Hand 1:	AK42	Auction:	North	East	South	West
Vul: None	76		1	P	1	P
Dlr: North	AQJ2		1	P	21	P
You are: N	764		?

Bidding Note:
¹Forcing one round: Fourth Suit Forcing

Bid	Frequency	Score
2	9	100
3	1	30
2 NT	5	15
3 NT	1	5

Jeff Ruben: 2. So partner thinks I'm 4-2-5-2. I don't want to lie about a club stopper and have partner raise to 3NT with Qx. If no trump is right, partner can still bid it.

Pete Filandro: 2 is the only choice. Parnter's 2 bid is totally artificial and does not show any club length or values. To bid NT requires one or more club stoppers. Raising clubs requires 4 or more.

Dave Smith: Who bid 2 but adds... 2 is possible, better than 2NT or 3 in my opinion. Partner must understand that it is more likely you are stuck for a bid than that you really are 6-5 or 7-5. Moderator: In fact this is exactly what Max Hardy recommends in his 2/1 book, but it doesn't appear to be very popular here in Delaware!

Hand 2:	K6	Auction:	North	East	South	West
Vul: N-S	KT7		-	1	Pass	1
Dlr: East	Q		Pass	2	Pass	2
You are: E	KQJ7632		Pass	3	Pass	3
			Pass	?

Bid	Frequency	Score
3 NT	2	100
4	11	60
4	1	40
5	1	25
Pass	1	5

Dave Smith: 3NT. Will probably play lousy, but I do have a bunch of slow stuff and T, so 3NT gets top score. I remember this hand from the DSBA Swiss. Moderator: I'm Caught! It's true.

Michael Lucy: 4. If partner is 6-5 ot 7-5 with bad intermediate values he should pass 3 and go plus. Partner should have decent values and if not prime cards in his suits. Hence this auction is forcing and NT is not the place to park. If 4 is wrong I can finger-point at partner for bidding bad suits. Moderator: The irony here, in my opinion, is that 4 is a clear stand-out over 3NT. But if you bid 3NT you'll get to play it; while if you bid spades partner will be so encouraged by even slow support on this hand that he'll wander off to a bad slam. As I did.

Jess Stuart: 4 & 5. Partner probably has 6 diamonds and 5 spades and a hand that cannot guarantee game opposite a minimum opener... 3NT probably won't make without running clubs and if clubs run, this rates to make. A club game or part score seems to be best, ... the question seems to be whether to bid 4 and let partner raise if he likes his hand, or just bid 5. Game will play well opposite AJxxx Q Axxxxx x and partner probably wouldn't raise. I'll go for it!

Hand 3:	K873	Auction:	North	East	South	West
Vul: N-S	-		-	-	1	Pass
Dlr: South	AT5		21	4	?
You are: S	KQT653

Bidding Note:
¹Forcing: Inverted Minors

Bid	Frequency	Score
Pass	2	100
6	2	90
5	2	80
4	4	75
5	1	75
5	5	35

Paul Amer: Pass. This is a forcing pass situation. I intend to pull parnter's double to 5 showing a strong hand and a heart control. Moderator: I have to say that this leaves a bad taste in my mouth, I do not play this is a forcing pass situation with either of my regular partners. Please note that the scores are calculated by averaging recommended scores from a number of expert bidders who act as panelists. The reason that 5 bids scored 75% or more, is because the experts disagree on what to bid with this hand!

Ray Raskin: 6. We will never be able to determine where we really belong with any accuracy, so I might as well bid what I think we can make.

Jess Stuart: 5. Can pass really be forcing? If partner has 10 points, 5 clubs and otherwise square hand, forcing him to double or raise could be a no-win situation if I had a minimum. Of course I don't have that hand, but there's no way for him to know that. Moderator: This does seem to be the crux of the problem, is pass forcing? It is a clear call if you believe it is forcing.

Greg Burch: 4. Bring partner in on the decision. This bid at least lets partner know you have slam interest without forcing a slam on him when he has a minimum... I'm not saying this will definitely get you to slam (or keep you out of it when you need to stay out), but at least it involves partner. Moderator: Then Greg looked across the table, saw me, and decided he better take a stab at bidding it himself! Just kidding.

Hand 4:	4	Auction:	North	East	South	West
Vul: Both	AT53		-	-	-	Pass
Dlr: West	AJT42		Pass	1	Pass	1NT1
You are: W	J84		Pass	3	Pass	?

Bidding Note:
¹Forcing

Bid	Frequency	Score
4	6	100
3	5	50
4 NT	1	20
6	1	15
5	2	10
4	1	0

Dave Smith: 4. It's best just to raise and set trumps. I can cue bid later. An old rule of mine: when in doubt, raise partner - works like a charm.

Rick Rowland: 3. Partner should get the picture when I go back to diamonds. If parnter raises hearts I can picture short clubs and try Blackwood.

Hand 5:	J974	Auction:	North	East	South	West
Vul: N-S	AT5		1	1	Double	31
Dlr: North	Q843		5	Pass	?
You are: S	K2

Bidding Note:
¹Weak

Bid	Frequency	Score
6	2	100
7	2	85
6	2	80
6	5	30
Pass	5	5

Greg Burch: 6. What is partner doing? If partner were wondering about trumps he would have bid 4 then Roman Key Card Blackwood for spades. Partner is looking for a heart control and has something like AKQx xx - AQJTxxx. (This would require) a 4-card overcall. That is especially possible at this vulnerability. Since I have first round heart control I cuebid something useful in case he wants to bid 7 (as in the example hand): my K is gold here, so I will tell him about it. Moderator: It is impossible to know what everyone was thinking when they bid. but it's clear that everyone bidding 6 was showing first round heart control and failing to show the K. Since bidding anything other than pass or 6 would indicate first round control of hearts I believe it is clearly superior to show the club control.

Jeff Ruben 7. Whatever partner is looking for, I have it. I expect him to have something like AKQx xx A AQJTxx, so with the king of clubs I bid the grand. Moderator: I think this is definitely enough to bid the grand, the only concern I have with this is that you can't get to 7NT. Remember: (read the rules!) Matchpoint scoring unless otherwise indicated. Since the opponents have been bidding a lot of hearts, partner may think you have a void wehen you bid 7, rather than then Ace and there's no bidding space left to allow you to work this out.

Moderator: 6. This scored well with our panelists but was not well defended by any of them. The two contestants who bid this didn't indicate that they had considered a grand slam at all.