[fourdad]

mr1303, on 2015-January-11, 04:33, said:

1S (P) 2S (3C)
4S (5C) ????

Looks a likely start to the auction. No idea where it ends up though.

The above is reasonable at favorable V, not V vs NV.

[Trump Echo]

Pass.

[daffydoc]

pass pass pass pass any bid gets zero and pass 10 - in the real bridge world a bid on this is suicidal - have seen this work on BBO on occaision - but collect way more numbers than the odd time it works - if we can make anything pard still has a turn. daffydoc

[steve2005]

jillybean, on 2015-January-10, 17:41, said:

---

5 of the red suits , 4♠ and 5♣ makes

that's nice but if you miss game its not because you failed to overcall one 4 pts. its up to partner to show strong hand!

[1eyedjack]

If your 3C showed 5-5 in H an C and precisely 4 HCP, then my guess is that in the long term, yes even vul v not, you stand to gain more than you lose by bidding 3C when the hand comes up, even allowing for the high likelihood that you will not buy the hand.

However the reality is that you will also want to compete on stronger hands with that shape, and where this overcall falls down is if you expand the range of values to include those stronger hands. You cannot afford to devote several overcalls to show 5-5 in H and C of different ranges, and the stronger hands are more important to describe.

[jogs]

Now that you have posted the entire board, it is correct for N-S to bid 6CX-1. It is an example of the rare successful vul sac against a non-vul game.

[the_lonegu]

My partner and I use this gadget and yes I would bid it vulnerable in this position. We tend to use it with very weak hands like this or very strong hands. With a two suit fit my p can jump high even with my weak hand. With a normal opening hand we would bid higher ranking suit first.

[redtop]

Like anything, you need an agreement on the strength ranges. IF you have an agreement it can be this weak, maybe you could do it, but still that's a dangerous agreement to have, and it will kind of preclude using the gadget on some stronger hands.

When partner has a good enough hand to make your bid useful, he will often get overboard. Partner also has a call coming and can come in, although there are certainly hands he'll be preempted out of the auction.

What will likely happen on this hand is that partner will bid clubs and you will certainly raise to 5, but you might miss the good save because you don't know about the double fit.

I might well bid at favorable vulnerability if our partnership agreements allowed.

[mr1303]

I still don't see what's wrong with raising a partner who can overcall vulnerable at the 3 level with 5 trumps, a singleton and 5-5 shape.

[cherdano]

Kathryn, what actually happened? After passing, you should certainly find 5♣. I admit you will lose the hearts.

[jillybean]

cherdano, on 2015-January-13, 08:22, said:

Kathryn, what actually happened? After passing, you should certainly find 5♣. I admit you will lose the hearts.

I'm not proud but I did make the 3♣ call, LHO passed, partner bid 4♥

4♥ N 5 650 3.00 0.00
5♦ W 5 400 2.00 1.00
4♠ E 5 450 1.00 2.00
4 ♠× E 5 690 0.00 3.00

[mikestar13]

deleted

[Trinidad]

I played the folllowing deal in 1997 in the regional in Warren, MI, USA. I was West, my wife was East. This hand is hanging on the wall in our bed room (so, 18 years later, the spots are still accurate ).

---

South was an old fashioned appearing gentleman, at least in the eyes of the two youngsters that we were. North was a somewhat younger lady, but considerably older than we were.

After my wife had bid 5♠, he turned to me, smiled friendly, and said "These ladies bid quite aggressively nowadays." I remember thinking: "You haven't seen my hand yet." A little bit later, South made the opening lead and I faced my dummy. I will quote what I wrote at the time for the Newsletter of the MSU bridge club (this part is in the same picture frame): "South started to laugh out loud. A friendly, honest laugh from somebody who is really enjoying himself. I saw his point. This was not your everyday vulnerable Michaels bid."

Suddenly, the man stopped laughing. He apologized profoundly, and sincerely. I told him, I was not offended, but he would have nothing of it. His behavior had been bad. I assured him that I was fine. About a minute later, my wife claimed 11 tricks. Now the gentleman was really laughing out loud. He thought it was fantastic. The tears were rolling over his cheeks. Meanwhile, the lady North was not that amused and left the table to powder her nose or do something else really important.

Since we were done early, we started to chat. He introduced himself as Harold Feldheim and we introduced ourselves. We told that we came from Europe and studied in the USA. He told about his adventures as a chess journalist and he told vividly about the Spaski-Fischer match on Iceland. The pleasant chat went on until the round was called and we moved on.

My wife and I got something quick to eat at the break and then decided to go to the beginner / intermediate lecture. We, were obviously not B/I's anymore, since we had 3 years of bridge experience and did okay in the open section with our 70 or so masterpoints, but one never knew what one could learn. And there was our friendly gentleman, Harold Feldheim, giving a lecture on counting and reading the opponents' cards. The room was packed, and we found a standing place behind the last row of chairs. A minute after we came in, he asked the audience a question. You know how these audiences are: mainly older people who look puzzled who are not used to an lot of interaction in a teaching-learning situation. So, Harold Feldheim pointed at the clueless man sitting in front of me. Quite obviously, there was no answer coming. Then his finger went up a little, starting to point at me. I pointed at myself with an asking face to ask whether I understood correctly that he wanted me to answer and he yelled in front of a stunned audience: "YOU!!! 5♠ doubled against me, making exactly. I never want to see you again!!" and his finger moved to somebody in an other corner of the room, as we were laughing.

After the lecture was over, I thought: "I just want to know his honest opinion." So, I went to him and asked him: "So, what do you really think about my Michaels bid, I mean, err, was it that bad?". He replied: "You are asking me for my honest opinion?" I said: "I value your honest opinion because I might learn something.". He continued: "Ok, then, Rik, I have been playing bridge for years and this was the worst bid I have ever seen." And as he saw that I had hoped for him saying "It wasn't that bad", he continued: "But I saw that you guys are doing pretty good so far, so you must be doing some things right too."

Then he went on: "You used to play chess, right?" I replied: "Well, err, yes." He went on: "Did you ever play blind chess*?". And I replied: "well yes, but I haven't played in years". "Good! You are white. Pick your opening move." So, we played about 20 moves of blind chess (Bird opening!). After those 20 moves, he had a significant advantage over me. The TD called the round and he immediately offered me a draw. We shook hands and went to our tables to play bridge.

As we drove home, I said to my wife... Harold Feldheim... I know that name somehow. When we got home, I went to our book shelf to find one of his bridge books right there.

The moral of the story: My horrible Michaels overcall at unfavorable vulnerability has given my wife and me the nicest bridge memory of all. I will never bid like that again, except against Harold Feldheim, against whom I would love to do it all over again.

Rik

* For none chess players: Blind chess is played without the players seeing a chess board or pieces. They play the game entirely in their head and tell their opponent what moves they make. To non chess players this seems a miraculous feat, but for a somewhat seasoned chess player, it isn't hard to do. (Top players even play several blind games simultaneously!)