A Lesson by Sliynk

I did not know this trick. With the hand above, I passed 1♣ in South. West revived the bidding with 1♠ and made it with an overtrick (you cannot prevent that). This happened on each table besides the one that I was compared to.

In the bidding above, Sliynk (Peter Hollands), bid 1♦. The idea is to pass any reply by partner and psych the opponents out of the bidding. It worked, even though 1NT went down for 100 which is better than 2♠ for 110.

Isn't that dangerous? As the hand stands, there are all sorts of contracts to be made by E/W, even if we shuffle their hands. But it is possible that North has 18-20 points and goes havoc with 2NT or a splinter for a slam in minors. This will not end well. Moreover, down 2 in 1NT would already too much because we are vulnerable.

A few hands later, I saw the following hands.

Assume, West had a hand similar to the one above, and bid 1♦ in this situation too. Now, East will bid his splinter and not stop in 4♣, going down for an immense penalty. It is unlikely that N/S have any game.

Anyway, I learned a new idea in bidding.