and this is why i said to become a better player u should play with regular partner

All right POGgers, what's the plan here?

Hand with chuck; we're playing 2/1. IMPS r/r. RHO deals and passes to me

Q J T 7 6
4 3

A Q T 9 8 4

I've got some hands from the NABC in Boston this week that were kind of interesting. I'll post a few fun ones as I think of them. Here's one that was interesting and funny:

A/X Swiss, bad opponents. r/w, 2nd seat. Dealer passes.

AKQJxx / x / K98xxx / --

At the table, the auction went:

P - 4S* - P - P
5C - 5D - All pass.

* I'm interested in whether you'd open this 1S, 4S, or other.

Dummy tables xx / Txxx / QJx / Txxx, and it was +600 for the good guys.

At the other table, the auction went: (with dealer holding xx / Qxxx / x / AKQxxx)

1C - 1D** - X - 1H
P - 1S - P - P
2C - P - 3N - All Pass

** I told you the opps were bad.

Lead was Qd obviously for +460 (6 clubs, 4 hearts, and Ad).

LOLs were had by all on our side when comparing.

Open 1C and rebid spades over anything?

Wyman:

I can see the attraction of 4S, but in second seat I prefer 1S. It increases the chances of getting sacrificed against, but I don't want to miss a vulnerable slam.

My first reaction to 5D was that it was insane, but on reflection it's hard for it to go down more than 1 and they probably can't double, so it looks fine.

Wow at the auction on the other table.

With the given system, I'm opening 1. I'm too afraid that if I open 1, the bidding will be at 4 or 4 when it's my next bid.

(In my own system I can open this 2 to show 5 spades, 4+ in a minor and 5-10 HCP)

How do you expect it to get there without partner showing spades if he has them? If partner has 4+ spades and enough to bid, he'll be negative doubling over anything from LHO. You might occasionally miss a 5-3 fit, but the amount of time that happens AND the opps bit to 4 of a red suit AND it would be right for you to bid 4S over that AND you aren't able to do so aren't particularly large.

The suit that it WILL be difficult for partner to mention is clubs. If it goes

1S (3H) P (4H)
?

Then there is a much higher risk that you missed a huge club fit than of you missing a huge spade fit if it goes:

1C (3H) P (4H)
?

and it's the same over 2H.

Edit: This is not to mention the main downside of not opening 1C, which is obviously that you wreck your own constructive auctions by misinforming partner about your distribution.

Edit #2: Also, while I don't know your system, that 2S bid doesn't sound particularly descriptive. A hand like:

QJTxx
xx
xx
AQxx

and this hand are miles apart.

how about PASS? you have spades and one of your opps has already passed so it looks like your going to win the auction

i open with a pass

There's a hand similar to Myrmidon's in Master Solver's Club of The October issue of Bridge World. (No ace, but 5=0=1=7.) A big majority (about 80% ot the panel) opened it, despite the lack of HCP (and this one has more). No one opened with a preempt, because it was too likely you'd miss the right suit. One person, who is known for doing such things, opened in the five card spade suit instead of the longer club suit, and was ridiculed for doing so.

1C. Pass is possible but weak. Preempts are lol-bad. 1S is bad. If it's at 4H when it comes back to you, you'll probably try 4S.

Re Wyman's hand, what Chris said about 1S versus 4S -- second seat, no way. Third seat, 4S is prtty good; first seat it woud be a difficult choice, but I'd open 1S. As I've mentioned before, with a solid major I like to leave 3NT as a possibility.

If it's passed out, with partner holding K Kxxx QJxxx Kxx (a solid pass, if it gets to him), you will probably not feel you have won the auction, particularly if at the other table they get to the cold club slam.

(Don't think you can get there? Maybe not, but try

1C - 1D
1S - 2H (FSF - a stretch, but possible)
2S - 3C
4D

to start, and then it depends on what slam tools you have available.)

More realistically, you will moderately often miss 4S after your initial pass, and quite often have to guess which black suit to push rather than having given a good description, leading to results like going down in 3S when 4C was making.

sorry i am not quite as good as the rest of you but when i have auctions like the one you give here we get to game or slam in clubs and the see the queen of hearts on the table for opening lead which usally leads to a minus which i usally try to avoid.

Yeah, I had a different hand in there and forgot I'd changed it. Oops.

Point stands -- you could get passed out, with game (at least) on, and your partner will not have made a mistake in doing so. Because he likely has three or fewer spades, he will be passing with some above-average hands in terms of HCP. Too risky for me. Meanwhile, I am not defending with this hand below the five level, so the paucity of defensive tricks is not a problem.

bobo, I don't really understand. This is now the 2nd or 3rd time you advocate passing because I have spades. Maybe I'm just a little unclear, but shouldn't I be bidding because I have the spades?

first, the game is imps.second no weak opening in first seat.3rd if the cards are split evenly amongst the 3 other players who get to make the last call?where i come from its the guy with spades.if your partner has a strong no trump with 2 spades and not the king of clubs wut can u make? but if he has a takeout double of damonds you are surely gin for 4 spades and maybe more.hands like these usally dont get passed out cuz 3rd chair or your partner must have a freak to.better to pass and not miscontrue youe hand to P.:

Myrmidon opens 1S, bidding from there goes 2H, 2S, 3H. Easy raise to 4S now?

Yes. But better is to bid 4C, to make it easier for partner to judge what to do after opps compete to 5H.

But seriously, Myrmidon, there is an argument for passing (though it's wrong). There is no argument for opening this hand in any number of spades. Bidding one's second suit first is correct very, very rarely, and if you never do it again in your life you will be better off.

Probably 4S, unless all of partner's stuff is diamonds. If the doubleton is xx -- could easily still be 4S.

It is a myth that when you hold a freak, other players will too. The average shape of any other player at the table will be about 3 4 5 1 or so; it is more likely that not that no one else has a void. And when you hold a long spade suit, partner will not stretch to open if it is passed to him in fourth seat, because he will reason that opponents hold the spades -- after all, if you had spades and decent values you'd have opened.

All right, good point. I guess I'm just a little concerned with reversing, when my hand is more more shapely as less strong (in terms of HCP).

You should be more than a little concerned in theory -- but this hand is no problem. A big club-diamond two suiter, say 1=1=5=6, you get to think about, because after 1C -1M you have a problem if you don't have the HCP for a reverse (about 14, with that shape, though a decent 13 or even 12 would suffice in a pinch, given the big shape). A similar problem can exist with a minor-heart two suiter. But with a minor and spades, no auction is bad for you. (Note: with diamonds and spades, the auction 1D - 2C is not bad, because your "reverse" now does not show extras -- partner took you off that hook with his two-level bid.)

The subtleties of when it's OK to open in your second suit are, well, subtle. I strongly advise against doing it if you ever have any doubt -- and you should almost always have lots of doubt.

Note also that this issue is one of the big reasons for playing a canapé system, which I can tell you from experience is great fun, but not for the faint of heart.

Hand me and zhaorx disagree on

IMPs r/r

QT2
AKJ8
Q9
JT74

bidding goes

Partner RHO zhaorx LHO
P 1D X XX
P P ???

1NT?

1NT I guess.

Why not just pass on your first bidding opportunity, and wait for the auction to unfold? Your partner will definitely balance you if necessary. This especially applies here since I can see you playing a lot of 7 card trump fits by doubling with 4-3 majors with only 13 HCPs and little distribution elsewhere.

i inferred partner had some 4-5 point hand with a relatively long diamond suit. I expected opps to make 7 or maybe 8. i definitely was shocked when 1DXX was the final contract.

Without agreements, partner's pass of 1D is probably not penalty because opener's pass means he must be willing to sit 1DXX. Given your diamond holding, opener would need to have rubbish in diamonds for partner to want to penalise.

1NT is crazy. The opponents have essentially announced that they have more points than your side and are looking to penalise you. You don't have a suit to run. You're going to get smashed in NT under those circumstances. You need to scramble into a suit fit pronto. 1H is best.