Love all, dlr E
♠ 9 8 4 3
♥ 8 6
♦ A 7 5
♣ K 10 5 4
♠ 7 ♠ K Q 10
♥ 10 4 2 [ ] ♥ A J 3
♦ J 9 8 4 2 ♦ Q 10 3
♣ A Q 3 2 ♣ 9 8 7 6
♠ A J 6 5 2
♥ K Q 9 7 5
♦ K 6
♣ J
E S W N
1♣ 1♠ 3♣ 3♠
Pass 4♠ Pass Pass
Dble Pass Pass Pass
One of the issues with Michaels (and other two-suited overcalls, for that matter) is deciding on the strength the bid shows. Nominally, we play the weak-strong idea, where the Michaels call is either weak or strong, and with middling values you don’t use it. I can never figure out where a given hand lies on the scale, and in this case, took a guess that since it was neither a rock-crusher nor feeble, it must count as middling. Therefore I overcalled 1♠ hoping to get the hearts in later. Neither West nor North have too much, but that didn’t stop West from pre-empting and Agent 99 from refusing to be shut out. Of course, over 3♠ the raise to game is automatic, and the only reason I didn’t redouble was because I wasn’t sure how far down 5♣ would go if the distribution was a bit wild, as it certainly sounded to be.
In fact, having only one clear entry to the table and no spade honor there means that I need to find the cards distributed with some friendliness. West opened the A♣ and switched to a diamond. I was confident at that point that the ♥A and ♠KQ were on my right, of course, but managing repeated leads towards my hand is problematic. My trumps aren’t good enough to cope with a 4-0 break, and for a heart ruff to stand up for a second entry, I need East to have three or four hearts. Fortunately, everything worked, so we got a top. Nobody else ventured higher than 3♠ - West’s pre-empt back-fired.
This effort deserved better.
E-W vul, dlr E
♠ Q 6 3
♥ A
♦ Q 8 7 6 2
♣ K 8 7 3
♠ J 9 ♠ 10 5
♥ K 8 7 5 [ ] ♥ 10 9 4 3 2
♦ A J 10 ♦ 5
♣ Q 10 6 5 ♣ A J 9 4 2
♠ A K 8 7 4 2
♥ Q J 6
♦ K 9 4 3
♣ -
Pass 1♠ Pass 2♦
Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠
Pass 5♣ Pass 5♥
Pass 6♠ All pass
I was playing with a serious 2 over 1 Game Forcing aficionado, so the North hand is the very minimum he might have held, and I had every reason to hope that we would have play based on the double fit. Unfortunately, West’s holding leaves you one down, with no escape. A terrible score, because the vast majority were content to rest in game. But that is really unjust.
Speaking of travesties...
Game all, dlr E
♠ 8 3
♥ Q 9 6 5 3
♦ K Q 9 7
♣ A 9
♠ J 10 6 ♠ A Q 9 4
♥ 10 [ ] ♥ A K 2
♦ A 8 6 ♦ J 5 4 3 2
♣ Q 10 6 5 4 2 ♣ K
♠ K 7 5 2
♥ J 8 7 4
♦ 10
♣ J 8 7 3
1♦ Pass 1♠(!) Pass
3♠ Pass Pass Pass
West mis-sorted his hand and responded in a three-card suit. He discovered the mistake in time to pass the raise. Then, aided by a little confusion in the defence, he managed to scramble one diamond, one club, two hearts, and six trump tricks for +170. This was of course a cold top, with most people playing in no-trump and making seven or eight tricks.
What can I tell you. I’ve got them so scared they can’t even sort their cards.
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