MON 11/27/2017 at Nite

EVENT>Monday Night Bridge      |SESSION>Monday Eve   |SECTION> A N-S
------------------------,------ ------------,-------- --------------------------
DATE>November 27, 2017  |CLUB NO.>185264    | 11/27/2017 22:11
---------------------,-- ------------------- -------------,---------------------
DIR> Mike Lipp       |RATING>Club Masterpoint (100%, 80%, 70% Open)|MOVEMENT>MITCHELL
------------,-------- ,-------------------------,--------- ---------------------
AVE>   84.0 |TOP>   7 |MP LIMITS>None/500/200   |CLUB>Mike's Games At The CBC
------------ --------- ------------------------- -------------------------------
PAIRS IN STRAT A=12/B=9/C=6                      ,---,-------------------------,------,---------,
-------------------------------------------------|   |           Section       |      |Section  |
No Name                   Name                   |Flt|Rnk-A|Rnk-B|Rnk-C| Score | Pct  |Awards   |
------------------------------------------------- --- ----- ----- ----- ------- ------ ---------
 1 Debbie Wiest           Joy Singerman            B    4     2     .     90.86  54.08  0.50(B)
 2 Donald Pollack         Bernice Pollack          C    .     .     .     67.91  40.42
 3 Kathy Rice             Cecilia Kloecker         C    .     .     2     83.36  49.62  0.29(C)
 4 Betty Murdock          Erin Oblinger            C    .     .     .     75.34  44.85
 5 Terri Mackey           Carla Runda              C    .     4     1     84.15  50.09  0.42(C)
 6 Patrick Lammers        Alex Grim                B    5     3     .     86.15  51.28  0.36(B)
 7 Joseph Kammer          Gail Zimmer              B    1     1     .    106.27  63.26  1.20(A)
 8 Al Venosa              Janet Venosa             A    2     .     .    105.97  63.08  0.84(A)
 9 John Ramsay            Julian Magnus, Jr        C    .     .     .     60.86  36.23
10 Herb Behr              Ralph Terbrueggen        A    .     .     .     77.21  45.96
11 John Williams          Dennis Schultz           A    3     .     .     94.50  56.25  0.60(A)
12 Annette Kereiakes      Tom Kereiakes            C    .     .     .     78.70  46.85

                                          Totals                        1011.28


                                    **PAIRS**
BOARD     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9    10    11    12
  /
   1>     3-                          0.64          3-  5.79  0.64  6.93    3-
         110   ----  ----  ----  ----  -50   ----  110   130   -50   300   110

   2>   5.79                          6.93          3-    3-  1.21    3-  0.07
        -110   ----  ----  ----  ----   50   ---- -130  -130  -150  -130  -200

   3>   1.79                          4.07        6.36  4.07  6.36  1.79  0.07
        -110   ----  ----  ----  ----  100   ----  200   100   200  -110  -800

   4>         1.21                          5.79  5.79  2.36    3-  0.07  5.79
         ---- -100   ----  ----  ----  ----  200   200   100   110  -200   200

   5>         0.64                          6.93  5.79  0.64  2.36  4.07  4.07
         ---- -100   ----  ----  ----  ----  660   630  -100   140   600   600

   6>         1.21                          2.93  6.93  0.07  5.79  4.64  2.93
         ---- -600   ----  ----  ----  ---- -100   200  -620   140   100  -100

   7>   2.93  2.93  2.93                                0.07  6.93  2.93  5.79
       -1430 -1430 -1430   ----  ----  ----  ----  -----1460   100 -1430  -680

   8>   6.36  1.79  6.36                                0.07  1.79  4.07  4.07
         990   450   990   ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  440   450   980   980

   9>   5.21  6.93  1.79                                1.79  5.21  1.79  1.79
         140   200   -50   ----  ----  ----  ----  ----  -50   140   -50   -50

  10>   5.79        6.93  0.07                          1.21  4.07  4.07  2.36
         170   ----  200  -100   ----  ----  ----  ----  100   150   150   130

  11>   2.36        6.36  6.36                          2.36  4.64  0.07  2.36
         -50   ----  420   420   ----  ----  ----  ----  -50   400  -100   -50

  12>   0.07        6.36    3-                            3-    3-  6.36  1.21
        -400   ---- -130  -150   ----  ----  ----  ---- -150  -150  -130  -200

  13>     5-    3     3      -    5-                             -    7     3
         200   110   110  -100   200   ----  ----  ----  ---- -100   620   110

  14>     2     6-    4     1     4                             0     6-    4
        -110    50   -50  -170   -50   ----  ----  ----  ---- -300    50   -50

  15>     5     0     5     5     1                             5     5     2
         100  -200   100   100  -110   ----  ----  ----  ----  100   100  -100

  16>   6.93  4.64        2.36  0.07  2.36                          5.79  2.36
         200  -650   ---- -680  -690  -680   ----  ----  ----  ----  100  -680

  17>   5.21  1.79        5.21  1.79  0.07                          5.21  5.21
        -170  -420   ---- -170  -420  -490   ----  ----  ----  ---- -170  -170

  18>   2.36  1.21        0.07  4.64  4.64                          6.93  4.64
         170   150   ---- -100   620   620   ----  ----  ----  ----  650   620

  19>     4      -     -    5     3     2     6                             7
         110  -140  -140   120   100   -80   150   ----  ----  ----  ----  200

  20>   4.20  6.93  2.93  1.21  0.07  5.79  2.93                          4.64
        AVE+   650   170  -110  -200   620   170   ----  ----  ----  ----  300

  21>     0     2     2     4     6-    5     6-                            2
        -200  -100  -100   300   650   620   650   ----  ----  ----  ---- -100

  22>   2.36  4.07  0.07        1.21  5.79  4.07  6.93
        -130  -110  -670   ---- -200   -90  -110   100   ----  ----  ----  ----

  23>   4.64    3-  1.21        6.93  2.36  0.07  5.79
         100  -600  -650   ----  300  -630  -660   200   ----  ----  ----  ----

  24>     3-  0.07  6.36        1.21  6.36    3-    3-
         450   210   460   ----  420   460   450   450   ----  ----  ----  ----

  25>           2-    2-    5-    5-    0     7     2-    2-
         ----  420   420   430   430  -100   450   420   420   ----  ----  ----

  26>           5     2-    2-    6     2-    2-    7     0
         ----  140  -100  -100   200  -100  -100   620  -110   ----  ----  ----

  27>           3     4-     -    7     4-    6     2      -
         ----  170   420   -50   590   420   450   140   -50   ----  ----  ----

  28>               0.07  1.79        1.79  4.64  4.64  6.93  4.64
         ----  ---- -200   630   ----  630   660   660   690   660   ----  ----

  29>               2.36  0.64        6.93  4.07  4.07  5.79  0.64
         ----  ---- -120  -130   ----  110  -110  -110   100  -130   ----  ----

  30>               5.21  5.21        1.79  6.93  0.07    3-  1.79
         ----  ----  400   400   ----  130   420   -50   150   130   ----  ----

  31>                       1-    0     4     1-    6     7     5     3
         ----  ----  ----  260   200   620   260  1100  1430   800   300   ----

  32>                       7     3-    3-    5-    1-    1-    5-    0
         ----  ----  ----  500   200   200   450   170   170   450  -140   ----

  33>                       7     3-    3-     -    3-    3-     -    6
         ----  ----  ---- -120  -400  -400  -430  -400  -400  -430  -300   ----

  34>                             3-  5.21  5.21  1.21  1.21  6.93  1.21
         ----  ----  ----  ----   90   100   100    50    50   200    50   ----

  35>                           5.21  5.21  5.21  5.21  0.64  0.64  2.36
         ----  ----  ----  ----  420   420   420   420   -50   -50   170   ----

  36>                             3-  1.21  5.21  6.93  2.36  0.07  5.21
         ----  ----  ----  ----  300   170   620   650   200   100   620   ----



EVENT>Monday Night Bridge      |SESSION>Monday Eve   |SECTION> A E-W
------------------------,------ ------------,-------- --------------------------
DATE>November 27, 2017  |CLUB NO.>185264    | 11/27/2017 22:11
---------------------,-- ------------------- -------------,---------------------
DIR> Mike Lipp       |RATING>Club Masterpoint (100%, 80%, 70% Open)|MOVEMENT>MITCHELL
------------,-------- ,-------------------------,--------- ---------------------
AVE>   84.0 |TOP>   7 |MP LIMITS>None/500/200   |CLUB>Mike's Games At The CBC
------------ --------- ------------------------- -------------------------------
PAIRS IN STRAT A=12/B=7/C=5                      ,---,-------------------------,------,---------,
-------------------------------------------------|   |           Section       |      |Section  |
No Name                   Name                   |Flt|Rnk-A|Rnk-B|Rnk-C| Score | Pct  |Awards   |
------------------------------------------------- --- ----- ----- ----- ------- ------ ---------
 1 Patrick Hoffman        Lanny Cai                B    .     .     .     67.69  40.29
 2 Greg Chrzanowski       Joseph Muenks            A    3     .     .     94.73  56.39  0.60(A)
 3 Tim Oppelt             Joanne Oppelt            C    .     .     .     82.92  49.36
 4 Stephen Felson         Robert Brown             A    .     .     .     72.50  43.15
 5 Steve Messinger        Judy Crotty Hall         C    .     .     .     68.00  40.48
 6 Robert Roark           Pam Campbell             A    1     .     .    102.15  60.80  1.20(A)
 7 Cheryl Endres          Pamela Kennedy           C    .     3     2     87.22  51.92  0.28(B)
 8 Evelyn McCarthy        Joan Diers               C    .     .     .     73.71  43.88
 9 June Cushman           Martin Petersen          A    5     .     .     88.28  52.55  0.24(A)
10 Peggy Jervis           Pat Lindeman             C    2     1     1     97.22  57.87  0.84(A)
11 Susan Stacy Vanstone   Martin Gibler            B    4     2     .     89.58  53.32  0.42(A)


                                          Totals                         924.00


                                    **PAIRS**
BOARD     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9    10    11    12
  /
   1>     3-          3-        1.21        6.36        0.07  6.36    3-
        -110   ---- -110   ---- -130   ----   50   ---- -300    50  -110   ----

   2>   1.21          3-          3-        5.79          3-  0.07  6.93
         110   ----  130   ----  130   ----  150   ----  130   -50   200   ----

   3>   5.21        0.64        2.93        0.64        5.21  2.93  6.93
         110   ---- -200   ---- -100   ---- -200   ----  110  -100   800   ----

   4>   1.21  5.79        4.64          3-        6.93        1.21  1.21
        -200   100   ---- -100   ---- -110   ----  200   ---- -200  -200   ----

   5>   1.21  6.36        6.36        4.64        2.93        2.93  0.07
        -630   100   ----  100   ---- -140   ---- -600   ---- -600  -660   ----

   6>   0.07  5.79        6.93        1.21        2.36        4.07  4.07
        -200   600   ----  620   ---- -140   ---- -100   ----  100   100   ----

   7>   4.07  6.93  4.07        0.07        4.07        1.21        4.07
        1430  1460  1430   ---- -100   ---- 1430   ----  680   ---- 1430   ----

   8>   5.21  6.93  0.64        5.21        2.93        2.93        0.64
        -450  -440  -990   ---- -450   ---- -980   ---- -980   ---- -990   ----

   9>   0.07  5.21  5.21        1.79        5.21        5.21        1.79
        -200    50    50   ---- -140   ----   50   ----   50   ---- -140   ----

  10>   5.79  0.07  2.93  6.93        2.93        4.64        1.21
        -100  -200  -150   100   ---- -150   ---- -130   ---- -170   ----  ----

  11>   4.64  0.64  2.36  0.64        6.93        4.64        4.64
          50  -420  -400  -420   ----  100   ----   50   ----   50   ----  ----

  12>     3-  0.64    3-    3-        0.64        5.79        6.93
         150   130   150   150   ----  130   ----  200   ----  400   ----  ----

  13>     4     6-    6-    0     1-          4           1-          4
        -110   100   100  -620  -200   ---- -110   ---- -200   ---- -110   ----

  14>     3     7     6      -    3           3           5            -
          50   300   170   -50    50   ----   50   ----  110   ----  -50   ----

  15>     2     2     2     2     6           5           2           7
        -100  -100  -100  -100   110   ----  100   ---- -100   ----  200   ----

  16>         4.64  1.21  6.93  4.64  4.64        0.07        2.36
         ----  680  -100   690   680   680   ---- -200   ----  650   ----  ----

  17>         1.79  1.79  5.21  1.79  6.93        1.79        5.21
         ----  170   170   420   170   490   ----  170   ----  420   ----  ----

  18>         6.93  0.07  2.36  2.36  2.36        4.64        5.79
         ----  100  -650  -620  -620  -620   ---- -170   ---- -150   ----  ----

  19>     2           4     0     5     3     1           6-          6-
        -120   ---- -100  -200    80  -110  -150   ----  140   ----  140   ----

  20>     5-          7     2     1     5-    3-          0           3-
         110   ----  200  -300  -620   110  -170   ---- -650   ---- -170   ----

  21>     3            -    5     2     7      -          5           5
        -300   ---- -650   100  -620   200  -650   ----  100   ----  100   ----

  22>         5.79        1.21  4.64  2.93  2.93  0.07        6.93
         ----  200   ----   90   130   110   110  -100   ----  670   ----  ----

  23>         0.07        4.64  2.36  6.93    3-  1.21        5.79
         ---- -300   ----  630  -100   660   600  -200   ----  650   ----  ----

  24>         5.79        0.64    3-    3-  6.93    3-        0.64
         ---- -420   ---- -460  -450  -450  -210  -450   ---- -460   ----  ----

  25>     1-          7           0     4-    4-    4-    4-          1-
        -430   ----  100   ---- -450  -420  -420  -420  -420   ---- -430   ----

  26>     1           4-          4-    2     0     4-    7           4-
        -200   ----  100   ----  100  -140  -620   100   110   ----  100   ----

  27>     0           2-          1     4     5     2-    6-          6-
        -590   ---- -420   ---- -450  -170  -140  -420    50   ----   50   ----

  28>         5.21        2.36        2.36  6.93  0.07  5.21  2.36
         ---- -630   ---- -660   ---- -660   200  -690  -630  -660   ----  ----

  29>         0.07        2.93        2.93  4.64  1.21  6.36  6.36
         ---- -110   ----  110   ----  110   120  -100   130   130   ----  ----

  30>         5.21        0.07        6.93  1.79    3-  1.79  5.21
         ---- -130   ---- -420   ----   50  -400  -150  -400  -130   ----  ----

  31>     3           5-          1           0     5-    2     7     4
        -620   ---- -260   -----1100   -----1430  -260  -800  -200  -300   ----

  32>     3-          1-          5-          5-    0     1-    3-    7
        -200   ---- -450   ---- -170   ---- -170  -500  -450  -200   140   ----

  33>     3-          6-          3-          3-    0     6-    3-    1
         400   ----  430   ----  400   ----  400   120   430   400   300   ----

  34>         1.79        5.79        5.79        0.07    3-  5.79  1.79
         ---- -100   ----  -50   ----  -50   ---- -200   -90   -50  -100   ----

  35>         1.79        1.79        6.36        6.36  1.79  4.64  1.79
         ---- -420   ---- -420   ----   50   ----   50  -420  -170  -420   ----

  36>         1.79        0.07        4.64        6.93    3-  1.79  5.79
         ---- -620   ---- -650   ---- -200   ---- -100  -300  -620  -170   ----
Monday Night Bridge, Monday Eve, November 27, 2017

Board 1
North Deals
None Vul

♠	A Q 7
♥	A K 9 4 2
♦	J 9 7 3
♣	5

♠	K J 8 3
♥	J 10 8 6
♦	—
♣	A 10 8 6 3

N
W		E
S

♠	10 2
♥	Q 7 5
♦	A 8 5 2
♣	Q J 9 4

♠	9 6 5 4
♥	3
♦	K Q 10 6 4
♣	K 7 2

NS 4♦; S 2♠; S 2♥; NS 1N; N 1♠; N 1♥; EW 1♣; Par +130

West	North	East	South
	1 ♥	Pass	1 ♠
Pass	2 ♦	Pass	3 ♦
Pass	Pass	Pass

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♣×	W	−2	♥ A	300		6.93	0.07	11-Williams-Schultz	9-Cushman-Petersen
3 ♦	S	4	♠ 3	130		5.79	1.21	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	5-Messinger-Hall
3 ♦	N	3	♣ Q	110		3.50	3.50	1-Wiest-Singerman	1-Hoffman-Cai
2 ♠	S	2	♣ A	110		3.50	3.50	8-Venosa-Venosa	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
2 ♦	N	3	♠ 10	110		3.50	3.50	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	11-Vanstone-Gibler
3 ♠	S	−1	♣ A		50	0.64	6.36	6-Lammers-Grim	10-Jervis-Lindeman
4 ♦	N	−1	♣ Q		50	0.64	6.36	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	7-Endres-Kennedy

N/S lose one Spade trick, one Club, and one Diamond, making four. East may lead the ♣ Q. Declarer should not cover the ♣ Q--how can that gain a trick?

Board 2
East Deals
N-S Vul

♠	A Q J 10 5 3
♥	K Q 3
♦	9 5
♣	8 4

♠	9 8 6
♥	J 9 8 4
♦	2
♣	A K 6 5 3

N
W		E
S

♠	K
♥	A 5
♦	A K J 10 8 4
♣	J 10 7 2

♠	7 4 2
♥	10 7 6 2
♦	Q 7 6 3
♣	Q 9

EW 6♣; EW 4♦; EW 2♥; EW 1N; NS 1♠; Par −920

West	North	East	South
		1 ♦	Pass
1 ♥	1 ♠	2 ♣	2 ♠
5 ♣	Pass	Pass	Pass

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♦	E	−1	♥ 10	50		6.93	0.07	6-Lammers-Grim	10-Jervis-Lindeman
3 ♦	E	3	♠ 4		110	5.79	1.21	1-Wiest-Singerman	1-Hoffman-Cai
3 ♦	E	4	♠ 4		130	3.50	3.50	8-Venosa-Venosa	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
3 ♦	E	4	♠ 2		130	3.50	3.50	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	5-Messinger-Hall
3 ♦	E	4	♠ 4		130	3.50	3.50	11-Williams-Schultz	9-Cushman-Petersen
3 ♦	E	5	♠ 7		150	1.21	5.79	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	7-Endres-Kennedy
3 ♠	N	−2	♦ K		200	0.07	6.93	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	11-Vanstone-Gibler

West's hand goes from "Boy, my hand isn't very good" to "Boy, we'll probably take a bazillion tricks!" when partner rebids 2 ♣.

E/W lose one Spade trick, making six. South will lead the ♠ 7 (top of nothing in a supported suit). North may switch to the ♥ K at trick two, but declarer will rise with the ♥ A, pull trump in two rounds, lead the ♦ 2 to the ♦ A, cash the ♦ K, and take the "marked" ruffing finesse against South's ♦ Q.

How does declarer know (with almost certainty) that South has the ♦ Q? Okay, let's go through it. South has zero points in Spades, zero points in Hearts (North led the ♥ K at trick two), and two points in Clubs (♣ Q fell on second trump lead). Is it likely that they raised Spades vulnerable with only two HCP? I think not.

Board 3
South Deals
E-W Vul

♠	—
♥	10 9 5 4 3
♦	A 7 4
♣	K 10 8 7 2

♠	J 9 8 4
♥	J 7
♦	K 10 6 5
♣	A 6 3

N
W		E
S

♠	A K 10 6 5
♥	A Q 8 2
♦	8 2
♣	J 9

♠	Q 7 3 2
♥	K 6
♦	Q J 9 3
♣	Q 5 4

EW 2♠; NS 2♣; NS 1♥; NS 1♦; Par −100: NS 3♣×−1

West	North	East	South
			Pass
Pass	Pass	1 ♠	Pass
2 ♦1	Pass	2 ♠	Pass
Pass	Pass

Alert, artificial bid showing 7-9 HCP and four Spades

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♠	E	−2	♣ 4	200		6.36	0.64	8-Venosa-Venosa	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
4 ♠	E	−2	♦ Q	200		6.36	0.64	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	7-Endres-Kennedy
2 ♠	E	−1	♣ 4	100		4.07	2.93	6-Lammers-Grim	10-Jervis-Lindeman
4 ♠	E	−1	♦ Q	100		4.07	2.93	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	5-Messinger-Hall
2 ♠	E	2	♦ Q		110	1.79	5.21	1-Wiest-Singerman	1-Hoffman-Cai
2 ♠	E	2	♦ Q		110	1.79	5.21	11-Williams-Schultz	9-Cushman-Petersen
4 ♣×	S	−4	♠ J		800	0.07	6.93	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	11-Vanstone-Gibler

E/W play that a 2 ♣ rebid by a passed hand shows a limit raise with three or more cards in partner's major (Drury). By using 2 ♣ to show three or more, E/W can use 2 ♦ to show a four-card constructive raise (7-9 HCP).

E/W lose one Club trick, one Heart, two Diamonds, and one Spade, making two. South will probably lead the ♦ Q.

Board 4
West Deals
Both Vul

♠	J 8 4 3
♥	A K 9 5
♦	7 6 4 3
♣	9

♠	Q 10
♥	J 10 6 4 3
♦	A J
♣	7 6 5 3

N
W		E
S

♠	A 7 5 2
♥	7 2
♦	K Q 9 8 2
♣	K J

♠	K 9 6
♥	Q 8
♦	10 5
♣	A Q 10 8 4 2

NS 2♠; NS 2♥; NS 3♣; NS 1N; EW 1♦; Par +110

West	North	East	South
Pass	Pass	1 ♦	2 ♣
Pass	Pass	Pass

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
2 ♥	W	−2	♣ 9	200		5.79	1.21	7-Kammer-Zimmer	11-Vanstone-Gibler
3 ♥	W	−2	♣ 9	200		5.79	1.21	8-Venosa-Venosa	1-Hoffman-Cai
3 NT	E	−2	♣ 8	200		5.79	1.21	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	10-Jervis-Lindeman
3 ♣	S	3	♦ A	110		3.50	3.50	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	6-Roark-Campbell
2 ♥	W	−1	♣ 9	100		2.36	4.64	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	4-Felson-Brown
2 ♥	N	−1	♦ K		100	1.21	5.79	2-Pollack-Pollack	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
3 ♣	S	−2	♦ A		200	0.07	6.93	11-Williams-Schultz	8-McCarthy-Diers

N/S lose two Diamond tricks, one Spade, and one Club, making three. West will lead the ♦ A and continue with the ♦ J at trick two, overtaken by East with the ♦ Q. The ♦ K is next, and South will have to ruff with the ♣ 8 to keep West from getting an immediate trump trick. When that holds the trick, declarer will continue with the ♥ Q and ♥ 8 to dummy's ♥ K followed by the ♣ 9, finessing successfully against East. The ♣ A and ♣T are next, and then a small Club to West's now stiff ♣ 7.

West is down to ♠ QT ♥ JT and has to either give declarer an entry to dummy with the ♥ A or break Spades eliminating one of declarer's Spade losers. The second option is more likely.

Board 5
North Deals
N-S Vul

♠	9 2
♥	A K 9 7
♦	9 6 2
♣	A J 8 7

♠	6 5 4
♥	10 6 4
♦	K Q 10 5
♣	K 10 3

N
W		E
S

♠	A J 10 3
♥	J 8 5
♦	J 3
♣	9 6 5 4

♠	K Q 8 7
♥	Q 3 2
♦	A 8 7 4
♣	Q 2

NS 4N; NS 4♥; NS 3♠; NS 4♣; NS 3♦; Par +630

West	North	East	South
	1 ♣	Pass	1 ♠
Pass	1 NT	Pass	3 NT
Pass	Pass	Pass

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
3 NT	N	5	♠ J	660		6.93	0.07	7-Kammer-Zimmer	11-Vanstone-Gibler
3 NT	N	4	♥ 8	630		5.79	1.21	8-Venosa-Venosa	1-Hoffman-Cai
3 NT	N	3	♠ 10	600		4.07	2.93	11-Williams-Schultz	8-McCarthy-Diers
3 NT	N	3	♣ 5	600		4.07	2.93	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	10-Jervis-Lindeman
2 ♥	N	3	♦ J	140		2.36	4.64	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	6-Roark-Campbell
3 NT	N	−1	♠ 3		100	0.64	6.36	2-Pollack-Pollack	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
3 NT	N	−1	♥ 5		100	0.64	6.36	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	4-Felson-Brown

If you're South, and you're playing XYZ, this is not a hand to bid 2 ♦ after partner's 1 NT rebid. 2 ♦ would be artificial and game forcing, but you already know that you're going to be in 3 NT--why not simply bid it?

N/S take three Spade tricks, four Hearts, two Clubs, and one Diamond, making four. East may lead a Heart or a Diamond, but nothing really matters.

Board 6
East Deals
E-W Vul

♠	K J 7 6 3
♥	10 6 5 2
♦	J
♣	A 4 2

♠	Q
♥	9 4
♦	K 10 9 8 7 6 3
♣	J 8 7

N
W		E
S

♠	4
♥	A Q J 8 3
♦	A Q 2
♣	K Q 10 5

♠	A 10 9 8 5 2
♥	K 7
♦	5 4
♣	9 6 3

NS 3♠; EW 3♥; EW 4♦; EW 4♣; Par −100: NS 4♠×−1

West	North	East	South
		1 ♥	2 ♠1
Pass	3 ♥2	Dbl3	Pass4
4 ♦	4 ♠	Dbl	Pass
Pass	Pass

Weak jump overcall
Cuebid showing a limit raise or better in Spades
Do something smart, partner
Showing a minimum jump overcall

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
5 ♥	E	−2	♠ A	200		6.93	0.07	8-Venosa-Venosa	1-Hoffman-Cai
3 ♠	S	3	♥ 9	140		5.79	1.21	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	6-Roark-Campbell
5 ♦	W	−1	♠ K	100		4.64	2.36	11-Williams-Schultz	8-McCarthy-Diers
4 ♠×	S	−1	♥ 9		100	2.93	4.07	7-Kammer-Zimmer	11-Vanstone-Gibler
5 ♠	S	−2	♦ 10		100	2.93	4.07	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	10-Jervis-Lindeman
5 ♦	W	5	♠ 7		600	1.21	5.79	2-Pollack-Pollack	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
5 ♦	W	6	♣ A		620	0.07	6.93	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	4-Felson-Brown

North is always going to get to game once partner overcalls 2 ♠, but it's better to show strength on the way--maybe you won't get doubled. That doesn't work here, and East's double ends the auction.

N/S lose one Heart trick, one Diamond, and two Clubs, down one doubled for –100. That's better than –130 for E/W making 4 ♦. West may lead the ♦T (interior honor sequence).

Board 7
South Deals
Both Vul

♠	8 3
♥	9 6 4
♦	Q 9 8 2
♣	Q 10 8 6

♠	A K Q 7 6
♥	—
♦	K 7 5
♣	A K J 3 2

N
W		E
S

♠	J 9 4 2
♥	A K J 8 3
♦	10 6 4
♣	5

♠	10 5
♥	Q 10 7 5 2
♦	A J 3
♣	9 7 4

EW 6♠; EW 4N; EW 3♥; EW 4♣; EW 3♦; Par −1430

West	North	East	South
			Pass
1 ♠	Pass	3 ♦1	Pass
4 NT2	Pass	5 ♣3	Pass
6 ♠	Pass	Pass	Pass

Alert, artificial Bergen Raise showing 4+ Spades and 7-9 HCP
RKC Blackwood (Kickback) for Spades
1430 response showing 1 or 4 keycards

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
7 ♠	W	−1	♦ 8	100		6.93	0.07	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	5-Messinger-Hall
4 ♠	W	6	♥ 4		680	5.79	1.21	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	9-Cushman-Petersen
6 ♠	W	6	♦ 2		1430	2.93	4.07	1-Wiest-Singerman	11-Vanstone-Gibler
6 ♠	W	6	♦ 2		1430	2.93	4.07	2-Pollack-Pollack	1-Hoffman-Cai
6 ♠	W	6	♠ 3		1430	2.93	4.07	3-Rice-Kloecker	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
6 ♠	W	6	♠ 8		1430	2.93	4.07	11-Williams-Schultz	7-Endres-Kennedy
6 ♠	W	7	♣ 6		1460	0.07	6.93	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks

E/W lose one Diamond trick, making six. North will probably lead a trump. After pulling two rounds of trump ending in the closed hand, declarer will play off the ♣ A and ♣ K and ruff a Club. When Clubs behave, it's a simple matter to cash the ♥ A and ♥ K pitching Diamonds, ruff a Heart back to their hand, ruff another Club with dummy's last trump, ruff another Heart, and claim losing only the ♦ K.

Board 8
West Deals
None Vul

♠	10 5
♥	7
♦	A K Q 9 8 3 2
♣	A 4 3

♠	Q J 4
♥	6 3 2
♦	7 5
♣	K 10 9 8 5

N
W		E
S

♠	9 6
♥	Q 10 9 8 5
♦	J 10 4
♣	7 6 2

♠	A K 8 7 3 2
♥	A K J 4
♦	6
♣	Q J

NS 7N; NS 7♦; NS 6♠; NS 4♥; NS 3♣; Par +1520

West	North	East	South
Pass	1 ♦	Pass	1 ♠
Pass	3 ♦	Pass	3 ♥
Pass	3 NT	Pass	4 ♣1
Pass	4 ♠2	Pass	5 ♣3
Pass	5 ♥4	Pass	6 NT
Pass	Pass	Pass

Artificial Gerber bid asking for a count of Aces
Artificial Gerber response showing two Aces
Artificial Gerber bid asking for a count of Kings
Artificial Gerber response showing one King

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
6 NT	N	6	♥ 10	990		6.36	0.64	1-Wiest-Singerman	11-Vanstone-Gibler
6 NT	N	6	♥ 10	990		6.36	0.64	3-Rice-Kloecker	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
6 ♠	S	6	♦ 7	980		4.07	2.93	11-Williams-Schultz	7-Endres-Kennedy
6 ♠	S	6	♣ 10	980		4.07	2.93	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	9-Cushman-Petersen
4 ♠	S	5	♣ 8	450		1.79	5.21	2-Pollack-Pollack	1-Hoffman-Cai
4 ♠	S	5	♣ 10	450		1.79	5.21	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	5-Messinger-Hall
5 ♦	N	7	♣ 7	440		0.07	6.93	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks

North stretches to bid 3 ♦ on the playing strength of their hand, and that emboldens their partner. When the pair is off a King (most likely the ♣ K), South parks in 6 NT.

N/S take two Spade tricks, two Hearts, seven Diamonds, and two Clubs when the ♣ K turns out to be onside, making seven. West should lead the ♦ 7 (beer card). The idea behind this lead is to give the opponents the tricks they've already earned (i.e., North's Diamond suit is probably running). Make them work for the rest of their tricks.

Board 9
North Deals
E-W Vul

♠	A 8
♥	A K 10 3 2
♦	6 4 3
♣	Q 7 6

♠	K J
♥	9 6
♦	J 10 7 5 2
♣	A 10 5 2

N
W		E
S

♠	Q 10 9 6 5
♥	4
♦	A Q 9
♣	K J 9 4

♠	7 4 3 2
♥	Q J 8 7 5
♦	K 8
♣	8 3

EW 3♠; NS 3♥; EW 4♦; EW 4♣; Par −100: NS 4♥×−1

West	North	East	South
	1 ♥	1 ♠	3 ♥1
Dbl2	Pass	4 ♣	4 ♥
Pass	Pass	Pass

Weak jump raise
Responsive double showing both minors

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
5 ♣×	E	−1	♥ 8	200		6.93	0.07	2-Pollack-Pollack	1-Hoffman-Cai
3 ♥	N	3	♠ 10	140		5.21	1.79	1-Wiest-Singerman	11-Vanstone-Gibler
2 ♥	N	3	♠ 10	140		5.21	1.79	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	5-Messinger-Hall
4 ♥	N	−1	♠ 6		50	1.79	5.21	3-Rice-Kloecker	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
4 ♥	N	−1	♠ 5		50	1.79	5.21	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
4 ♥	N	−1	♠ 10		50	1.79	5.21	11-Williams-Schultz	7-Endres-Kennedy
4 ♥	N	−1	♠ 10		50	1.79	5.21	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	9-Cushman-Petersen

An immediate 4 ♥ bid wouldn't be wrong from South on the vulnerability, but their four-card Spade suit makes it look like E/W might not have a fit. When E/W land in 4 ♣, South takes another bid.

N/S lose one Spade trick, one Diamond, and two Clubs, down one. East may lead the ♣ 4.

Board 10
East Deals
Both Vul

♠	Q J 8 3
♥	Q J 8 6 3
♦	5 2
♣	8 4

♠	10 9 5 2
♥	5 2
♦	Q J 9 7 4
♣	7 6

N
W		E
S

♠	K 6
♥	K 10 9
♦	K 10 8 6 3
♣	K 10 5

♠	A 7 4
♥	A 7 4
♦	A
♣	A Q J 9 3 2

NS 5♥; NS 4♠; NS 5♣; NS 2N; E 1♦; Par +650

West	North	East	South
		1 ♦	Dbl1
3 ♦2	Dbl3	Pass	4 ♣4
Pass	4 ♥5	Pass	Pass
Pass

All big hands start with a double
Weak jump raise
Responsive double showing both majors
Showing a big hand with Clubs
Showing a fifth Heart

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
3 ♦×	E	−1	♥ A	200		6.93	0.07	3-Rice-Kloecker	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
3 ♥	N	4	♦ A	170		5.79	1.21	1-Wiest-Singerman	10-Jervis-Lindeman
4 ♣	S	5	♦ 7	150		4.07	2.93	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
4 ♣	S	5	♦ Q	150		4.07	2.93	11-Williams-Schultz	6-Roark-Campbell
2 ♣	S	4	♦ J	130		2.36	4.64	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	8-McCarthy-Diers
3 ♦	E	−1	♣ A	100		1.21	5.79	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	1-Hoffman-Cai
4 ♣	S	−1	♦ 9		100	0.07	6.93	4-Murdock-Oblinger	4-Felson-Brown

North is fine being in 5 ♣ if South doesn't have three Hearts. N/S lose one Heart trick and one Spade, making five. East will lead a small Diamond. Declarer will win in dummy, and their best continuation is the ♠ A and a second Spade. East has to win this trick, and they'll probably continue with a second Diamond. Declarer can ruff in dummy, cash the ♥ A and play a small Heart to the ♥ J. Back in with the ♥ K, East's best exit is a third round of Hearts, but declarer can win this in the closed hand, lead a Club to the ♣ J, play a Spade back to the ♠ Q, repeat the marked Club finesse, and claim. Nicely played!

Board 11
South Deals
None Vul

♠	A K Q
♥	9 4 3
♦	9 8 4
♣	9 6 5 4

♠	10 4
♥	7
♦	10 7 6 3
♣	K Q J 10 8 2

N
W		E
S

♠	8 7 6 5 3 2
♥	K 10 8 5
♦	K 5 2
♣	—

♠	J 9
♥	A Q J 6 2
♦	A Q J
♣	A 7 3

NS 4N; NS 4♥; NS 3♠; N 2♦; S 1♦; NS 1♣; Par +430

West	North	East	South
			2 NT1
Pass	3 NT	Pass	Pass
Pass

20 to 21

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♥	S	4	♣ K	420		6.36	0.64	3-Rice-Kloecker	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
4 ♥	S	4	♣ K	420		6.36	0.64	4-Murdock-Oblinger	4-Felson-Brown
3 NT	N	3	♠ 8	400		4.64	2.36	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
4 ♥	N	−1	♣ 10		50	2.36	4.64	1-Wiest-Singerman	10-Jervis-Lindeman
3 ♥	S	−1	♣ K		50	2.36	4.64	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	1-Hoffman-Cai
4 ♥	S	−1	♠ 10		50	2.36	4.64	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	8-McCarthy-Diers
4 ♥	S	−2	♣ K		100	0.07	6.93	11-Williams-Schultz	6-Roark-Campbell

East will lead the ♣ K, and when East shows out, declarer will spend the rest of the hand thinking "Why the heck aren't I in 4 ♥?!?" When East turns out to have both red-suit Queens, declarer will think "I sure am glad that I aren't in 4 ♥!" (English is declarer's second language apparently).

Declarer will win trick one with the ♣ A, play a Spade to the ♠ A, and lead to the ♥ J (holding their breath). When that holds, they'll play a Spade to the ♠ K to repeat the finesse. When the ♥ Q holds and West shows out, declarer should cash the ♥ A and give East their Heart trick. East's best exit, in order to put pressure on declarer, is the ♦ 5. If you're declarer are you going to duck this to West? You already have four Heart tricks, one Diamond, one Club, and three Spades, so you've made your contract. Welcome to matchpoints. Ugh.

N/S take four Heart tricks, three Spades, one Club, and two Diamonds if declarer is a thrill seeker and only nine tricks if they're somewhat sane. Which are you?

Board 12
West Deals
N-S Vul

♠	Q 5 2
♥	A J
♦	J 9 7 4
♣	K 8 6 4

♠	K 9 6
♥	—
♦	A K Q 10 6 3 2
♣	Q 7 3

N
W		E
S

♠	10 8 7 3
♥	7 6 5 4
♦	—
♣	A J 10 9 2

♠	A J 4
♥	K Q 10 9 8 3 2
♦	8 5
♣	5

EW 5♦; EW 5♣; EW 3♠; NS 3♥; N 2N; S 1N; Par −400

West	North	East	South
1 ♦	Pass	1 ♥	Pass1
3 ♦	Pass	Pass	3 ♥2
4 ♦	Pass	Pass	Pass

...after pointing at the 1 ♥ bid to their right and laughing
Natural

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
3 ♦	W	4	♣ 4		130	6.36	0.64	3-Rice-Kloecker	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
3 ♦	W	4	♠ 2		130	6.36	0.64	11-Williams-Schultz	6-Roark-Campbell
3 ♦	W	5	♠ 2		150	3.50	3.50	4-Murdock-Oblinger	4-Felson-Brown
3 ♦	W	5	♥ A		150	3.50	3.50	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	1-Hoffman-Cai
4 ♦	W	5	♥ A		150	3.50	3.50	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
5 ♥×	S	−1	♦ A		200	1.21	5.79	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	8-McCarthy-Diers
5 ♦	W	5	♣ 4		400	0.07	6.93	1-Wiest-Singerman	10-Jervis-Lindeman

E/W lose one Diamond trick and one Spade, making five. North will lead the ♥ A. Declarer will ruff in their hand, pull three rounds of trump, and lead the ♣ Q. North should duck, since covering with the ♣ K ends the drama immediately. When the ♣ 9 wins the second Club trick, declarer will ruff a Heart back to their hand and repeat the Club finesse a third time, North again playing low and the ♣T winning the trick. Declarer will pitch two Spades on the fourth and fifth Clubs, but there's no way for them to get rid of their Spade loser or trump loser.

Board 13
North Deals
Both Vul

♠	5
♥	8 6 5 4 3
♦	A 10 8 3
♣	Q J 8

♠	K 8
♥	K J 7
♦	K Q J 6
♣	10 6 5 4

N
W		E
S

♠	Q 6 4 3
♥	A
♦	7 5 4 2
♣	9 7 3 2

♠	A J 10 9 7 2
♥	Q 10 9 2
♦	9
♣	A K

NS 4♥; NS 2♠; NS 1♦; Par +620

West	North	East	South
	Pass	Pass	1 ♠
Dbl	Pass	1 NT	2 ♥
Pass	4 ♥	Pass	Pass
Pass

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♥	S	4	♦ K	620		7.00	0.00	11-Williams-Schultz	4-Felson-Brown
2 ♥	S	5	♦ K	200		5.50	1.50	1-Wiest-Singerman	9-Cushman-Petersen
3 ♣	E	−2	♦ 9	200		5.50	1.50	5-Mackey-Runda	5-Messinger-Hall
2 ♠	S	2	♣ 10	110		3.00	4.00	2-Pollack-Pollack	11-Vanstone-Gibler
2 ♠	S	2	♠ K	110		3.00	4.00	3-Rice-Kloecker	1-Hoffman-Cai
2 ♠	S	2	♦ K	110		3.00	4.00	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	7-Endres-Kennedy
3 ♠	S	−1	♦ K		100	0.50	6.50	4-Murdock-Oblinger	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
3 ♠	S	−1	♦ K		100	0.50	6.50	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks

East's 1 NT bid typically shows 7-10 HCP, but they'd rather not bid a minor at the two level if they can help it with their pitiful spot cards.

N/S lose three Heart tricks, making four. West will lead the ♦ K, won in dummy. Here's what will happen next (in quick order): ♣ A, ♣ K, ♠ A, Spade ruff (dropping the now stiff ♠ K), ♣ Q (pitching a Spade), Diamond ruff, Spade ruffed by East with the ♥ J (declarer pitching a Diamond from dummy), and ♥ 7 to East's ♥ A. If East had another Heart to play, the hand might be interesting, but alas they're quite out. These cards remain:

South: ♠ JT ♥ QT
West: ♥ K ♦ QJ ♣T
Dummy: ♥ 865 ♦T
East: ♠ Q ♦ 75 ♣ 9

Declarer merely has to ruff dummy's last Diamond at their earliest opportunity, and the only other trick for the defense will be the ♥ K. Sweet.

Board 14
East Deals
None Vul

♠	J 2
♥	9 7 4
♦	A 10 8 3
♣	J 8 7 3

♠	10 8 3
♥	Q 6 2
♦	Q 7 4 2
♣	A Q 10

N
W		E
S

♠	K Q 7 6 4
♥	J 3
♦	K 9
♣	K 9 6 2

♠	A 9 5
♥	A K 10 8 5
♦	J 6 5
♣	5 4

EW 3♠; NS 2♥; EW 1N; EW 2♣; Par −140

West	North	East	South
		1 ♠	2 ♥
3 ♥1	Pass	3 ♠	Pass
Pass	Pass

Cuebid showing a limit raise or better in Hearts

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
3 ♠	E	−1	♥ A	50		6.50	0.50	2-Pollack-Pollack	11-Vanstone-Gibler
3 ♠	E	−1	♥ A	50		6.50	0.50	11-Williams-Schultz	4-Felson-Brown
2 ♥	S	−1	♠ 3		50	4.00	3.00	3-Rice-Kloecker	1-Hoffman-Cai
3 ♥	S	−1	♠ 8		50	4.00	3.00	5-Mackey-Runda	5-Messinger-Hall
2 ♥	S	−1	♦ 2		50	4.00	3.00	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	7-Endres-Kennedy
2 ♠	E	2	♥ A		110	2.00	5.00	1-Wiest-Singerman	9-Cushman-Petersen
3 ♠	W	4	♥ A		170	1.00	6.00	4-Murdock-Oblinger	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
3 ♥×	S	−2	♠ 3		300	0.00	7.00	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks

E/W lose one Spade trick, two Hearts, and one Diamond, making three. South will lead the ♥ K (asking for count).

Board 15
South Deals
N-S Vul

♠	A J 9 8 5 2
♥	A Q J 6 5
♦	9
♣	8

♠	10 7 4 3
♥	10 8 7
♦	K 5 4 2
♣	J 5

N
W		E
S

♠	K Q
♥	K
♦	A Q 7 6 3
♣	A Q 6 4 2

♠	6
♥	9 4 3 2
♦	J 10 8
♣	K 10 9 7 3

NS 5♥; NS 3♠; EW 3♦; EW 1N; EW 1♣; Par +500: EW 6♦×−3

West	North	East	South
			Pass
Pass	1 ♠	2 NT1	Pass
3 ♦	3 ♥	4 ♦2	4 ♥
5 ♦	Pass	Pass	Pass

Unusual 2 NT showing a minimum or maximum hand with the two lowest unbid suits
Showing the big hand

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
5 ♦	E	−2	♠ 6	100		5.00	2.00	1-Wiest-Singerman	9-Cushman-Petersen
4 ♦	W	−2	♣ 8	100		5.00	2.00	3-Rice-Kloecker	1-Hoffman-Cai
5 ♦	E	−2	♠ 6	100		5.00	2.00	4-Murdock-Oblinger	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
5 ♦	W	−2	♥ A	100		5.00	2.00	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
4 ♦	W	−2	♠ A	100		5.00	2.00	11-Williams-Schultz	4-Felson-Brown
4 ♥	N	−1	♠ K		100	2.00	5.00	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	7-Endres-Kennedy
3 ♦	E	3	♠ 6		110	1.00	6.00	5-Mackey-Runda	5-Messinger-Hall
4 ♥×	N	−1	♠ K		200	0.00	7.00	2-Pollack-Pollack	11-Vanstone-Gibler

If N/S end up in 5 ♥, declarer will have a heck of a time getting the Heart suit right. E/W lose one Spade trick, one Heart, one Club, and one Spade ruff, down two. North may lead the ♥ A and South will play the ♥ 9 to ask for a Spade switch (their Club trick won't go away). North will continue with the ♠ A and a second Spade for South to ruff.

Board 16
West Deals
E-W Vul

♠	3 2
♥	K 10 8 7 2
♦	K 8
♣	10 9 7 3

♠	K J 9 7 6 4
♥	A J 4
♦	5 2
♣	K 5

N
W		E
S

♠	A 8
♥	Q 9 6 5
♦	A Q 9 6 3
♣	A 8

♠	Q 10 5
♥	3
♦	J 10 7 4
♣	Q J 6 4 2

EW 6N; EW 6♠; EW 5♥; EW 5♦; EW 1♣; Par −1440

West	North	East	South
1 ♠	Pass	2 ♦	Pass
2 ♠	Pass	3 ♠	Pass
4 ♣1	Pass	4 ♦2	Pass
4 NT3	Pass	5 ♦4	Pass
5 ♥5	Pass	5 ♠6	Pass
6 ♠	Pass	Pass	Pass

Showing 1st or 2nd round control in Clubs
Showing 1st or 2nd round control in Diamonds and an issue in Hearts
RKC Blackwood (Kickback) for Spades
1430 response showing 0 or 3 keycards
Do you have the ♠ Q?
I do not...you should try and find a partner who does

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
6 NT	E	−2	♣ Q	200		6.93	0.07	1-Wiest-Singerman	8-McCarthy-Diers
6 ♠	W	−1	♣ 10	100		5.79	1.21	11-Williams-Schultz	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
4 ♠	W	5	♥ 7		650	4.64	2.36	2-Pollack-Pollack	10-Jervis-Lindeman
4 ♠	W	6	♣ 3		680	2.36	4.64	4-Murdock-Oblinger	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
4 ♠	W	6	♥ 2		680	2.36	4.64	6-Lammers-Grim	6-Roark-Campbell
4 ♠	W	6	♥ 2		680	2.36	4.64	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	5-Messinger-Hall
3 NT	W	6	♥ 7		690	0.07	6.93	5-Mackey-Runda	4-Felson-Brown

This isn't a great slam, but it happens to make. E/W lose one Heart trick, making six. North will probably lead the ♣T.

Board 17
North Deals
None Vul

♠	Q 10 8 7 6 3
♥	K 10 3
♦	7 5 2
♣	9

♠	2
♥	A J 8
♦	A K 8 6 4
♣	A Q 7 5

N
W		E
S

♠	J 9 5 4
♥	2
♦	Q 3
♣	K 10 8 6 4 2

♠	A K
♥	Q 9 7 6 5 4
♦	J 10 9
♣	J 3

EW 6♦; EW 6♣; EW 5N; EW 1♠; NS 1♥; Par −920

West	North	East	South
	2 ♠1	Pass	3 ♥2
4 NT3	Pass	6 ♣	Pass
Pass	Pass

Weak two bid
Natural and forcing for one round
Pick a minor, partner

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♦	W	6	♣ 9		170	5.21	1.79	1-Wiest-Singerman	8-McCarthy-Diers
4 ♦	W	6	♠ 7		170	5.21	1.79	4-Murdock-Oblinger	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
4 ♣	E	6	♠ K		170	5.21	1.79	11-Williams-Schultz	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
4 ♣	E	6	♠ A		170	5.21	1.79	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	5-Messinger-Hall
5 ♣	E	6	♠ A		420	1.79	5.21	2-Pollack-Pollack	10-Jervis-Lindeman
5 ♣	E	6	♠ A		420	1.79	5.21	5-Mackey-Runda	4-Felson-Brown
3 NT	W	6	♥ K		490	0.07	6.93	6-Lammers-Grim	6-Roark-Campbell

West's 4 NT bid can't be preemptive--N/S have already claimed the preemptive high ground. West fully expects to make 5 ♣ or 5 ♦ opposite a random hand. If East simply bids 5 ♣ when it gets to them, did they forget to look at their cards? A singleton Heart? A doubleton Diamond with the ♦ Q? Length in Spades taking Spades out of their partner's hand? Six freaking (SFW) Clubs to the ♣ KT? They'd bid 5 ♣ with ♠ 954 ♥ 432 ♦ 973 ♣ 8642. Their hand is slightly better than that. Slightly.

E/W lose one Spade trick, making six. South will lead the ♠ A, and the hand is over.

Board 18
East Deals
N-S Vul

♠	A 6
♥	A K 6 4
♦	5 2
♣	K Q 10 9 8

♠	9
♥	Q 8 7 3
♦	Q 9 8 4 3
♣	A J 5

N
W		E
S

♠	J 8 4 3
♥	J 9 2
♦	A J 10
♣	7 4 2

♠	K Q 10 7 5 2
♥	10 5
♦	K 7 6
♣	6 3

NS 5♠; NS 3N; NS 4♣; NS 2♥; Par +650

West	North	East	South
		Pass	2 ♠1
Pass	4 ♠	Pass	Pass
Pass

Weak two bid

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♠	S	5	♦ 8	650		6.93	0.07	11-Williams-Schultz	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
4 ♠	S	4	♥ 3	620		4.64	2.36	5-Mackey-Runda	4-Felson-Brown
4 ♠	N	4	♥ 2	620		4.64	2.36	6-Lammers-Grim	6-Roark-Campbell
4 ♠	S	4	♦ 9	620		4.64	2.36	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	5-Messinger-Hall
2 ♠	S	4	♣ A	170		2.36	4.64	1-Wiest-Singerman	8-McCarthy-Diers
4 ♦	W	−3	♥ A	150		1.21	5.79	2-Pollack-Pollack	10-Jervis-Lindeman
4 ♠	S	−1	♥ 3		100	0.07	6.93	4-Murdock-Oblinger	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks

N/S have the agreement that vulnerable weak two bids will always have two of the top three honors (or three of the top five) and only seven losers. With this agreement, North can confidently bid game with only two-card Spade support.

N/S lose one Diamond trick and one Club, making five. West may lead the ♥ 3. Declarer will win in dummy and immediately lead a Diamond towards the closed hand. East will duck (it's extremely unlikely that South has a stiff ♦ K), and declarer will win with the ♦ K. The ♣ 6 is next, West will play low, and the ♣ K will win. Another high Heart, a Heart ruff, and a second Club follow. West will hop with the ♣ A and play a Diamond to partner's ♦ A. East can't afford to exit with a Spade, since declarer will insert the ♠T, so they'll be forced to play a third Diamond. Declarer will ruff in dummy with the ♠ 6, ruff a Heart to shorten their trump (East will discard a Club), and play a Spade to the ♠ A. These cards remain:

Declarer: ♠ KQT
West: ♦ Q8 ♣ J
Dummy: ♣ QT9
East: ♠ J84

A Club from dummy now ends the hand as East will ruff low and declarer will overruff with the ♠T. Nicely played!

Board 19
South Deals
E-W Vul

♠	8 6
♥	A 10 5 3
♦	A J 9
♣	K 10 8 3

♠	J 10 9 3
♥	6
♦	K 6 5 4 2
♣	7 6 2

N
W		E
S

♠	A K 7 2
♥	K J 9 7 2
♦	8 7
♣	A 5

♠	Q 5 4
♥	Q 8 4
♦	Q 10 3
♣	Q J 9 4

NS 2N; EW 2♠; NS 2♣; NS 1♥; N 1♦; Par +120

West	North	East	South
			Pass
Pass	1 ♣	Dbl1	2 ♣
2 ♦	Pass	2 ♥	Pass
2 ♠	Pass	Pass	Pass

Playing equal-level conversion

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
2 ♦	W	−2	♥ A	200		7.00	0.00	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	4-Felson-Brown
1 NT	S	3	♦ 4	150		6.00	1.00	7-Kammer-Zimmer	7-Endres-Kennedy
1 NT	S	2	♦ 4	120		5.00	2.00	4-Murdock-Oblinger	1-Hoffman-Cai
2 ♣	N	3	♦ 8	110		4.00	3.00	1-Wiest-Singerman	6-Roark-Campbell
1 ♥	E	−1	♣ Q	100		3.00	4.00	5-Mackey-Runda	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
1 ♥	E	1	♣ Q		80	2.00	5.00	6-Lammers-Grim	5-Messinger-Hall
3 ♠	E	3	♣ 9		140	0.50	6.50	2-Pollack-Pollack	9-Cushman-Petersen
2 ♠	W	3	♠ 8		140	0.50	6.50	3-Rice-Kloecker	11-Vanstone-Gibler

E/W play Equal-Level Conversion after a take-out double. What does that mean? It means that as long as the doubler can "correct" their partner's response without increasing the level of the contract, they are not showing extras. On this hand, East doubles knowing that they can correct their partner's expected Diamond response to a major without increasing the level (i.e., if partner bids 1 ♦, they'll bid 1 ♥ to show two places to play). If East legitimately holds extra values, they'd have to bid 2 ♥ (or 3 ♥ over 2 ♦) to show extras.

E/W lose one Spade trick, two Diamonds, one Heart, and one Club, making two. North may lead the ♣ 3, although a trump is also reasonable.

Board 20
West Deals
Both Vul

♠	A K 10 6
♥	K J
♦	A 7 4
♣	J 10 8 5

♠	Q 5
♥	8
♦	K Q 10 8 5
♣	K Q 4 3 2

N
W		E
S

♠	9 4
♥	A 9 7 6 3
♦	9 6 2
♣	A 9 6

♠	J 8 7 3 2
♥	Q 10 5 4 2
♦	J 3
♣	7

NS 4♠; NS 2♥; EW 3♦; EW 3♣; Par +500: EW 5♣×−2; EW 5♦×−2

West	North	East	South
1 ♦	1 NT1	Pass	2 ♣2
Dbl3	2 ♠	3 ♣	3 ♠
Pass	4 ♠	Pass	Pass
Pass

15 to 18
Stayman
I like Clubs

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♠	S	5	♥ 8	650		6.93	0.00	2-Pollack-Pollack	9-Cushman-Petersen
4 ♠	N	4	♦ 6	620		5.79	1.00	6-Lammers-Grim	5-Messinger-Hall
4 ♣	W	−3	♠ A	300		4.64	2.00	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	4-Felson-Brown
2 ♦	W	3	♠ A	Ave+	110	4.20	5.50	1-Wiest-Singerman	6-Roark-Campbell
3 ♠	S	4	♥ 8	170		2.93	3.50	3-Rice-Kloecker	11-Vanstone-Gibler
2 ♠	N	4	♦ 6	170		2.93	3.50	7-Kammer-Zimmer	7-Endres-Kennedy
3 ♦	W	3	♠ K		110	1.21	5.50	4-Murdock-Oblinger	1-Hoffman-Cai
3 ♥	N	−2	♣ A		200	0.07	7.00	5-Mackey-Runda	3-Oppelt-Oppelt

South is planning on bidding 2 ♥ if their partner responds 2 ♦ to their Stayman inquiry. When North shows four Spades, South's hand becomes invitational, so they compete to the three level. North, with almost a perfect hand on the auction, has no reason not to bid game.

N/S lose one Heart trick, one Club, and either a Heart ruff or a Diamond--E/W don't have time to untangle both tricks. East will lead the ♣ A and continue with a red suit at trick two. If they go insane and play a black card at trick two, N/S will make five. Don't go insane.

Board 21
North Deals
N-S Vul

♠	A 9 6 5 3
♥	A 9 7 5
♦	—
♣	A 10 9 2

♠	—
♥	K Q 8 6 4 3
♦	Q 6
♣	K J 7 4 3

N
W		E
S

♠	J 10 8 2
♥	J
♦	J 8 5 4 3
♣	Q 8 6

♠	K Q 7 4
♥	10 2
♦	A K 10 9 7 2
♣	5

NS 6♠; NS 3N; NS 4♦; EW 1♣; Par +1400: EW 7♣×−6

West	North	East	South
	1 ♠	Pass	2 NT1
Pass	3 ♦2	Pass	4 ♣3
Pass	4 ♠	Pass	Pass
Pass

Alert, artificial Jacoby 2 NT bid showing 4+ Spades and an opening hand or better
Alert, showing shortness in Diamonds
Showing 1st or 2nd round control in Clubs and a problem in Hearts

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♠	N	5	♥ J	650		6.50	0.50	5-Mackey-Runda	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
4 ♠	N	5	♥ J	650		6.50	0.50	7-Kammer-Zimmer	7-Endres-Kennedy
4 ♠	N	4	♥ J	620		5.00	2.00	6-Lammers-Grim	5-Messinger-Hall
5 ♥×	W	−2	♥ A	300		4.00	3.00	4-Murdock-Oblinger	1-Hoffman-Cai
5 ♠	N	−1	♥ J		100	2.00	5.00	2-Pollack-Pollack	9-Cushman-Petersen
4 ♠	N	−1	♦ 3		100	2.00	5.00	3-Rice-Kloecker	11-Vanstone-Gibler
5 ♠	N	−1	♥ J		100	2.00	5.00	12-Kereiakes-Kereiakes	4-Felson-Brown
5 ♠	N	−2	♥ 8		200	0.00	7.00	1-Wiest-Singerman	6-Roark-Campbell

North doesn't really want to be in slam when partner doesn't have the ♥ K, so they sign off in game. N/S take one Club trick, one Heart, two Diamonds, three Diamond ruffs, two Club ruffs, and the three high trump, making six. East can't lead a Spade without giving up their Spade trick, so they'll most likely lead the ♥ J. Declarer will win the ♥ A, cash the ♣ A, ruff a Club, cash the ♦ A and ♦ K (pitching Hearts), ruff a Diamond, ruff a Club, and ruff a Diamond. These cards remain:

Declarer: ♠ A96 ♥ 9 ♣T
East: ♠ JT82 ♦ J
Dummy: ♠ KQ ♥T ♦T9
West: ♥ KQ4 ♣ KJ

Declarer can now play a small Spade to the ♠ Q, ruff the ♦ 9 with the ♠ 9, and their last two tricks will be a Club ruffed with the ♠ K and a Diamond ruffed with the ♠ A (East underruffing both times......heh). East and West both take declarer's losing ♥ 9 with the ♠ J and ♥ K respectively (watch them argue about it....what fun!). Nicely played!

Board 22
East Deals
E-W Vul

♠	8 5
♥	K Q 10 8
♦	7 6 2
♣	K 9 4 3

♠	10 9 6 2
♥	A 9 7 6
♦	J
♣	10 7 5 2

N
W		E
S

♠	A Q 7
♥	J 5
♦	A Q 9 8 5 4 3
♣	Q

♠	K J 4 3
♥	4 3 2
♦	K 10
♣	A J 8 6

NS 3♣; EW 2♦; NS 1♥; Par +110

West	North	East	South
		1 ♦	Dbl
Pass	1 ♥	2 ♦	Pass
Pass	3 ♣	Pass	Pass
Pass

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
3 ♦	E	−1	♥ 3	100		6.93	0.07	8-Venosa-Venosa	8-McCarthy-Diers
2 ♦	E	2	♥ 3		90	5.79	1.21	6-Lammers-Grim	4-Felson-Brown
2 ♦	E	3	♠ 3		110	4.07	2.93	2-Pollack-Pollack	7-Endres-Kennedy
3 ♦	E	3	♥ 4		110	4.07	2.93	7-Kammer-Zimmer	6-Roark-Campbell
3 ♦	E	4	♠ 3		130	2.36	4.64	1-Wiest-Singerman	5-Messinger-Hall
4 ♣	N	−4	♥ J		200	1.21	5.79	5-Mackey-Runda	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
3 ♦×	E	3	♠ 3		670	0.07	6.93	3-Rice-Kloecker	10-Jervis-Lindeman

North, being not so much vulnerable, has enough to try one more time to steal the contract. N/S lose one Spade trick, one Heart, one Diamond, and a Diamond ruff if East leads the ♦ A, making three. East will refuse to lead.

Board 23
South Deals
Both Vul

♠	K 3
♥	10 4
♦	10 8 6 3
♣	Q 10 8 7 5

♠	10 9 7 6 2
♥	K Q 3
♦	K
♣	A J 9 3

N
W		E
S

♠	A J
♥	J 8 7 6
♦	A J 4 2
♣	K 6 4

♠	Q 8 5 4
♥	A 9 5 2
♦	Q 9 7 5
♣	2

EW 4N; EW 4♠; EW 4♥; W 3♣; EW 2♦; E 2♣; Par −630

West	North	East	South
			Pass
1 ♠	Pass	2 ♦	Pass
2 NT	Pass	3 NT	Pass
Pass	Pass

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
2 NT	E	−3	♦ 5	300		6.93	0.07	5-Mackey-Runda	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
4 ♥	W	−2	♥ 4	200		5.79	1.21	8-Venosa-Venosa	8-McCarthy-Diers
3 NT	E	−1	♥ 2	100		4.64	2.36	1-Wiest-Singerman	5-Messinger-Hall
3 NT	E	3	♥ 2		600	3.50	3.50	2-Pollack-Pollack	7-Endres-Kennedy
3 NT	W	4	♥ 10		630	2.36	4.64	6-Lammers-Grim	4-Felson-Brown
4 ♠	W	5	♦ 8		650	1.21	5.79	3-Rice-Kloecker	10-Jervis-Lindeman
3 NT	E	5	♥ 2		660	0.07	6.93	7-Kammer-Zimmer	6-Roark-Campbell

Don't rebid 1 NT with a singleton or void. That said, 2 NT is often your correct rebid in a 2/1 auction with a singleton in partner's suit.

E/W take two Club tricks, two Diamonds, two Hearts, and four Spades, making four. North may lead the ♥T. Declarer will win in their hand with the ♥ Q and lead a Spade to the ♠ J and ♠ Q. When the ♠ K drops under the ♠ A, the hand is essentially over.

Board 24
West Deals
None Vul

♠	8 6 5 3 2
♥	3
♦	A 9 7 2
♣	10 4 2

♠	9 4
♥	A Q 10 6 5
♦	5 4 3
♣	K J 5

N
W		E
S

♠	10 7
♥	J 8 7 4 2
♦	J 10
♣	Q 9 8 7

♠	A K Q J
♥	K 9
♦	K Q 8 6
♣	A 6 3

S 4N; NS 4♠; NS 4♦; N 2N; EW 2♥; Par +430

West	North	East	South
Pass	Pass	Pass	2 ♣
Pass	2 ♦1	Pass	2 NT2
Pass	3 ♥3	Pass	3 ♠
Pass	3 NT	Pass	4 ♠
Pass	Pass	Pass

Showing an A, K, or QQ
Showing 22-24 HCP
Transfer

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
3 NT	S	5	♥ 3	460		6.36	0.64	3-Rice-Kloecker	10-Jervis-Lindeman
3 NT	S	5	♦ 4	460		6.36	0.64	6-Lammers-Grim	4-Felson-Brown
4 ♠	S	5	♥ 6	450		3.50	3.50	1-Wiest-Singerman	5-Messinger-Hall
4 ♠	S	5	♠ 9	450		3.50	3.50	7-Kammer-Zimmer	6-Roark-Campbell
4 ♠	S	5	♥ A	450		3.50	3.50	8-Venosa-Venosa	8-McCarthy-Diers
4 ♠	N	4	♥ 2	420		1.21	5.79	5-Mackey-Runda	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
2 NT	S	5	♥ 6	210		0.07	6.93	2-Pollack-Pollack	7-Endres-Kennedy

N/S lose one Heart trick and two Clubs, making four. West may lead a trump.

Board 25
North Deals
E-W Vul

♠	9 3
♥	K Q 6 4
♦	K 9 7 3 2
♣	7 3

♠	Q J 7 5
♥	J 10 7 3
♦	10
♣	Q 10 9 6

N
W		E
S

♠	8 6 2
♥	2
♦	Q J 8 6 5 4
♣	J 4 2

♠	A K 10 4
♥	A 9 8 5
♦	A
♣	A K 8 5

NS 5♥; NS 4N; NS 4♠; NS 4♣; NS 3♦; Par +450

West	North	East	South
	Pass	Pass	2 ♣1
Pass	2 ♦2	Pass	2 NT3
Pass	3 ♣4	Pass	3 ♦5
Pass	3 ♠6	Pass	4 ♥
Pass	4 ♠7	Pass	4 NT8
Pass	5 ♠9	Pass	5 NT10
Pass	6 ♥	Pass	Pass
Pass

South gets all the hands
Showing an A, K, or QQ
Showing 22 to 24 HCP
Puppet Stayman asking for a 4- or 5-card major
Alert, artificial Puppet Stayman response showing one or more 4-card majors but denying a 5-card major
Alert, artificial Puppet Stayman bid showing a fourth Heart and denying a fourth Spade
RKC Blackwood (Kickback) for Hearts
1430 response showing 1 or 4 keycards
Guaranteeing all the keycards and asking for specific Kings
Showing the ♠ K but not denying the ♣ K or ♦ K

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♥	S	5	♦ 10	450		7.00	0.00	7-Kammer-Zimmer	5-Messinger-Hall
3 NT	S	4	♥ J	430		5.50	1.50	4-Murdock-Oblinger	11-Vanstone-Gibler
3 NT	S	4	♥ 3	430		5.50	1.50	5-Mackey-Runda	1-Hoffman-Cai
4 ♥	N	4	♦ Q	420		2.50	4.50	2-Pollack-Pollack	6-Roark-Campbell
4 ♥	S	4	♦ 10	420		2.50	4.50	3-Rice-Kloecker	8-McCarthy-Diers
4 ♥	N	4	♦ 6	420		2.50	4.50	8-Venosa-Venosa	7-Endres-Kennedy
4 ♥	N	4	♦ Q	420		2.50	4.50	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	9-Cushman-Petersen
6 ♥	N	−2	♦ 4		100	0.00	7.00	6-Lammers-Grim	3-Oppelt-Oppelt

Nice auction! Unfortunately, the slam doesn't make--declarer simply has too much work to do with Hearts breaking 4-1 and Diamonds breaking 6-1. West will probably lead the ♦T. Declarer will win in their hand, cash two high Clubs and ruff a Club low in dummy, a Spade back to the ♠ K allows declarer to ruff their fourth Club with the ♥ 6 (after peeking in East's hand to make sure they can't overruff). East will discard a Spade on this trick, and declarer will play a Spade to their ♠ A and ruff a Spade high. At this point, it's likely that declarer will try and cash the ♦ K, but West will ruff low (stupid West) and their ♥ JT is always worth a second trick. Rats.

Board 26
East Deals
Both Vul

♠	K J 8 6 2
♥	K Q 9 3
♦	9
♣	A Q 3

♠	10 9 3
♥	J 7 2
♦	A K Q 5 2
♣	9 8

N
W		E
S

♠	7 5
♥	A 10 8 5
♦	10 7
♣	K J 7 6 5

♠	A Q 4
♥	6 4
♦	J 8 6 4 3
♣	10 4 2

N 3♠; S 2♠; EW 1♦; N 1♣; Par +140

West	North	East	South
		Pass	Pass
1 ♦1	Dbl	1 ♥	Pass
2 ♦	2 ♠	Pass	Pass
Pass

Light 3rd-seat opener

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♠	N	4	♦ 7	620		7.00	0.00	8-Venosa-Venosa	7-Endres-Kennedy
2 ♦	W	−2	♥ K	200		6.00	1.00	5-Mackey-Runda	1-Hoffman-Cai
2 ♠	N	3	♦ 10	140		5.00	2.00	2-Pollack-Pollack	6-Roark-Campbell
4 ♠	N	−1	♦ 7		100	2.50	4.50	3-Rice-Kloecker	8-McCarthy-Diers
4 ♠	N	−1	♦ 10		100	2.50	4.50	4-Murdock-Oblinger	11-Vanstone-Gibler
3 ♠	N	−1	♦ 10		100	2.50	4.50	6-Lammers-Grim	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
3 ♠	N	−1	♦ 10		100	2.50	4.50	7-Kammer-Zimmer	5-Messinger-Hall
2 ♥	E	2	♣ 2		110	0.00	7.00	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	9-Cushman-Petersen

N/S lose one Heart trick, one Diamond, and two Clubs, making three. East will lead the ♦T.

Board 27
South Deals
None Vul

♠	K Q 10 6 5
♥	K J 10 4 3
♦	6
♣	K 10

♠	A J 2
♥	Q 5
♦	K 7 4 3
♣	Q J 6 2

N
W		E
S

♠	3
♥	9 8 7 6 2
♦	J 10 8 5 2
♣	A 9

♠	9 8 7 4
♥	A
♦	A Q 9
♣	8 7 5 4 3

NS 4♠; S 3N; N 2N; EW 3♦; NS 1♥; NS 1♣; Par +300: EW 5♦×−2

West	North	East	South
			Pass
1 ♦	1 ♠1	Dbl2	2 ♦3
Pass	2 ♥4	3 ♦5	4 ♠
Pass	Pass	Pass

Not appropriate for a Michaels cuebid
Negative
Cuebid showing a limit raise or better in Spades
Showing a full opener
I like Diamonds

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♠×	S	4	♦ K	590		7.00	0.00	5-Mackey-Runda	1-Hoffman-Cai
4 ♠	N	5	♥ 9	450		6.00	1.00	7-Kammer-Zimmer	5-Messinger-Hall
4 ♠	N	4	♣ A	420		4.50	2.50	3-Rice-Kloecker	8-McCarthy-Diers
4 ♠	S	4	♥ Q	420		4.50	2.50	6-Lammers-Grim	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
3 ♠	N	4	♣ A	170		3.00	4.00	2-Pollack-Pollack	6-Roark-Campbell
3 ♠	N	3	♦ 5	140		2.00	5.00	8-Venosa-Venosa	7-Endres-Kennedy
4 ♠	S	−1	♥ 5		50	0.50	6.50	4-Murdock-Oblinger	11-Vanstone-Gibler
4 ♠	N	−1	♥ 9		50	0.50	6.50	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	9-Cushman-Petersen

E/W have a good sacrifice in 5 ♦, but it isn't easy to find. N/S lose one Spade trick and two Clubs, making four. East may lead the ♦ J. Declarer will win in dummy with the ♦ A and lead a Spade towards their hand. West will play low, and the ♠ Q will win. A Heart to the ♥ A is followed by a second Spade. West will hop with the ♠ A (East showing out) to return the ♣ Q, but the two high Clubs will be the last tricks for the defense.

Board 28
West Deals
N-S Vul

♠	K J 9 8 6
♥	6 3
♦	K J 6
♣	A Q 2

♠	A Q 10 3
♥	K J 7
♦	10 7 2
♣	7 4 3

N
W		E
S

♠	7 4 2
♥	8 5 2
♦	9 8 5 4 3
♣	9 8

♠	5
♥	A Q 10 9 4
♦	A Q
♣	K J 10 6 5

NS 5N; S 4♠; NS 4♥; NS 5♣; N 3♠; NS 2♦; Par +660

West	North	East	South
Pass	1 ♠	Pass	2 ♥
Pass	2 NT	Pass	3 ♣
Pass	3 NT	Pass	Pass
Pass

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
3 NT	N	6	♦ 3	690		6.93	0.07	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	8-McCarthy-Diers
3 NT	N	5	♦ 9	660		4.64	2.36	7-Kammer-Zimmer	4-Felson-Brown
3 NT	N	5	♦ 3	660		4.64	2.36	8-Venosa-Venosa	6-Roark-Campbell
3 NT	N	5	♦ 4	660		4.64	2.36	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	10-Jervis-Lindeman
3 NT	S	4	♦ 7	630		1.79	5.21	4-Murdock-Oblinger	9-Cushman-Petersen
3 NT	N	4	♦ 9	630		1.79	5.21	6-Lammers-Grim	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
6 NT	N	−2	♦ 4		200	0.07	6.93	3-Rice-Kloecker	7-Endres-Kennedy

South sneaks in a 3 ♣ bid in case partner holds something like ♣ AQ92, but when North persists with notrump, South gives up on slam.

N/S take five Club tricks, three Diamonds, and three tricks in the majors when West has trouble not being endplayed (stupid endplays). East may lead the ♥ 8, and West will win with the ♥ J. A Diamond exit is best, and declarer will run eight minor-suit tricks. West, unwilling to discard a Heart, will most likely throw two Spades to come down to ♠ AQ ♥ K7, but declarer shouldn't have much trouble reading the position. A Spade towards the ♠ K seals West's fate. If they play low, declarer will simply continue Spades, and West will have to play a Heart into dummy's tenace. A high Spade is no better, since either a Spade exit or Heart exit will give declarer the remaining tricks. Nicely played!

Board 29
North Deals
Both Vul

♠	Q 4 3
♥	A 8 6 3 2
♦	9 8
♣	Q 3 2

♠	A 10 8
♥	9 7 5
♦	A K Q J
♣	K J 6

N
W		E
S

♠	9 7 6 2
♥	10
♦	10 7 6 4 3 2
♣	A 5

♠	K J 5
♥	K Q J 4
♦	5
♣	10 9 8 7 4

EW 4♦; EW 2N; EW 2♠; NS 2♥; NS 2♣; Par −130

West	North	East	South
	Pass	Pass	Pass
1 ♦	Pass1	1 ♠	1 NT2
2 NT3	3 ♥4	Pass	Pass
Dbl5	Pass	4 ♦	Pass
Pass	Pass

Not quite a vulnerable overcall
Alert, artificial Sandwich Notrump bid showing 4-5 in Hearts and Clubs respectively
Showing 18-19 HCP
I like Hearts
Do something smart, partner

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
2 ♥	N	2	♦ 4	110		6.93	0.07	6-Lammers-Grim	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
1 ♣	W	−1	♥ A	100		5.79	1.21	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	8-McCarthy-Diers
3 ♦	W	3	♦ 9		110	4.07	2.93	7-Kammer-Zimmer	4-Felson-Brown
3 ♦	W	3	♦ 9		110	4.07	2.93	8-Venosa-Venosa	6-Roark-Campbell
1 NT	W	2	♥ 3		120	2.36	4.64	3-Rice-Kloecker	7-Endres-Kennedy
4 ♦	E	4	♥ K		130	0.64	6.36	4-Murdock-Oblinger	9-Cushman-Petersen
4 ♦	W	4	♥ A		130	0.64	6.36	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	10-Jervis-Lindeman

If East could find a pass over East's double, E/W would collect +200, but that's almost impossible to find with a known 10-card fit in Diamonds. Oh well.

E/W lose one Heart trick and two Spades, making four. North may lead the ♥ A and continue Hearts at trick two.

Board 30
East Deals
None Vul

♠	9 3
♥	A 5
♦	A Q J 9 5 4 2
♣	K 2

♠	A Q 10 7 6 5
♥	4 3 2
♦	10 6
♣	6 4

N
W		E
S

♠	K J 8
♥	Q 9 8 7
♦	K 8 7 3
♣	Q 8

♠	4 2
♥	K J 10 6
♦	—
♣	A J 10 9 7 5 3

NS 5♣; NS 3♥; NS 4♦; NS 1N; Par +400

West	North	East	South
		Pass	1 ♣
2 ♠1	3 ♦	3 ♠	Pass
Pass	Dbl2	Pass	5 ♣
Pass	Pass	Pass

Weak jump overcall
Do something smart, partner

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
5 ♣	S	6	♠ A	420		6.93	0.07	7-Kammer-Zimmer	4-Felson-Brown
5 ♣	S	5	♠ A	400		5.21	1.79	3-Rice-Kloecker	7-Endres-Kennedy
5 ♣	S	5	♠ A	400		5.21	1.79	4-Murdock-Oblinger	9-Cushman-Petersen
4 ♣	S	5	♠ A	150		3.50	3.50	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	8-McCarthy-Diers
4 ♦	N	4	♠ J	130		1.79	5.21	6-Lammers-Grim	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
4 ♦	N	4	♠ K	130		1.79	5.21	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	10-Jervis-Lindeman
5 ♦	N	−1	♠ 8		50	0.07	6.93	8-Venosa-Venosa	6-Roark-Campbell

If South accidentally passes North's DSSP double (you figure it out), N/S will collect +500 when 3 ♠ goes down three on double-dummy defense. That isn't going to happen.

N/S lose two Spade tricks, making five. West will start with the ♠ A and ♠ Q and then switch to a trump. Declarer will run this to their hand (East should play low), play a Heart to the ♥ A, cash the ♦ A (pitching a Heart), play a Heart to the ♥ K (eschewing the finesse.....nice word, huh?), and ruff a Heart with the ♣ K. When the ♣ Q falls on the second trump lead, the hand is over.

Board 31
South Deals
N-S Vul

♠	Q
♥	Q J 10 6 2
♦	8
♣	Q J 8 7 3 2

♠	J 6 3
♥	A K 9 8 5 3
♦	10 9 7
♣	K

N
W		E
S

♠	9 7 5
♥	7 4
♦	Q 6 5 4 3 2
♣	9 5

♠	A K 10 8 4 2
♥	—
♦	A K J
♣	A 10 6 4

NS 7♠; NS 7♣; NS 5N; NS 3♥; NS 2♦; Par +2210

West	North	East	South
			1 ♠
2 ♥	Pass	Pass	3 ♣
Pass	6 ♣	Pass	Pass
Pass

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
6 ♠	N	6	♥ A	1430		7.00	0.00	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	7-Endres-Kennedy
2 ♥×	W	−5	♠ Q	1100		6.00	1.00	8-Venosa-Venosa	5-Messinger-Hall
2 ♥×	W	−4	♠ Q	800		5.00	2.00	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	9-Cushman-Petersen
5 ♣	S	6	♥ A	620		4.00	3.00	6-Lammers-Grim	1-Hoffman-Cai
2 ♥×	W	−2	♠ Q	300		3.00	4.00	11-Williams-Schultz	11-Vanstone-Gibler
3 ♠	S	7	♥ A	260		1.50	5.50	4-Murdock-Oblinger	8-McCarthy-Diers
2 ♠	S	7	♥ K	260		1.50	5.50	7-Kammer-Zimmer	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
3 ♠	S	5	♥ K	200		0.00	7.00	5-Mackey-Runda	10-Jervis-Lindeman

South doesn't want to double 2 ♥, because they have the sneaking suspicion that their partner is going to pass. That would gain N/S +800, but South has higher aspirations. A 3 ♥ cuebid would certainly get a 3 NT bid from North, but again, South doesn't want to be in game--they want to be in slam. South makes a sensible 3 ♣ rebid to keep 3 ♠ in play if North has absolutely nothing.

If you're North and you simply bid 5 ♣ over 4 ♣, I'm sorry but you should find another game. Perhaps Candyland....I hear that's sort of challenging (Hmm, should I use the Plumpy card or perhaps go with Princess Frostine?). How much better can your hand be on this auction? You can picture the void in Hearts in partner's hand. Partner has at least four Clubs, probably five, so you have a 10+ card fit. Partner's hand is huge (they're bidding at the three level vulnerable with a SILENT partner). You should be more afraid that 7 ♣ is cold than you're worried that 6 ♣ isn't making.

N/S lose one Club trick when declarer finesses into West's stiff ♣ K, making six. West will lead the ♥ K. Declarer will ruff in their hand, play a Spade to the ♠ Q, and lead the ♣ Q. When East fails to cover, declarer may choose to hop with the ♣ A (after all, West did show a full opener when they overcalled 2 ♥), but they also may choose to take the hook. It's a good slam, and N/S don't need to make seven to get a nice result.

Board 32
West Deals
E-W Vul

♠	A 9 7
♥	A K 10 9 7 5 2
♦	—
♣	9 6 5

♠	10 8 5 3
♥	6 4
♦	A J 10 8 5
♣	A 7

N
W		E
S

♠	K 6 4
♥	Q 3
♦	K Q 6
♣	Q 8 4 3 2

♠	Q J 2
♥	J 8
♦	9 7 4 3 2
♣	K J 10

NS 5♥; NS 1N; EW 2♦; N 1♠; Par +450

West	North	East	South
Pass	1 ♥	Pass1	1 NT2
Pass	3 ♥3	Pass	4 ♥
Pass	Pass	Pass

Don't make minimum offshape takeout doubles
Forcing
A bit of an overbid

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♦×	W	−2	♥ K	500		7.00	0.00	4-Murdock-Oblinger	8-McCarthy-Diers
4 ♥	N	5	♦ K	450		5.50	1.50	7-Kammer-Zimmer	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
4 ♥	N	5	♣ 8	450		5.50	1.50	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	9-Cushman-Petersen
2 ♥	N	5	♣ 2	200		3.50	3.50	5-Mackey-Runda	10-Jervis-Lindeman
3 ♥	N	5	♣ 3	200		3.50	3.50	6-Lammers-Grim	1-Hoffman-Cai
2 ♥	N	4	♣ 4	170		1.50	5.50	8-Venosa-Venosa	5-Messinger-Hall
2 ♥	N	4	♣ 4	170		1.50	5.50	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	7-Endres-Kennedy
2 ♠	W	3	♥ A		140	0.00	7.00	11-Williams-Schultz	11-Vanstone-Gibler

Even if North rebids 2 ♥, South may raise to the three level and N/S will still get to game. N/S lose one Spade trick and one Club, making five. East will lead the ♦ K.

Board 33
North Deals
None Vul

♠	J 8 4 2
♥	10 6 5
♦	9 6
♣	A K 9 3

♠	K 10 6
♥	A Q 3
♦	A Q J 8
♣	J 5 4

N
W		E
S

♠	A Q 5 3
♥	8 2
♦	K 10 3 2
♣	10 8 2

♠	9 7
♥	K J 9 7 4
♦	7 5 4
♣	Q 7 6

EW 3N; EW 3♠; EW 4♦; EW 2♣; NS 1♥; Par −400

West	North	East	South
	Pass	Pass	Pass
1 NT1	Pass	2 ♣	Pass
2 ♦	Pass	2 NT2	Pass
3 NT	Pass	Pass	Pass

15 to 17
Alert, may or may not have a 4-card major

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
2 NT	W	2	♠ 2		120	7.00	0.00	4-Murdock-Oblinger	8-McCarthy-Diers
3 ♥×	S	−2	♣ 5		300	6.00	1.00	11-Williams-Schultz	11-Vanstone-Gibler
3 NT	W	3	♠ 2		400	3.50	3.50	5-Mackey-Runda	10-Jervis-Lindeman
3 NT	W	3	♣ 3		400	3.50	3.50	6-Lammers-Grim	1-Hoffman-Cai
3 NT	W	3	♠ 2		400	3.50	3.50	8-Venosa-Venosa	5-Messinger-Hall
3 NT	W	3	♣ 3		400	3.50	3.50	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	7-Endres-Kennedy
3 NT	W	4	♣ A		430	0.50	6.50	7-Kammer-Zimmer	3-Oppelt-Oppelt
3 NT	W	4	♠ 2		430	0.50	6.50	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	9-Cushman-Petersen

E/W take three Spade tricks, two Hearts, and four Diamonds, making three. North may lead the ♣ 3, and N/S will rattle off the first four tricks.

Board 34
East Deals
N-S Vul

♠	Q J 8 7
♥	3
♦	A 6 3 2
♣	K 8 4 3

♠	A K 9 6 4
♥	A 6 4
♦	Q 10
♣	Q J 9

N
W		E
S

♠	2
♥	Q J 9 7 5
♦	9 8 5
♣	10 6 5 2

♠	10 5 3
♥	K 10 8 2
♦	K J 7 4
♣	A 7

NS 2N; S 2♠; NS 3♦; N 1♠; EW 1♥; NS 1♣; Par +120

West	North	East	South
		Pass	Pass
1 NT1	Pass	2 ♦	Pass
2 ♥	Dbl2	Pass	2 NT3
Pass	Pass	Pass

15 to 17
Bid something that's not Hearts
Notrump isn't Hearts

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♥	E	−4	♣ A	200		6.93	0.07	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	8-McCarthy-Diers
1 ♠	W	−2	♥ 3	100		5.21	1.79	6-Lammers-Grim	11-Vanstone-Gibler
1 NT	W	−2	♦ 2	100		5.21	1.79	7-Kammer-Zimmer	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
1 NT	N	1	♥ 7	90		3.50	3.50	5-Mackey-Runda	9-Cushman-Petersen
2 ♥	W	−1	♠ Q	50		1.21	5.79	8-Venosa-Venosa	4-Felson-Brown
2 ♥	W	−1	♦ A	50		1.21	5.79	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	6-Roark-Campbell
2 ♥	E	−1	♣ A	50		1.21	5.79	11-Williams-Schultz	10-Jervis-Lindeman

If E/W were vulnerable, South would pass North's takeout double, but E/W aren't so South doesn't. N/S take two Club tricks, four Diamonds, and two Spades, making two. If West leads the ♥ A and continues Hearts, N/S will make three. It's more likely that they'll lead a small Spade.

Board 35
South Deals
E-W Vul

♠	A J 9 7
♥	9
♦	10 9 8 2
♣	A K 6 4

♠	Q 4
♥	10 8 5 2
♦	K J
♣	Q J 10 9 2

N
W		E
S

♠	8 5 3
♥	A K 7 6 4 3
♦	4 3
♣	7 5

♠	K 10 6 2
♥	Q J
♦	A Q 7 6 5
♣	8 3

NS 5♠; NS 5♦; NS 1N; EW 1♥; Par +450

West	North	East	South
			1 ♦
Pass	1 ♠	Pass1	2 ♠
Pass	2 NT2	Pass	3 ♥3
Pass	4 ♠	Pass	Pass
Pass

Not quite a vulnerable 3 ♥ weak jump overcall
Alert, artificial Wold 2 NT bid asking for more information about partner's raise
Alert, artificial Wold 2 NT response showing a minimum hand with four Spades

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♠	N	4	♥ A	420		5.21	1.79	5-Mackey-Runda	9-Cushman-Petersen
4 ♠	N	4	♥ K	420		5.21	1.79	6-Lammers-Grim	11-Vanstone-Gibler
4 ♠	N	4	♥ K	420		5.21	1.79	7-Kammer-Zimmer	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
4 ♠	N	4	♥ A	420		5.21	1.79	8-Venosa-Venosa	4-Felson-Brown
2 ♠	N	4	♥ A	170		2.36	4.64	11-Williams-Schultz	10-Jervis-Lindeman
4 ♠	N	−1	♥ K		50	0.64	6.36	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	6-Roark-Campbell
4 ♠	N	−1	♥ K		50	0.64	6.36	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	8-McCarthy-Diers

North checks to see if South really has a fourth Spade and then parks in game when they do. N/S lose one Heart trick and one Diamond, making five. East will lead the ♥ K and continue with the ♥ A at trick two.

Board 36
West Deals
Both Vul

♠	A 10 9 3
♥	A 8
♦	5 2
♣	A 10 9 8 3

♠	4 2
♥	K Q J 4
♦	Q 10 6
♣	Q 7 5 2

N
W		E
S

♠	8 6
♥	10 7 6 3 2
♦	A K 9
♣	K J 6

♠	K Q J 7 5
♥	9 5
♦	J 8 7 4 3
♣	4

NS 4♠; NS 3♦; NS 1N; EW 1♥; Par +620

West	North	East	South
Pass	1 ♣	1 ♥1	1 ♠2
2 ♠3	3 ♠4	Pass	4 ♠
Pass	Pass	Pass

Nobody ever said your suit had to be pretty
Showing 5+ Spades
Cuebid showing a 4-card limit raise in Hearts
I like Spades

Contract			Lead	Score		Matchpoints		Pair	Pair
				N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W	N-S	E-W
4 ♠	N	5	♦ A	650		6.93	0.07	8-Venosa-Venosa	4-Felson-Brown
4 ♠	S	4	♥ K	620		5.21	1.79	7-Kammer-Zimmer	2-Chrzanowski-Muenks
4 ♠	S	4	♥ J	620		5.21	1.79	11-Williams-Schultz	10-Jervis-Lindeman
4 ♥	E	−3	♣ 4	300		3.50	3.50	5-Mackey-Runda	9-Cushman-Petersen
2 ♠	S	5	♥ K	200		2.36	4.64	9-Ramsay-Magnus, Jr	6-Roark-Campbell
3 ♠	S	4	♥ K	170		1.21	5.79	6-Lammers-Grim	11-Vanstone-Gibler
4 ♥	E	−1	♣ 4	100		0.07	6.93	10-Behr-Terbrueggen	8-McCarthy-Diers

If West had a similar hand with only three Hearts, they could cuebid the opponent's lower-ranking suit (Clubs in this case) to show that hand. N/S lose one Heart trick and two Diamonds, making four when Diamonds split 3-3.