[jillybean]

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Matchpoints, club game

[DavidKok]

1♣. If partner responds 1♠ this is a BW Death Hand, if partner responds 1♥ you have a tough decision in standard methods - on the one hand this hand is too strong for a 15-17 3♣, on the other hand upgrading when partner bid your singleton is generally a poor idea and you'd have to upgrade into a fake 2♦ reverse.

In Dutch Doubleton I have slightly fewer problems over a 1♥ or 1♠ response - I have gadgets here, but even without those the fact that partner (nominally) promises 8+ hcp means I can establish a game force and take it slow. If partner responds 1♦ though I have a clear 3♣ (15-17, a slight underbid but partner can be very weak) over which partner might have a problem, but at least has practically denied a major suit.

It's deals like this where I miss my canapé strong club system.

[mike777]

1C will rebid 3C if partner shows spades
2NT if partner shows H or a balanced minimum.

[mw64ahw]

1♣ followed by 2N whichever Major is bid showing one of 3 options.
Now partner can bid 3♣ min. or 3♦ max.
3♣ is passable or I correct to 3M with the right Major
After 3♦ GF ; I bid 3N to play/3oM to ask for a stopper both with 6♣

[jillybean]

I could have saved myself the headache, all roads lead to 3nt on this hand other than 1 table who stalled in 2CE?
I have a had a lot of these death hands recently!

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[mw64ahw]

Yep 6♣ is a long shot

[Cyberyeti]

mw64ahw, on 2026-February-25, 02:36, said:

Yep 6♣ is a long shot

Although a heart lead from Hxx you don't necessarily make 3N

[mw64ahw]

Cyberyeti, on 2026-February-25, 04:48, said:

Although a heart lead from Hxx you don't necessarily make 3N

3N is makeable unless of course you play badly

[Cyberyeti]

mw64ahw, on 2026-February-25, 05:06, said:

3N is makeable unless of course you play badly

On the actual lie of the cards yes, but how do you propose to make it without the miracle lies in the pointy suits and if S has ♥Q9x on a heart lead.

Also if hearts are 4-4 the right line is to play on clubs, so even though 3N may be on, it may be wrong to play the line that works.

[mikeh]

jillybean, on 2026-February-24, 20:43, said:

I could have saved myself the headache, all roads lead to 3nt on this hand other than 1 table who stalled in 2CE?
I have a had a lot of these death hands recently!

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You didn’t really open 1N?

[jillybean]

mikeh, on 2026-February-25, 09:56, said:

You didn’t really open 1N?

I did. Club game, experimenting and could only see trouble opening 1C and hearing the very likely 1M

[mikeh]

jillybean, on 2026-February-25, 10:03, said:

I did. Club game, experimenting and could only see trouble opening 1C and hearing the very likely 1M

Interesting

So you think that opening 1N solves problems? You hold a hand that, in playing strength, is at least 2 tricks stronger than say KQx Axx Qxx AQxx, which is a control rich maximum 1N and you believe that this is better than opening 1C and rebidding 3C over a 1M response? 1C then 3C shows 6+ decent clubs and anywhere from a great 15 hcp to 17. Take a look at your hand.

Now I know that your partners are not usually very experienced but why do you think that masterminding (intentionally distorting your hand in a constructive auction) will help your partnership get to the best spot? You want to experiment? Try describing your hand and seeing how partner bids. Both of you might learn something, and neither of you will think that the other either doesn’t trust them (so masterminds) or has no idea how to bid. Neither feeling is enjoyable.

[jillybean]

Yes, I hear what you are saying. I think I know where this partnership is headed.
The thought of 1C 1M 3C made me uneasy, it's not a sequence that is handled well in inexperienced partnerships and I think my hand is a little better.

[mikeh]

jillybean, on 2026-February-25, 13:11, said:

Yes, I hear what you are saying. I think I know where this partnership is headed.
The thought of 1C 1M 3C made me uneasy, it's not a sequence that is handled well in inexperienced partnerships and I think my hand is a little better.

You think your hand is better than 1C 3C? Yet you think it’s ok for 1N?

Bidding isn’t about masterminding. It’s about understanding and staying true to basic concepts.

Sure, some famous players have a reputation for doing weird things, but, if you follow them closely, you’ll see that 99% of the time they are bidding within their systemic constraints. Why? Because bridge is a partnership game. Unless you’re a pro playing with a weak client who wants to win masterpoints rather than improve their game, one basic foundation to playing well is understanding what bids mean and ALWAYS choosing a bid that conveys as accurate a description as possible to partner. Yes, with a weak partner that can lead to a bad result, but I guarantee you that deliberately misbidding, while it may work once in a while, is a consistent loser on many levels. You say that you know where this partnership is heading. I infer that you think your partner isn’t good enough for you to keep playing with him or her. Ironically, if he or she has any idea about bidding, I suspect he or she feels the same way about you. I’ve played with masterminds a few times…but never the same one twice. I like to feel that I’m part of a partnership, not just the dummy…in both senses of the word.

Look, every bidding method ever devised struggles with some hands. There are always going to be hands on which we should be applying the ‘smallest distortion’ principle to guide our bids. That’s why bidding is so hard for everyone, including top players. But when you throw in intentional distortions, you harm everyone. Your OPPs get annoyed when it works. Otherwise, if they notice, their opinion of you as a bridge player diminishes. And who knows? Today’s opp might well turn out to be tomorrow’s wonderful partner…unless they’ve already written you off*. And, more importantly, you lose any hope of having a partner with whom you can learn to bid accurately. In short, masterminding is not a good idea if you care about the game

* how do you think good players find good partners? By developing a reputation for masterminding or for being reliable?

[jillybean]

mikeh, on 2026-February-25, 13:28, said:

You think your hand is better than 1C 3C? Yet you think it’s ok for 1N?

I think 1C 3C auctions are poorly handled when undiscussed, I've seen 6 cards and a bad 14
Nor do I think it's ok for 1nt, but given the constraints, I thought it best at the time.