broze

Thanks Paul. What is the logic here? What if responder has a hand (7-8 HCP or something) that is happy to sit? And is your answer the same for a weak NT? Forcing p to bid 2♣? Does he sit the redouble with the 7-8 HCP hand? Well if partner's pass does suggest just that then of course it would be poor partnership etiquette to leave it in (unless as you say you are understrength). But couldn't it also it also be balanced with nowhere to go as Vampyr said?

Would not consider passing, but p knows that.

Apparently (according to mods, mgoetze and others) this is not the point of the expert forum - I have had topics of mine moved because they were not 'expert' enough (despite the people moving them professing not to be experts themselves and acknowledged experts admitting to being unsure of the answers). Don't ask me what the point of the forum is though, because I haven't really received a satisfactory answer on this yet and the forum description is inconsistent with what actually gets posted here. Apparently an acceptable answer you might have given would be "because I am an expert". Sorry for the derail. I like 4H first/3rd in.

Yes - this would be good to see. I was going to ask what kind of technical limitations you might expect there to be since the tournaments are just like a normal club session but online; not even any need for Bridgemates since everything is automated. However I played my first tournament on Sunday and noticed that the movement was quite unusual: There were 11 pairs and 8 2-board rounds. My partner and I played 4 other pairs, 1 round against pair 1, 2 rounds against pairs 2 and 3, and 3 rounds against pair 4. I suppose this odd movement is a symptom of not wanting any pairs to have to sit out (which makes sense). I wonder how (if) the NGS might cope with this. Anyway, it ran pretty smoothly for the most part. The Sunday 9pm time slot was ideal as well.

[hv=d=n&v=0&b=1&a=1ndpp]133|100[/hv] With what hand types (if any) do you escape as opener in this auction? If it 'depends' on your runout methods, or scoring or vulnerability, say why.

The best simple idea I've heard for a massive boost in new players is to have a simple bridge game built in to the Microsoft OS game folder.

I have 3♣ available as an Invitational jump shift and for me it's a clear choice on this hand with the Majors wide open.. Without that I suspect 2 followed by 3♣ should be non-forcing and I would choose that (although I really hate that treatment).

Thanks for the reply Gordon - I will say that I am very glad the EBU have implemented these and I really hope they are a success. That said I haven't been free to play one yet! More games on Saturdays and Sundays would suit me very well (and no club games to clash with - surely ideal for the EBU's purposes). Also holding the midnight games at 11 as opposed to (or as well as) midnight would enable me to play many more of these as well. A side question: presumably these tournaments are NGS'd?

I have to wonder about the timing of these tournaments. I know the aim of having them take place at 4pm and midnight is to avoid detracting from regular club bridge but for those that work regular jobs it's pretty hopeless.

I am asking about the 1M response to 1C that Trinidad mentions, not the 1M opening (which I wasn't aware was referred to as 'Walsh').

Is standard Walsh commonly alertable?

Agree with 2♣. Not a huge fan of making marginal doubles with a distributional hand that is going to be difficult to show if I start with dbl, especially r/w. Now I make whatever my systemic bid is to show extras with 5-5 Majors. Absent any agreement I'll try 3C and hope p reads it as 5=5=2=1.

[hv=pc=n&s=sa964ha92d3caj732&n=skt2hq8753daj75c9&d=e&v=n&b=2&a=p1cp1hp2hp4hppp]266|200[/hv] Lead is a 2nd/4th 6♦ round to the K and your Ace. Plan the play.

Lol, true. Perhaps not bidding a making game is actually not that much of a concern with this hand.

It is true that there's unlikely to be any overwhelming consensus on preemption style on these fora. I am usually one to bid with any excuse whatsoever but I find my style is mellowing out a little bit. I would open a weak 2 in first or third any day with this but had second thoughts about in this spot. I tried to convince my (equally agressive) partner that this one should actually be passed, claiming that the preemption value is vastly diminished when you are preempting only one opponent as well as your partner and that opponent is N/V vs V. I cited a hand such as xx KTxx KQx Axxx opposite which you might miss game. He disagreed and thought that in reality you were not preempting partner all that much and that nearly all the time you could catch up later on if your side have game/slam. It's interesting seeing people debate the merits of style, whether or not one side can be convinced or not.

I like to retain the 1d-1s-3h sequence for these hands showing a distributional hand but not enough HCP for a reverse. Others prefer to use that sequence for a splinter agreeing S because 1d-1s-4h is so unwieldy.

Hmm, perhaps this would have got more hits on the expert forum. I think on a club lead you can go after either hearts or clubs but on a trump lead you need somethingout good to happen in the heart suit where there are a few extra chances as well. I couldn't work it all out at the table. Comments on the bidding also welcome.

[hv=pc=n&s=s753hqj9854da985c&d=e&v=n&b=2&a=p]133|200[/hv] R/W, 2nd seat. Your bid? How close?

I pity an N/B reading some of these N/B threads.

[hv=pc=n&s=sakj3hjda2cat7432&n=sqt94hat8754dq53c&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=1cp1hp1sp3sp4cp4sp6sppp]266|200[/hv] 1) How do you play on the lead of the ♣King? 2) How do you play on the lead of the 8♠?

Certainly forcing in standard bidding. Bidding a 3-card spade suit in case partner has 5 spades. Although I wonder what the implications of this sequence are in partnerships that play 1C-1S-2C-2D as completely artificial and checking back for Major suit holdings. Those partnerships could probs stop in 3S after something like 1c-1s-2c-2d-2s-2nt-3s now non-forcing(?)

So should someone understand from all this that no non-experts can so much as comment in the expert forum? If so I just won't bother and I'll have to prevent myself from asking questions in expert threads as well for the fear of being seen to be "asking Billy".

Lulwut?

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-bridge-players-on-wall-street-2011-7?op=1

Brilliant! I love the internet. Something of a similar ilk is when people cry out that they are offended by something or other. I refer you to Stephen Fry to say it better than I could: “It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.' As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more... than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so ***** what.”