I have been so busy, that I have fallen behind on my blogging. I have been enjoying the new website Bridge Winners by Gavin Wolpert among others.

Here was an interesting hand from the recent July 4th Sectional in Atlanta. In some respects bridge can be like golf. In golf, sometimes you need just the right club for a shot. In bridge, you sometimes need a particular convention. Golf limits the number of clubs you can use. Bridge allows you to use as many conventions you like, but memory and system constraints place practical limits.

The Gambling 3NT is a convention I neither like nor dislike. I typically use it because I dislike the other 3NT conventions even more. It doesn’t come up very often, but when it does it can be very successful.

I was South and opened 3NT, promising a solid seven card or longer minor with no outside Ace or King. East/West were a new partnership and West’s double was understood to suggest a strong NT. From his hand, I think West meant his double as a light take-out. Without West’s double partner could have bid 4 to ask for shortness. We had no agreement in competition, so partner bid 5. East thought North was saving so bid 5. At that point, partner decided I was likely short in hearts afterall and bid the slam.

After the K lead, there was nothing to the play and partner scored up 6 X making 7.

At the other table they did not have the 3NT club (to continue the golf analogy in honor of the British Open) in their bag.

South might have bid 5 directly over 4 or after the double but without the Gambling 3NT opener I don’t think N/S would ever bid a slam.