If you and your partner play 2/1, with 1NT forcing, then East's rebid will still be 2NT to show a NT opener in terms of HCP count but not NT shape. Even if you play Standard American, East's rebid is invitational.

West has shown 6-10 HCPs, and if West is at the higher end of that range, 2NT invites West to bid the game. If West has only 6 or 7 HCPs, West should pass 2NT. Although 3NT is a logical stop for E/W, this is a hand that should only make 6 NT tricks for West.

Some may choose to be in that 5-2 fit of hearts, which also looks game-inviting! But odds are pretty good everyone will wind up with a set score for E/W and the positive number in the N/S column.

North has a couple of options here; your partner has already passed, and East has shown a weak hand. West has furthered the preempt by raising diamonds, but you expect to have a game - or maybe even a slam. What to do?

Some Norths will double, planning to show a big hand next. With just 3 losers and 19 HCPs, that's generally a good strategy. But nothing is perfect in bridge, as they say, and if you double, there are a couple of things that could go wrong. First, if South has four diamonds (with a couple of honors), South may pass and convert that double to penalty. That's a problem because North has nearly a self-sufficient heart suit and doesn't want to miss a great score. Second, what if East or West raise diamonds again? More interference may make it difficult to find the correct game here. Remember - a double is not a demand bid, as 4♦ would be.

Other Norths will just bid 4♥. You expect to lose a diamond, and a club. It's not likely East has four hearts to the ♥J to get a heart trick, so even a spade down the road will still make a heart game. That would be my first choice.

An alternative would be to bid 4♦. It's a demand bid that South cannot pass - and requires South to choose a suit other than diamonds. If South were to bid 5♣, North can always bid 5♥ anyway. And with that strong a hand, you might make 5♥ (and would!).

What would you and your partner bid with North's hand here?

South has a lovely void in North's suit - so what can South do now?

The best option may be to go ahead and pass. South, by opening 1♣ and jumping to 3♣, has "told the story" of South's hand - and you never want to "tell your story" twice.

North's jump to 4♠ should indicate a suit at least as long as South's clubs; and South can hope those long clubs come in handy for North to throw off a red card loser or two.

Another reason to pass? If 4♠ and 5♣ make, which contract would you rather be in?

Did you know you don't need to through 1NT to use New Minor Forcing? Some partnerships have the agreement that bidding the new minor will show five in a suit and 10+ HCPs - even with a previously-passed hand like North's. It's an artificial bid of course, and so must be alerted, as it would be if you play 4th Suit Forcing; but even with 5 spades and 10+ HCPs, it's going to be a 4♣ or 3NT contract for South.

This hand will come down to a battle between clubs for N/S and hearts for E/W. The advantage may be to E/W because the favorable vulnerability will make it easier to sacrifice.

Typically, you want to show a 5-5 hand with a Michaels cuebid. . .but on occasion, you may have a 5-4 hand that's good enough for partner to play even if they've only got a 4-3 fit. In other words, with East already having passed, West could bid 2♣ as an overcall to show hearts and spades. West won't care which suit East chooses, especially with those spade honors. If West's spades were 8-6-5-2, that would be a different story of course. But here, 2♣ will get East to bid the major suit that East has - and the hearts are off and running.

Here's a hand where although 2NT is the logical resting place for E/W, this hand can go down 1 in 2NT. There's a whole host of ways for that to happen - with N/S getting at least four club tricks, the ♦Q, and then either the ♠Q or ♥Q.

But unless those clubs get into the act early, some +120s may show up on the traveller for West. Let's say North leads the ♠Q (top of a sequence). West plays three diamonds to drive out the ♦Q. Would South want a club? Probably not the signal most Souths would give, as the ♣K could be finessed if West has the ♣A. Without a club lead, West can get the two top spades, the two top hearts, and four diamonds - to make 2NT. Some hands are just like that, however!

Will 1♣ be passed out at your table? It's entirely possible - West's 1♣ open (and expected rebid of a reverse bid or 2NT to show a strong hand) will be met with yawns by partner - and with just 4 HCPs, East will pass 1♣ and hope for a 5-3 fit. (Any South that bids over 1♣ having five in the suit and so few HCPs should expect partner to be looking for someone new very shortly.)

Even pairs that play the "Mexican NT" as it is fondly called, with 18-19 HCPs and no five-card spade suit, will see 2NT by West - also going down 1 with best defense. It's another one of "those" hands!!

North's overcall of 2♥ may seem a bit questionable, but North is within the overcall range for most partnerships (8 to 16 HCPs) and North does have five in the suit.

North's lead of the ♥J could produce a very favorable result if the other honors are in the right place - which here, they are. If East covers with the ♥Q, South plays the ♥K, and now West's ♥A takes the trick, all of a sudden North's ♥10 and ♥9 are promoted to tops in the suit.

With this hand, it won't make any difference, as West can pull three rounds of trump, then play the ♦A and cross to the diamonds in dummy to throw off the losing heart and end up losing two clubs to make 5♠.

There's a unwritten rule in bridge - always give your opponents the chance to make a mistake. Rather than claim, play down to the last card and make them guess which one to hold - a club or a heart. Sometimes you'll find they make a bad guess - and the result is good for you!

Do you and your partner play weak jump-shifts not in competition? If you do, then you need to mark that on your convention cards. You'll note it's a red box - and red boxes always require an alert. Here, South has a very weak hand, and can jump to 2♥ to show six in the suit and low HCPs. North won't mind, as with 19 HCPs and a 9-card fit in hearts most N/S pairs should get to a heart game with little difficulty.

There's a Grand Slam to be had here, but it's pretty hard to bid. Most players, even those more experienced than our Friday morning group will be in 6♥.

West's first bid to partner should be 2♣, as it's either forcing to game if you play over 2/1, or shows 11 HCPs or more - it does NOT deny a heart fit, and West will have the chance to show that next time around. When West does show these hearts, now East can investigate a slam. East has only 4 losers, and with West's 2♣ response, West shows a near-opener. . .at least. So there should be a good chance to get to 6♥.

One way to get to 7♥ is for East to open this 4-loser hand 2♣. It shows West just how strong East's hand is RIGHT NOW. . .and when East shows the suit of hearts, West can now investigate a slam. One reason for hesitation about a 2♣ open is that what if West is void in hearts!? That could be a problem. And might be why some E/W pairs are in 6♥ and not 7♥.

West's 2NT bid isn't Jacoby 2NT, as West is already a passed hand. So West is showing 11-12 HCPs and no real desire to be in spades. It's not easy for East to go ahead and bid the NT game, as East has a minimum hand as it is - and West has just shown no real spade fit! It all comes down to what cards South has for the 1♣ open. Look for most E/W pairs to be in a NT partial, with some possibly in a 5-2 fit in spades.

At favorable vulnerability, East may be inclined to double. East isn't sure if E/W has a game, or if any other East will be allowed to play 4♥, so the next best thing is to try and set 4♠ by one or two tricks doubled. . .and hope the other E/W pairs don't double. That could bring a nice score!

The problem is when North CAN make 4♠, and North can make 5♠ here. It won't seem like it to East, who thinks East can cash three tricks - maybe four - on his own - but remember that distributional hands can be tricky when doubling. Also, the general rule is that if YOU have shortness in a suit, everyone has shortness in a suit. Occasionally, one player may have shortness in a couple of suits, as North does here.

What would you and your partner do with East's hand?

South has a nice six-card spade suit; and with East likely having the ♠K, South doesn't expect to have any losers in that suit. But that's all South has - the other seven cards appear to be losers. So bidding 2♠ means that without some help from North, South could be down 2 vulnerable (-200). On the other hand, if North has a trick or two, that means down 1 - or possibly making 2♠.

On defense, if North does have a trick, then North might lead through East's spades. Here, if South can find the heart lead, things will go well defending 1NT.

Note that if South leads a heart, taken by North, and North leads the ♠J, even if East ducks, South must play the ♠Q to take the trick. The reason? With four spades in dummy, East must have a doubleton to the ♠K. Remember, East wouldn't open 1NT with a singleton spade. The ♠J must be a singleton - and now South can cash the rest of the tricks.

It's not likely that anyone in our Friday morning group is going to bid 6♦ here; but can you see how to win 12 tricks on offense in the minor suit?

You won't lose any diamonds, as long as both North and South show up with one on the first diamond trick. East can throw off one of the three spades in dummy by playing to the ♥Q, then coming back to the ♥A and sluffing a spade on the ♥K. But with the ♠K-♠10 in dummy, you still can only lose one.

Thankfully, you have the ♠J. If North has both the ♠A and ♠Q, there's no hope. But if the ♠Q is in South's hand, you can only lose one spade here.

You may get a read on who has the ♠A by what's played early on.

West has a great hand for Gambling 3NT; it's when you have at least seven minor suit cards to the A-K-Q and no stoppers in any other suits. If East has stoppers in each of the majors, East should pass 3NT. If East does not have stoppers in each of the majors, as here, East should bid 4♣. West will pass 4♣ if clubs are West's suit - or correct to 4♦.

North has a great hand, and even if North bids over 4♦, East will probably go ahead and sacrifice with 5♦. It's an easy sacrifice when you're not vulnerable.

South may briefly think about this hand on defense against 1♥, but you've got only four quick tricks - and thanks to East's open, you expect a heart lead. North may have passed already, but what if North has five spades? Or a 10-HCP hand? You might have a nice game (even not vulnerable) that would be better than setting 1NT.

South can make 8 tricks in NT, even if there are three club losers off the top. The key will be to either endplay East, forcing East to play away from the top spades - or squeeze West with diamonds, to eke out a fourth diamond trick. Don't be surprised if most Souths feel grateful to be making 1NT and no overtricks!

If you and your partner play 4th suit forcing, there is a red box on your convention card for that - both convention cards must have this box checked, and it's an alertable bid. 4th suit forcing tells partner to further describe his hand.

Here, East opened 1♥, to show five in the suit. Next, East jumped to 3♣ showing a big hand - much bigger than opening. When West asks for a third bid, what should East show now?

West's 3♦ forcing bid is artificial, so 3NT is not the best bid to make - West might not have any diamonds. East doesn't want to rebid hearts, as that would show six in the suit. And rebidding clubs at this point would show five in the suit.

3♠ is East's better bid. It shows a 5-4-3-1 hand, with five hearts, four clubs, three spades, and the singleton diamond. West has already shown four spades, and 3♦ does not deny five spades in West's hand. But one of the rules about bridge is that you don't "tell your story" twice. West already knows from the 3♣ bid that East doesn't have four spades - but West is looking to find out if East has three spades, or if East has a 5-5 hand in hearts or clubs, etc. Looking for the best contract - that's one of the things that 4th suit forcing will help you with.

West's distribution might have some West players thinking about a club slam here. That's not a bad thought to have. Jumping to 3NT may not be a bad choice with 11 HCPs opposite partner - but it's better to transfer to clubs first; then either bid the game or investigate a slam.

Keep in mind that many contracts that make a minor suit game (11 tricks) also make a NT game (9 tricks). . .and if there's an overtrick, the NT game is where you want to be. So if it isn't a slam that's in the cards, look for some way to end up in NT. A losing heart and losing diamond will set 6♣, but it may very well be worth the try.

With just 21 HCPs, it will be difficult to bid a vulnerable game here for E/W. The ♦K and ♥A just happen to be in the right place - as does the ♣K. It's one of those "magic hands".

East's hand is a little too strong to bid 2♠ the first time around; your partner may consider this to be a very weak bid and East's hand is stronger than that.

Some West players may even invite at 3♠, knowing of the 6-2 fit, but with both of the opponents bidding (South's open and North's response) it may make it quite tough to try a spade game.

East may consider throwing in a spade bid at some point, but vulnerability alone should stop that thought cold. You've got one quick trick - and perhaps a heart and a spade or two.

Even without any interference from East, a heart slam will be near impossible to find here. You've got 28 HCPs, not 32 or more. . .but what makes this slam (or 4♥ making 6) is that the ♦A and ♥Q are in the right place. Note that if East does throw in a spade bid, that will make it easier for South to figure on East having both these cards.

With just five losers and 17 HCPs, a reverse by West is a great way to show the shape and strength of this hand. North has 10 HCPs and can double the 1♣ opener to show both majors - some South players will bid 1♠ with four of them, but if you and your partner show HCPs over a 1-level double, 2♠ will show 9 to 11 HCPs.

This will show North that the HCPs are evenly distributed - 20/20. North may be the only one that knows this, of course, but even so it will make it difficult to double 3♥. North might have three tricks, but unless South has two, doubling will be disastrous. Look for most North/South players to be at either +110 or +100, with a few +50s thrown in.

Unless you and your partner enjoy a 4-3 fit now and then, E/W pairs will be in 3NT.

Even if South leads the ♦8 (fourth from the top), East can win it with the ♦9 and have three stoppers in the suit. (A lead of the ♦10 or ♦J will have to be taken with the ♦Q, but East will still have one other stopper with the ♦A.)

East's first move should be to drive out the ♥A and make a couple of heart tricks good. Two heart tricks, two diamonds, three clubs and three spades make for ten tricks, and +630 should be a common score here.

This hand makes 6NT, so +690 is possible, but to squeeze both North and South will take much more than you'll typically see in our Friday morning game.

If you and your partner play New Minor Forcing, North's bid of 2♣ would show 10+ HCPs along with the five hearts. In this case, you don't quite have enough HCPs to make that bid, which is too bad because in cases like this you have to give up the natural 2♣ bid to show four in the suit. . .which North does have.

North can go down 1 in 2♥, which may not be the worse possible board - as E/W can make 1NT, and possibly 2NT with a little help. But positive scores for the N/S side are going to be few - very few with this gem.

East has enough for a limit raise here, but what if West has a powerhouse hand? Wouldn't you want to give the chance to West to rebid something to further describe the hand? With 2/1, you can.

Players that play Standard American will jump right to 3♠ to show 10 HCPs and three in the suit, but 2/1 will allow for partner to bid something bigger if it's there. West players don't have any more than a regular opener, so 2♦ (the better minor) will be met with a jump to 3♠. West, having nothing more than a regular ol' opener, had better pass that 3♠!

Norths that open this deal 2♦ will surely get a bid of 2♥ from their partner. How do you and your partner play new suits over 2-level preempts? Because there are two ways to play it.

One is that a new suit is a forcing bid. It requires the 2♦ opener here to rebid something. What that rebid will be depends on your partnership agreement, as there are, of course, several conventions available.

The other is that a new suit is non-forcing. South simply doesn't like a weak diamond 2♦ contract - either because South has one or none of the suit, or South thinks there's a better score in a major -suit 2-level contract.

If you play that new suits are NOT forcing over 2-level preempts, that is a bid which must be alerted - and the red box on your convention card checked next to 2-level preemptive responses. (It says "New Suit NF".)

However you decide to play it, make sure you both understand the agreement - and alert when required.

East and West have something of a misfit here, and if you play 2 over 1, East's 1♠ bid will be met with that forcing 1NT. West is hoping for 2♦ of course, but when East shows a second suit - at 3♣ - this should be a five-card suit. It's over North's interference of 2♥, and usually new suits over interference promise five in the suit.

Let's say North does nothing, and East rebids 2♣. West should still bring partner back to the major suit, even if it's a 5-2 fit (West is expecting clubs to be 5-2, or even 4-2). Going through 1NT Forcing and then rebidding the major at the lowest possible level available shows a weaker hand or 2-card support.

If you don't play 2 over 1, then this hand is going to get a little tricky. There aren't quite enough HCPs to make a game in NT or spades, but that might not stop a few E/W pairs from getting too high. Distributional hands are a different breed - and this hand certainly won't help their reputation.

4♥ should be a common contract with this hand, whether South opens this 15 HCP hand 1NT or 1♥.

Some players open 15-17 HCP hands 1NT even if they've got a 5-card major, and that's fine - but you should mark the box on your convention card at 1NT Openings where it says "5-card major common". This will help inquisitive opponents when they defend understand what your distribution might be. Remember, bridge is all about disclosing what you are doing! Not too many of our Friday morning players may be counting suits in such a manor, but it's a good practice to get into even at our level.

This is going to be a frustrating hand for East today. With 18 HCPs and a great spade suit, you're expecting something big!

But the dilemma may be South's. Partner opens 2♥, East doubles, and you've got a singleton heart and five spades. Because you are vulnerable, a doubled 2♥ making could be a great score - but you have all these other black cards!

South will have to decide whether North's clubs (if any) are better than South's ♥4. Clearly this is a distributional nightmare for everyone, and if North has six or more hearts, South's diamond void means E/W must have lots of diamonds.

This is an example of a hand where new suits played non-forcing over 2-level preempts will work out well, as 3♣ by South can be a good result. Wests may or may not decide to show the diamonds, but with just 4 HCPs, that's going to be risky.

The bidding on this hand may be quite unusual, with South's 1♦ open followed by a double and a redouble by North. North has both majors along with 10 HCPs, and the redouble shows not only both four-card majors but 10+ HCPs and implies no fit (as is on your convention card!).

Easts that throw in a 2♣ bid will make it tough for South or West to do anything, and it's only if North doubles for takeout - and South leaves it in for penalty - that N/S will get a top board here. How likely is that!?

N/S can get six tricks defending 2♣ to set it 1, which might not be a bad score for N/S at all. It's a diamond lead that will get things off to the best start, as N/S can get one diamond, one spade, two hearts, one club honor in South's hand, and as soon as South gets in after the opening lead South needs to keep playing diamonds so North can get a diamond ruff for the setting trick.

South's 1♦ open will allow West nothing more than a double to show the majors. Remember that a 1-level negative double doesn't promise four in the suit, it implies four - and promises three. In this case, West doesn't have anything more to do than that!

North has a choice of bidding 1♠, although that would imply five in the suit over interference, and so some North players will be content to bid 2♦ (or 3♦ if you and your partner play inverted minors) - which West will have a tough time figuring anything other than passing out the diamond partial.

The shocker here is that E/W have a heart game, with the clubs in the right place - and the ♦K. Anyone in a heart game gets a bonus prize today, but the more likely result on the traveler will be some sort of partial by N/S - with some making, and some going down.

With South as a previously-passed hand, you're probably not going to count too much on anything South has. But you have a great hand - one that's going to be playing spades, no doubt. Whether you double 1♣ and then bid spades, or jump right up with a 1♠ overcall right away, South will probably pass your bids - as most Souths will.

Some Norths may actually make 5♠, if E/W don't take their four winners right away. Wests that win a club or two and then switch to the singleton ♠6 will allow North to draw trump - then play diamonds. If North plays the diamonds correctly (without blocking them) North can get to the long diamonds with the ♦K on the third round and throw off losing hearts on the two good diamonds - making 5.

North will have a choice to make here, as some play that a double by North is an equivalent hand to the NT opener. Whether North doubles or passes, as is the case here, South's best bet is to pass and let North defend 1NT (1NTX). With South's 7 HCPs, N/S should have the majority of the HCPs; South's flat hand, North's flat hand, and West's flat hand mean nobody should have a long suit to run, and those 7 HCPs plus West and North's mean East can't have more than 3 HCPs. Look for some set scores on the E/W tally, as 1NTX down 2 (+500) will be a top board for N/S.

East's open should be 1♦, even with five clubs, so you have a handy rebid if needed - 1♦/2♣ shows a minimum hand, but 1♣/2♦ would be a reverse. West's 1♥ response over South's double promises five in the suit, and North is happy with a heart bid!

South's hand is so strong that doubling the opener - and then bidding spades - will show a 17+ HCP hand. North's four lovely jacks are a hand that should be passing 2♠, and losing two hearts, two diamonds, and the ♠A will be +110 for N/S.