Chamaco

Which should be quite reassuring for East, if he wasn't worried for the trump Queen.... :rolleyes:

But it does in SAYC no matter what OKBridge writes. Another quote: ....... Bid a lower-ranking 4-card suit at the two level (also 13-18 points), NF over 1 level response, forcing after 2 level response. Roland Agree. In SAYC, a 2/1 response by unpassed hand guarantees a rebid unless opener rebids 2NT or raises responder. In practice, bidding is forcing to 2NT or to 3 of a suit.

Yes, agree with Ben. Add to W the club queen and slam is odds-on, even with a minimum opener. At least from East's perspective, this hand is not about point counts but ONLY about sidesuit controls and trump honors. That is why I believe East should just take over and use any tool available to find out about keycards: if 4D is kickback, west is able to check how many of the 6 keycards (4 Aces and trump KQ) West has , and with only one keycard missing he'll bid slam.

Ditto, ditto, ditto. I would not open an aceless 4441, without 2 Quick Tricks, 11 hcp with bad suits, and especially at UNFAVORABLE vuln. 4441 can often lead to troubles, I'll pass this one unless 3rd hand opener. If I had to open, I'll bid 2S and leave any action to pard; 2S may be already high enough red vs white.

2S would be forcing, guaranteeing 10 points in REAL HCP not only distribution. It's not a matter of being a point-counter, but rather a matter of cooperation with pard if he has to guess later if doubling or not. 2S must have 1.5/2+ quick tricks in case of defense. 2S would be an assertion: we have the majority of hcps, with all the forcing pass consequences, and if we start overbidding our hand by an Ace, pard will have a hard time deciding whether penalizing or not frisky opps. So we may stretch 2S with a VERY good 9 (AKQ or similar), but it's the real minimum. I double and bid 3S over any pard's rebid. Double then suit shows an invitational hand in terms of distribution, usually a 6+ card suit, and that's what we have. We will not lose spades if he have fit there, but it is true that doing so we might lose a club fit. However, we are likely to lose clubs also if we bid 2S (pard will rebid diamonds 90% of the times, and I do not think we want to rebid 4C, which should show a slammish hand). ----------------------- Perhaps this hand is an advertisement for NFB :-)

Hi all !! I have read the following review of "Demon Defense & Demon Doubling" by Boehm "Doubling for penalties increases the stakes and raises the blood pressure. For this you need confidence, and that is where tight defense plays a crucial role. Good defenders are willing to risk more penalty doubles. Demon Doublers are not born; they rise from the ranks of Demon Defenders. That is why this book begins with defense, to build a confident foundation for doubling. Part II explains when to double (and when not to) and shows how defending doubled contracts, especially partials, has a rhythm of its own. When you have absorbed the lessons in this book, be prepared for a change in your bridge life. You will win more-a lot more." I really long to read more of penalty doubles (especially at low level at IMPS scoring) because very little material seems to be available in literature on the specific topic (except perhaps a nice chapter in SJS Simon "Why you lose at bridge", but then the bidding methods and aggressiveness have changed a lot since then). Does anyone have Bloehm's book and care to review it here ? Thanks !! Mauro

As a responder, after 4C, using kickback, I would have taken charge asked keycards for clubs (opener is supposed to have a good unbalanced hand- and he has a good hand indeed despite minimum hcp content- , and we have no 2 quick-losers suit). When I discover that an Ace and the trump Q are missing I signoff in 5C. If only an ace OR only the trump Q are missing, slam has more play, since it is rightsided for a diamond lead. However, not playing kickback, there is no room to xplore for the club Queen.

If you play Precision, opener has max 15 hcp, and with 6-10 you seldom risk losing game. With a 1NT response you simpli PASS and pard will reopen with most unbalanced hands or max balanced. With 9-10 hcp you might sometimes venture a slightly offshape negative double. True, in a few hands, the 1NT bid hlps, but on balance the advantages have offset the downside more often.

One very important consideration is whether you are opening weak/mini in 1st/2nd seat (unpassed pard) or 3rd/4th seat. Opening weakNT with an unpassed pard makes life MUCH harder to LHO when he holds a good hand: if he passes, he risks mising game, if he bids, he might be trapped if our pard is strong. Weak/mini NT in 3rd position reverses the odds:since both our pard and RHO passed, LHO may choose to bid without great risk, or offer to double.

Ok, thx, good tips, I was not sure. :-)

Hi all: with my current partners we play that, over 1D/1H/1S openings (Precision, nebulous diamond), if opps overcall at the 1 level or double, responder's bids from 1NT though 1 step below opener's suit are transfers, weak or strong. E.g 1D-(1M/Dbl):? 1 of suit (if available) = nat., 4+ cards, forcing 1NT = xfer to clubs, weak/strong 2C = xfer to D, inv+ 2D = weak 1H-(1S/Dbl):? 1NT = xfer to clubs, weak/strong 2C = xfer to D, weak/strong 2D = xfer raise, 8+ 2H = weak raise 1S opening development is similar. ----------------------------------------------- THE QUESTION: BREAKING THE XFER ? We have agreed that breaking the transfer means some "superaccept" by opener. However, it is not clear then what should opener do if he is void in responder's suit. If breaking the xfer means a superaccept with extras (in a Precision context, max 15; extras are usually defined in distributional term), then the only way to escape from a misfit would be a suit rebid by opener? However, responder might be in misfit as well. So do you simply suggest to accept the xfer if holding a total misfit and a minimum opener ?

Here are the details of one version of Gazzilli I have found. The positive sequences development features a symmetric relay structure, I guess someone will be happy here :) DEVELOPMENTS AFTER POSITIVE RESPONDER 2D REBIDS 1H 1S 2C(natural or generic strong) 2D ...- 2H = minimum H+C ...- 2S = strong, 3 cards in S;2NT relays for shape ........-3m = nat. 4 cards in suit bid ........-3H = 16-18 5332 ........-3S = 6+H ........-3H = 19-20 5332 ...- 2NT = 55, 3C asks side minor suit ...- 3m = 4 cards in suit bid WITHOUT 3 spades ...- 3H= 5332 16-18, WITHOUT 3 spades ...- 3S= 6+H, WITHOUT 3 spades, 17-19 ...- 3NT= 19-20 5332, WITHOUT 3 spades 1H 1NT 2C(natural or generic strong) 2D ...- 2H = minimum H+C ...- 2S = 19-20, 4 cards in S; with 16-18 reverse immediately to 2S without going via Gazzilli ...- 2NT = 55 18-20, 3C asks side minor suit ...- 3m = 4 cards in suit bid ...- 3H= 5332 16-18 ...- 3S= 6+H 17-19 ...- 3NT= 19-20 5332 1S 1NT 2C(natural or generic strong) 2D ...- 2H = strong S+H ...- 2S = weak S+C ...- 2NT = 55 18-20, 3C asks side minor suit ...- 3m = 4 cards in suit bid ...- 3H= 5332 16-18 ...- 3S= 6+S 17-19 ...- 3NT= 19-20 5332 WEAK RESPONDER'S REBIDS 1H 1S 2C ? ...- 2H = weak pref ...- 2S = weak 5+ spades, short in H ...- 2 NT= 3-suiter or similar ...- 3m =weak raptor hand 4S + 6m 1C 1 NT 2C ...- 2H = weak pref ...- 2S = weak 3=1=4=5 shape ...- 2S = weak 3=1=5=4 shape or 55 minors ...- 3m =weak 6+ single suiter 1S 1NT 2C ...- 2H = weak natural long H ...- 2S = weak pref ...- 2NT = 3-suiter or similar ...- 3m =weak 6+ single suiter

So I guess that doubling for t/o would have simply driven us to a 1S contract in a 4-3 moysian fit (or, most probably, opps would have looked for game). Maybe they would double our 1S contract, but in that case I doubt overcalling 1NT would fare any better.... Instead, 1H overcall with AQ8x, with aggressive raises agreed with pard is not appealing to me... On the other hand, pass runs the risks outlined by Fred and the ther folks.

I don't know whether this makes sense, anyways here are my thoughts --- Possible treatments over 1m opener a. inv+ with both majors. However, most pairs play that the simple cue is 2-way: either inv+ with MM or generic GF. So this seems redundant; b. stop ask for NT c. to me it seems reasonable to use it as a sort of 2-suiter, 55 or better. Since the major 55+ could go via a simple cue, I think it makes sense to use it as a sort of Leaping Michaels-type, e.g. other minor + a major. 1M opener a. stop ask for NT b. 55 or better in minors, inv+; Leaping michaels type (55 M+m) would bid 4m

three-suiter short in spades, about 20+ with good controls nothing wasted. Clubs is pretty much agreed now, after his 2nd cue, probably doubler will ask keycards for clubs with any method you have agreed upon.

Ciao Omero: una risposta alla tua domanda ed un suggerimento. a. Risposta A me la formula MP piace moltissimo quando il livello è omogeneo (ovvero quando confronti il tuo risulttao con quello di molti altri giocatori che "sanno giocare" e non becchi uno zero o top solo perchè mezza sala è fuori contratto). Quindi, con molti tavoli la cosa è giustificata. La formula IMPS, assimilabile a duplicato (senza trasformazione in VP), viene considerata piu' tecnica poiché per l'appunto limita numero ed entità dei risultati fortunosi tipici del Mitchell. In realtà io credo che dire che "il Mitchell è meno tecnico" sia un luogo comune: se gli avversari fossero tutti di pari livello, il Mitchell sarebbe assai piu' tecnico del Duplicato, poichè: 1. ogni mano è una battaglia, e dal punto di vista del gioco della carta, sia il dichiarante sia i difensori sono messi alla prova molto piu' duramente in un mitchell, su ogni singola levée. Lo stesso non avviene nel dupli (o negli IMPS), dove nei contratti di battuta o nei parzialini ci si puo' rilassare e regalare levées senza grosse conseguenze; la tenuta tecnica e nervosa nel mitchell viene messa alla prova su TUTTI i boards, e non solo su quelli che "pesano di piu" (manches e slam); 2. nel mitchell il gioco della mano va sempre fatto avendo in testa quale è il contratto alternativo giocabile dalla sala: se tutti saranno in manche nobile e gioco a SA, devo rischiare di andare down per fare 3SA +1, altrimenti perdo il board; se gli avversari hanno un parziale nobile e non l'hanno trovato per un'apartuira di SA debole, il dichiarante puo' tranquillamente assicurarsi il board accontentandosi di un -1. In altre parole il gioco della carta è condizionato da molte piu' variabili che nel duplicato. e pertanto è piu' tecnico 3. quello che fa dire a molti che "il mitchell è come un circo", è in realtà l'eterogeneità della sala. In altre parole, sono d'accordo con Beky sulla preferenza ad IMPS in tornei con pochi partecipanti OPPURE con parecchi giocatori di livello medio/basso ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- b- Suggerimento Omero, secondo me, se intendi attirare l'attenzione su un argomento ben specifico, credo che sia meglio se avvii un nuovo thread, e possibilmente con un titolo significativo. Se - come ti auguri -altre persone cominceranno a seguire questo forum, non si aspetteranno di trovare un sondaggio sul tipo di tornei BBO all'interno di un thread intitolato "Il bridge è infinito"... :P detto questo, saluti a tutti :) Mauro

Hi Mike, could yo post the 4 hands if you remember them (or at least your pard's hand) ? Thanks ! :-)

Several people here using Landy couple it with transfer overcalls for majors: X = Minor one suiter or strong (but not 2suiter: 2 suiters go via xfer overcall or 2NT or Landy): 2C = Landy 2D = xfer to H (can be 2 suiter) 2H = xfer to S (can be 2 suiter) 2S = Raptor hand with S = 4S and long minor 2NT = minors 2suiter 3m = Raptor with suit bid + H

In this case the doubt was not whether to lead low to the 9 or J, but rather whether to run the J or not, maybe after tryng the 1st round finesse to the Q. Anyways the point of this post is not how to handle this specific suit, but rather if there is a rule to remember for when running an unsupported honor hoping to drop another. And of course, I am not that dumb not to know the general principle that it is better to lead low TO the high cards: but since there are quite a few card combos where you increase chances by leading unsupported honors, I'd like to know if there are some rules helping to remember them and discriminate them from the more standard cases where you lead a low card instead: as I said in the post, I am aware that working out the single specific case is usually better AND instructive, but when you are at the table, with little time, a few guidelines usually help to restrict the thoughts to the essential thinking.

Roudi's mnemotechnical rules are somewhat more complicated. Given the basic that: with < 11 cards finesse the K with < 9 cards finess the Q with < 7 cards finesse the J This applies if it's the only missing honor. If 2 honors are missing, the second is "promoted " by one. E.g. - you miss K and Q: the Q is "promoted" to K, so you will finesse the Q only if having 11+ cards - you miss A+J: the J is promoted to Q, so you finesse for it if you have <9 cards If 3 honors are missing, the second is "promoted " by one, the 3rd is promoted by 2. E.g. - you miss AJT and Q: the J is promoted to Q (promoted by 1) and the T is promoted also to Q (promoted by 2) : so you start by finessing against the ten if you have less than 9 cards. If you have 9+ cards, you finesse against the Ace. - you miss AQT: the Q is promoted to K and the T is promoted to Q: finesse vs the T if < 9 cards, finesse vs the Q if holding 11+ cards. - etc etc. The above listed rules are only "general" rules. For each combination of missing honors, there are more "rules of thumb" devised and explained by Roudinesco. However, there are indeed quite a few intrafinesse possibilities that, even with Roudi's rules, are not straightforward, and I was wondering whether there was some mnemotechnic rule to have the task easier at the table. I guess not :-(

Lucky....so-and-so! Where did you get it? Can I borrow it? ;) I'm interested to hear that some of these things have been reduced to mnemonics, it seems too complex for that. Roudinesco's book is divided into chapter: each chapter deals with specific missing honors (e.g. Missing A and J. missing K and Q, etc etc etc). At the beginning of every chapter there is a checklist of a handful of mnemotechnical rules : which manoeuvre to take vs which honors, given shortness or not. There are not rules for leading unsupported honors, though :)

Gazzilli convention is a tool used for strong(ish) 1M opener hand when responder bids a 1-over-1. 1H:1S or 1M:1NT (forcing or not). In both of these sequences, 2C rebid by opener is EITHER a natural 2C rebid OR a 15+ hand. Over the 2C rebid, responder is required to rebid 2D with any 8+ hand: in this case, opener will make a weak rebid if his 2C was natural, otherwise he'll investigate or force to game, either by natural methods or using full relay systems. If responder is very weak, he will skip the 2D rebid, 99% of the times giving a preference to opener's major, OR by bidding his suit. WARNING: there are different agreements of which bid use when responder is 2-suiter in misfit with minors (some people use 2NT), so there is no real "standard" for misfits hands, and each pship will have to choose the most comfortable scheme. The Gazzilli convention is very useful for hands too weak for a 3-level GF reverse but too strong for a minmum rebid at the 2 level: especially those 15-17 hands with a bad suit, that do not want to jump rebid at the 3 level. Using Gazzilli, one may as well give up the need to open 1NT with a 5 card major, since the rebid is not a problem. Also, many pairs in Italy use the Gazzilli 2C for ALL strong 1M openings: that frees the jump to 3 of a suit and 2NT rebid for distributional hands: one common scheme is that - 3x rebid is a distributional reverse (5-5.5 hcp) with good suit(s) : 6+ good single suiter or 55+ if 2-suited; - 2NT is distributional reverse with 6+M and a side 4 bagger (those hands when you don't know whether to jump rebid your major, losing the side suit or to show a side suit, but showing it at the 2-level wd be an underbid and showing it at the 3 level would guarantee 55); A "Power-reverse" (17+) would rebid 2C, so these jumps are limited, they show only shape and concentrated values. The Gazzilli 2C fits especially well in the Fantunes scheme (all 1-level bids forcing), when the 2C rebid is the start of relays for game/slam. Finally, I want to emphasize that 2C gazzilli is more a "concept" rather than a welldefined convention: just as well as there are as many forms of Stayman (or Checkback, or whatever) as the number of bridge players, every pair plays a customized version of Gazzilli (relay versions, simple versions, etc etc). The general principle, though, applies for all.

I lead a trump. It may occasionaly lose a trump trick, but given LHO's raise, many more times it will reduce ruffing power. If defence needs to reduce ruffs, leading a trump at trick one will allow you to lead another as you gain the lead at the next trick. Moreover, no other clear lead stands out as straightforward.

Hi all ! :-) I am i the process of making some "homeworks" on suit combinations, and I have noticed that I am having some problems in getting right the combinations where one has to run an unsuported honor (to try dropping from opps a keycard). However, there are other cases where running the hinor is not the right play. For example, with AK9x Jx I would have run the J to add some possibilities to drop the T, and then finessed the 9 later, but I discovered the right play is low to the J. Also, with AQxxx J9x I would seriously consider to finesse the Q and later run the J if it succeeds, but it is not right. Yes, I know the best way to handle suit combos is to try and figure out the layout, but usually, a few mnemotechnical rule save a lot of time at the table, provided they are used with a grain of salt. I already have Roudinesco's Encyclopaedia of suit combinations, (where he suggests quite a few mnemotechnical rules), but I don't think there are any listed for leading unsupported honors. So, does anyone know of some rules for leading unsupported honors ? Thanks ! :-)

Pass 1st round, then 4NT: 4NT shows a 2 suiter with hearts (a 2 suiter without hearts wd have "cuebid" 3H).