to be just a tad stronger, and with a better suit normally.

[y66]

Nice bid kid.

[neilkaz]

Very nice !!

 

Josh wrote: " The previous hand we had gone for 1100 vs a very shakey game. Nothing was said and I was able to stay mentally composed enough to run to 7C despite having never seen this type of situation before. Since we ended up winning 21 rather than pushing, I felt really good about this. As it turns out the 1100 was a push too. "

 

That composure will make you very sucessful in life, no matter what you do. You will make mistakes in life and bridge. You will make decision that perhaps were right but don't work out and lose because of it. You will be criticized for decisions that don't work out, even if they were likely correct in life and in bridge. The key thing is to not let any this affect your play on the next or subsquent hands. You can analyze and discuss after the session is over. I learned this after a couple years on the trading floor and it has helped me be more successful, there and in backgammon, and certainly doesn't harm my bridge.

 

Very impressive !! .. neilkaz ..