Some bids are unbelievable

When players have long twosuiters, you expect fireworks in the auction.

When this deal was played in a 16-table duplicate, though, the given auction was relatively quiet. What would you have done differently?

This was the only table at which South did not overcall one spade. (The suit is poor and the hand strength low, but it is the spade suit.) At two tables, after West responded two hearts, North jumped to six spades! Both went down two doubled by East, losing one heart and two clubs.

Seven times North-South understandably pushed into five spades over five diamonds. Although five diamonds was doomed, that was hard to judge.

In this auction, North’s twono-trump overcall showed at least 5-5 in the unbid suits. (An overcall of either two diamonds or two hearts would have been natural, not Michaels.) Now East should have competed with three hearts. In competition, you may bid one level higher than you would have done in an uncompetitive auction. When East passed, South might have bid four spades, based on the 10-card fit, but he did not like his club holding. Then, amazingly, West passed. How many diamonds would he have needed to compete in that suit? Finally, North understandably raised to four spades.

West led the club ace and shifted to a heart. East won and, knowing he had a club trick coming, led a low diamond. South won with his king, drew trumps, conceded a club and claimed.

At one table, even more strangely, South played in three spades.