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Question: Can (or does) Gazzilli solve the dilemma of including 5332 hands in either your 1NT or 2NT ranges? If I read this properly, you always get the 5-card major into the picture. You can safely end the auction on the 2-level when opener and responder are minimum. Any thoughts?

Jilly Can you kindly post the link to the actual hand and traveller? I would love to see what everyone did on this hand. Thanks.

Is the USBC a men’s only tournament? I don’t recall seeing the names of any women. If the women seldom get an opportunity to compete in the Open Events how can they improve their world rankings? Is their some or other sub-tournament within their respective countries giving them an opportunity to test themselves against the men? I pulled the following off the WBF website: 5. Open and Women's Events The MPs won in the Open events and those won in the events reserved for women will be subject to different rankings and will appear in two separate lists. If a women wins MPs or PPs in an Open event these points will appear as Open Masterpoints against her name, so a Woman can own an Open title. a) In the Open list with the accumulation MPs and PPs won in the Open events. These MPs and PPs will determine the players Open Category b) In the Women’s list with the accumulation of MPs and PPs won in Women’s or Mixed events. These MPs and PPs will determine her category in the Women’s ranking http://www.worldbridge.org/departments/mps/rules.asp WOMEN CLASSIFICATION Rank......Name…………Country….MPs…..PPs ..8……..Irina Levitina…USA……..2813….38 (Open Ranking = 3446) 12……..Jill Meyers……USA……..2435….44 (No Data Available) 14……...Jill Levin……..USA……...2369….30.5 (Open Ranking = 3308) 15……..Tobi Sokolow…USA……..2340….32.5 (Open Ranking = 1252) 19……..Lynn Deas…….USA……..2260….39 (Open Ranking = 3859)

The advantages of showing the major suit earlier are quite simple: 1. It allows you more room to explore for a major suit game 2. A major suit game requires only 10 tricks versus 11 tricks for a minor suit game 3. 11 tricks for a minor suit game is only one trick short of slam 4. Majors score more than minors 5. 3NT scores the same as 5m requiring 2 tricks less if that is where you belong 6. With more room you may find yourself in a double fit (MM + mm) allowing you to use 6-card Blackwood in a slam try 7. Bidding space is a very scarce resource and should not be wasted at any cost. I have pulled out Paul Thurston’s Pocket Guide on 2/1 to see what he had to say on this. Guess what? It’s not covered at all. It covers everything else except your question. 1. If you are playing 2/1 Game-Force, after a minor suit opening, the only time a true 2/1 auction occurs is after 1♦-2♣. This may have a 4-card major. 2. 1m-2NT = 10-12 HCP, no 4-card major 3. 1m-3NT = 15-17 HCP, balanced, no 4-card major 4. 1♣-2♦ or 1♦-3♣ = 12+ HCP sometimes referred to as Criss-Cross Minors So what do we do with a 4M5m GF-hand? 1♥/1♠ responses are a 1-round force over 1m. So start there. If responder has a GF hand there are plenty of sequences available to get the message across. Don’t consume your own bidding space! My own methods on deciding whether to bid 1m-2m or 1m-2NT depends on responders holding in the majors. With responders HCP concentrated in the majors e.g. AQx and KJx, I want any major suit lead coming up to responders hand to protect those honours in a 2NT or 3NT contract. With the HCP concentrated in the minors I bid 1m-2m for opener to play 2NT or 3NT from the other side of the table. Now I want to protect openers major suit holdings.

Multi is the other one I have been keeping an eye open for. I haven’t seen many in the USBC who play it although there certainly have been enough opportunities. Woolsey / Stewart were one of the pairs playing Multi but they seem to have been knocked out. Most of the other guys are opening the 6-card major directly. No Multi means no Muiderberg either.

The Flannery hands keep coming. Board 80: Round of 16 – Segment 6 of 8. The organisers love Flannery so much they even give it to the defensive side over 1NT! Board 101: Round of 16 – Segment 7 of 8.

I don't care what name you give the guys who run the tournaments. But let's give them a new name here. How about the "Competition Organisers" or "Competition Sponsors." The fact that so many of these US favourites keep appearing, yes I do believe that they have been deliberately pre-dealt. Here is yet another Flannery hand, this time demonstrating defence to Flannery. Board 34: Round of 16 – Segment 3 of 8. On this layout 4♦ can make. However at both tables E/W took +200 when 4♥X went down 1 and 4♥ undoubled went down 2.

Board 30: Round of 16 – Segment 2 of 8. The amount of hands thus far in the USBC allowing you to – 1. Test your defence over a 1NT or 2NT opening, and 2. To play your Puppet Stayman sequence thus far have been staggering. DON’T was again employed here. A mis-defence allowed 4♥ to make.

I know you guys absolutely hate the Flannery convention but if you live in the USA the controlling bodies are almost guaranteed to include it in every big tournament. Thus far I have already seen 3 Flannery hands in the USBC. Flannery could have been used on - 1. Board 1: Round of 16 – Segment 1 of 8. However at both tables, East chose to open 1NT which led to a Puppet sequence ending in 4♥. After Flannery it would have ended in 4 of either major. 2. Board 11: Round of 16 – Segment 1 of 8. You will need to polish up your defence to Flannery. 6♣ and 6♦ can make here. 3. Board 37: Round of 16 – Segment 3 of 8. One team bid 6♠ making 5, the other bid 4♠ making 6. This time Flannery gave the hand away when opps led trumps killing the cross-ruff, down 1.

The encouraging thing with this hand is this: The USA controlling bodies mix in enough hands that aren’t easily handled in a Puppet sequence. This one needed a sequence for N/S to signoff in either minor suit. If your Puppet agreement doesn’t have room for this, the only option South has is to pass. 1NT can be defeated on a ♥ lead. A ♦ or ♠ and N/S take 7 tricks off the top. Here the one team found the ♦ fit making 10 tricks. In the other room 3♣ went down. In post 137 to this tread, a Puppet sequence went one level too high but still made on a lucky lead.

Thanks for this. The answer was actually so simple that I feel like a complete dufus for not recognising it myself. It always comes to to logic and system agreements. Thanks again.

Does your defence to a 1NT opening bid make room for game exploration after the interference? Board 4 here at the USBC both teams were playing DON’T and both teams made 10 tricks. The difference? The one stopped in 2♥, the other bid the ♥ game. If your methods don’t allow for game exploration when overcalling a 1NT opener, you are playing losing bridge.

After witnessing what unfolded last night, I have made a complete U-Turn on my feelings towards Puppet Stayman. If I were a first class player in the USA I would take a different approach towards the conventions included in my bidding agreements. Identify those which the controlling bodies are fond of. As all the hands get pre-dealt, start keeping your own personal records of the conventions which appear more frequently. Then make damn sure you have an excellent version for the particular convention. Two you already know about; Puppet Stayman and Flannery. It matters not how much you hate Flannery. The fact that your controlling bodies love it, you know it will inevitably appear in big tournaments. The hand records for the Cavendish, Springold, Vanderbilt and US Teams are all available in The Vugraph Project.

All you Puppet lovers, your convention is safe! The USA controlling bodies absolutely love it! In the USBC Round of 16, Segment 1 of 8, in 15 boards Puppet Stayman over 1NT or 2NT came up no less than 5 times! One third of the hands played: numbers 1, 2, 6, 10 and 12. On board 2 the Milner Team was lucky to make 10 tricks in 4NT after a Puppet sequence. The limit of the hand is 9 tricks on a small ♥ lead. Another USA favourite was dealt on board 11, none other than Flannery. On board 4, the DON'T convention worked out very well against a 1NT opener. Eat your hearts out!

After running some deals through BBO’s deal generator, a penalty double is invariably a poor option when the opponents have a distributional fit. So this hypothesis of yours certainly appears to be valid. Sure you win on some deals, but not always. I ran some deals through BBO’s deal generator using the following constraints: Dealer = South South = 16+ HCP any distribution West = 5+ HCP, 5X♠ (any distribution for the rest of the hand) North = No constraints (either in HCP or distribution) East = 5-card ♠ suit, fit with West, no further constraints (either HCP or distribution) This was an extremely awkward hand dealt. [hv=pc=n&s=s98hak83dk8cakt53&w=sakjt53hqj74dqc92&n=sht952daj952cj876&e=sq7642h6dt7643cq4]399|300[/hv] E/W can easily make 4♠ on a cross-ruff. N/S can make 6♣ (one of the ♥ losers in the South hand can go on the ♦J). Apart from the fact that it doesn’t fall “neatly” into any of the different schools of thought, whatever North chooses to do makes a huge difference to East’s bid. North has 6 HCP, add in the ♠ void and it comes to 11 HCP (or 9, depending on whether you count 5 or 3 for the void). Does North: 1. Double promising 5-7 HCP? 2. Double promising 8+ HCP? 3. Bid the 5-card ♦ suit promising 5-7 HCP? 4. Bid the 5-card ♦ suit promising 8+ HCP? If North doubles promising 5-7 HCP, East will lift the pre-empt to 3♠. If North bids 3♦ promising 5-7 HCP and a 5-card ♦ suit, East may feel frisky and bid 4♠ seeing the cross-ruff potential between the two hands. On this hand it would appear to be irrelevant what North chooses to do. The ♣ fit is buried after the ♠ pre-empt. Does anyone have any suggestions how to find it?

My understanding here is that this only applies for 1-level interference. 1. What do you do over higher level interference? 2. When and how does the double become penalty?

Playing a strong club system, I have seen three different schools of thought regarding the continuation bidding after the opponents have overcalled the 1♣ opening bid: School 1: 0-4 HCP = Pass 5-7 HCP = Double, artificial, game invitational if a suit fit can be found 8+ HCP = Ignore the overcall, bid as you normally would, use the overcall to your benefit (distribution and HCP location with the opponents) and continue with a game forcing auction School 2: 0-4 HCP = Pass 5-7 HCP = Bid a 5-card suit if you have one, otherwise bid NT not promising anything specific about the suit overcall 8+ HCP = Double, penalty orientated especially when the opponents are red, your side is known to hold a minimum of 24 HCP School 3: 0-4 HCP = Pass 5-7 HCP = Bid a 5-card suit if you have one, otherwise bid NT not promising anything specific about the suit overcall 8+ HCP = Double, artificial game force, use the overcall to your benefit (distribution and HCP location with the opponents) and continue with a game forcing auction School 4: (added by Free, see post below) 0-4 HCP = Double 5-7 HCP = Pass, artificial, game invitational if a suit fit can be found (Over 1-level interference, the Pass and Double of School 1 have been reversed in his relay system) 8+ HCP = Ignore the overcall, bid as you normally would, use the overcall to your benefit (distribution and HCP location with the opponents) and continue with a game forcing auction School 5: (added, this is an extension of School 3) 0-4 HCP = Pass 5-7 HCP = Bid a 5-card suit if you have one, otherwise bid NT not promising anything specific about the suit overcall 8+ HCP = (a) Double, artificial game force when the opponents are white, use the overcall to your benefit (distribution and HCP location with the opponents) and continue with a game forcing auction …………..(b) Double, penalty orientated when the opponents are red, your side is known to hold a minimum of 24 HCP (the penalty orientated double can start applying from level-2 and higher, on level-1 it remains an artificial game force) Below is an extract from Awm’s Recursive Diamond System The most common response to 1♦ is 1♥, which shows any hand with game-forcing strength (9+ points usually) and also any very weak hand (0-4 points). All other bids show the intermediate range! The full set of responses looks like: 1♥ any 0-4 points or any GF 1♠ 5-8 hcp balanced or semi-balanced 1NT 5-8 points, three-suited hand with no 5-card major 2♣ 6+♣, 5-8 points, not balanced 2♦ 6+♦, 5-8 points, not balanced 2♥ 5+♥, 5-8 points, not balanced 2♠ 5+♠, 5-8 points, not exactly 3♥, not balanced 2NT both minors, 5-8 points 3♣ 5+♠, 4+♣, 3♥, 0-1♦, 5-8 points 3♦ 5+♠, 4+♦, 3♥, 0-1♣, 5-8 points 3♥ 6+♠, 3♥, 5-8 points Awm’s structure above was designed for no interference from the opponents. When the opponents overcall 2♠ or below, then a double is an artificial game force (8+ HCP) which says nothing about the distribution of responders hand. After opposition interference, a free bid in a new suit shows 5-8 HCP and at least 5-cards in the suit bid. Awm’s notes would typically fall into the 3rd School of Thought. Personally I am undecided whether the 2nd or 3rd school of thought is better. Another option to include into your system agreements is: a) Double is penalty orientated showing 8+ HCP when the opponents are red, b) Double is an artificial game force when the opponents are white (as in awm’s system). 1. What are your agreements regarding the continuation bidding over 1C after opposition interference (school 1, school 2, school 3 or something else)? 2. What are the plusses and minuses of each school? Thanking you all in advance for sharing your thoughts on these possible different partnership agreements. [This post has been edited]

Here is another suggestion: On the Hand Records screen, the following options appear Interval to retrieve: days / weeks / months. Choosing months only allows the last month. Add another one last 6 months. Similarly for the Show summaries every option, add every 6 months. Now get the programmers to extract the 6 month summaries into a sub-file and sort them from the highest average to the lowest average. The top X% get automatically graded expert, the next Y% get automatically graded advanced, the next Z% get graded intermediate etc. Remove the self rating option altogether from each players profile. Instead replace it programmatically with the rating as calculated above. One can decide upon the frequency upon which the rating gets recalculated / replaced in each players BBO profile e.g. daily / weekly / monthly. My guess is weekly should be fine (24h00 on Sundays USA (BBO headquarters) time. The only way you can progress from say, advanced to expert is to up your game. You can try and bullshit the system by playing with a lot of weaker players to get a higher average. However, as soon as you start playing against real experts you will be exposed, your average will plummet and you will drop back into a lower category where you probably belong anyway. Other things to consider: a) New players may need to be excluded from the calculation until they have played enough hands; b) similarly for players who havent played in a long time (can consider maintaining their last average).

Why do you spend so much time in these forums? Is it – 1. To learn from others? 2. To share knowledge with others? 3. Both 1 + 2? 4. Neither 1 + 2? In this thread Minors over 2NT: Do you have good agreements, Rainer Herrmann exposed a hole in my own agreements. I went further than the actual hand posted looking at the following as well: What are my objectives over 2NT? I still want to be able to retain as many as possible of the following: 1. Stayman / Garbage Stayman / Crawling Stayman 2. Jacoby Transfer Bids 3. Smolen (both 5/4 and 6/4 holdings) 4. Minor Suit Stayman / 4-Way transfer bids. As I cannot have both, once I have managed to plug the hole in my bidding agreements, it will become evident which one gets dumped. 5. The ability to show 5/5 in the minors with no slam interest 6. The ability to show 5/5 in the minors with slam interest 7. The ability to sign off in 4 of a minor with a long minor suit bust 8. The ability to transfer into a minor suit single suiter and then continue with slam exploration with the appropriate hand 9. Texas / SA Texas in my current agreements will need to go to make room for 5-8 above. This will be accommodated via Jacoby Transfer Bids followed by a raise to game. I still need to decide exactly what I will use the 4♣ and 4♦ bids for now. 10. Gerber has long ago been dumped in favour of a quantitative 4NT I am already facing some creative thinking to restructure my current agreements to accommodate all of the above. I still haven’t managed to satisfactorily address all of my objectives. Then these posts on Romex Stayman etc began appearing. So I decided to start the thread and find out if there is something there that can assist me in covering all (most) of my objectives above.

I think you’re fussing unnecessarily here. If after 3♣ (let’s call it 4th Suit Artificial as suggested by yourself), 1. Opener does hold a 5th ♥, then responder raises to 4♥ and opener maintains control over any RKCB sequence. Responder doesn’t have any honours in the ♥ suit. So who better than opener to decide at what level to end the auction? 2. Opener denies holding a 5th ♥, he simply returns to the ♠ suit and responder plays 3NT. You end up in the same place. To stick rigidly to “text-book” bids won’t solve the myriad of problems that inevitably arise at the table. So now you need to “manufacture” a bid when an option for merely finding game versus a possibility of finding slam exists (albeit a small possibility).

I have a very good reason for bidding 4SF. Have another look at the two hands. If opener has 5♠ and 5♥...Bingo! Most (if not all) of opener's HCP MUST be in the majors. The ♥ slam suddenly looks very good. I have a second reason. I want opener to play 3NT. I want to protect whatever the honour holding in the ♥ suit is as well.

This hand is an excellent example of Justin’s suggestion in this thread My link Quote: I like X=majors and 1NT=more majors, like 5-5. Adjust your agreements in line with Justin's suggestion and you won't be in a 4-2 fit!

You can continue with a convention called Fourth Suit Forcing. From the bidding though (and North's actual holding), it does appear as though you are headed for 3NT. South never made a jump bid advertising extra values.

The hand contains 3 "Quick Tricks," two of which are in the boss suit. The hand should be opened. Have a look what this guy said about Quick Tricks (page 1).

The thread on Puppet Stayman has brought some interesting alternatives to light. Here are some of them (if you know of others, let’s add them to this discussion): 1. Gladiator 2. Jasmine Club 3. Kokish Relay 4. Romex Stayman You can also try this one after blackshoes reply below. Never having playing any of these methods myself, I wouldn’t know which one to choose as a Puppet Stayman alternative. Awm and Blackshoe both gave the thumbs up for Romex Stayman, so I guess I will start there, dissecting Romex Stayman to see if it fits into the rest of my bidding agreements. Obviously one can never look at any of these alternatives in isolation. You always need to keep in mind how they affect the rest of your system agreements. Thanks again all.