Antrax

Isn't it possible partner has a void? Possibly in diamonds so the cue bid was bad news?

Oh, I do, don't worry. Well, it really depends. My original thinking was that either they'll understand it after a couple of times of having to enter through the passenger-side door, or they'll be conditioned like Pavlovian dogs. I lived in a place that had a communal parking lot, so at some point I started noting who parked like an asshole and only did this to regular offenders. Some of them really stopped doing that, others park like assholes to this day. I probably spend more energy on this than is reasonable, but I've noticed a handwritten note tends to really work, as long as it's not accusatory ("I wanted to park next to you but there was no room :(". However, my handwriting is terrible and I don't really carry paper with me everywhere I go, so I just opt for what I think of as "punitive parking". It's probably also partly because I live in a city where parking is a major issue in some neighborhoods, so wasting a spot ranks along eating puppies.

I do that on purpose to people who don't park in the middle of the spot. I hope you're not one of them.

I can, in fact.

It's not filled with facts, it's full of facts. Also full of bullshit and porn, but it doesn't mean you can't do fact-finding on the internet.

Some people just aren't used yet to the fact all the information is always available. I've seen intelligent people equipped with smartphones argue for 10 minutes over facts, instead of investing the 10 seconds it would've taken to check who's right.

Nice problem, broze's seems the only line that works given that E must hold both aces.

Choo choo!

Cyberyeti, what happened to the ?

...then you're down, having lost a diamond, a spade and two clubs.It's an interesting problem but I can't for the life of me see how to avoid a spade loser.

succinctly isn't necessarily better :)

CamHenry, if N asks E for an explanation, S will also see it. S knows he didn't ask for the explanation, so N must've asked for it, and thus UI. Helene's post is replying to that.

You guys do realize it's a 6-4 hand, right? :P

Fluffy, what happens if

There's something that really irritates in some Bridge discussions, though it's a lot more common over at Bridgewinners: there are some people who seem compelled to spout bridge memes. They go into any discussion looking for opportunities to use expressions like "the boss suit", "beer card", "it's a bidder's game" etc, which really add very little to the discussion. Of course, occasionally these expressions do mean something and they might even be relevant. I'm referring, however, to the phenomenon wherein some posters go into threads and make comments like "I wish you held the ♦7 so you could squeeze him with the beer card". Bleh.

I've tried to do an upgrade install and failed, and I'm reasonably computer adept. However, the reason it failed was that I use some uncommon stuff, so I think for a mainstream user it should work. The good news is that to manually copy over everything and get it working was much easier than I thought. Not something I would recommend but it's doable. I do recommend upgrading to 7, and I'm remarkably picky about these things.

No, I checked Cascade's sources (and others) and it seems Israeli media only started reporting it well after it was in effect. April is correct.

There's a checkbox for "log in as invisible" in the webclient, above "remember password". Did you mean the app?

It's a great book but is it really for N/B?

Hmm, that would make a lot of sense and shouldn't be difficult to implement. So, the other option is that some people use the old client so GIB runs on their computer?

This has been discussed multiple times. There's a random element to GIB's bidding and play - GIB chooses some random hands to see what's common when trying to decide what to do next. For basic GIB, it might choose a small number of random hands, and then you might get unlucky when all exhibit some property that's not really probable.

hrothgar, it's not a slowdown, it's a strike. But AFAIK it started after this affair - where have you seen otherwise?

Might be possible but not for me at this stage :P

Yeah, I'm resuming play with my regular partner. He played in other partnerships during this year, which is why I'm worried about system confusion. On the other hand, it seems insulting (and damaging to partnership harmony) if I just come out and expect him to forget agreements.

I'm returning to Bridge after a long break (about a year for live, a bit less for BBO). I've been trying to keep up by playing a few hands here and there with basic GIBs on the iPad and occasionally doing video Bridge sessions, but I doubt it did much to preserve what little skill I had. I've also been reading threads on BBF but it's been a long time since I've last discussed anything with my regular partner. Now that I can get back to it, what are your recommendations? Should we start at the highest level of competition we were comfortable with before, or start at the soft night in the club? Should we drop complex agreements or is it more confusing to try and remember what's dropped and what's still on? I have other questions, all in the same vein. Should we pretend there's never been a break (and let the results say otherwise), or should we ease ourselves back in?