Close Calls

Find a good response here

2009-07-25T15:37:21+02:00

Fav. Vul. Pairs.

void
AJ754
K973
QJ92

Partner deals and opens an Acol 4CM 1H and the next hand doubles. Is there a foolproof response now? Oppo are typical Club players at Pinner BC.

Comments

Would you ever consider opening this hand 1D?

2009-05-06T20:32:57+02:00

You deal at love all:

K4
void
KQ1072
KQJ874

Comments

One to be wary of

2008-11-26T17:27:25+01:00

Teams game all

Your partner deals and opens 1H This is doubled by RHO.

AQJxx
x
xx
109xxx

1H X ?

doubler was Heather Dhondy. After the hand both Jeremy and Heather agreed I should have bid 1S.

If I get this hand again I am passing. Danny Roth reckons pass is a good bid with this kind of hand and I am tending to agree with him!

The disaster continued as follows -

1H X 1S P; 2D (of course) P ?

How much do you hate your 1S bid now?

I got out with 2H undoubled minus 2 for a loss of 7 IMPs here - I'd hoped H might have 6 Hearts (it is possible in our system) I also knew I was on to an (at best 5-2 Spade fit, conceivably 5-0).

Comments

2-parter

2008-11-26T17:20:53+01:00

Teams game-all

K98xx
Q53
K7xx
6

You deal and pass. Partner bids strongly as follows:

1D P 1S P; 3C P ?

Depending on what you bid next there may be a part two to this question!

How do you see this auction going and what are your conclusions from partner's "high reverse"?

Comments

Quick choices

2008-11-09T10:58:45+01:00

Pairs love-all

xxx
x
AJxxx
AQxx

You open 1D P 1S P; ?

Do you prefer 2C or 2S here?

Teams love-all

AJxx
AQx
xx
Axxx

You open 1C 1D 1H P; 1S P 2C P; ?

If RHO had bid 2D you were going to call 2H. Remember this is Teams so you do not 'need' to play in the major. However, 2H or Pass (or does it not really matter?)

Comments

Pass or re-opening X?

2008-10-21T02:07:12+02:00

Teams. Game All. You deal and pass.

AJ107
107
QJ97
Q73

P P 1C 1H; X 3H P P; ?

Comments

Pass or 3S and why?

2008-10-21T02:02:48+02:00

Teams Fav. vul. 4th in hand

AKJ92
AJ108
8
543

P P 1H 1S; X 2S X ?

both oppo Xs are t.o. the first is a straightforward -ve double, the second is more of an action double of some kind and should show a better than normal opening hand.

Comments

Would you ever come in with this hand?

2008-09-20T11:31:43+02:00

Average Club Oppo, 2nd in hand

K73
KQJ9763
J7
7

Dealer opens 2NT

Under what circumstances would you make a 3H overcall here?

Comments

Puzzle in Diamonds

2008-09-17T00:55:23+02:00

You deal at pairs, game all, playing an Acol-style system.

AQJ95
J8
AJ93
QJ

1S P 2D P; ?

Comments

2-4 in the majors.

2008-08-24T14:33:56+02:00

You are in 3rd, Game-all, pairs (very next hand after the hand below).

J3
K863
AJ104
632

1S P 1NT P; 2H P ?

Comments

Transfer or Pass?

2008-08-24T14:29:48+02:00

4th in hand, Pairs, unfav., all other factors 'normal', early on in the evening.

Q3
87652
J82
QJ7

Pass 1NT (12-14) Pass ?

Comments

Lightner (or not?)

2008-08-16T01:10:09+02:00

["Build-up"] teams,game-all, 3rd in hand.

b.29

QJ1076
Q7642
8
KQ

3C 3S 4C P;
P 4D P 5D;
P 6D P P;
X

Presumably a lightner double asking for a major lead. Sadly you are 5/5 which is probably the most unlucky part of a very unlucky evening. Any clues here?

["The Sting"] Only four hands later, this sequence occurs:

b.33, Teams, love-all, 3rd in hand

9
x
109xxxx
Jxxxx

Not the best 6-5-1-1 count you will ever be dealt!

Sequence:

1H 2S P 3S;
4D 4S 5D P;
P 5S P P;
X P ?

You still have a bid and could presumably play in 6D almost certain to be whacked. You have absolutely no defence (and in the post-mortem, it turns out that your partner would not actually shoot you for bidding on to 6D! - he doubled quickly so there is no pressure from that angle)...

however, in spite of 'not holding a lot of defence' - you have chances with 2 red aces and a heart ruff or possibly (if partner intended it that way - is it possible that this is another Lightner double) with (say) a 3640 hand that scores a club ruff at trick one and comes to two (maybe three) other tricks in the wash?

How are you reading and reacting to this double?

Comments

Consider the following bids!

2008-08-16T00:41:12+02:00

Teams, Game all, partner has 530 Greens! [Other half of team are a weak pair - like Pinner/Elton Cup]. Oppo unknown somewhere in the W Midlands! Your second game with this partner.

Weak Reverse-Benjaminised Acol, you are 3rd in hand

10954
Q9
QJ73
K94

1C X ?

How do you feel about 1D, 1H (psychic), 1S, 1NT and 2C ? Try to work this out in your normal bidding tempo!

Comments

An off-beat hand

2008-07-30T23:05:14+02:00

Another from my W Midlands game.

Pairs, favourable vul., 3rd in hand.

void
K1098542
A94
Q54

1S X ?

Comments

W Midlands Duplicate 29.7.08

2008-07-30T22:55:15+02:00

You deal at love all playing as a visitor with a partner who is very sensible indeed and has 530 greens to his name! You are on 60% (after 18 boards out of 26) in a field of 24.

KQ109
83
82
AQJ92

1C P 1D P; 1S P 3S P; ?

4S or Pass with reasons please!

Comments

OK let's turn the tables!

2008-07-26T21:58:40+02:00

Negative double question.

Love all, pairs.

Q8
J975
K74
QJ75

1C 3S ?

Pass or negative double?

Comments

Can you find the most sensible next bid!

2008-07-26T11:14:16+02:00

Pairs, Love all, 3rd in hand, av+ oppo

A9
KQ3
QJ62
K982

P P 1C 3S; X P ?

Comments

X or Pass?

2008-07-22T23:41:27+02:00

Quite a straightforward question for once!

Pairs, favourable vul., 3rd in hand, av. club oppo

10
AK94
8542
10532

1NT(12-14) 2S ?

You are playing take-out doubles here & therefore the choice is a straightforward double or pass.

Comments

High-level decision

2008-05-07T15:57:54+02:00

You deal yourself a 3 count and Pass, game all, pairs, mid- div 2 level oppo., not shooting.

Q64
J432
876
987

P P 1D 1S; P 3S 4H 4S; ?

Pass, Double and 5H all spring to mind, with a possible 5D open for the left-field contingent!

Comments

Late intrusion

2008-05-07T15:51:39+02:00

3rd in hand, love all, pairs, average club oppo, not shooting

KQ1052
QJ2
109873
void

1NT P 2H P; 2S 3C ?

1NT is 12-14 and 2H is a RST. Partner can break with 4-card support. The two most sensible bids to me seem to be Pass or 3D - but you can only bid one of these at the table!

Comments

The power of the pre-empt

2008-04-26T16:13:02+02:00

pairs, 2nd in hand, love all, not shooting

AQ
AQ862
K93
853

3S ?

Comments

Your bid, Ernesto

2008-03-27T00:13:53+01:00

pairs (all else of no importance), you are in 4th

AQ42
KJ82
J854
10

2S (weak) X P ?

If time permits, discuss the merits and demerits of the various choices!

Comments

Action after Partner's Astro

2008-03-26T02:00:44+01:00

fav. pairs, you are in 4th

1NT (12/14) 2S (5 Spades exactly and a 4(+)card minor) [13 or fewer points] Pass ?

42
AK1076
A42
1072

Comments

do you want to look for a slam here?

2008-03-26T01:47:29+01:00

love all, pairs, not particularly shooting; you are in 4th

2S (weak) P P X; P 4H P ?

10
A643
Q93
AKQ93

Slam try of some description or pass?

What is the min. (and max.) you expect from the 4H bidder?

Comments

A sequence to analyse.

2008-03-26T01:37:55+01:00

Pairs vul. irrelev. Acol-style bidding

1H P 1S P; 2D P 3C P; 3H etc. (bidding to be continued!)

Regarding the 3H final bid in the sequence, it is granted that this shows a minimum hand. However, here are two points to consider:

1. What is the minimum number of hearts that this hand shows?
2. What is the very best Spade holding that the hand is showing?

Comments

Rare bid

2008-03-14T01:07:00+01:00

Does this sequence have a normal meaning in Standard Acol?

Teams, Game all, not shooting, No intervening bidding.

1S - 2S -
2NT - 3D (?)

What does 3D mean here? If you are not sure, do you have a suggestion for a 'most frequent' sensible use of this bid?

Comments

Analyse these bids!

2008-03-02T02:42:57+01:00

pairs, love-all.

3H X P 4H(1); P 4S P 5D(2); P 5S(3) P 6S(4); float

What do you feel the bids of 4H, 5D, 5S and 6S express?

This sequence had myself making the curious bids in 4th seat and a non regular but div one standard partner opposite.

Comments

Results

2008-02-22T18:14:55+01:00

Quite a good week. Won 3rd Round of Mx Cup vs Schles & Mx League vs Moss/Hoffman with an Edgware 1st thrown in for good measure on Tuesday evening.

Unusual things that stay in the memory.

Monday, we play in 6C-4. On the other table they play in 6S-4. The par contract is 4H+1. I opened 4H on our table. H suddenly thought that this was a Club-slam invite and banged down 6C. Not quite sure how the bidding went in the other room, but apparently it started 1H P 1S P; 2H

Another unfortunate board went as follows 1H P 1S 2C; 2D P P 3C; P P X
for a costly 800. H had the kind of hand that might have chosen 3C immediately (however, we agreed afterwards that 2C was better after 2 suits had been bid by oppo). However, his 3C was a truly disastrous choice.

We still won by 20-odd.

Tuesday started off well, but H started to lose concentration later on in the evening. He decided to open a 3-3-6-1 hand 1NT when we were specifically trying not to shoot for tops. This led to a lunatic auction as follows:

1NT 2S 2NT (leb) P; 3D!!! 3S 4D (I was 5-5 in the minors; don't ask!) P;
P 4S!!! float

one off and 4/10.

If H simply opens 1D we might reach 5D doubled for a joint top.

We were still 1st with 63-odd %

Last night's game saw a strange 1st half with a lot of swingy boards.

On b.1, I held something like:

109xxxxx
Ax
Qxx
x

and was more than a little surprised at what happened when I overcalled a simple 1S.

1H 1S X 3S; 4H 4S 4NT P; 5C P 7H P; P X

Oddly enough, this board was flat as both sides bid the Grand missing the Ace of trumps!

We had a more successful sequence later on in the evening which led to us defeating 2SX by 5 tricks for 1100 when, on the other table oppo reached 4S (sic.) minus one for a further 100 in.

1NT X 2C X; 2D X 2S X float

1NT X P 3NT !!; P 4S !!! float

Comments

Do you come in over a weak NT here?

2008-02-13T20:23:08+01:00

2nd in hand, pairs, fav. vul., not shooting, av. club oppo.

54
AJ10765
65
QJ3

1NT ?

Comments

Certain point-counts require care

2008-02-03T21:42:48+01:00

5 points, 11 points, 15 points and 19 points all pose their own problems in bridge.

We are by now familiar with the concept of instant feedback and manufacturers (etc.) asking you to rate (virtually) everything from 0 to 10.

How good (or bad) is the following 5-count, and is it worth a 1NT response to 1 Spade?

63
Q1097
974
QJ73

(Pairs, game all, not shooting, decent Club oppo., early in the evening)

Comments