My partner opens a shapely hand in 2nd seat. We play Jacoby 2 nt over the majors. This tells your partner that you have  12+ HCP and 4 card support. Fearing the weakness of her trump suit ,she chose to end the auction at game. How could we have explored slam with this convention? My partner could bid three spades showing a shortness in spades. Now with A of spades and 16HCP; I could key card ask. MIssing one Ace . Easy 6 heart bid. This was a fifty percent board across the field. 4h making 6. No one wanted to explore slam after opening a nice shapely hand. Trust the shape. Go for it!!!!                      Fun fact: 1 in 15 deals makes a small slam,

Playing in a Virtual Club game the other night this hand came up. Finding those marginal games in competition can be hard. We did it. Yeah team. Here’s how it went and why. South as dealer opens : 1 h, I am west and overcall 1 spade, North bids 2h and my brother raises my spades. South passes. 

With 11 hcp , I chose to invite to game with 3 spades. I have a nice spade suit and near opening values. He bids three no trump. He likes his heart stoppers and deduces we can probably take the same tricks in no trump as spades. He figures we may only take 9 tricks and that is game in no trump. 

You may ask why did I invite with only 11 hcp. Listen to the bidding.: 1heart, 1 spade, 2 hearts, 2 spades , pass. South’s pass told me they had no extras. North ‘s bid was a bare minimum response. So I put 12-13 hcp in south, 6 hcp in north . I had 11. My brother has to have an opening hand. He needs to know I have extras and not just a bare minimum overcall.  He can then make an informed decision about game possibilities. 

Why did he choose no trump? He has also figured out the point count and knows we have marginal game values.  HIs hand is balanced. He likes his heart spots and wisely chose to place us in three no trump. My hand is also balanced and he is showing stoppers in hearts. I figure my Jack of hearts will be helpful so I leave it there. Only two pairs got to the game. Everyone else is in two or three spades making three. We got a tie for top. 

• The trouble with women is that they treat bridge as a game.  They do not realize it is a war. Anon

• This author has obviously not met me! HA HA HA

Bidding: Pass, Pass, Two Clubs, pass, Two no trump, pass, three hearts, pass, four spades, pass, 5 hearts. Pass, Six no trump

Partner chose to open two clubs with 21 and a good heart suit. I am looking at ten HCP and two aces. I make a positive response of two no trump. Partner shows Five card heart suit. I show four card spade suit. Now my partner chose to bid hearts again. In match points I chose to play six no trump. Luckily , hearts and clubs broke three and I gave up a diamond at the end. Contract successful. Good job partner.

( Could have made seven if I had let small spade come around to my Ace / 10)

Be sure to understand how to make a positive response to two clubs. That means slam potential! 

Count your winners and count your losers. If the total doesn't come to 13, count your cards.  (Sheinwold)

One of my regular partners was playing at a regional recently and asked me to look at this hand . East opens two clubs with a big hand. West has 9 HCP and gives a waiting bid. East showed a spade suit and west then  showed a club suit. East jumps to four spades with a self-sufficient suit thinking partner has maybe one King with the waiting bid. Should West think about slam with 9 points?  I think, yes. Now the play of this hand could get tricky with a spade lead. She got a heart lead and made seven. When trying the reverse finesse on the diamonds, south did not take K diamonds. Of course south would have taken K d if the contract was at the six level. Can still make six if south now decides to return a spade. Go to Q of diamonds. Back to hand with A of hearts. Ruff a diamond and pitch last losing diamond on K hearts.

If West had chosen to give a positive response to the two club opener, this pair would have gotten to six spades. Partnership agreements on what a response to Two Club opener means is critical. 

Now this one gets tricky with a spade lead. Have  to win spade in hand and do reverse finesse on diamond at trick two. South will return a spade. Now you can not ruff a diamond. Draw the last trump. Play Ace hearts hand. Go to board with Q diamonds. Dump the last diamond on K hearts.  NOTE: The success is on the finesse. 50% chance of success.

This hand came up in a side game at Nationals as well. 

Bidding: 1 spade, two no trump, pass, We play an unusual no trump . This is the lowest two unbid suits. So my partner has both of the minors. I am two / two in the minors’ so no preference. I bid three clubs. Three spades by North and my partner inferring that South is broke by the bidding puts me in 5 clubs. Great bid. We play that for either majors with michaels or unusual no trump  that you need an opening hand.

Now the tricky part is playing the hand.Need to take the diamond finesse twice. I have transportation issues. North plays A and then K spades and I trump with two clubs. Come to my  hand with A of hearts. Finesse diamond and win.Now I give of queen of clubs. . Queen of hearts and I win K hearts. Take diamond finesse again. Draw trumps and run diamonds making. Have to take diamond finesse twice!

Your play was much better tonight and so were your excuses. 

If there was a twelve step program to help bridge addicts, the first step would involve counting to 13. Normand Houlde.