14 votes
Accepted

Did I underbid or did my partner?

I will dissent and say that your partner underbid, unless you knew you had an agreement that 3H is forcing (or perhaps even a convention on top of it). Partner, with 16HCP added to your opener, knows ...
Karl Knechtel's user avatar
12 votes

Did I underbid or did my partner?

It is arguable whether you underbid, but your partner definitely did. when you open 1H, your partner knows that you have at least 26 HCP and eight hearts between you. This is enough that they should ...
JDL's user avatar
  • 266
10 votes

Would you pass this 13 high card point hand?

13 hcp with two aces? I’d open that 10/10 times regardless of distribution. 4 diamonds I’m still fine bidding a 1D then; it’s even a more useful bid than the nondescript 1C. I’m not surprised some ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 4,023
9 votes
Accepted

How are bridge hands chosen, at top tournaments? What's the motive?

All bridge players "know" that the hands are cooked. They all have their own ideas how. Each person's ideas are different. They're all wrong. Mostly this is because humans, and bridge ...
Mycroft's user avatar
  • 2,548
8 votes

In Duplicate Bridge, does the person holding a particular set of cards open the bidding in all times that particular deal is played?

In pair competitions, yes absolutely ; everything about each hand is identical every time it is played. The dealer and vulnerability is determined by the board number usually - a sixteen board ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 4,023
7 votes

How to bid a slam when partnership cannot find the best suit?

Playing 2-over-1 with a few conventions (including the serious 3nt), my auction would be something like 1d 1s 2c (this is a bit conservative but I think the right call) 2h (artificial game force) 2s (...
ruds's user avatar
  • 5,708
7 votes

Who’s to blame for our partnership missing an easy 4S game?

This, as with nearly everything in bridge, depends on partnership agreements and style. However, taken in the standard methods, 2c is the only real forcing bid available. As such, it usually promises ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 4,023
6 votes

Dummy knows more than declarer

From Law 70.B: B. Concession Defined Any statement to the effect that a contestant will lose a specific number of tricks is a concession of those tricks; a claim of some number of tricks is a ...
J.John's user avatar
  • 677
6 votes

How to handle dummy's revoke due to a hidden card?

I am not a TD, but I am a qualified Club Director, and this situation is actually a fairly clear one. Under the Laws of Duplicate Bridge , laws 61-64 govern revokes. It is a common misunderstanding ...
David Siegel's user avatar
  • 1,197
5 votes

Pulling double after Weak 2 and competition?

I would never pull a double on that auction, regardless of my hand. "The book of rebids by preempter is 1000 pages long, and they're all blank," as the saying goes. Responder is the captain ...
ruds's user avatar
  • 5,708
5 votes
Accepted

How often do top duplicate Bridge players repeat the same game?

Let's check. Here are the hand records and session results for the 44th World Team Championships' Bermuda Bowl Final between Poland and Netherlands. Given are the session number and number of hands ...
Forget I was ever here's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

Can a team-match VP score be negative?

Until a few years ago most Victory Scales awarded negative VPs to a blitzed team. (This link makes reference to such.) However, by not being at the table on time, ready to play, your teammates are ...
Forget I was ever here's user avatar
4 votes

How to bid a slam when partnership cannot find the best suit?

Let's talk capabilities first. In general, Grand Slam should not be bid unless one can identify all 13 tricks expected to be made. If North is making the final 6/7 decision in Spades after a ...
Forget I was ever here's user avatar
4 votes

Conventional treatment of a particular negative double

As I understand things these methods originated in Italy. Many Italian experts play that the double shows 4 or 5 spades and hands with 6+ spades start with 2H. I've tried this in a few partnerships ...
Adam Wildavsky's user avatar
4 votes

In response to an opening bid of 1 spade by my partner, why do I have to have at least 5 pieces in hearts (+ the usual points) in order to respond 2H?

In addition to the other two great answers here, I'll expand a bit more on the "why". Basically, your goal is to describe your hand as low as possible and as accurately as possible, right? ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 4,023
4 votes

Bridge auction: 3rd suit tells – 4th suit asks

This Aces on Bridge shows a good example of this. Look in the "Bid with the Aces" section. What this describes is an auction where you're exploring NT, and trying to figure out if you're ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 4,023
4 votes

Who’s to blame for our partnership missing an easy 4S game?

Four Spades is not such a great contract. You are going to get a Club lead. You have to decide immediately whether to try and set up dummy's Hearts, or to ruff your Diamond and Club losers in dummy. ...
TonyK's user avatar
  • 151
4 votes

In match points, do you need to be more aggressive about doubling when your opponents are not vulnerable?

You haven't told us the details, but, at any vulnerability, this could be a situation where you should double without even looking at your cards. Let's suppose you magically know that every other pair ...
Alexander Woo's user avatar
4 votes

How should an intervening bid have changed my response?

If you take an action with this hand, double is the correct action. Pass is also acceptable, but I think it would be a very conservative approach and would expect most of the field to act. In this ...
ruds's user avatar
  • 5,708
4 votes

Did I underbid or did my partner?

As Alexander Woo mentions in his answer, there is no true Standard American anymore. In situations such as these I typically refer to the ACBL's SAYC booklet, which is as good a guide as any, I ...
ruds's user avatar
  • 5,708
4 votes

How should partner and I have gotten to 3NT?

Your hand is by no means unbalanced. It may be described as semi balanced. Your hand is difficult to bid, no doubt. I think there are 3 reasonable ways you may choose to bid the hand. First, you can ...
ruds's user avatar
  • 5,708
4 votes

Which of these hands should be opened in which late positions?

I would not open in 4th seat with the five heart hand - the traditional rule is to add your high card points and your spades, and open if you have 15. This hand is a good example - you should not ...
Alexander Woo's user avatar
3 votes

How to handle dummy's revoke due to a hidden card?

David Siegel has the laws almost perfect (and thank you for that!) He didn't mention that there is also no automatic trick penalty for the second revoke in the same suit (even if it wasn't from dummy)...
Mycroft's user avatar
  • 2,548
3 votes

Bridge auction: 3rd suit tells – 4th suit asks

I have never heard that phrase for the concept, but it's a very valid one. The version I hear is "two suits shows, one suit asks". That is, if there are two suits your side are concerned ...
Mycroft's user avatar
  • 2,548
3 votes

How to bid and make a slam with 28 HCP between the partnership?

Here are two auctions that aggressive bidders could use to reach a small slam, using common methods in a 2/1 base system: W E 1NT | 15-17 2H 2S | transfer to spades; acceptance 4S 5C | ...
ruds's user avatar
  • 5,708
3 votes

How to bid and make a slam with 28 HCP between the partnership?

The answer is; you don’t. Not with normal 2/1 methods, anyway; and even pretty out there methods would have a hard time finding this. Why? Because it’s dependent on so many things. The seven card ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 4,023
3 votes
Accepted

Dummy knows more than declarer

From the Laws of Duplicate Bridge, Law 46.B.5, If declarer indicates a play without designating either a suit or a rank (as by saying “play anything” or words of like meaning), either defender ...
ruds's user avatar
  • 5,708
3 votes

What does Opener's rebid here mean?

Playing a system such as Standard American this shows a balanced or semi-balanced hand with 18-19 HCP. It would usually deny holding 4 Hearts unless with a 4333 distribution, though partnerships ...
Forget I was ever here's user avatar
3 votes

In what systems are opening 4 card majors ok?

There are plenty of systems that open on 4-cards, I myself play one, and that is not very uncommon here. 4-card systems are commonly used to teach Bridge. Most people prefer 5-card major though, and 4-...
steenbergh's user avatar
  • 3,247
3 votes

duplicate bridge rules for revoke,and any penatly should be imposed

The Short Answer: The Director finds which card is missing and restores the player's hand. This card is considered to have belonged continuously to the owner's hand, and as a result may have caused an ...
J.John's user avatar
  • 677

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