[CamHenry]

Last week we didn't do too badly, but two hands gave us outright zeros. On each of them, my RHO did something I would not have considered usual on the cards.

Hand 1:

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As dealer, none vul, RHO opened this hand. Not an unrealistic idea, you might say - there's a perfectly sound 2♦ rebid, or I can raise partner's ♥ suit. However, the character in question decided that this was a perfect 3♦ opening.

Hand 2:

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On this hand, none vul, my partner dealt and opened 1♣ (at least 2; fairly simple 5-card-majors system). This hand doubled to show "at least an opening hand", and neither partner nor I expected this when she was silent throughout.

Ah well. It was good to get a game in between work and sleep.

[ArtK78]

The first one is odd, but I can see it working.

If the second one worked for the opponents, you were very unlucky.

[Codo]

1. If you use offshape bids, you sometimes win and sometimes lose. This time it won, where is the surprisng part of this?

2. Well.... this was an opening bid, wasn't it?

[Zelandakh]

It sounds loike your opponents were playing something akin to kitchen bridge. The first hand has 7 diamonds and less than 13hcp. For many players this makes it the perfect 3 level preempt, irrespective of anything else about the hand. Similarly for the second hand, they likely double on every opening hand. As long as they disclose this then it is not a problem. I might like to ask what their overcalls show though. And since it is only 15hcp, it does not qualify for double-then-bid, obviously. Sometimes Mama and Papa bridge works. Most of the time they will just be putting themselves in position to guess wrongly quite often. Put it down the same way as meeting a relay pair on a slam hand where you cannot get into the auction, or a Strong Club pair that opens 2♣ and preempts you out of the part score. You accept those more readily because they are "good systems"; but bad systems have their day too. And bad cardplay too for that matter. This is just the nature of bridge.

[Cyberyeti]

Hand 2 I suspect your opp decided that since there was a playable slam opposite Kxxx, xx, any 7 cards and a playable game opposite xxx, Qx, xxxx, xxxx that he was too strong to overcall.

Hand 1 is LOL standard, we got done in the Tolly one year when somebody did this on a 7-5 9 count.

[CamHenry]

Sure it's rub of the green, and both sets of oppo were perfectly ethical about it: in fact, I'd have preferred it if oppo #1 had said something like "I'm glad my dubious preempt worked", simply because it acknowledges some idea of good bridge.

It turned out our bad result on #1 was because partner made a light balancing TOX (shapely 10-count), and LHO had the cards to double my 4♣ bid. I misplayed it because I didn't have the imagination to visualise the RHO hand. At most other tables the contract was 3♦ passed out...

[billw55]

CamHenry, on 2013-July-12, 01:52, said:

Sure it's rub of the green, and both sets of oppo were perfectly ethical about it: in fact, I'd have preferred it if oppo #1 had said something like "I'm glad my dubious preempt worked", simply because it acknowledges some idea of good bridge.

It turned out our bad result on #1 was because partner made a light balancing TOX (shapely 10-count), and LHO had the cards to double my 4♣ bid. I misplayed it because I didn't have the imagination to visualise the RHO hand. At most other tables the contract was 3♦ passed out...

.. which goes to show how many club players think that hand is a 3♦ opening. I suppose there are other routes to 3♦, but my nickel says there were several preempts.

[ggwhiz]

I once had an lol open 1♠ on an 18 count and her likewise lol pard raise to 2♠ on 4-card support and 15, float making 5 for a cold zero in a 13 table NAOP qualifier.

That's how memories are made or is it nightmares.

[Cyberyeti]

The first hand reminds me of one I posted on these boards several years ago, R/R as dealer, what do you open with x, xxxxx, AKxxxxx, void ? decent quality teams of 8 crossimp event.

The next hand has a monster including AQJ9 to 8 clubs and a diamond void, might be AKQ, KQ, void, AQJ9xxxx or similar

The 4 auctions were 3♦-X end twice -1, 4♦-5♣-X -1 and 5♦-6♣-X -2, partner has xxxxx, Ax, xx, K10xx so on this occasion underpreempting proved costly.

[Winstonm]

Concerning hand 1, a local kibitzer at our OKC club thought he was an expert on Italian systems. My friend and I decided for kicks to play this system. A key feature was to double with any 12 point hand, overcalls were always 11 or less.

In response to the double, you made an exclusion bid. This led to some strange auctions.
1D-X-P-2C
P-2D-P-P
P

Turns out it was quite effective for awhile.