This one should be easy

[Fluffy]

♠76xx

♥Axx

♦Jxx

♣K98

 

♠-

♥QJ109xx

♦A9x

♣AQxx

 

All vul, MPs, dealer south

 

1♥-(1♠)-2♥-(3♥)

4♣-(4♦)-5♥- all pass

 

spade lead to the ace ruffed, ♥Q loses to ♥K and a heart is returned, trumps are 2-2. Clubs will prove to be 2-4.

 

Experts should have no problem making this, but they can tell me what they think of 5♥ bid, north though that 4♦ bid commits EW to play 4♠, so 5♥ is just the minimum where you can buy it, while south thinks that 4♥ can be sold out one day, and bidding 5♥ is stupid, and on other less-limited circumstances, it should be asking for spade control.

[PhilKing]

Define expert. :blink:

 

There are quite a few similar hands in the Bridge With the Blue Team book, but they still usually get screwed up in practice. I would expect it to go off more often than not in the English Premier League, even when East forgets to play a diamond.

 

I agree with South, particuarly if he made 5♥.

[Fluffy]

I can assure you the only one who screwed this one was East, and he has better bridge achievements than you and me togehter multiplied by 3 (or 10 maybe)

 

After all it is double dummy problem... but actually, if I had just got right all the decisions I screwed up last weeked that were double dummy, I would be €2600 richer :)

[JLOGIC]

5H is a possible bid on some hands, hands where you are going to bid 5H no matter what, but I think it is a poor evaluation. Yes, all the points are in hearts and clubs but it's also an ace, a king, 4 trumps and 4333.

 

If the auction were about to go 4H 4S X, can you imagine that you'd want to pull? And it's possible it will go 4H X AP even if 4H AP is not possible.

 

Anyways, to me bidding 4H over 4D is a vote for offense, partner is allowed to bid 5 now if he wants since you have encouraged him. With a bad fitter for partner, you just pass. If you double, obviously you have them and partner will never bid since that is a huge vote for defense (and also definitely has diamonds or else it might go 4D X AP).

 

I think bidding 4H is just right, I am voting for offense and we can re-evaluate if/once they bid 4S. After that it is unclear what would happen, if they bid 4S immediately over that and partner passes, I would definitely choose defense with the north hand having already voted offense. I would either double or pass (I'd probably double, if they are making it is somewhat likely partner would have bid in front of us once we bid 4H, and going +100 might potentially be much worse than +200 at MP). That said I would understand a pass.

 

Going down in 5H seems like it would be really bad given this D for an expert. As fluffy says, it is a double dummy hand, and even if you cant visualize the ending if you make normal technical plays (use your entries to strip spades before doing stuff) you will fall into it. Of course, everyone makes mistakes.

 

Obviously this is an interesting hand and fluffy has just been trolling a little with which forum he posts stuff in since the expert forum thing :P

[Fluffy]

The problem with bidding 4♥ as an offensive vote is that it lets west do exactly the same bidding 4♠ (or failing to). That's why I bid 5♥ directly (actually I just thouh of giving them less room), althou I considered my hand a lot more offensive than you, maybe went excesively berserk after pointing out the 4 blank opposite void.

 

4♠X would be a really poor score, even 5♠X -2 would be really poor for us.

 

Hand 26:

http://www.aebridge....0by%20table.pdf

 

In case someone missed it the final position:

[hv=pc=n&s=shtda92c4&w=skjhdkq4c&n=s7h6dj73c&e=sqhdt86ct]399|300[/hv]

 

south on lead with ♣4 trump-strip-squeezing west

[PhilKing]

south on lead with ♣4 trump-strip-squeezing west

 

Just a small language point for anyone who needs to compartmentalise the technique: this is more commonly known as a striptease, although it is arguably a type of strip squeeze.

[broze]

Clearly RHO did not see the hand as such an open book. I can't think what hand declarer would have to have where a trump return beats the contract and a ♦ doesn't.

[JLOGIC]

The problem with bidding 4♥ as an offensive vote is that it lets west do exactly the same bidding 4♠ (or failing to). That's why I bid 5♥ directly (actually I just thouh of giving them less room), althou I considered my hand a lot more offensive than you, maybe went excesively berserk after pointing out the 4 blank opposite void.

 

4♠X would be a really poor score, even 5♠X -2 would be really poor for us.

 

Hand 26:

http://www.aebridge....0by%20table.pdf

 

In case someone missed it the final position:

[hv=pc=n&s=shtda92c4&w=skjhdkq4c&n=s7h6dj73c&e=sqhdt86ct]399|300[/hv]

 

south on lead with ♣4 trump-strip-squeezing west

 

Yeah, your 5H bid definitely has merit to take away space from them and make their life harder, no debate from me on that. I think 5H is a possible bid with hands that will bid 5H no matter what happens, I just think we evaluate this hand differently since I am willing to defend.

[Fluffy]

Clearly RHO did not see the hand as such an open book. I can't think what hand declarer would have to have where a trump return beats the contract and a ♦ doesn't.

Even the best ones make mistakes, to be honest I don't remember if he returned a trump or a spade.

[nige1]

All vul, MPs, dealer south

♠ 76xx ♥ Axx ♦ Jxx ♣ K98

♠- ♥ QJ109xx ♦ A9x ♣ AQxx

1♥-(1♠)-2♥-(3♥)

4♣-(4♦)-5♥- all pass

spade lead to the ace ruffed, ♥Q loses to ♥K and a heart is returned, trumps are 2-2. Clubs will prove to be 2-4. Experts should have no problem making this, but they can tell me what they think of 5♥ bid, north though that 4♦ bid commits EW to play 4♠, so 5♥ is just the minimum where you can buy it, while south thinks that 4♥ can be sold out one day, and bidding 5♥ is stupid, and on other less-limited circumstances, it should be asking for spade control.

Thank you Fluffy. Pretty hand. Partner's 5♥ bid is imaginative but you took the opportunity given by LHO to recover. Well played!