Bridge in Oz

Here's another declarer situation that I actually faced. 7654,AK76,K94,K6 1092,J83,AJ8762,9 The auction has gone 2♠ by RHO, pass, pass, double, pass, 3 ♦ , all pass. LHO leads the ♠3. What's cool about this hand is you can see how it will go before playing a card! Take a minute to look it over.

Your odds look pretty good. What you want to avoid is losing two finesses and two additional hearts. I think the best start is leading a heart to the Queen. RHO is unlikely to guess that you are interested in a heart ruff, and if he/she wins then will probably return a minor suit. In that case you'l...

IMPS, white vs. red, you deal yourself this:

♠ AQ109543
♥ 9854
♦ A
♣ A

I suppose you might open 2♣ with this 4-loser hand, but I chose 1♠. It went pass, 1NT, pass and I closed the auction with 4♠.

The ♣2 was led and partner put down this:

♠ J2
♥ AQ3
♦ J54
♣ J10875

It goes 7, Q, A. What's your plan?

Here's an everyday kind of deal with multiple points of interest. Vulnerable against not, opponents passing. You K4,J87,KQ875,KQ6 1 ♦ 1NT 3NT Partner AJ1072,K10953,A2,9 1♠ 3 ♥ Pass 3NT is OK but usually you want to be in 4 of a major when there is an 8-card fit. This is why New Minor Forcing and Che...

OK I'll agree that partner's 4-minor over 3♠ should be natural. But just for fun let's run with your example where you hold:

♠ 543
♥ A9
♦ AQJ9
♣ AK52

Suppose partner has:

♠ 876
♥ KQJ10
♦ K432
♣ 43

Now 4♥ on the 4-2 fit is the only game that has a chance.

My thinking is that 4-3 fits are playable, and without a spade stop 4♥ on a 4-3 could easily be the only making game.

But yes, it's asking a lot to think partner will play 4 of a minor as a slam try without prior agreement!

The question becomes, what does 3♠ mean here? You haven't discussed it with your partner. What should it mean? My general philosophy is that bids should mean whatever is most helpful on balance for the given bidding sequence, while not being weird. In this sequence you will probably want to end in 3...

I picked up this hand today. IMPs, everyone vulnerable. 107,AQ4,AQ106,KJ32 RHO opens 1♠. A double seems the least of evils. Ideally you'd have four hearts but they weren't dealt to you. It's best if partner picks a suit, and at worst a 4-3 fit should be playable. Let's say you double and partner bid...

I'm presenting this hand as food for thought. Many will disagree with my approach here, and that's fine, you may have better methods. The point is to think ahead about the bidding and card play. You pick up this hand at IMPs, all vulnerable, three passes to you. AK,AQ8,K98642,AK Not bad! You pretty ...

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