yup.

Not even close to being worth a slam drive.

yeah but geez i mean 2443 bidding 5H you must either have a lot of cards or a rock for a partner.

Doubling 4S just says "let's not play 4S undoubled." He obviously has some cards, but he doesn't have the shape to pick unilaterally. The initial doubler can easily be 13(45), and 5H would be a disaster. This is why I'd pass at any other colors. But at unfav, 600 just looks too juicy when they may have 7 spades and 1 somewhere else.

BTW, I wouldn't have a problem if advancer wanted to bid 5D over 5C with a 2443, but I just think it's better for overcaller to say "hey, I don't know what's right, but I don't want to defend, why don't you bid your longest suit?"

to clarify, i meant what else could 5S be besides pick a slam.

I'd want to know whether the cards are hard or soft, but in general if I have 2=4=4=3 and I hear (3S) X – (4S) in front of me, I know partner has either the right shape for this, or a rock. Red/white, I think I'm bidding 4NT and then following with 5D over 5C if that's what I hear — I think unless something else about the hand says "defend", a return double isn't right (unless you have the agreement that it's some sort of responsive on this auction). Partner with anything like what he has here will pass the return double, and it will be wrong a lot of the time.

Therefore, if I'm intervenor and hear the auction given, I pass 4S doubled and get annoyed at partner when we miss 5H on the actual hand. The spade king is the deciding factor — if partner has his double, we are getting at least one spade trick on defense (often two) or have no chance at making eleven tricks in our own suit (or both).

This assumes matchpoints, btw. At IMPs I'm considerably more likely to pass with advancer's hand to avoid a game swing, but my decision doesn't change in intervenor's seat because advancer is expected to make the adjustment.

You have 5S and 5NT available to force to slam. I don't know what the difference is, but it's clear that there should be one.

You also have 4N followed by something.

In general I just use the cuebid as showing a first round control in case we wanna bid a grand.

Driving to slam is way too aggro though imo, you do not have that much more than a normal X of 3S if you discount your SK fully, and partner was under pressure and would double with all working 10 counts and some working 9 counts. Like I think partner would obv X with xx Axxx KJxx Qxx, who wouldn't?

I think it's a decision on whether to pass or bid 4N not whether to drive to slam or not. Some good points were made in favor of bidding.

imo partner is asking you to pass?? With a hand that I want to play something I would bid 4NT and not dbl. This is not solely for minors by my methods, you could have e.g. a 3451, planning to correct 5C to 5D, showing the reds.

A hand partner could have is something like QTx, Axx, Kxxx, Qxx - way too much to allow them to play 4S undoubled and not interested in playing at the 5-level.

5S would be pick a slam but you miss at least an ace for that.

Update on people going to memphis? Pog midnight game? I remember dc-ohio, anyone else?

I fly in 3/18. PM me if you want a number/email to get in touch with me.

There is a pretty cool article in this month's ESPN magazine about Bob Hamman's insurance business.

also my current employer, so if anyone has questions i can most likely provide some insight, within reason.

link to our page with the article

i'm coming for the second half of the tournament. playing with bob, tho.

First time ever being irritated at a partner on Thursday night in the team league at the club here. We were playing a team who were 4-0 and who had crushed all their games so far.

We were up 17 IMPS halfway through. Halfway through the second set I had

Axx
Qxxx
xxx
xxx

in 4th seat r/w.

Auction went

2S-3H-4S-p-
p-5H-p-p-
X-p-p-p

Even with my support and the spade ace partner still went for 800 and we lost by 4.

I was pretty mad (on the inside).

nice of random bbo drooler to think his AJTxxxx with one outside K is worth redoubling at the five level. don't think i've taken someone for -2200 and 20 imps for quite a while

****in' swiss....

We're 2nd going into the last round, trailing the leaders by 5 VP, and 4 VP ahead of 3rd.

Final round we're playing the 1st place team, and since the 3rd place team has already played the 4th and 5th place teams, they are up against the 6th place team. We win a tight match by 8 IMPs, giving us 24 VP and 156 for the 7 round swiss. 3rd place team blitzes and gets 30 for 158 stealing 1st overall.

5-1-1 for the day, only loss came to the team that won and we only lost by 3 IMPs that match

Just played a fun one (not very hard, but amusing) at the kitchen table:

KQx
xx
J8xx
KTxx

opposite

7x
AT98764
Txx
Q

Rubber bridge, legs all around, I opened 3H, doubled and all passed. (Against these opps, this does not mean there's a heart stack.) LHO is semi-competent. RHO is not.

The imperfect defense:

• Diamond king led, winning
• Queen of diamonds, overtaken by the ace.
• Low club, my queen holds. (These things happen.)

Now ace of hearts fetches the jack from LHO; a second heart finds them 2–2. RHO wins the king and attempts to cash her club ace.

After you ruff, you're in hand with:

KQx
—
J8
KT


7x
9876
T
—

Take the rest of the tricks.

Obviously the hand doesn't go this way against competent opponents, but so be it.

Edit to note: The defense should take seven tricks. Would your partnership?

well that's a cool bbo session, get told to "**** off idiot" and then bink one of those 40 player individuals with three tops and 83% in the space of half an hour.

idk, if the other guy had have either a) doubled or b) bid 2NT over lho's 1M with his AKxxx in both minors, i might have found a 5 sac. i guess i'm an idiot for not being psychic

He overcalled 2D instead? depending on the rest if the hand I sort of like that; I prefer my two-suit bids to be weak-or-strong. I realize a lot of good players think it otherwise, and I'm not completely sold either way.

________

In other news, partner (my stepbrother) and I just had our best game ever (he has no school today), with nearly 60%. The surprising thing is that I didn't have a whole lot to do with it — it was one of those sessions in which one seat has few critical decisions, and today I was in that seat.

Partner now sitting on a whopping 3.38 MPs, he tells me.

Sunday to sunday in Memphis. Don't think I'll get to a game before then. 67.66 MPs needed for life master.

the only major events (for me) I'm in are the Red Ribbon pairs and NAP flight C finals.

I can do this right?

Cute hand yesterday passing time on my iPhone (iBridgeBaron). This is a double-dummy problem. Who prevails, declarer or defense?

something is wrong Duplication of diamonds, clubs missing

Well, given that heart suit consists of 14 cards including two jacks, two nines, and two deuces, and there are 16 diamonds in the pack, it's a little hard to analyze.

Sorry, fixed now.

And here I was with a brilliant retort of "well, what if they both dump the diamonds, no throw in then, muahaha!"... and then I counted to twelve.