A'ight, that works. I guess there's almost never any need to redouble for business to get a good score, and sure, wanting to play 2NT is possible.

Also, it's good to have a default agreement for such auctions, unless you plan on having a veritable tome of system notes. So it's sensible to use "redouble is always for rescue if a double is penalty-oriented and we may not have the balance of power; pass in such circumstances is business". Or something like that.

i'm starting to reach that point where i'm about as good as i'm going to get without intensive studying. i'm not too concerned with bidding so much as the play of the cards. i definitely am weaker playing the cards and need to read on defense strategy

When you are bidding on iBridgeBaron the colors of the WSEN are either black or red showing the vulnerability

Watson's "Play of the Hand at contract bridge"
Root's "How to Play a Bridge Hand"
Lawrence's 2/1 workbook

well how about that

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3rhQc666Sg

bumping otherwise front page is going to make everyones eyes bleed

NS vul

AQJ83 6 AKJ8 A96

west opens 1h

1h p 1s ?

I doubled. Software thought I should pass.

I don' get it.

Interesting question. What I would like is to be able to bid spades showing spades, but a lot of partners won't let me do that. (I found that out to my considerable detriment one time in the Blue Ribbon Pairs with a pickup partner.)

My first reaction is that the software was right. You are tremendously strong but your partner is broke, so you almost certainly have no game, and the way to get to spades, which may well be right for you, is to pass now.

I expect LHO to rebid either 1NT or 2H if I pass. Over either one I will probably double, which in each case should be takeout of hearts. imo.

Not sure. If DW and gabe agree on what to do, go with whatever they say. (Or fmk if he happens to show up, obviously.)

I would double

I have 19 HCP and 4/3 in the unbid suits

double is lolobvious

I dunno, I don't mind pass at all, though at the table I'd probably double and then regret it later. Poor partner over there is going to look at his 3433 two-count and want desperately to go get a hot pretzel or something. I hope if I double my LHO bails me out by bidding 2H (he probably will, fortunately).

And yes, 2S should show spades here because you can double and bid 2NT as two different ways to show minor suit hands and you don't need a third one. I think it's somewhat over-strength and under-spaded for that bid though.

2S here is 100% natural for my partner and I. If it's not, then you open yourself up to being psyched out of the spade suit. RHO has claimed nothing more than xxxx of spades, so having 2S here to show this kind of hand (strong hand and suit) is very useful.

When partner opens 1H, I have occasionally psyched a 1S bid on 3 small with heart support to deter a spade lead.

It's neither actually. It should show a strong hand with 5-6 good spades. AQJxx is a fine suit for a 2S bid here.

The problem is that partner will have no idea you belong in game with his xxx, xxxx, xxx, Kxx hand.

i dont want to be in game with that

I'd much prefer 2S here to be something like an intermediate two-bid in spades -- something like AQJ97x Axx x Jxx or something would be close to ideal for me; a minimum would probably be about KQTxxx and a side ace. Basically, it's an overcall -- and because you're perforce making this overcall at the two level in a suit known to not be breaking well, it needs to be a fairly sound one. However, as you note, there's a difference between "sound" and "but partner I have 19 good points".

Having the sixth spade is, while not a strict requirement, a really really good idea. For one thing, the defense is almost always going to end up forcing you in their long suit, and once you ruff something, the difference between having four spades left and five is huge.

For the people who double, what's your further plan assuming you're not molested further by the opponents? If partner squeaks out 2C, we're presumably passing?

See this is why I'm not loving what I agree with gabe is, at least at first (and maybe on reflection), an "obvious" double. I'm trying to decide where I want to get, and I'm seeing problems getting there. If I double, LHO passes (which he probably won't but let's pretend), and partner gives us the moderately likely 2C response, I will want then to bid 2S (which should be natural — I think 2H is the forward-going cuebid, not 2S), but I'm not sure (1) that pard and I will be on the same page, nor (2) that I want to play 3C opposite his zero count.

I guess I'd love it if partner bid 1NT (I raise to 3 ldo), and maybe if LHO rebids 2H, it swings to me, and I can bid 2S showing my actual hand, or various other good things. But because I think the odds of finding a making game are so low here, I remain tempted simply to back in.

Meh. In practice I almost certainly double to avoid partner yelling at me when RHO was semi-psyching and pard has Tx KJ98 xxx JT9x.

Edit: As I go through it I guess I like double more. I think partner's 2C is getting to me unmolested almost never, and the times it does, it's because opps are the ones who are broke. I will still probably go plus, and on the rare occasions when there actually is a game in the hand, the only way to get there is to double now.

this

if it goes like that, I expect partner to have heart length and so I am passing. Do not underestimate the erring potential for opponents in this hand - they might think the hand is theirs and that might not end well for them (somethink like 2C with partner, pass-pass-2H-pass-pass-dbl-all pass or sumtin)

some of you seem much more eager to bid spades than i am

something something master suit something

Finals of a regional KO, you are playing against the top team in the bracket (Ken Gee, Diyan Danailov and partners)

State of the match you are down ~ 15 imps, so you have bid to 7S with the following hands:

AKJx
Void
AK98x
AKQT

T9xxx
Kxxx
xxx
xx

Strong hand is tabled, heart ace is led. Plan the play.

South hand has 14 cards.

whoops, south should have Kxx hearts

Well, that should make it easier.