[Lord Molyb]

---

I was south...
Partner leaps to 3♥ over my 1♠ which I forget is a western cue-bid (asks for stopper). After thinking for some time, I decide it must indicate GF values and spades, so I bid 3♠ to show above minimum. He bids 4♣ as a signoff, which I interpret as a cue-bid, but I have no non-spade controls so I bid 4♠.

Then he bids 5♣ which I still thought was a cue-bid, so I cue-bid my second round heart control. Now that partner knows I have a stopper, he signs off in 5NT. Except.. I thought it was Grand Slam Forcing. So I lept to 7♠, showing AK.
Instant double from my LHO, down 6 for 1700.

Any stories anyone wants to share?

[Zelandakh]

Played towards the end of our first game in a new club:

2♦ = art GF
... - 2♥ = waiting
4♣ = Opener:agrees clubs; Responder: short clubs
... - 4♥ = Opener: cue; Responder: nat
4♠ = Opener: cue; Responder: pick a pointy suit + huge hand
... - 7♠

That might be the end of the tale except the hands were:

---

and 7♠ is unbeatable, while every other grand is down without some help. As it happens, West led a spade too (without asking about the auction).

[Cyberyeti]

A friend (decent player) went on a bridge holiday with another friend (less good). The auction starts 1♠-P-4♥-P opener (the decent player) thinks "does she know what a splinter is ?" looks at his 7 spades and no hearts and passes. This is how with 12 spades and one heart they played in 4♥.

The same friend also with his regular partner in a county match managed to scramble a rescue auction from 1N and play in 2♣xx with opening leader having ♣AKQJxxxx.

Two players who I think have both played internationally managed to mangle an auction so that they played in 5♥ with a trump suit of Kxxxx opposite void with a grand on in another denomination.

My worst cockup turned into a triumph:

---

Before the days of fit jumps being on the radar, our auction went (starting with S as dealer) 1♣-(1♥)-2♠-3♣-4♣-5♣-6♣-(X)-P-XX (don't ask, I was 19, partner had no excuse)

I thought it was pairs and if I was going to get a silly score I might as well get it redoubled. Then I was informed it was Butler pairs

Anyway, spade lead, so I played the Q, K ruff. I cashed A♥ and tabled the 10, LHO playing low then having a sudden look of horror when I didn't immediately ruff it, so I pitched a diamond and it held. I then proceeded on a massive cross ruff deciding my only chance was for the ♣K to be stiff and have to ruff in front of me. This turned out to be the case and when the smoke cleared I had 2 hearts, 2 aces and 8 trumps. We wrote the score on the traveller and thought no more about it until towards the end of the evening, one of the YC regulars stood on his chair and shouted "Who perpetrated that atrocity on board 13". He refused to believe it could be done without a revoke or a heart lead.

[ggwhiz]

I don't know the hand but I directed a club game and was called to a table where north handed me the traveller and said this can't be right. Table 2 has n/s playing in 2♦ but they both have singletons.

I went and confirmed it, returned to the table and asked her what they were in. She said 3♦.

[Lord Molyb]

---

[RunemPard]

Lord Molyb, on 2012-November-22, 10:52, said:

---

...If you ever see me about to play with that player...please inform me to leave immediately.

[barmar]

Was that really miscommunication, or just a brain fart?

[Lord Molyb]

barmar, on 2012-November-22, 11:06, said:

Was that really miscommunication, or just a brain fart?

It was a miscommunication, he thought it was natural.
You won't believe the players I play with sometimes on this site.. gah

---

Well, he had help in spades...

[Vampyr]

Cyberyeti, on 2012-November-22, 08:15, said:

A friend (decent player) went on a bridge holiday with another friend (less good). The auction starts 1♠-P-4♥-P opener (the decent player) thinks "does she know what a splinter is ?" looks at his 7 spades and no hearts and passes. This is how with 12 spades and one heart they played in 4♥.

Did you accidentally exchange the terms "decent player" and "less good"? Still, playing 4♥ as a splinter when they hadn't even agreed splinters at all is pretty dumb.

[Bbradley62]

I would think that

Vampyr, on 2012-November-22, 21:58, said:

... playing 4♥ as a splinter when they hadn't even agreed splinters at all is pretty dumb standard.

[Trinidad]

In the early days of my bridge career, we had the following double miscommunication. I held the West hand.

---

At this point the following was going through my mind: "You @%#^$^@%#^! You let me play this hand in 4NT with the opponents taking the first 8 tricks in hearts!?! ... OK, Rik, calm down, be nice to your partner, smile, we have more hands to play, this will be a bottom but maybe we will get some tops later if I am nice now, smile again.."

DOUBLE!

Forget all the bogus about words that make someone happy. It is not "thank you", "well done!", "good morning" or "please. It is "DOUBLE!", it came from my RHO and it brought an instant change in my mood.

I bid 6♦. That was followed by pass, pass and   double  , followed by three passes, a heart lead and a score of 1740.

To be completely honest - please remember that this was the very early beginning of my bridge career - I did not bid 4NT to show a two-suited takeout. I intended it as Blackwood. If my partner would have shown one ace, I would have gambled that it was the ♠A and bid 7♠. As you can see, this is not a happy contract after a heart lead.

The obvious conclusion: My partner has a fine nose for what is going on at the table. Her brilliant pass saved me from a bottom and got us a top. We got married about a year later...

Rik

[manudude03]

My regular partner and I had this disaster last year (pips approximate)

---

1H-1NT (nat, 5+ spades)
2C (opener- natural 3+ clubs, responder- gazzilli)
-2D (opener- "fourth" suit forcing, responder- 8+)
2S- (opener- 2 spades no diamond stop, responder- 16+ with 3 spades)
-5C (EKCB)
5D-7S (0/3, responder: "5S would be a signoff, and we can't be off 3 aces"

[barmar]

Lord Molyb, on 2012-November-22, 21:29, said:

It was a miscommunication, he thought it was natural.

Even if it was natural, that doesn't explain the pass? He had 4 card support for your first suit, only 2 in the second, and 4♠ would be game.

[Lord Molyb]

barmar, on 2012-November-23, 10:58, said:

Even if it was natural, that doesn't explain the pass? He had 4 card support for your first suit, only 2 in the second, and 4♠ would be game.

Maybe he thought I was psyching or something? I don't know

[GreenMan]

barmar, on 2012-November-23, 10:58, said:

Even if it was natural, that doesn't explain the pass? He had 4 card support for your first suit, only 2 in the second, and 4♠ would be game.

I've observed that some players tend to let their partner's most recent bid override all previous calls in their head, possibly out of panic if they don't understand what's going on. I think I did it myself a few times when I was first learning the game.

[GreenMan]

Cyberyeti, on 2012-November-22, 08:15, said:

A friend (decent player) went on a bridge holiday with another friend (less good). The auction starts 1♠-P-4♥-P opener (the decent player) thinks "does she know what a splinter is ?" looks at his 7 spades and no hearts and passes. This is how with 12 spades and one heart they played in 4♥.

I'll go you one better: I once missed a 13-card fit. Partner bid Michaels showing OM and a minor. I looked at my three ♦ and seven ♣ and bid what was surely my partner's undisclosed suit. Nope.

[sfi]

Two friends, at least one of whom has since represented their country in junior international events, managed to find 7NT in a nice cuebidding sequence. They had 13 tricks. The problem was, both had cue bid their diamond void.