I've always taken it for granted that hands on BBO are random but I'm starting to wonder.  Yesterday my friend Joanie's partner picked up:

- / AKQT98632 / QT72 / -

He opened 1 Heart.  She bid 2 Diamonds.  RHO bid 2 Spades.  He made the brilliant call of 5 Hearts. 

Joanie had

K3 / 7 / AK543 / T6543

 

and, of course, passed. 

 

She suggested I blog the hand but since a) I hadn't been involved in it and b) I've never been interested by freakish hands, I declined.

 

Then tonight this hand came up.  I subbed into the last round of a tourney and picked up in 4th at unfavorable:

- / K987654 / J97643 / -

Out of curiosity I'd run the numbers on picking up a monochromatic hand and the chances are 1 in 30 528.  That's rare, but not 'once in a lifetime' rare.  But still, for it to happen twice in such a short period of time is unusual, to say the least.

I never got to bid my little orphan from a game of Goulash.  1 Spade on my left, 4 Spades on my right.  With a solid partner I'm probably in for 4NT (it sure is gross, but how can you not bid a 7-6er?) but my partner was a 'Standard Americaner' and I knew that if I bid 4NT, he'd bid Clubs forever.

After the auction 1 Spade pass 4 Spades, float, my partner was on lead with:

A43 / J2 / K2 / A98654

and stabbed the Club Ace.

KT975 / A / QT85 / J72

I pitched a discouraging Diamond on the Club lead and he happily gave me my ruff, failing to remark that all 13 Spades are already accounted for, since he can see 8 of them and might have noticed that Declarer opened 1 Spade, guaranteeing the last 5.  It mattered not, but I wondered to myself how he reacted when I pitched a Heart instead of ruffing the 2nd Club.

-450 was worth 1.2 IMPs.  We go for at least 5 bills in 5 Hearts, so my cautiousness was rewarded.

Declarer's perspective:

KT975 / A / QT85 / J72

QJ862 / QT3 / A / KQT3