Three completely different Results!

This is an interesting hand. The bidding above happened on my table. I play Acol. My hand on South is unbalanced. You open such hands with the longest suit, planning to rebid your second suit, if possible, or repeating your first suit, if there is no other bid. You cannot rebid 1NT in any case, because that is a balanced 15-17 hand.

It happens here that responder has four hearts and bids the suit. My hand is now worth 16 points including length and the singleton. So 3♥ looks like the best bid. I bid only 2♥ and we were in the game missing a slam. 

The expert on the other side plays Larry Cohen's full system. The system probably doesn't matter, however. But he reached the slam. Surprisingly, it does not make. If you draw all trumps, you have only 11 tricks in total. If you don't, the hand breaks apart or yields a ruff for the defense.

This the suggestion of Lia "playing your system". It is actually the best result because 4♠X should be down 4 for -1100. I think that 3♠ and 4♠ are most unreasonable bids, worthy to be reported as a bug. Both opponents have stretched the LAW too far, not taking into account the unfavorable vulnerability. West can count only 8 trumps and should pass. He should bid 3♠ with 4 good trumps only. Partner might too easily bid disastrous 4♠.

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The Greed?

This is in Acol on IntoBridge. When my partner bids 1♠, the hand is mentally marked as a misfit. Stop early. But I must offer my diamonds. Partner fixes the contract to 2♥ and I pass for a top. Probably, a bit too cautious.

All others went to 4♥. In 2/1or SAYC, South will open 1♥ and North will raise that to 2♥. Should South be enthusiastic at that point? Some play 2♥ as 8-10, and 10 points could be enough for a game, if partner has the right values. Still, I think a game try with 3♦ is all you should do, stopping in 3♥. That's still a top score.

On the other side, the chances of 4♥ are not really bad. You have 3 losers from the top only, if the ♦A is at East. I'd say it is 50:50, maybe a bit less, because there is always the chance of a ruff.

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A rare Win against All Others

This is a strange hand, where the analysis shows that I win against all 70 other players. I play Acol for a relaxed experience at the moment. After the 1♥ intervention, I can hardly continue with the normal 1NT bid which would show 15-17 points and a balanced hand. So, I raised partners diamonds. 

Lia tells me that my system allows the 1NT bid even without a stopper. But it also tells me that my partner would have fixed to 2♦. I am a bit unsure about the philosophy here. If my 1NT does not promise a stopper and my partner has one, why not pass?

The 2♦ was made. My direct opponent in the ranked ladder failed to make it, after opening the same way in Acol. In fact, we both could have made an overtrick. The hand is not easy. But if you use your trumps to ruff, you cannot go down.

On most other tables, the hand was opened 1NT. East then jumps in after two passes with 2♣ showing a two-suiter in majors. They ended in 2♥, which were one down or made for +110 or +100 instead of +90. The trick to beat the contract for down 2 is to draw the trump with ♠A followed by a small trump. That seems to be difficult to find. 

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Acol Weak 1NT

I play Acol on IntoBridge again, just for a change. Usually, it works reasonably well. This is one of the boards from the daily 12 board tournament. It did not work well. I think North must not open 1NT here. In Acol, that promises a balanced hand with 12-14 points. This hand is not balanced, and it too strong too by shape. The point count is 14 plus 1 length point. I reported a bug for this.

I had two other boards where the Acol succeeded. One was 1NTx made with a bit of luck. The other one was 3♣ which can make where others play 1NT which just make. 

Obviously, it is a fine line most of the time between success and failure with the weak 1NT. On the long run? I do not know. But you certainly must not stress the 1NT bid with a 5-4 hand with 15 points.

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How to Intervene?

That did not work well. I expected North to show his suit and only to pass in case he has defensive values against 4♥. IntoBridge is clearly marking this double as take-out. If North had bid clubs, I'd evade to 5♦. That maneuver is showing a two suiter. After all, 4♠ is very closely in reach.

In aftermath, it might be a better to intervene with 2♦. Over 4♥, you can still show spades. Partner will fix to 5♦. 

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Don't be Greedy

No matter how you reach this game (and you should), don't get greedy after East cashes ♥AK and continues with another heart, no matter how West marks. In the IntoBridge daily 12, 100 players simply discarded something or ruffed too low.

Instead, ruff with the ♠K, and throw away your ♣K on the ♦Q. Nothing can happen to the contract after that discard. You might even be lucky and find the ♠Q singleton

East, of course, could play a low club first, and West could then return a heart. But that play never happens. More likely, East could switch to clubs after the ♥A. An expert player might find this defense. It should cost almost nothing because North is unlikely to be able to discard all hearts. Lia on IntoBridge did not play like this.

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A Mishap in Pairs

A typical mishap in pairs. Does it make sense to forego the 2♣ Stayman question and simply bid 3NT? There is not much ruffing value opposite to a 1NT opening, and you have enough points to be brave with your shady diamond King. But, if opener has the ♠Q instead of the ♦Q, You might lose control in diamonds easily. After all, you miss two aces. Maybe it is a matter of style.

In 4♠ , however, you have to watch out for a singleton after the likely lead of the ♥10. If you induce from the singleton that East is longer in spades than West and consequently more likely to hold the ♠Q, you did well. The next best solution is not to finesse in trump. I would chose this solution in teams. In pairs, you should dare to find the ♠Q.

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