Club 2/1 has been renamed BBO-IAC, for Intermediate-Advanced Club Interfering with 2NT auction Active vs. passive NT defense Hidden dummy entry Bogus Roman Key Card 4NT RKC with voids grizz: We do random hands in this class, so all aspects of bidding, play and defense are open for discussion grizz: Chat logs and hand records are stored in your computer for later review. For information on how to retrieve them, go the BIL homepage or email me. grizz: I teach private individual, pair, and small group lessons. If you would like to know more please email me at Grizz@GrizzBridge.com. grizz: And archives of old sessions are available at GrizzBridge.com, on the Lessons and Archives page. grizz: There will be lots of questions. I want to address them all, but in a manner helpful to all, so please ask them in open chat. grizz: As always i encourage participation by all kibs grizz: So jump right in with a comment, question, or bid at any time, but please do it in open chat grizz: Since I can't always respond to private chat grizz: question time grizz: what do folks think about bidding with the E hand? jenna22: i think pass whoscousin: me too camilleln: lead directing diamond? wakullaman: pass, the other two have very little hcp grizz: it is clear that N-S have the balance of power on this hand randycorr: points behind big hand is better than not grizz: but there are 2 good reasons to bid grizz: maybe 3 grizz: 1. lead direction grizz: though less important when declarer will most often be N grizz: 2. E's honors are sitting under the big hand grizz: 3. interference will louse up a routine stayman or transfer auction grizz: if S Xes, what does that mean? grizz: that E stole his bid? grizz: if so, was it !c or !d? grizz: are transfers still on? grizz: is any bid forcing? grizz: these are all legitimate questions after a 1NT opening wakullaman: his dbl would say he can supoort anything N bids grizz: but they are even more important after a 2NT opening, since there is so little bidding space left grizz: so the answer depends on partnership agreement grizz: but i encourage folks to bid with hands like this, just to get ops out of their comfort zone grizz: another question: do N-S play Lebensohl? grizz: or Rubensohl? grizz: or Puppet Stayman? grizz: the !d bid can effectively screw up the auction for N-S at very low risk, since E-W are nonvul grizz: now S is on the hook grizz: there are many hands that N can have that will make 3NT with his crummy 4 hcp grizz: and the !dKxxx rates to be a !d stopper that pard does not have grizz: so with no interest in majors, i think the best bid here is 3NT grizz: so what is E's strategy, and what should he lead? grizz: a couple thoughts here grizz: the 3NT might be a semi-psych, without a real stopper but with a smattering of scattered points and a prayer grizz: if so, E should not lead a !d grizz: otherwise he should play A-Q, knock out the stopper, and hope to get in later with a major to cash his tricks grizz: any other strategies? grizz: passive !c lead and wait? Dianne0516: Lead a M grizz: another possibility randycorr: seems biders each had less than 4 majors camilleln: I read recently if opps are known to have 4 cards in a suit like the diamonds, to lead low not QJ... grizz: N could have anywhere from 4 to 8 cards in the majors, or 9 if they play Puppet where they could open 2NT with a 5M randycorr: ok grizz: so major lead is not automatic here, with only 3-3 grizz: the real question is, should E be active or passive? randycorr: I like higher D, thinking that I have possible entries behind 2nt opener grizz: one other thought about a major lead Dianne0516: With those cards, I'd lead the Q !d grizz: N is apt to have tenaces in the majors with his 2NT bid camilleln: true grizz: indicating strength in all suits grizz: ergo holes in honor sequences grizz: so a major lead could give away a trick grizz: such as a !h lead into AKJx grizz: or a !s lead into the AT9 as here grizz: so i would rule out a major lead here, though certainly could be wrong grizz: so then the question is, Active or Passive? wyoming33: passive jenna22: passive lead a C and wait randycorr: active grizz: generally, not always but generally, passive leads work out poorly vs. NT grizz: defenders have a timing advantage at Trick 1 grizz: if they get started on setting up their long suit tricks grizz: remember, NT defense is about long suits and entries grizz: a passive lead surrenders that timing to declarer, who can then go about the same thing - grizz: setting up long suits while he still has entries cc1313: hi hi grizz: you see, the job is the same for both sides :) ->cc1313: hiya! grizz: so i don't like passive defense against NT most of the time grizz: that rules out the !c lead wyoming33: is the !D ace active or passive - cause thats what I wd lead grizz: leaving !ds as the only choice of suit grizz: A would be active, small would be passive\ grizz: here is the "bull in the china shop" approach: grizz: now what? grizz: and W is squeezed already, at Trick 2! grizz: ack grizz: E must lead high to smother the T grizz: and now N is on the hot seat grizz: this may be the 1 and only time he is in dummy grizz: what chances does N have to create an extra trick? randycorr: and preferable doesn't want E back in lead? randycorr: ably grizz: right, E has those !ds locked and loaded grizz: 2 chances only grizz: !S KQ are in the W grizz: or !cs break grizz: what are the !s possibilities? grizz: KQ in W randycorr: low grizz: KQ in E grizz: or split grizz: split could be Q in W and K in E, grizz: or K in W and Q in E grizz: in any case, chances are 75% that E has at least one of them jenna22: west sluffed 2cs must mean something grizz: so N can set up a tenace over an honor is W, but only by risking E getting the lead jenna22: spades i mean grizz: right grizz: making it even more likely that E has 1 or both honors grizz: so give up on !ss grizz: hope for !cs to break grizz: and maybe a squeeze position will materialize grizz: playing standard signals, E shows a !s card grizz: just what N did NOT want to see! grizz: not only are !cs not breaking, the long !d hand has a !s entry grizz: there are no chances now, none to speak of anyway grizz: so minimize the damage, cash out and give up wakullaman: when it comes to the lead, what is the single most important lesson here grizz: so let's try another lead grizz: from AQJTx or AQJ9x there is an interior sequence lead that looks good grizz: but not from AQJ8x grizz: now N has 8 tricks in the bag, and the same chances in the black suits grizz: but is not so worried about losing the lead to E, with !ds still stopped grizz: but how to get to dummy for the hook? grizz: only way is in !ds, and that is suicide grizz: one chance: grizz: can anybody see it? grizz: hint: it doesn't work on this hand IraCT: J!C doubleton wyoming33: what you wanting to hook grizz: if either op has !cJx, then the T sets up as an entry wyoming33: !S? grizz: need an entry to hook the !s, hope for split honors and take 2 tricks in the suit grizz: if either op had the !cJx, then N could now get to dummy in !cs grizz: there just aren't many possibilities on this hand grizz: and now fewer than ever gimit: Y, Daddy used to say if you spit in one hand and wish in the other, guess which will get filled first BUT better than no plan rofl ->gimit: lol randycorr: but, is it better to have W in lead? grizz: so best to grab a !d trick and cash out IraCT: if J!C was doubleton then 9 tricks wo spade finesse grizz: then the !s finesse allows chances for an overtrick grizz: so on this hand, the passive lead costs a trick grizz: as i suspected, but now we know for sure :) grizz: any other thoughts on this one? randycorr: what about exit with 4th !C and chances that W leads !S grizz: possible, but why would W lead !S? grizz: surely if N had the !SQ, he would take it grizz: sry, !HQ grizz: which marks E with the !HQ randycorr: no good reason, but if you don't give them a chance to blow it, it will never happen and no downside grizz: as entry for the long !ds grizz: ok, i'll buy that :) grizz: ok, let's move on randycorr->Club: some days all you have is faith in your opp's grizz: that is a very important observation from randy grizz: if you give ops chances to make mistakes, sometimes they will grizz: works in bidding, and that's why weak 2s and other preempts are successful grizz: works in play of the hand too grizz: note: if you play Strong Jump Shifts, then N bids 2!s on these cards grizz: but most good players use jump shift to show a weak hand with a long suit grizz: because that type of hand is statistically much more frequent grizz: but WJS should be REALLY weak, 3-5 hcp or so grizz: NOT an opening weak 2 hand grizz: ok, what are N's thoughts about slam now? gimit: diluted grizz: there are 3 kinds of slams, and combinations of those 3 grizz: 1. freak hands grizz: 2. overpowering strength grizz: 3. double fits wyoming33: chances good - double fit grizz: N almost qualifies as a freak grizz: but S is almost always limited in this auction to 12-14, there is no overpowering strength grizz: and there are chances of a double fit in the black suits grizz: first thing N does is use New Minor Forcing to see if S has 3!ss grizz: rats - doubleton !s grizz: but slam is still on if pard has 2 aces fwl: better yet grizz: ok, NS play RKC, so what is the anchor suit? gimit: hearts grizz: which K is the 5th ace? grizz: or is there one? bluehi: quantitative grizz: there has been no agreement on a suit jaymac: Last suit called wyoming33: some play last suit - otherwise just reg BW gimit: last mentioned grizz: quantitative 4NT has caused more bad results than any other convention i can think of! grizz: i play it only as 1NT-4NT, 2NT-4NT, or 1m-1M-2NT-4NT grizz: so this hand would not qualify for quant grizz: ok, the rule is that if there is no agreed trump suit, the last suit bid AS A SUIT is the anchor suit for purposes of RKC grizz: AS A SUIT is very important grizz: so if the last bid were New Minor Forcing, 4th Suit Forcing or a cuebid, then that suit would not qualify as the anchor suit dae: but 2 H IS a real suit? grizz: but here !hs is a real suit grizz: yes, playing NMF the other major is a real suit grizz: and tends to deny 3 of the other major, but not 100% grizz: since some pairs like 4-4 fits better than 5-3s grizz: so !hs is the anchor suit here grizz: but there is no problem for N, since he has the !HK dae: but why 4nt with only 2 H? grizz: a kib asks: but why 4nt with only 2 H? grizz: N never intended to play the hand in !h grizz: he intended to correct to !s all along grizz: but it was important to find out whether they were off 2 aces grizz: there are lots of tricks in the hand, plenty for slam grizz: but they are missing two aces grizz: S bid NT, so can't have a void grizz: and the simplest, most direct and least confusing way to learn that is with RKC grizz: does everybody see that? bluehi: y dae: y-great! wyoming33: y randycorr: rgr grizz: rather than 4NT, N had some other choices grizz: 3!s grizz: jumping in his suit, which is only invitational and can be passed grizz: 4!s, end of auction grizz: not many other choices! grizz: so the the bogus !h RKC was the best available of bad choices grizz: and S should accept the correction gracefully, and not try to counter-correct grizz: any other thoughts on this one? grizz: one other: gimit: Y, 3 NT makes more grizz: this hand also demonstrates correct use of RKC grizz: which is keeping you OUT of slam off 2 aces grizz: not putting you INTO slam that might be shaky but has enough controls fwl: bogus grizz: yes, the suit was bogus grizz: but N knew that there were plenty of tricks in the hand grizz: and controls was the only question grizz: ok, let's look at another hand mcclurejj: DOES 5!C, RESPONSE TO the 4NT (blackwood) mean 1-4 honors. how does north determine that it is one vs 2 aces grizz: a kib asks: DOES 5!C, RESPONSE TO the 4NT (blackwood) mean 1-4 honors. how does north determine that it is one vs 2 aces grizz: playing 1430, 5!c means 1 or 4 key cards randycorr: two in hand, leaving 3 out grizz: with !h as the anchor suit, N is already looking at 2 of them grizz: so S must have 1, and ops must have 2 grizz: game, set, match grizz: notice one thing though mcclurejj: ty wyoming33: if north not have K maybe missing 3 aces grizz: if N did not have the !HK, the 1430 response would have been ambiguous grizz: then N would have to guess grizz: this hand is not suitable for cuebidding, but on others where the RKC response may not be clear, then establishing a GF and cuebidding is a better way to be certain grizz: unfortunately, after a 1NT rebid there is no way to establish a GF sequence grizz: NMF forces for only 1 round gimit: Pls what happens with a void? How do you let p know grizz: good question grizz: not possible for S to have one here, but there are some guidelines grizz: first, is the 4NT bidder void, or responder? grizz: different set of rules spum1: give us both grizz: if responder has a void, most good players agree that 5NT shows 2 controls and a USEFUL void grizz: that is, a void in a suit not bid by pard AS A SUIT grizz: then the next question is, is the void above or below the rank of the trump suit? aspiring (Lobby): hi pete ->aspiring: hi! grizz: if below, then 6 of the void suit shows 1 or 3 controls and a void in that suit grizz: if above, then 6 of the trump suit shows 1 or 3 and a void above the rank of trumps grizz: and pard must decide whether it's 1 or 3, based on the previous auction, intuition, and the phase of the moon lol grizz: ok, next case is where asker has a void, not responder grizz: Exclusion Key Card Blackwood is the answer grizz: http://homepage.mac.com/bridgeguys/Conventions/ExclusionKCBlackwood.html grizz: instead of 4NT being the ace-asking bid, 5 of the void suit is the ace-asking bid, and step responses are used above that grizz: sometime called "Voidwood" grizz: but be very careful - grizz: don't do this unless you and partner have discussed it grizz: or pard may have no idea what you are saying, and you might wind up playing 7 of the void suit!!! spum1: ty Pete, and praise the lord for the chat log! dae: need to be on CC? alerted? grizz: should be, yes grizz: alerted that is, not necessarily on the CC dae: ok grizz: there just isn't enough room on a cc for every possible agreement grizz: but ops are entitled to know what your agreement is grizz: there are Queen-ask bids available in both types of auctions, but let's not go there grizz: any other questions? dae: how can partner tell when doing voidwood? grizz: because there will have been a strong auction up until that point dae: may think cue gimit: Just if we can practise w/ voids next class, PLS grizz: and the voidwood bidder will have bypassed 4NT dae: ok grizz: which should raise a big red flag grizz: i have a request to work on RKC with voids next week, do i hear any "nays"? bluehi: y bluehi: please kyno40: yes pl. fwl: PL grizz: ok, it's a deal cc1313: :) cdt: good idea-- does it come up that often thou? gimit: Oh, tks so much grizz: not often cdt: :) grizz: but it's one of those cases where you can snag a top because you know more about the hand than other pairs do grizz: and that is the very best kind of top score :) grizz: because experts shoot for averages and tops, when they know more about the hand than the field does grizz: ok, that wraps it up for today, and i hope to see you all next week Dianne0516: Thanks Pete :) gimit: tks randycorr: Thanks very much kyno40: ty spum1: ty pete camilleln: Thank you Pete!! whoscousin: tx Pete bluehi: tu grizz grizz: please let your friends know that the Club 2/1 is now called the BBO-IAC IraCT: Thanks aspiring: ty pete fwl: oh oh grizz: ok, bye now