New round, I pick up 
AQ64
KJT652
T4
2
Another light, distributional opener. I don't think anyone would hate this one (unlike board 30). As always, I don't think I can be embarrassed by the most likely rebids (1S, 1NT or 2 of a minor). The wheels don't come off, unlike last time, since there is no interference. (Neither side is vulnerable).
Me Partner
-----------
1 - 1
2 - 3
3 - 4
Pass
Betsy held K983
8
KQJ73
QJ5
Her hand doesn't mesh well with mine, especially when I turn the invitation back around with 3H. On the other hand, with a 12 count I'd have probably just bid game over 2S. In any case we lose the non-trump aces and make 4 (partner finessing against the heart queen, which wins, to provide a discard). This is worth seven out of eight. Looking at the scores, one pair went down, two pairs defended against clubs (N-S have a 9 card fit, but it requires south to overcall an A9xxx suit if I open. But S has 12 HCP and can easily open in 3rd seat...), and the rest played in a spade partial.
Next, I get an opener nobody can complain about.
Board #2 — AK3
KT853
JT2
K8
Despite having full points, I'll have to rebid 2 Diamonds over my partner's expected forcing-1NT response. (Since we play a new suit at the two level is a near GF, we need to use 1NT to handle lots of intermediate hands). But I needn't have worried, we have a simple auction. Partner bids 2NT (Jacoby 2NT - a strong forcing heart raise) and I show a minimum by signing off in four hearts. LHO cashes the diamond ace and king and I have the rest of the tricks. (Betsy held QT
AQ984
87
A653). We get slightly below average (3). Apparently a few souths decided not to cash out on the lead.
Board #3 finds me in fourth seat, vulnerable, with
KQJT
K874
5
AKQ5. Will I get to open my 18 count? I'd be surprised. But the auction I witness is even more surprising....
SOUTH Betsy North Me -------------------- 1NT P 2C P 2D P 2S P P P1NT showed 15-17, leaving precious little for everyone else. North bid stayman, asking for a major, and then showed 5-4 in the majors. I play that sequence has some values, but it's hardly universal. Since partner has few points and north has the majors, I go quietly.
|
98752 AT63 42 93 | ||
|
63 J2 JT87 JT864 |
 |
KQJT K874 5 AKQ5 |
|
A4 Q95 AKQ963 72 |
The play is routine. I lead the SK, dummy wins and ... leads a club? Huh? I win, play the ST (a mistake. I shouldn't advertise that the suit is 4-2) and lead clubs twice. Declarer leads a diamond to dummy and then runs the HQ. While declarer has every reason to expect the points to be more evenly split, if my partner does have the King and Jack, she'll surely cover. In any case, I win, pull trump, cash my good club. For some reason we only get them down two, +100. (Did Betsy pitch her fifth club on the last trump to hold her diamond guard and HJ? I guess so, but I don't remember). We get slightly above average, some E-W are competing to 3C (for +130). Most N/S are in diamonds making 2 or down a trick in three.
I agree with South's choice of opening, but it's a matter of taste. I'll admit I'm tempted to bid 1D and then rebid diamonds cheaply (for fear of a transfer into spades and getting dropped).
After two rounds I'm averaging over 12 points a hand (and with many of the 9-11 point hands being highly distributional, enough to consider opening). That average would slip little over the rest of the night....
Update: Fixed my table macro so that South has clubs instead of two diamond suits.
Related Posts (on one page):
Good discipline on your part to just pass. You had to know something was amiss before your first bid--there weren't enough points for everyone to be telling the truth.
If north had a 3rd spade and a max (give her my queen of spades) then 4 spades is pretty reasonable to make even though North only has an ace. lose tow clubs, trump finesse, trump ace, lose trump and run diamonds. If they split you are done. An AKQxxx suit is a nice source of tricks....
I'll admit, Norths bidding (with a four count) surprised me. I was expected a weak 4-4-5-0 (or 4-4-4-1 or small variant), when North bid 2S I was assuming 5-4-(13) with 7-8 points, but apparently there are people who play that auction as a "Garbage stayman."
I am not fond of opening 1NT with a solid 6-card minor, especially at IMPs where 5m or even 6m may be the right spot. But that's more a matter of style.
Your opponents were playing 2-way Garbage Stayman. After 1NT-2C; 2D, they play 2H and 2S show bad hands with at least 4-4 and 5-4 in the majors respectively. Pretty much everyone plays Garbage Stayman these days; a 2H rebid showing at least 4-4 in the majors and junk is useful. Using 2S for a specific weak hand, however, isn't likely to be the best use of the sequence, though I know some good players who play that way.
I actually wrote that prior to the comment thread on the other post. Pretty much everyone would (or, at least) should open that hand, whereas the prior hand was definitely a stretch.
The things I don't know ... that was the first time I encountered it.
1NT-2C
2D- then you just bid 2N to invite.
In some of my partnerships, we play that 2N is a transfer bid, so that all invites go through stayman. So
1N-2C
2X-2N maynot have a four card major, but
1N-2C
2X-3N does show one.
I believe that makes our 2NT bid in the first auction alertable, but it may make 2C alertable too.
The only difference between Garbage Stayman and regular Stayman is that responder may be weak with both majors. So all bidding other than his rebidding 2H (and maybe 2S if playing 2-way Garbage Stayman) is just the same as always.
Garbage Stayman (at least one-way) doesn't really give anything up of note. With five hearts and an invitational hand, you transfer to hearts and bid 2NT. With four hearts and an invite, you bid Stayman and either raise or bid 2NT as appropriate. With game-going hands and both majors, you use Smolen. Since it is more or less free, the vast majority play it. Most of the rest play Puppet Stayman.