[gartinmale]

Matchpoints. North America. A club game with widely varying (two Grand Life Masters, all the way down to players who revoke once or twice per session) levels of play. Your opponents are on neither end of the spectrum.

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1. Would you have bid 1♠ at your first chance to call, or something else? Partner needs so very little for slam to be on, even with South opening.

2. Would you have bid 4♠ at your second chance to call, or something else?

3. Now what?

[blackshoe]

1. 1♠
2. 4♠
3. Pass

[sasioc]

 blackshoe, on 2012-January-15, 22:23, said:

1. 1♠
2. 4♠
3. Pass

+1

[Fluffy]

1♠ and 4♠ IMO clear.

Next one, I bid 6♣. Perhaps makes, perhaps goes 300 against making, or perhaps LHO who bids 5♥ inmediatelly doesn;t sell out and I can double.

I would rather double than pass 5♥

[JLOGIC]

I'd rip it

[fromageGB]

 JLOGIC, on 2012-January-16, 06:20, said:

I'd rip it

Is this a legal call, or some physical action?
I seem to be having language difficulties again.

[gwnn]

 fromageGB, on 2012-January-16, 07:08, said:

Is this a legal call, or some physical action?
I seem to be having language difficulties again.

rip = double

also crack = double.

send it back/rewind = redouble.

there are plenty of other expressions on pass/double/redouble, but none spring to mind at the moment.

[ArtK78]

 gwnn, on 2012-January-16, 07:21, said:

rip = double

also crack = double.

send it back/rewind = redouble.

there are plenty of other expressions on pass/double/redouble, but none spring to mind at the moment.

It is also quite common for players to say "saw it off" for a penalty double.

At the risk of a small hijack, I want to relate a story about "saw it off." A friend of mine was describing an auction. At one point in the auction there was a negative double, which he referred to as a "negative saw." I thought that was hilarious (but then I have a strange sense of humor).

[JLOGIC]

I'd lay down the wood

[mikeh]

 gwnn, on 2012-January-16, 07:21, said:

rip = double

also crack = double.

send it back/rewind = redouble.

there are plenty of other expressions on pass/double/redouble, but none spring to mind at the moment.

I'd either hammer it, or apply the axe, or give it the spanking it deserves, or pound it...I am sure there are more

[ggwhiz]

I'm giving them a speeding ticket.

Generally asks for a non ♠ lead OR says they are just down. Decent chance I get to ruff at trick 1 or give pard a ♠ ruff at trick 3. No way they are making this.

[gartinmale]

I bid 1♠ and 4♠. Then I passed, which I thought was cowardly. Part of the reason I passed was because I feared I was going to get a spade lead whether I doubled or not.

As it turns out:

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No, I don't know why S opened 1♣, not 1♦. But if most Wests were facing 1♦ (or Pass - I'd open it but not everyone will), that should make going slow with the possibility of finding a slam even more appealing, right?

Partner led a spade. Declarer then misguessed the hearts and went down one. +50 for E/W was worth 2/12 matchpoints for us. +100 and +300 would have been worth the same 2/12 matchpoints. -450 would have been a 0.

At other tables, N/S played 2♥ once, 5♦x once, and 6♦x once. Every other E/W pair got to play some number of spades (from 3 to 5), usually doubled. Every E/W declarer made except for one, so there were a lot of +450, +590, +650, etc. I asked around and found out most Wests had started by calling either 2♠ or 4♠ with my hand. I thought this was pretty bad and decided I'd ask a larger pool.

I also asked some regular partners and teammates how they'd bid the hand. Most of them start with 1♠ and then bid 4♠. One starts with a double. One plays Leaping Michaels over 1-level openings too.

Do you think partner should have led a minor?

[dwar0123]

 gartinmale, on 2012-January-16, 18:54, said:

Do you think partner should have led a minor?

you bid spades twice all on your own, I'd be shocked at any other lead.

[JLOGIC]

 dwar0123, on 2012-January-17, 22:08, said:

you bid spades twice all on your own, I'd be shocked at any other lead.

Unless you smacked that shizzy