Usually, in a good month, I get burned on one choice, in an average month, two, and in a bad month, three. This month, I must have been out of it altogether - I was burned on four choices. And only one I would not make at the table. On Problem A, at the table, I am certain I would bid 1NT and then regret the choice; here I bid 1
, and still feel pretty good about the choice. I look forward to seeing which two panelists went with that choice. No matter what, I just could not get myself to bid 3
without some table feel. The last two times I tried that bid, I hit partner with a 4-4-3-2 hand and it did not work out well at all.
Other bad choices included raising partner with Kx in Problem G. As recently as last night, I made a similar bid. Last night, it was not my best bid - that would have been double, which would net 800, but putting partner in game was the next best bid as the cards lay. Here, I can appreciate the desire to have partner overruffed in spades, but with my luck, bidding 1NT will get me raised to 3NT, and they take four top spades and a side trick for down 1. I am not going there.
As for my other unfortunate choices, on Problem C, action was preferred over inaction - but the largest single vote getter was Pass. With 15 HCPs and a less than stellar five-bagger, none of the choices look great. And in Problem H, against 1NT, I tend to prefer leading something that I have values in rather than top of nothing; it was the second choice of the panel, but it was a distant 2nd choice.
A poorish 620 for me this month, but really, very few regrets. On to next month.