SelfGovern

The "find member" changes are intriguing... but not working right (by my understanding of what they should do, anyway). I can search for a shortened version of a person's BBO name, and not get all the matches. For instance, if I know I have seen player xyz1472, but can't remember the "1472", if I type xyz and hit enter, it does not bring back xyz1472 (although it brings back many others). Although I've used numbers here, it's true for alpha strings as well. (and yes, I have tried with people who have their real names in profile, both by first and last name) I have tried looking for several people I know by name (even me!), and the search results have not returned any of the known people. That is, neither "thomas" or "rush" returns my record.

Shoot -- I would personally vote for not allowing someone to select Expert or World Class until they had posted a favorite convention card. A profile is not a convention card! I have only a tiny piece of tongue extended into my cheek as I state the above.

One could always post players' average IMP and MP results over the last month (which is available under "hand records" for all players, anyway).

I'll give it a shot.

A jump rebid in responder's suit is invitational in (so far as I know) any modern bidding system. Your choices, then, are - 4!H - New Minor Forcing (2!C) if played (is that SAYC-allowed?) - Ugly, ugly (but necessary if NOT playing NMF) 3!C jump shift - 3NT for a "swing" in Matchpoints (hoping to "win the board" on the extra 10 points for NT, when NT and !H take the same number of tricks) -- note: This is not a "beginner" or "intermediate" bid!

Two things: 1) Claims on BBO are already a mess sometimes. I can't count the number of times I've seen a concession of all the tricks rejected (either by defense or declarer). I know I have more than once personally tried to concede all the tricks two or more times, only to have it rejected. So then I concede all but one... and it's often accepted. So odd. 2) Your "no" vote says: "No, I don't want this measure made of me" -- I don't mind people measuring me against this; I try to claim when it's clear and state a line of play... but I don't think it's particularly useful for the majority of people. Other valid reasons for a "no" vote would be: - you didn't want people gaming the claim system (which could serve to slow play in the end), - you don't think it's a useful measure of skill - it's often not useful unless declarer states a line of play and GIB uses this in the evaluation of valid claimhood But it is an interesting question.

Hi, folks. Your suggestions requested. Assume 'advanced'; feel free to answer for that as well as (identified) 'expert'. You pick up AKQ643, 2, QJT82, J. With no one vulnerable, RHO deals and opens 1!H. Q1: Do you make a Michaels call? If not, what? You do make a 2!H Michaels call; LHO doubles, partner passes. Q2: What is partner's pass? RHO passes. Q3: What is your rebid? Thanks for your input.

The auctions showin for those who get to slam are pretty awful, too. 1N - 6N? That's going to be fun opposite partner's 16-count. 1C - 3C (forcing?); 3N - 4N; 5!D - 6!C; 6N Or one that makes sense if the bidders both know that 2N is 13-15: 1C - 2N; 4N - 5S; 6N

The world is a big place. Night for you might be noon for someone else, and we don't have a clue to where you are -- in today's world, even good command of English doesn't indicate where you're from. Even if we assume you're in the US, you could be in Hawaii or New York, a difference of five hours. Anyway, good luck; if you're in the Houston, Texas area, I'm looking for someone to play more in live games.

I'll add another vote for Watson's classic, "Play of the Hand". You'll learn a lot and avoid a lot of common mistakes. Let me also add that bridge is different than poker, in that in poker, it's OK to try to mislead your opponents by the way you play or act. In bridge, the goal is to convey no information by the way you play, your expressions, or your tempo: the only legal communication is through the bids you choose or the cards you play (again: not the way you bid or play). Finding a partner you can discuss things with is important. You seem pretty driven, so you may outgrow this partner soon -- but it's important to have someone you can discuss agreements with and know it won't be wasted when you never see him/her again. Always be looking for the 'next' regular partner, someone you can continue to grow with. In many auctions, there is no universal "right" or "wrong" bid -- it depends on your agreed bidding system. If P opens 1S, your system may make it right to bid 1N, 2C, 2N, or some number of spades -- it depends on the agreement you have. Understand that less-experienced players may try to give you advice that is wrong for you and your system, because they are constrained by only thinking about their system, or are limited by what they know. I agree with another's advice that learning defense and play of the hand are much more important than learning 'gadgets' and conventions. I will add that hand evaluation is important. But you can learn to play bridge and become quite good by using just Stayman and Jacoby Transfers. Blackwood (or its variants) are optional. Jacoby 2NT (forcing major suit raise) can be important to help you set a game force early and make slam bidding more sane. And if you want to play a 2/1 game forcing system, you'll have to use 1NT Forcing... just realize that it does distort some auctions; the benefit of 2/1 is that it gives you a great deal of clarity in game-forcing and above auctions, allowing you the most possible room to find your fit, know how high you can safely bid, and to explore for slam if that's in the cards. Any convention has a trade-off: there's a natural bid you can no longer use. Understand that trade-off. Look for "rules" that can help you interpret new or unfamiliar auctions. Such as, "If I open 3C, and partner (an unpassed hand) bids 3H, is it forcing or not forcing?" The rule I use is, "It's more important to find the right game or slam, than to be able to stop on a dime in the right partscore (games and slams score better!). Thus, the bid of a new suit after a preempt should be forcing, allowing you to find the right game or slam (for +400 or +600 or 900+)... instead of hoping that your 3H contract will make exactly for +140 instead of 3C making for +110, or down one or two for -100. Beware of advice in general from people who can't explain "why", and who don't understand the system you're playing. They may say they are 'expert' or 'world class', but that doesn't mean they've ever won a club game, let alone a National event. One of my "favorite" "world class" players consistently scores -1.75 IMP/board.

Ummm... why?

In fact, there is a text box included when you push the claim button. So declarer (or defender) could easily enter something like "Drawing trump" or "3!h, 2!C, 1!S" or "You get 2 diamonds at the end". I recommend using this to clarify your claim, although most people here do not.

About 30 years ago, I was playing in a two-session individual at the Santa Rosa California Regional. Individuals... are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get. As I moved to my next table about halfway through the first session, I found myself sitting at a table of bridge archetypes. Across from me: The Little Old Lady, gray-haired, somewhat tremulous in body, but clear in mind and voice. She was tall enough to ride the rides at an amusement park, but they would have wanted her to stand against the sign to be sure. To my left: The Grizzled Veteran. Closely cropped hair that I'm sure would still have been a crewcut had he had enough of it on top. His jaw was the example of squareness, his manner stiff and erect -- although he might not have been more than 5'6" or so. While there was no smoking on the event floor, my image of him to this day includes a cigar I am sure I only imagined, clenched between his teeth. Last, on my right was the Sweet Young Thing. I won't bore you with a description of her loveliness or innocence; I will not describe her fair skin or flowing tresses or perfect complexion -- my god, I was married then, and I'm married now, and who knows how much trouble I could stir up with a careless word! In any case, you're sitting in 4th seat, they are vulnerable and you are not, and you pick up xx - AJxxxx KJxxx and hear the auction unfold: GV LOL SYT You! 2C Dbl 2D ?? I am sure that my partner has some long and good clubs. I am pretty sure my RHO has some diamonds and a decent hand. I am just about positive that N/S (the bad guys) can make at least a slam, as I consider my possible actions. 3C? Hardly seems enough 4C? Better, but... 5C? Everybody's doing that. Some number of diamonds? How many... but more importantly, why? I finally come to the conclusion that only one bid accurately describes this hand's playing strength, and also tells partner the most important thing: what to lead! GV LOL SYT You! 2C Dbl 2D 4H(!) I am sorry to say that history did not preserve the rest of the auction. It probably had something to do with GV first doubling, only to hear SYT pull to 5D. In any case, they ended up, confused, in 6NT by SYT, and despite my lead-directing bid, I found myself on lead. My 4th-best club hits the table, and dummy comes down with AKJT AKQJTxxxx - - clearly one of the most nearly perfect hands in bridge. My partner, the blessed LOL, won her ace of clubs and returned a club to capture whatever card SYT had. I made sure to cash the diamond ace before continuing clubs. With six clubs and a diamond, we scored seven tricks for a +600. SYT had Qx of spades (the Queen being the only card that mattered) and a heart or two. The grand Slam in hearts was so cold that N/S got below average for bidding only six and making (as everyone did) seven -- I don't think a single N/S pair bid less than 6H, nor made less than 13 tricks, save at our table: the only plus score for E/W in the entire field of... well over a hundred tables, probably over 200, I wish I could remember! But no good deed goes unpunished. Somebody talked, it seems, behind my back. Session two, the next night, came, and as I would sit down at each table, somebody would invariably point and say, "Oh, you're the one who got that plus on board xx!" And even though I played brilliantly, my partners thought I was ever-so-much-more clever than I actually was. Seriously -- on hand after hand, I made a trick (or two!) more than the field. But sadly, I would be in 4S off one because my partner raised on an underpointed hand, while the field would be in 2S making. I think I ended the second session about a half-board below average, for what it's worth, and didn't come anywhere near placing in the overalls. But that one hand, and that just right 4H call, will be mine to remember forever.

But probably not, it occurs to me, with the club 3 lead suggested by another poster. ;)

Unless they've changed it, the BBO money games are two real people sitting left and right of each other, each with a robot partner. Although that seemed odd to me at first, I realized it's to remove the possibility of cheating by a N/S pair colluding against the E/W pair, for instance. I don't remember whether kibitzing is allowed, but suspect not, for the same cheat-avoidance reason.

Lots of good info above. If you're in North America, I agree on Standard American or 2/1. Although more complicated to learn in the beginning, I lean toward recommending 2/1 as your starting place, because its bids are more well-defined than "standard American", and therefore you'll learn the benefit of a well thought-out system, without some of the ambiguity of SA. Be advised that "SA" is a *very* loose definition of a system, and there are a gazillion different treatments within it (so you and your partner could both be playing Standard American, but have very different interpretations of SA, and interpret an auction very differently, and both be right!). (That is not to minimize that 2/1 doesn't also have differences, but they tend to be in more complex auctions, so less of a worry for a newer player) Second, when you need to figure out who is giving better advice than another, look for the one who talks of probabilities. On a given hand, you may be right to get to 6!S and yet go down; on another hand, you may make 6!S but should have bid no more than 4!S or 5!S. WHat determines what is right? Not what worked on this hand, but what will work more often (simplification there; there are actually different odds depending on the form of scoring, but you still need to stick with percentages, not just "we went down, so we shouldn't have been there") Third, Do yourself and your partners a favor and learn to understand the ACBL convention card (or the variant for your country/region). Fill one out according to your favorite system, and post it when you play on BBO, and let your partner know that you're using it. If your partner says "huh?" or lists himself as "advanced" or better but doesn't know what a convention card is (or says, "see my profile"), then move on when you can without being rude. A convention card is an expression of your philosophy of bidding, or is like a dictionary. Without one, when you say "bonnet", you mean hat, and when your partner says it, he means "the thing you lift up to see the car's engine". You'll have much more fun if you both agree -- and far fewer disasters. Note: It may seem daunting at first, just work through as much as you can, and talk with your partner about the stuff you don't know. Fourth, find a regular partner that you can grow with. This will often be someone about your skill level. It will be someone who doesn't criticize you. It will be someone who doesn't only look at your results to see if you made a mistake. It will be someone who will share an interest with you in discussing results *after* your session is over (discussing hands during a session only distracts you from the next board, and never helps you get a better score on the last board!). It is also extremely helpful if your partner agrees to read the same 2/1 book as you, and agrees to use what it says as your agreements, until you get comfortable with that, and good enough to know when changing an established system makes sense. BTW: An early post in this discussion is right; there are only a few essential conventions (assuming you don't play a system like 2/1. Work on developing hand evaluation skills before you add a lot of gadgets to your bidding. But a "system" (as I suspect you know) is not a list of conventions, it's a bidding philosophy. "System" is to "convention" as "automobile" is to "spark plug"

I had not given much consideration to a 4!D call, for fear P might think I had something like Jxx, x, AJxx, AKxxx. What would you do with that hand over 3!S? If you would pass, what is the weakest hand you'd find a 4!D call on? I'm trying to figure out if 1) 4!D shows a hand *this* big (i.e., an ace and a QJ away from 6!C), and, 2) if 4!D is forcing (or will P consider it forcing? Will P be able to act intelligently with something like Qx, Axxx, QJxx, xx, where we want to be in 6!C? Or Qxx, QJxx, QJxx, xx, where 5!C seems great, and 5D pretty darned good? Evaluate partner's rebid over 4!D with both the hand in my original post, and the Jxx, x, AJxx, AKxxx above.)

Sure, partner promised at least four hearts for his negative double. So partner should bid 6!H with AQxx, and we'll be playing a 4-2 fit with Kx opposite AQxx? Do you have much luck with that -- or even 5-2 trump fits -- in real life? Or perhaps you just didn't see the dash -- your hand is 0-2-4-7 shape. Does this change your answer?

OK, what is 4!S? Is there any implication of heart support? What if, say, your red suits were reversed and you held -, Kxxx, Kx, AKQJ8xx? Would you bid something besides 4!S, or bid differently after the 4!S call?

I'm confused -- you're willing to commit your side to the 5- or 6-level on a 6-card trump suit? Do you really have much success with this? Also, in standard methods when opps have bid one suit and we have not cuebid their suit, doesn't a jump to five of our major ask P for 1st or 2nd-round control in their suit? How does that help when I am already void in their suit? In response to your answer to Q2, yes, we are playing 2/1, but you didn't give me an answer to help me understand how 2/1 makes this hand easier than Acol or SAYC. I welcome your further thoughts and clarification.

You're playing a 2/1 system and dealt -, K2, K5xx, AKQJ8xx [edit: To clarify, shape is 0247 with a void in spades] The auction proceeds (no one vul): 1C - (1S) - Dbl - (3S) ?? (opps are BBO bots, fwiw) Q1: What is your second call when you've not discussed this auction? Q2: What system do you play in a regular partnership that might make your second call easier? Edit: Thanks all for your considered responses. Those who responded to some other hand or auction, maybe not so much <grin>, other than to reinforce that communication at the bridge table (and away from it) is quite difficult. But I have taken away that this hand truly has a challenging rebid on this auction. Makes me wish I'd opened a Schenken 2!D. [end edit]

In tempo, I am sure. Doesn't everyone?

Suit rank is a wheel, not a stack. Hearts are above diamonds, spades are above hearts, and clubs are above spades, and so on. There are many hands where starting 1!C gives you better auctions. And there are a similar number where opening 1!S will give you better auctions. One poster says, "oh, open 1!S, in case the opps come in!" But with hands of moderate strength, how, then, do you show the other five black cards you hold? On the other hand, when I open 1!C I have much less angst about introducing my 5-card spade suit at the 2-level after a 2!H or 2!D overcall, and partner might infer that I have a 5-5ish hand, since I chose not to re-open with a double. These are style issues, not issues of right or wrong. I suppose someone unbiased could run a full set of simulated hands and do an analysis -- but any personal bias is likely to influence the results. Until then -- agree with your partner, and remember that the new ways are not always the best ways.

So 7!C is the better contract. It's a shame P couldn't read the situation and place you in the proper contract rather than 7!H.

Strategy also comes in to it. At the Houston Regional in a team event, I heard the auction go (1S) - 2H - (2S) and it's my turn with a not-terribly interesting hand with a 2533 shape, five hearts to the JT, an A in one minor and a K in the other. Now, the LoTT might say to bid 4!H. We've got our 10 trump, after all. But something at the table told me I'd see a 4!S call, and that we'd be in a bad state if they bid 4S (actually, we were in Texas, which I consider to be a good state, but that's another story (or series of). So I bid 3H only, and when it went (P), P, I was not surprised to hear RHO bid (3S). Now I 'back in' with my 4H call, and all pass as I had hoped. Partner made 4H, and the opps are also on for 4S (responder happened to have five-card spade support), and likely would have bid it had I bulled into 4H. The moral of this story is, use your head. If you don't have a history of accurate intuition in situations like this, consider bidding 3H and passing the expected 3S call -- since -170 beats -420 or -620 any day of the week.