hoki

Correction: According to Roland, my tourney is at 1630 EDT. But if D = daylight savings time and S = summer time (which is the same), what does the Eastern US use for winter time? Why doesn't *everyone* use GMT? After all, that is the world's standard time. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY HERE. If you like you can email me at hoki@orcon.net.nz . Thanks. ;) Oliver

Time : Thursday 1630 EST (2130 GMT, 0830 NZT - Fri) A six-board pairs (IMP scoring) tournament will be followed by a review of all six boards. This is for novice/intermediate players only, being a transfer from the BIL. TD/tutor: hoki (Oliver Hoffmann, hoki@orcon.net.nz) This session will be held weekly and emails will be sent in weeks when it will have to be cancelled due to non-availability of the tutor. ;) Oliver

Time : Thursday 1630 EST (2130 GMT, 0830 NZT - Fri) A six-board pairs (IMP scoring) tournament will be followed by a review of all six boards. This is for novice/intermediate players only, being a transfer from the BIL. TD/tutor: hoki (Oliver Hoffmann, hoki@orcon.net.nz) This session will be held weekly and emails will be sent in weeks when it will have to be cancelled due to non-availability of the tutor. ;)

Initially Flame wrote: i told him i cant believe it and maybe he didnt understand or something but he insisted and told me he asked this specific question to many of his BIL teachers and most of them said 4 cards is fine. Flame later wrote: I don't know you or your bridge level, but imo unless you are a top world class player, you should stick with the normal methods when you teach, first because its almost always your mistake when you think you know better, and second because the students should know what the world play, what their opponents and thier potential partners show. Hannie wrote: I would never bid 2H with 3-4-3-3 shape and I have never heard of anybody who teaches this. It worries me when people post to this thread and discuss other people rather than sticking to the issue. Here the issue is how to respond to 1♠ with a 3-4-3-3 shape, and this above post is an example of what I mean. To Hannie all I can say is “now you have”, :( . Flame also wrote: First of all i think you are wrong and bridgewise its wrong to bid 2H on 4 cards and you cant always correct to spade without a price even on 3433. This is an opinion and you are perfectly entitled to it. The fact that even Roland talks about the theory saying this is not wrong per se surely says it all. Sorry for having to repeat myself here. On the issue itself, I have researched two beginners’ texts which should surely serve as a reliable guideline for students of the game: Audrey Grant’s Club series and Alfred Sheinwold’s Five Weeks to Winning Bridge. The former does not cover the topic at all. The latter merely says: [A two-level response] “promises a good suit, usually of five or more cards”. The emphasis is mine. If some players prefer to use a 2♣ response to handle a 3-4-3-3 shape, that is fine and that is their specific agreement. In the meantime, let’s hear why “you can’t always correct to spades without a price”.

Roland wrote: In theory, 2♥ could be 4 cards with 3433 (you can always correct to spades later if opener supports hearts), but I prefer to respond 2♣ with that pattern. Then 2♥ will always be 5+ over 1♠. Doesn't that say it all? Failing a specific agreement to the contrary (for example 2♣ with only three clubs), it seems perfectly reasonable to accept that there may be times when you have to respond 2♥ on just a four-card suit. But that is, as Roland correctly points out, not a problem since you can correct any heart bid you hear from opener back to spades. Oliver

Hopefully you and your partner are on the same wavelength. If you play some form of Bergen raises where 3C shows heart support then that is fine, but in a normal pick-up partnership I think 4H is enough. Partner didn't open 2C and the opposition bidding indicates that minor-suit honours are probably sitting over partner, so I do not envisage a slam. However, since East-West have an excellent sacrifice in either minor suit, then maybe your "psychic" bidding is the perfect way to keep the opponents from finding the good sacrifice. Of course, part of the reason that the sacrifice will not be easy to find is that an unusual hand, like a Michaels cue bid, should be based on either a weak hand or a very strong hand. With an intermediate hand, like this East one, East is better advised to bid 2D over the 1H opening - and then take the bit in the teeth and if the bidding has reached 4H by the time it comes back to East, the vulnerability and the great hand shape suggests that a bid of 5C would then not be inappropriate. Oliver

I wasn't going to post again but I feel I need to correct a factual error and while I'm at it, also reaffirm my opinion. The factual error is in the statement that "most pairs got too high". There were nine tables in play. At three tables the bidding got too high (once up to 5H!). That is not "most", Ben. It is only half true that those "who stayed low, happened to open 2S". In fact, three pairs played in 2S; the other three played 2H, 1NT, and 2NT, all of which made. The sequence in my analysis shows how easy it should be even for intermediate players to stop in 2S. My opinion, and Free does not specifically relate it to learners, is that opening the East hand is not necessarily something beginner/intermediate players should learn. Thanks very much for the affirmation, Luke. Thanks too, Ben, for the acceptance of more flexibility in dealing with the East hand. Happy New Year, Oliver B)

Ben and Luis have both posted their views and they are entitled to them. Fortunately they both also point out the deficiencies in choice of opening bid, and that is fine. However, they haven't answered the question as to whether it is right to teach bad habits to beginner and intermediate players. It is fair to say that different alternatives exist. If everyone would always bid the same on every hand, bridge could fast turn into quite a boring game. I still maintain that if you gave the East hand to an expert bidding panel, there would be votes for all three actions (1S, 2S, and pass). Can't we leave it at that? Happy New Year, Oliver

>The important lessons for B/I players are opening East 1s or 2s or something and not opening west's hand. Unfortunately my hand analysis prepared after the tournament was not mailed to players. Also, unfortunately, I did not know about this forum. So for those who are still interested in this thread, here is my analysis - which is unaffected by most of the above postings above: West North East South - Pass Pass Pass 1C Pass 1S Pass 2C Pass 2S The East hand is too weak to open 1S but contains a good four-card major which disqualifies it for opening 2S. West does not have an easy rebid and the choice is between 1NT (flawed because of the singleton) and 2C (flawed because of only holding five clubs); West is not strong enough to rebid 2D, which is a “reverse” bid and requires at least 16 points. Those of you who follow my advice on opening leads will find that you can’t defeat the contract if declarer is astute. If you start off with the ace and a small heart, however, you strike gold. Partner wins the king and returns the two of hearts (lowest card, signalling for the lower of the other two suits) which you ruff. When you return a club, partner wins the ace and pushes another heart through – allowing you to ruff with your jack. That is five tricks. Declarer needs to cash the ace of diamonds, pitch a diamond on the king of clubs, and finesse North for the queen of spades in order to make the remaining eight tricks. Well done to any East who manages that successfully. Also kudos to the East who dropped the queen of hearts under North’s king and successfully killed the heart ruffs. (Would South really have played A-8 from A1098?) So let’s look at what happens if South makes the normal diamond lead. If East now errs by ducking, the above line of play leads to one down from which there is no recovery: small heart to the ace, heart back to the king, heart ruff, club to the ace, and another heart ruff. Even picking up the queen of spades now will not help. So East must win the ace of diamonds, play three rounds of spades, and give up two hearts plus a trick in each minor.There is no need to set up clubs and no entry to get to them anyway.