[Phil]

Q9xx void ATxxx ATxx

1♥ - 1♠
4♠ - ?

Partner will probably understand 5♠ is you bid it if thats your choice.

[Jlall]

When you say partner will understand 5S, what do you mean? If that means he will take it as asking for good trumps, sign me up. I want to be in slam opposite good trumps.

That being said I'm sure we'd all bid 5S if we had AKQxxx xx xxx xx so I'm not sure why 5S SHOULD be asking for good trumps. But if that's how partner will take it...

I'm not too worried anyways, if he has a high trump honor he won't think we're showing good trumps and nothing else, and if he doesn't have a high trump honor he won't be looking at either minor suit ace anyways so he won't be bidding 6. Maybe 5S should function as a 2 way bid, either showing bad trumps + everything else or showing good trumps + nothing else.

Both passing and jumping to slam seem pretty lol.

[Phil]

Jlall, on Nov 22 2009, 06:13 PM, said:

When you say partner will understand 5S, what do you mean? If that means he will take it as asking for good trumps, sign me up. I want to be in slam opposite good trumps.

That being said I'm sure we'd all bid 5S if we had AKQxxx xx xxx xx so I'm not sure why 5S SHOULD be asking for good trumps. But if that's how partner will take it...

I'm not too worried anyways, if he has a high trump honor he won't think we're showing good trumps and nothing else, and if he doesn't have a high trump honor he won't be looking at either minor suit ace anyways so he won't be bidding 6. Maybe 5S should function as a 2 way bid, either showing bad trumps + everything else or showing good trumps + nothing else.

Both passing and jumping to slam seem pretty lol.

5♠ would be great or lousy trump - I agree.

But the point is youre playing in a crappy club game and you have a sense slam wont be bid at other tables.

[Jlall]

Phil, on Nov 22 2009, 06:19 PM, said:

But the point is youre playing in a crappy club game and you have a sense slam wont be bid at other tables.

Cool, I'm about to get a top a vast majority of the time then. What could be better?

Does anyone really think they're so good that they can win a pair game by avoiding good slams routinely? I mean this IS your edge over the field, you get to good slams and they don't. If you always pass up on your edge so that you can do what the field does you will perform as badly as the field. Unless you are some kind of bridge god I don't see how you can pass up on this kind of chance in a 1 session MP game.

[jdonn]

I don't think 6♠ is lol. In fact if you hadn't said partner will understand 5♠ then that's what I would do, since I don't have confidence in any other approach.

[Codo]

If you have to care about winning at the weak clubs, do whatever you have to do, I guess passing is right then.

However, if you do not have to win for your ego, your purse or other reasons, bid 6 spade or any invitation partner would understand, because I guess 6 spade is a great contract.

[hanp]

I wouldn't want to play bridge with someone who is not interested in winning.

[whereagles]

6 usually. 5 only if I'm 100% sure pard will take it as I intend it.

[Phil]

hanp, on Nov 23 2009, 06:46 AM, said:

I wouldn't want to play bridge with someone who is not interested in winning.

If only life was that easy.

[Phil]

Jlall, on Nov 22 2009, 06:23 PM, said:

Phil, on Nov 22 2009, 06:19 PM, said:

But the point is youre playing in a crappy club game and you have a sense slam wont be bid at other tables.

Cool, I'm about to get a top a vast majority of the time then. What could be better?

Does anyone really think they're so good that they can win a pair game by avoiding good slams routinely? I mean this IS your edge over the field, you get to good slams and they don't. If you always pass up on your edge so that you can do what the field does you will perform as badly as the field. Unless you are some kind of bridge god I don't see how you can pass up on this kind of chance in a 1 session MP game.

The NS hands were:

---

The traveler was:

+710 x 3 = 6.5
+680 x 6 = 2.5

+1430 would be an 8.

[helene_t]

Phil, on Nov 23 2009, 05:28 PM, said:

hanp, on Nov 23 2009, 06:46 AM, said:

I wouldn't want to play bridge with someone who is not interested in winning.

If only life was that easy.

Sounds like a tough job to be a bridge pro.

[Jlall]

Phil, on Nov 23 2009, 11:31 AM, said:

Jlall, on Nov 22 2009, 06:23 PM, said:

Phil, on Nov 22 2009, 06:19 PM, said:

But the point is youre playing in a crappy club game and you have a sense slam wont be bid at other tables.

Cool, I'm about to get a top a vast majority of the time then. What could be better?

Does anyone really think they're so good that they can win a pair game by avoiding good slams routinely? I mean this IS your edge over the field, you get to good slams and they don't. If you always pass up on your edge so that you can do what the field does you will perform as badly as the field. Unless you are some kind of bridge god I don't see how you can pass up on this kind of chance in a 1 session MP game.

The NS hands were:

---

The traveler was:

+710 x 3 = 6.5
+680 x 6 = 2.5

+1430 would be an 8.

So slam is 99 % or so. I'm gonna guess you want to be in it

Again if slam was 51 % or something but you knew nobody would be in it you could pass, but this is a perfect spot to take advantage of the fact that you have better judgment than the field and thus can get to a good slam that they can't. People go insanely overboard on trying to avoid zeroes.

I mean seriously 95 % of the players should be WELCOMING variance/top-bottom swings. I don't know how often you win at the club, I know you're not in that 95 % obv you're much better than the field, but you still have to be winning a LOT of 1 session random pair games per time that you play to even start thinking about passing up some edges to avoid a zero, and even if you do win that insane amount of time, you cannot pass up an edge this huge! As I said, this IS your edge, this IS the reason you are well above the field, so push that edge hard.

[jdonn]

What happened to our 9 of spades? Slam is even better if you give it back!

[Phil]

jdonn, on Nov 23 2009, 05:12 PM, said:

What happened to our 9 of spades? Slam is even better if you give it back!

Sorry, little bait and switch there

[Fluffy]

I was going to pass this one, aprtner jsut promised any 6-4 hand, and 8 trumps are too few for a slam where we have to set up hearts with our void.

[Codo]

hanp, on Nov 23 2009, 08:46 PM, said:

I wouldn't want to play bridge with someone who is not interested in winning.

Point taken, sorry that I could not express myself in a more understandable way.