Please give me nice opponents, please

Francine and I played a couple of sessions on BBO in the last while.  In the first session an interesting auction came up which featured the theme forcing passes.  I will save that for another blog.  In the second session today the main theme was how irritating it is when opponents fool around in the auction and then fight about it.  I even had a kibbitzer complain to me.   The hand that really irked his partner was this one.  East the victim held

East ♠ Q6 ♥ 976 ♦ A872 ♣ Q842

They were not vulnerable against vulnerable, a time when these things happen most often.  Francine in first chair opened 1♥ and West, the perp bid 1NT.  I doubled for penalty.  East thought he had enough to redouble and we played it there.  On a heart lead the hand was down 3.  Even at favorable vulnerability that is a big score redoubled, an even 1000 and about 13 and a half imps.

Now one might expect an explosion from East who did well to keep quiet during the play and saved his anger for the post mortem which now ensued.  But West was non-repentant.  He thought that East’s redoubled was too aggressive.  Ha!  This is West’s hand:

West ♠ A1098 ♥ A4 ♦ Q643 ♣ 1095

East ♠ Q6 ♥ 976 ♦ A872 ♣ Q842

I understand the vulnerability but perhaps it would be better if West had a place to go rather than toughing it out in 1NT redoubled.

Earlier on West had made this bid.  What do you think of it?

With everybody white West in third chair chose to open 3♠ .  It seems okay to me opposite a passed partner.  I passed and Francine reopened with a double.  When I bid 4♥ our hero? bid 4♠ .  That kind of second guessing (maybe we can make 4♥) is just wrong.  He put pressure on us and he has to hope it worked and we ended in the wrong spot.  I doubled 4♠ which went down two when we managed a trump promotion (I scored two tricks from the K10x) and 4♥ is off 4 top tricks.

Here is a lesson hands for Cora, my student, who I know was watching.

This is a hand you don’t balance on.  I held

You are in fourth chair white on red.  The auction starts off 1♠ pass pass to you.  You are in the perfect position to pass.  At this vulnerability East has certainly not pysched spades.  That being the case partner who is known to be short in the suit could not overcall.  This is a lovely spot, just get them a 100 a trick.  Mind you I would have bid on the East hand over 1♠ .

Dealer: Vul:	North ♠ AK982 ♥ KJ98 ♦ 4 ♣ J73
West ♠ 7 ♥ 7652 ♦ Q875 ♣ A1094		East ♠ Q10543 ♥ A ♦ AK62 ♣ Q86
	South ♠ J6 ♥ Q1043 ♦ J1093 ♣ K52

As it turned out declarer had a fair number or tricks and played it pretty well so the hand went one down as it should.  If I balance and I have no idea what I would bid but say 1NT and we find our best spot of 2♥ , the opposition can get a plus score by bidding diamonds.  So this is an illustration of the rule about the importance of the number of cards you have in opener’s suit when decided to balance.  This is an extreme example I admit.