Help me restore partnership disharmony.

[Len Myers]

Two players I know are sort of arguing.

IMPs. Good opposition. All Vul.

Hands:

AQT9x     Kxxx
-         xx
AKxxxx    xxxx
AQ        Kxx

Auction, starting with North: (4) - Pass - (pass) - Dbl - float.

Please critique and suggest another auction. If you don't, I won't get any Thanksgiving dinner.

[Been There Done That]

I might have bid 4NT instead of double. That would work out well here: 4N - 5D - 5S - 6S.

The void makes the double unattractive. 7 could be on, but I worry about 3-0 diamonds.

Funny hand, if the trumps break 4-0, 7 is practically cold since 3-0 diamonds now are unlikely, unless ....

-
AKxxxxxx
QJx
xx

You escape the ruff at trick 1, and still can't make the hand.

PS Maybe I'll rejoin the MSC this year. Who's conducting?

[4sigma]

Originally Posted by Len Myers

Two players I know are sort of arguing.

IMPs. Good opposition. All Vul.

Hands:

AQT9x     Kxxx
-         xx
AKxxxx    xxxx
AQ        Kxx

Auction, starting with North: (4) - Pass - (pass) - Dbl - float.

Please critique and suggest another auction. If you don't, I won't get any Thanksgiving dinner.

West hand has 1.5 losers. I'd be willing to force to 5 or 6 of a minor if pard is short in spades. So put me down for 4 - P - P - 5. I understand this to be the default way to show spades and a minor willing to play a minimum of 5.

You could also get there with the auction BTDT suggested (4NT, followed by correcting the wrong minor to 5), but I don't think that is as clear what you are doing. For example, suppose you held Ax --- AKQxx AKTxxx. Presumably you start with 4NT and how do you continue after 5? You have a grand try that needs to know if pard has the K. So don't you want to bid 4NT and, after partner picks a minor, cue 5?

That's why I don't think 4NT followed by 5 shows spades and a minor.

Needless to say, it would be helpful to have some agreements. I'm guessing that there weren't any here. If the extent of your agreements is simply ("Michaels cuebids and unusual NT") I'd also expect a direct5 is less likely to be misinterpreted.

Here 5 would maybe get you a 6 response (with two working Kings), and/or West might take the plunge to 6 if East is a known underbidder. Dunno if that would get you to the grand, but I suspect that +1460 would at least not have put your Thanksgiving Dinner in jeopardy.

[Klaymen]

5 came to mind immediately. Not much mistaking what's going on there, but give partner a few seconds to regain his composure.

[Len Myers]

Where to begin?!

We were 11 N/S.

Board 5, Dlr: N; N/S Vul. Elaine Morrison's game, playing director disavowing any knowledge of what is happpening, and available when she's got nothing better to do.

You hold as... west: KJ86432 T T5 JT2

The auction goes (1) - 1NT - (Pass) to you.

You bid TYPO CORRECTED 2, and partner alert/announces Transfer, and bids 4.

Your call?

Board 7, Dlr: S. All Vul. Same game, same director.

You hold, again as West: AQT7 QJ92 AT964 -
The auction starts (pass) - 1 - (2) - 2 - (pass) - 2... and a few seconds later partner tells you your bid is insufficient. do you a) let lho call the director, or b) claim that you made a mechanical error and that you have your 3 bid.

Board 12, Dlr:W. None Vul. Game and Director as above.

You hold, yet again as west: QJT QT96 AK65 75
You pass, partner opens 2NT (20 to 21). What is your plan? a) drive to slam; b) invite slam; or c) Puppet and pass partner's 3NT (no major) response, for a top. HINT: You didn't open.

Board 9: Dlr: N. E/W Vul.

You hold as north (presumably because your partner's play might make the papers.) AJT2 AKJ4 QJ83 9. You open a diamond, partner's bid is 1. Presumably your choices include a)3 b)4 c)4

Board 15: Dlr: S. N/S Vul.

You hold as north A5 AQ963 2 AKQJ6. First tricky question: the auction starts pass, pass to you. a) 1 b) 1 c) 2.

Spoiler:

In real life, I opened 1. Partner bid 3. Note: we don't play any form of bergen nor of drury. We do play weak jump shifts in and not in competition. What's going on here?

Spoiler:

I figured it was an exceptionally weak jump shift, and cautiously raised to five. Partner now bid 5, and you....

Spoiler:

cautiously raised to the cold six, and get grilled by the opponents, who are not n00bs by any stretch of the imagination. for the record, partner held: QJT9 KJT74 T97 5

Board 21: Dlr N; N/S Vul.

Explain the following auction to date:
Pass - (pass) - 1 - (2) -
pass - (2) - Pass - (pass) -
3 - (pass).

Should South bid on with AKJ53 K762 932 6?

Spoiler:

HINT: Your LHO overcalled 2 on four to the AKQ. Pard has JT98xxx, and perhaps made an overly-enthusiastic bid.

Don't take any of this too seriously, and Happy Thanksgiving.

[Len Myers]

Got to play my favorite song in addicts tonight (I often DJ the nightly 10:32ET game on BBO. The game is free and often fun.)

But this hand didn't help a lot. #11, none vul Dlr:S

          Q8
          Q532
          QJ7
          QJ64
AJT654              K
T4                  KJ97
T9                  AK652
T72                 K98
          9732
          A86
          843
          A53

The uncontested auction: 2 - 3NT, by E/W.

Of course, looking at all four hands, this is child's play to beat, even crush. just lead a spade. Alas, sloppy/unlucky decisions by yours truly let this sucker make, starting with the low-heart lead. .

Next hand for edification, #2, Dlr: E; N/S vul.

How's this for sick?

          T983
          KQ8
          A754
          QJ
Q                   A76542
AJ4                 T97532
T9832               -
K983                2
          KJ
          6
          KQJ6
          AT7654

1! - 2 - 2 - Pass
2 - Pass - Pass - 2NT! -
3 - Pass - Pass* -Dbl.

First, you have to know that I'm on holiday with only my relatives and laptop for company, and my laptop's been giving me fits. selecting things randomly, if it thinks i'm going to mouse-click. Normally this isn't an issue, but on BBO the behavior means that sometimes bids and/or plays occur out of the blue. Come to think of it, this also explains some randomness on Pokerstars on the other computer. Hmmm...

In this case, I was certainly going to raise partner's 3 to 4, given that my hand had upgraded on the good news (should I have passed 2?), but Mr. Computer overrode my noble intentions. Needless to say, after my malware-induced^ pass, when LHO pulled the red card, I wasn't entirely displeased. That is, until I saw partner's hand. . Since he just made, I can commend Microsoft for my victory tonight. After the third hand, I was able to find the blasted, well-buried setting to turn off the default, inane interface behavior.

*not my idea
^in this case, Windows Vista.

since I'm still up, let's review the driving force behind the Darkner double.
Hand 1, dlr: N; none vul.

          842
          K3
          Q5
          KQJ876
QT                  AK973
9876                J4
AKJ8732             T64
-                   AT2
          J65
          AQT52
          9
          9543

The contested auction was standard:
Pass - 1 - 2 - 3
3 - 4 - Pass - 6

Obviously from my Western perspective, pard has at most zero hearts, perhaps one on a bad day. But, as often happens on BBO, someone was kidding. North, having set the trap with an unforced two-card raise, fell for his own ploy and led the club king, and the hand was all over when trumps divided 2-1.

I've done better than the +52 IMPs we scored tonight, but with the resources of Microsoft and massive distribution on my side, how could I not win?

Oh, the Darkner Double. The short story as related in The Bridge World, is that someone's rubber bridge partners kept finding unusual leads in undoubled slam contracts, on the basis of "my opponent would surely never bid a slam if a normal lead would beat it" thinking. This behavior cost poor Ms. Darkner great gobs of cash, for the rubber bridge stakes were significant. So the Darkner Double says, "Don't think -- just make a normal lead!" This would have been a useful tool in the N/S conventions list. Tonight, anyway.

[Len Myers]

A few minutes ago, I was asked to make a posthumous tele-ruling on the following auction fragment... I'm told that my step-father's sister-in-law was the dealer, so it's almost family.

(4th seat, out of turn): 1
(1st seat): 1
(2nd seat): 2
(3rd seat): Director!

Near as I can tell the auction stands. But the table should be sent away from the event to procure ice cream for the rest of the field.

Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge.

[Sweet Tooth]

Yes, double is a bit short sighted, I would gamble 5H (the obvious bid) although 4NT should do the trick. However, partner should never leave in double with that hand---4 spades, 2 kings and xx hearts.

Originally Posted by Len Myers

Two players I know are sort of arguing.

IMPs. Good opposition. All Vul.

Hands:

AQT9x     Kxxx
-         xx
AKxxxx    xxxx
AQ        Kxx

Auction, starting with North: (4) - Pass - (pass) - Dbl - float.

Please critique and suggest another auction. If you don't, I won't get any Thanksgiving dinner.