Gerben47

DONT: Ideal convention to miss fits. You have say 5♠ 2♥ 3♦ 3♣, 1NT on your left, partner 2♦ showing ♦ + major. If he actually holds spades you are now playing a minor 4-3 fit instead of a major 5-4 fit. What fun... It is usually okay when you have an 8-card fit but it tends to miss 9+card fits! Cappelletti: 2♣ showing the majors is much better than 2♦ because partner will often have 5-4 and now you can find your best fit. Although I generally dislike GCC-allowed methods I can suggest this: LANDY Vs weak NT: not Cappelletti but 2♣ = majors, rest natural, double shows 15+ regardless of what NT range they have. (If you don't need to conform to GCC: MULTI LANDY As above but 2♦ = major 1-suiter, 2 of a major = that major + a minor) Vs strong NT: LIONEL Double = ♠ + 2nd suit 2 of a minor = ♥ + that minor 2 of a major = natural 2NT = minors

Basically you play a hand but instead of keeping your cards like in normal bridge, you collect tricks like in spades and many other games. Now you pile them up, do some optional shuffling (just split the deck to make sure the first card is random) and deal them out 4-4-5. Basically any method that assures grouping of the cards works and then just deal them out in groups. Have fun! Gerben

Of course I think the bidding was okay because I was the one who redoubled :) And of course I'll play with you again Caren! Gerben

Sorry Misho, I will have to take Petrunin - Gromov from you. It's a steal :) $ 15000 for them.

Or you can just upgrade your hand as responder to a game force and bid 3♥ over 2♣. Not there's any doubt in my mind that I'm going higher than 4♥, though. But to raise in ♣ in a forcing way would be 2♦ then 3♣. Gerben

Agree with Misho, 2♦ is the right bid. Do not confuse this bid with an Acol strong jump shift. It shows the same hand as a 2/1 GF 1♥ - 2♦ so your suit is more than sufficient.

Yes I read it wrong, Free. Then I want to retract one point. In Precision 2♦ is also free for preempts. I usually just ignore those 4414 hands and open 1♥/♠ with those even if that shows 5 cards. About PC and 2/1, they are not mutually exclusive. 2/1 is a convention after 1♥/♠ and possibly 1♦ that can be applied to Polish Club. The "Polish Club" part just applies to restricting 1♦ to what I call at least 4 1/2 cards and all 1-bids except 1♣ to 18 HCP. You can include all your favorite conventions from the "2/1 system" (which I always thought were part of advanced bidding in general) and use them in PC. The extra card in 1♦ (in my notation from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2) is very significant, because you know you have a fit and you can preempt that extra level. Another great advantage is that 1♦ - 1M - 2NT is free for the "Bridge World Death Hand" (invitational with 3-card support and 6-card minor).

First of all, there are many advantages to Polish Club, let me look at your 4 points that are relevant to Precision, since they're just not valid. 1) No crazy competition after 1? strong You wish... After Polish Club (frequently 12 - 14 balanced) it is often your hand. After 1C Precision it rarely is. This makes your more free and that's why people have designed so many systems against Precision. 2) 1M hands with 16-17 HCP are better off in Polish than Precision, especially if a Precision 1? gets a 1? response. Why? I think the advantage of opening the suit you have on this kind of hands is not to be underestimated. After 1C Prec (1S) pass (2S) you might've lost the hearts forever. 3) A 1D that promises diamonds Same for Polish Club. The different styles are: a) 4-card suit, can be balanced :D 4-card unbalanced (4441 or 4D + 5C) or 5-card suit c) 5-card suit 4) 2D is available for preempts Same for Polish Club. It's used as Wilkosz when that's not banned. About the 18 - 21 hands: One of the most powerful auctions with 18 - 21 hands is 1C - 1M - 2D (3+card support and GF). Another one is 1C - 1D - 1NT where you're just one level lower than most systems. Some pairs (Gotard - Piekarek, German Open Team) even use 2C as preemptive bid and pack all the 2C openers in 1C. My personal style: 1D = Style a) above. 2C = Precision style but at least 6 clubs. Gerben

I think it might be better if you could still review boards played on the same table after someone reset the score at that table. Resetting the score is only to keep the new opponents happy. That does not automatically mean I want to lose a hand I just played from my Bridge Movie box.

First of all let me say that I would double this 1NT, and expect to be in big company. 4th hand is limited to about 1 or 2 HCP and this contract will not be a lot of fun for declarer (see kamikaze NT thread about having fun in 1NT doubled with 17 opposite 0). However, I realize that many weaker players would not know what to do in this situation and pass. I see no reason to adjust this in a tournament unless there is no explanation other than fielded psyche. If there is any doubt about someone fielding a psyche, I allow it. This is my view as both player and director. Nowadays people start pointing fingers at psychers and their partners far too quickly. In general, accusing someone of cheating is a strong accusation. You better have extremely good proof. Gerben

Ah just a short thing to add. Playing an extremely weak NT opening bid might seem dangerous. However the most horrible 1NTx story in my experience was caused by a 16-18 NT. You have 7 HCP and 4♠ + 5♦ and pass. LHO opens 1NT (16 - 18), partner passes and so does RHO. You play Woolsey reopening double (showing exactly 4-card major and at least a 5-card minor) so you double which is passed out. Partner held a balanced 16-count (we do not play penalty doubles). Dummy wasn't a pretty sight. Anyway it was 2-against-1 and 1100 resulted. The problem is against a weak NT the points would not have been 17-0 but 11-6, which makes it easier for declarer. The most dangerous point counts for the opponents are just below game (like in this case 23) or between game and slam (around 29). However in the first case against a weak NT the points are 11-6 which keeps the cost down, if they really are 11-0 (which is rare) opponents may get nervous that they can make (much) more than the penalty and bid something. Gerben

I really like weak NTs, the weaker the better. However, if you want to cover your other ranges you need some system that covers this. Work out your NT staircase and make sure your ranges are not too large. I regularly play 10 - 13 or 10 - 12 and have good results with it (NV 1st & 2nd) 3rd and 4th seat it is no use playing 1NT that weak, it defies all purposes for looking for game and since they know you are both weak you just get doubled. Also the frequency advantage is gone, when 2 or 3 players have passed in front of you, you are more likely to have stronger hand. Vulnerable anything weaker than 12 - 14 is dangerous and might be bad even undoubled. I'd say go for it! If you're used to 12 - 14 it's not a big step. Although every advantage has its disadvantage I think it's a big winner. So do some top pairs like Meckstroth - Rodwell and Auken - von Arnim (both play 9+ - 12 1st 2nd NV). Gerben

"Biedermeijer Groen" is about the same as Dutch Acol. This name is part of a project to standardize bidding. The advantage is that if you say you play this the other knows what you mean, unlike if you say "Dutch Acol" which does nowadays not even tell you how many cards you need to open a major. http://www.bridgeguys.com/LittleKnown/Bied...eenEnglish.html

I don't think the course will "fail" if you do not offer Dutch Acol. The standard bidding system is "Biedermeijer Groen" which is based on Strong NT 4-card Minors (i.e. open 1♦ with 4-4 in red) Strong 2-bids I disagree with all 3... A system without any conventions would be best. How about: http://www.tat.physik.uni-tuebingen.de/~di...idge/bignt.html I'm not claiming this is the best system. But it is easy and makes the players familiar with bidding. Don't waste too much time on learning the bidding, let's just learn how to play bridge. LATER is the time to explain that you might want to use 2♣ as strong opening bid instead of 1NT. LATER is the time to explain about Stayman, Slam Bidding, Ace Asking, Jacoby 2NT, etc. Gerben

A Shift in Time, Granovetter. That's a great book and they also have rules when they give count (not a lot). It depends on what you feel comfortable with. Some want to play count all the time, some want to give more suit preference. Gerben

It says that a direct 2♥ would be non-forcing, that means a later 2♥ is forcing. Simple as that. Else you would've made a negative free bid. Don't tell me that shows 0-8, cuz it doesn't.

Against many players, if you wait and see, you see: 2♦ - pass - 3♥ - pass - pass - ??? It's best to ignore the strong variant. If you have a good hand, the already low probability of the strong hand is even lower. Unless you can handle showing both good and bad hands, which I think is unlikely when the bidding starts at the 2-level.

1. Stayman, NMF, anything to find out if partner has 4 cards in spades. With a pickup partner I'd bid 3♦. Over 3♥ I bid 3♠, over 3♠ I bid 4♠, over 3NT I pass. 2. 4♠ - charge! No idea how much opponents can make. If we go down 4 that might still be good if it's slam for them.

This auction shows "no 4 hearts, no 3 spades". The most likely distributions are: 2-3-4-4 2-3-5-3 If he really has 2-2-5-4, the 1NT bid should contain a stopper in ♥. Conclusion: I would not worry too much about the lack of hearts and bid 3NT. Gerben

Double and then bidding a suit (2♥) shows at least the strength of the double and a good suit. Now partner can bid a splinter (4♣). It's still not easy to find this very distributional slam but you're well on the way.

4♦ for me. I don't want to make partner overly enthousiastic. Either he has some ♣ or some ♥, both are not too great. Just a simple raise for me (my hand is not really that strong with 9 HCP either!)

2♠, should be unanimous. Maybe he meant that it was worth a 22 HCP notrump opening bid?

Well it seems I am in good company... [hv=n=sakxh63d8xxca987x&w=sth85dkqjxxckqjtx&e=sj9xxxxxxhj72dxcx&s=sqhakqt94dat9xcxx]399|300|[/hv] I didn't guess this distribution either! There are some ways to cash ♥AK first and still guard for some 4-1 breaks, but I doubt I should take such a route. Gerben

keylime: The bigger one is the 6, I remember that, I don't remember the small one, so let's just call it AKQT94 opposite 63 if you like. So the consensus so far is take the ♣A (discouraging signal by RHO - sorry you didn't get a count signal, and he didn't unblock anything either), then the ♥A (both opponents follow small to that). Misho's question, where are the ♠? is a good one. I guess that RHO perhaps had the wrong hand to bid his ♠s. He might have just the major suit Jacks. He might have "4 cards in the other major", I think this player will not ever open a preempt with that. And last but not least, he might be the kind of player that worries about bidding a J9-high suit.

It's a team match (IMPs), which is about the same as test your play since you really want to make this because they got a different lead at the other table. And you didn't make your contract. I will show the complete hand when more people have responded.