BigPooch, your line in the spade slam looks fine, but I see you're guilty of an error I've seen in this thread a lot: the assumption (in this case harmless) that your opponents are morons. If an opp with Qxx of hearts is choosing a diamond to return, it doesn't matter whether he holds the queen or the jack, as these cards are equivalent and any defender who's paying attention will know it. With two honors, defender will lead either of them at random, and will usually beat the hand as declarer (correctly) plays for split honors because of restricted choice.

Basically, you should never assume your opponents are following their defensive lead and carding agreements when they're defending against a slam.

Bidding was a little hungry, but OK red at imps.

Love the line. There's a theory that your average BBO intermediate is better than your average BBO expert. The wonders of a self-rating system.

Re 1X-1Y-1Z, atakdog said:
I don't recall seeing this treatment in print; do you have a source? in fact, I *heard* of it for the first time a year or so ago on an internet message board. It's quite a sensible idea... I am actually going to discuss it with one of my regular partners this week.... but I would speculate that its a very, very long way from being standard.

These things do vary by region a bit (the book authors are from all over but I will know more about Northwest US / western Canada live tournament practice.)

No source handy, and maybe I'm convincing myself of something that isn't true, though I'm pretty sure I remember it this way. (I haven't played competitively in years.) When I get a chance I'll check Bridge World standard.

More on the bidding: the actual hand is proof that you should not be jumping to 3NT, a bid that should be reserved for hands with a particularly good source of tricks. Your hand is pretty bare, particularly as you lack a spade fit (if partner is weak enough to pass a 2NT rebid)

With the actual hand, partner might pass 2NT, and you would be in the right spot -- yes, even vulnerable at IMPs it's a pretty bad idea to bid unmakeable games, which this is against decent defense. The only way you make it is, as happened, the spades block (naturally or through incompetent defense) or all three honors are on the same side and the heart ace is wrong to lead through them, and then one of the various good things happens in the other suits. Note that even a bad opening lead doesn't matter, as responder's hand is entryless without your giving the bad guys another shot at it, unless the diamond king drops singleton. Right.

The entry position is unfortunate but not shocking, and other bad things could have happened instead. And pard might well value his five-card diamond suit with good intermediates highly enough to go on anyway. The range of hands with which partner can pass 2NT is from about here downward, and opposite that range 2NT is the best spot.

Describing your hand correctly is usually a really good idea. OK, maybe that's not true on BBO, which is part of why I don't play there any more, but it's still good practice.

2 bidding problems, damn weak shapely hands:

w/r, 2nd seat imps, pickup pard:

93
KT32
AQT8432
-

Let's say you bid 1:

P-1-2(weak)-3-
3-?

2nd problem

dealer opens weak 2, don't remember vuln:

x
KQTxx
QJxxx
Qx

2-?

Although your first hand is pretty strong, I still think 3D is the right opening. However, with that, you lose the possible heart fit, but you avoid some rebid problems later.

I would bid 4D, but then stop after that.

On the second hand, I would maybe bid 3S, which is still Michaels (right?)

1st hand: pass. Pard is still there, and has a hell of a lot more than you do. If he sells to 3S, it's probably right. If he doubles, bid a confident 4H.

2nd hand: pass. Again, if partner finds a call other than pass, you're excited, but otherwise you're not. If you bid (regardless what), partner will be too inclined to put you in a failing game or slam.

I pass the first hand in 2nd seat. 1D is iffy, 3D is awful. Given that you did open, you now know you have a misfit, and I am passing.

3S would still be Michaels for many but not all players on the 2nd board, but you aren't strong enough. "Don't preempt against a preempt." Happy to pass.

1) Easy pass. Makes sense to open this hand 1 because you don't
need much from partner to be in game in 4 hearts and you have a lead
directing call. You would only consider preempting with this in 3rd seat.

2) Don't compete in this spot with these two-suiters: it's likely to be
opponent's hand (they've got spades) and any bid is giving them a roadmap
to play the hand.

(Hand 1) Easy pass now. You have a minimum opening bid and it looks like there is a misfit. All that bidding now does is giving the opponents an extra option (a lucrative double) and they're not likely to get that wrong IMO.

(Hand 2) Pass. This hand is too weak to bid at the 3-level. If partner has something (>= 11 HCP roughly) worthwhile, he'll keep the bidding open, especially if it's matchpoints. It's an important principle NOT to get over-anxious to bid when opponents pre-empt.

1. Pass (no problem here IMO). We've already opened 1D with a 9 count.

2. This one's close, but I'm a bidder. In general, I subscribe to the philosophy that after a preempt, the hand with shortness should stretch a little bit. 3S Michaels (or 4D leaping Michaels, which is what I play with my regular partners) is too big a bid with this hand, so my choice is 3H.

Thanks for the responses all:

w/r, 2nd seat imps, pickup pard:

93
KT32
AQT8432
-

I actually wanted to know more about the opening bid, but I worded my question wrong. Still, a few commented, and no one wanted to string me up for it, so OK. I can definitely see how passing here is better in the long term. I wouldn't bid 3D here, it's fine in the 3rd seat though.

I passed at my 2nd turn, which you guys agreed with, and auction proceeded:

P-1-2(weak)-3-
3-P-P-4-
P-?

I made what I think in retrospect was a horrible decision to pass. At that point I was just happy to get out undoubled, but I don't know what I was so afraid of. Partner had x-Axx-KJ-KJxxxxx, 4C was down 2, and 5D looks like a make on anything but a trump lead. If I'm going to bid like such a pansy afterwards, maybe I shouldn't open this.

2nd problem

dealer opens weak 2, don't remember vuln:

x
KQTxx
QJxxx
Qx

2-?

I was playing this in an individual tourney on BBO, and was a little surprised that I was the only one that bid over this (only 2 others faced the 2S bid though). My at-the-table action isn't very enlightening, since partner mistook my 3 bid (which is definitely Michaels without agreement otherwise) and forced us to a silly club contract.

Still, I think we are going to miss game a lot of the time here by passing. Partner rates to have 3+ spades and is going to have a tough time acting with balanced hands even in the balancing seat, say with a hand like xxx-Axx-KTxx-Kxx. I read somewhere (like benz stated above) that the hand with shortness should stretch to act against the pre-empt, and thta was my logic for bidding here.

Of course, we are practically forcing to game with a quacky 10-count, so maybe the risks aren't worth the reward. benz's 3H bid is probably more sane.

1st hand: I'm not faulting you too much for passing 4C here. It's the basic rule of bidding misfits: pass whenever you can reasonably do so. Here, your actual subpar opening and extreme suits give another reason to try 4D, but partner might see it as VERY strong, and you really don't want that.

2nd hand: I stand by my earlier comment that over pre-empts, you shouldn't stretch to bid. In today's bridge environment, people pre-empt on any sort of crap and you shouldn't reward them by getting them out on crap.
(Poker analogy is amazing obvious here)

Another "still learning, wtf to do here" question. Partner deals and passes, rho bids 1s, what should we do with:

s: AQ763
h: K64
d: AK2
c: A7

Should I just double it, even though partner will likely misinterpret my hand, or make some kind of overcall? If so, what? Opponents vul, we're not.

If you play natural 2nt instead of unusual I would bid that. Otherwises I think you have to double

Bidding 1N shows 15-18 in most partnerships. Bidding 2N shows 5-5 in the minors. With a hand this strong, double, and you're likely bidding NT at your next call.

Doubling DENIES spades, so that's not a good idea. You're too strong for a 1NT overcall, so you double and then bid NT at your next turn. That shows a strong balanced hand.

NB: DBL, then bid something is the generic way to show a really big hand after someone opened in front of you.

NH!

The first thing you should think about is whether RHO psyched
(well, that's what I'd be thinking!). You've got a 20-count and
even if RHO has 12, there's only 8 left in the deck, so you know
partner isn't balancing and if you pass here, LHO might even
pass since he's going to have less than a five-count on average.
If opponents play a 1 NT as forcing (say they play 2/1), you
could be better off doubling since your opponents may find a
better spot than 1.

Also, if you double with the intention of rebidding 2NT, what
are the chances that partner will raise you to 3NT? (Not very
likely, unless RHO psyched!) Sure, it will be nice to hear a 3 call
by partner, but that isn't too likely either. Also, if you happen to
end up in 3NT, where's your source of tricks?

In matchpoints, because of the vulnerability, I think you've got
an easy pass. Sure, you could miss game if partner has hearts
or a diamond suit but you could also be +100/+200 on this board
if you pass; at matchpoints, frequency matters more so I'd be
more inclined to pass and get my finger or mouse on the A/K.

At IMPs, I'd be more inclined to double and bid NT at the next
level since it could be that RHO psyched and there is a slim
chance of a game. Still, at IMPs, if my partner passed here with
this big hand, I could at least understand his thinking.

What I don't like about this hand is the lack of controls (you've got exactly
one), the doubleton Q and no intermediates in diamonds (you didn't
mention the ten; having the nine would be nice). Even if you find a fit, the
hand is a 7-loser hand according to modern LTC: it would normally be six only
but because you've just got 1 control in a ten-count, you add a loser. As
mentioned earlier, if partner has anything, the danger isn't just in getting to
an unmakeable game, it's getting to a bad slam or doubling opponents when
you've got basically little in defence/quick tricks. Change the Q to the K
and having the 9 and I can see a 3 call being right.

Even with the King of clubs instead of the queen and the Nine of diamonds, a
3 call is too rich; you're basically forcing your partner to at least 3 NT.
The diamond suit isn't great, so basically treat it like a four-card suit.

Any advice to get started playing bridge? I've dabbled in it and it seems like a great game, but have gotten stuck trying to learn bidding and given up. I know if I could get over that hump, I'd enjoy the game a lot.

If you're not sure whether you'll like the cardplay aspect, you can play "minibridge" with your friends. Minibridge is a game devised to introduce children to bridge without getting into the complications of bidding. Essentially, everyone announces their point count (A=4, K=3, Q=2, J=1). The highest point count becomes declarer. His partner puts his hand down as dummy, and declarer chooses a suit and whether he wants to play for "game" (9 tricks in NT, 10 in hearts or spades, or 11 in diamonds or clubs) or a "partscore" (some number of tricks between 7 and game). You'll have to look up the rules. Anyway, this is a reasonable way to get your friends involved also, especially if they are card players.

As for the bidding, Richard Pavlicek published most of his stuff online. It is fairly easy to read. Keep in mind when "learning to bid" that in the recent past, people have tried to make bidding an exact science and have extremely rigid systems. The important thing is that you and your partner are communicating information about your hands to each other with some end goal in mind (usually reaching the appropriate game or slam). Anyway, his stuff is at http://www.rpbridge.net/bbtc.htm.

And ask questions! Even experts learn by asking "what is the best way to play this hand?" or "what should I have bid here?"

Best of luck.

Ok I'm going to get started on that site now, thanks Wyman.

Time for another long suit probably slam bid question

LHO deals, passes, partner bids 1h, pass, I bid 2d, pass, partner bids 2h, pass

our plan with:

s: AQ
h: -
d: AKQJTxx
c: Qxxx

Another question. Me and my partner ended this game with a 67.7% score...and we were second. Brag or Beat??

I think I'd just bid 3NT. Even against a suitable hand like Kxx/AJTxxx/xx/Ax a club may kill your communication so I just bid 3NT and hope for a nice lead in matchpoints.

Getting second with 67% in a small field is rather amazing.
Here in Holland there a lot of pub tournaments, where you move each round to a new pub. These have massive fields (200 to 1200 pairs) of very wide skill range. In those, you generally need to score over 70% to win.