amre_man

I, as well, look and advocate for disciplined bidding. This is required for an open game at club. But seems to be rarely found in casual BBO games. With my face to face partners, 3♣ requires a 5 loser hand. 4♠ on 1st round suggests a weak hand. While true that East has only 8 hcp, the 5 losers makes this hand anything but weak. East has an 8 card ♠ suit, a 5 loser hand, and his partner opened. East knows that he will bid 4♠ at some point. As 1♠ is forcing, East has time. I would not assume 3♠ as forcing. So after West rebids 3♣ confirming his strength, I bid 4♠ showing mine. Mostly a drop dead bid but still showing something extra.

With my F2F partners, that N hand requires an X. Too many points for a somewhat misleading ♣ bid, which would deny 4 card ♠ suit. And no other suit is appropriate. The South hand also has a problem, using our systems. It has sufficient hcp to require a jump bid. My appropriate response is 5♦. But that eliminates all chance of a black suit contract. I fall back on a bid of 4♥. Telling partner I have points and support for whatever he selects. I would likely pass any subsequent bid he makes.

If I create a teaching table the "teaching options" allows kibitzers to see hands "user-controlled". This suggests that the I should be able to hide any combination of hands. Or is the 'user' the kibitzer? I may want to only show declarer and dummy for winners/losers calculation. Or South and West for S's leading through dummy. But I cannot find how to control the manipulation. Can someone please point me in the right direction? Thanks

Sign in to BBO as if to play. Go to "My BBO" then "Hands and Results" then "Hand Editor". You will be able to select specific cards for each hand and "export" them to a directory for future use. If you wish to teach Stayman, for instance, create a NT opener in a seat with Stayman response points opposite. After export (saving) a board to the designated directory you can then click "edit" and you will be able to return selected cards to the deck and redistribute them and "export" as a 2nd hand, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc.

There are limits to the amount of information that even very smart people can absorb. There are reasons why you start with counting hcp and opening the bidding. And then move on to other Bridge 101 lessons. After each step you reemphasize the lesson with some predealt boards. If you have these sessions for 4 hours each day you can cover high card points, opening, responding, overcalls, and advancing bids. And these folks will be exhausted! And quite likely still in some level of darkness. So when they come back day 2 (if they have not killed you in your sleep) you will need to reemphasize all of day 1 stuff before getting to day 2 stuff. My club offered 6 one hour sessions, Mondays and Thursdays for 3 weeks, for brand new players. Lesson # 1 - If you are not comfortable with failure, you will not like this game. Cuz you will be overwhelmed with failure for quite some time! This was followed by 10 weeks of 2 play and review games on Mondays and Thursdays. An experienced mentor looking over their shoulders, questions asked and answered during bidding and play. Mentors did not provide specific bids but rather explained what point requirements were for next bid, did you have it? Well, then say something! Comment about bidding and play after the hand is complete. Be constructive, be firm, be kind. There were still players that would not overcall without an opening hand. Or open 4 card majors. But they have all successfully joined our 499er game. It will even more difficult for people that have never played a trick taking game, with or without wild cards. In answer to your questions... 4 people at a card tables. Deal the cards face down. Explain the point system and ask each player to count and announce their hcp, make sure it totals 40. :blink: The pair with the highest hcp is declarer. Trump is whatever suit is 5/3 or 4/4 and let them play a few hands. Make sure each player gets to play a contract. Move on to 5 card majors and whatever your minor opener system is with required points. Each player bids a hand or 2. They can play them out or not. Move on to responses with opps being silent. Each person in each pair bids a hand or 2. Overcalls...... Advancers...... Balanced hands.... NT openers... etc, etc.... You are already on day 2 if not 3. All these things require predealt hands. Keep it light, laugh with them, and hope that they will be interested enough to continue their studies. Some will take to it like a duck to water. Others would prefer a root canal than play another hand. Good luck!

I first learned bridge the way you suggest. I did print out select novice instruction from an online website. And played that way for 15 years, always online. And then I joined the ACBL and played at a local club only to find that I was making select illegal bidding. At the same time I learned about something called a convention card!?!?!?! HA! I had to relearn many conventions that I already 'knew'. Self teaching has its benefits and its limitations. While you can learn much from experimentation and frequent play, you must do minimal reading to verify that you know the appropriate responses for stayman, transfers and the like. If your goal is to learn and improve your game, playing and/or kibbing can only go so far. You also must remember that is a partnership game. It is all about agreeing to selected conventions and which variations thereof you agree to follow. I've now been playing for 25+ years and it is a rare week that goes by that I do not find something else to understand. Good luck!

My regular partner would not bid 3♥ without 'something'. Is my 4 loser hand and 7 card ♦ suit too strong to stop at 3NT? I would be content to play in ♦ game. If, rather than 3NT, Opener rebids 4♣ (FSF) over 3♥, would that be considered a cue? First/second round controls up the line will find the slam? On a personal note, I have a 4 loser hand and would have opened 2♣. In my agreements this is not a game forcing bid but my partner would certainly be evaluating his hand in a different manner.

My P and I play 1430. I am the dealer and pass. LHO opens 1♥, X, P, 2♣, P, 3♦, P, 3♠, P, 4NT.... My P's overcall of my forced response shows me her points, the jump was not necessary. I showed her my 4 card S suit hoping for a signoff in 3NT; she jumps to 4NT. My p allowed her pretty hand to overcome her common sense and bid too aggressively. Ignoring the poor bidding sequence, how is my p supposed to ask for aces? Do I assume RKC in S? Should I assume no agreement on suit and respond normal Blackwood? We'd have been +1 if I'd just pass 4NT. She hoped for the latter but got the former. 6D down 2. Thanks

My old eyes do not allow me to see the postage stamp pictures on some profiles. Is there a way to enlarge the post?

South's TO of 1♥ seems automatic given point count. I would do it every hand in 2nd seat. North has sufficient points to respond even over West's 1NT. If South does not TO, I would X as North as well. Eventually N/S find a low ♠ contract.

I have 4 regular partners at my Monday club game. 1st Monday I play the way you describe above, 2nd and 4th I play odd/even, 3rd Monday is a more complicated convention requiring hi/lo discard of a color asking or denying the other suit of that color. The latter can be rather confusing when you have insufficient cards to appropriately follow conventional rules. #1 Rule - Talk to your partner

Thanks for the input. My distribution and my partner's bidding suggested I had stoppers in each suit and no transportation issues. Will find a Woolsey book and continue my reading. Thanks again.

I am looking for reading material on when to bid a NT contract vs. a suit contract. Last night I opened 1 NT with 17 hcp with 3 3 3 4 distribution. My partner transferred me to 2♥ and then bid 3nt. I passed 3nt even though I had 3 card ♥ support, making 5 which topped all the 4♥ contracts. I was then told by my opponent that I should always, always, always take the 8 card trump suit. He was well intentioned and I took it that way. How do I find the analysis to prove or disprove his comment? Along the same lines, when you are pursuing a slam in an agreed upon suit, what conditions do you look for to bid 6NT? Thanks

Seems to me a response of 2♠shows exta points and length in suit. By keeping the bidding low you provide opportunity for partner to bid his strongest suit. And such a bid does not eliminate you playing in ♠ game.

Thank you all for your comments. I was told at the table that the bid required a 5 card ♦ suit. Under the GCC Definitions (2) a 4 card suit is sufficient. Thank you Straub for including that document. One that I have never read before. While others refer to that same document claiming I can use the bid if part of a defined convention, it was never part of a convention in my mind other than, erroneously, convenient minors. My intent was only to show sufficient points to overcall looking for a fit with partner if s/he had sufficient points to respond, hopefully in a major. I reviewed my last 100 hands at BBO and found that no instance where I had used my improper bid. Frankly, I was surprised. In any case I am off to expand my definitions of TOD's. :D Thank you all again.

I was, and remain, unaware of any rule I've broken. Certainly unintentionally if I have. Ethics was never a part of my concern, until now..... Of the 1,000+ logins at BBO, each covering 10 and usually significantly more hands, not one partner or opponent has ever mentioned my 1♦ bid as having been misleading or incorrect. Imagine my surprise after 15,000+/- hands to find out that I created a potentially illegal bidding system out of whole cloth.

My surprise stems from the fact that I have been bidding this way ever since I first learned to play the game, 20 years ago. And last night was the first and only time anyone has ever mentioned it to me. And I play regularly (10 hours weekly) with and against a rather small group of players. Apparently the only reason it came to light last night was that opps bid NT contract and my partner kept leading me diamonds every chance she got.

RHO is dealer and opens 1C. I have 4 4 3 2 distribution and overcall 1D looking for a major response from my partner. A bidding scenario I have used successfully and without comment from partner, opps or kibbers for quite a few years. Last night I got comments claiming the 1D bid requires a 5 card D suit. The claim being that the only bid I can make with that distribution is a TOD. What say you?

I have read where 2/1 is or has already become more popular than SAYC. I've done some reading and find it difficult to follow. As the bots play a version of 2/1 would playing with bots assist me in learning this system? Do the bots play a variation of 2/1? If so what are the distinctions?

Thank you all for your comments! I will invite him to play and point out his 'opportunities' in after action analysis. Depending upon his willingness to listen, I'll see how far I can bring him along.

My 86 year old father has taken up bridge within the last 2 years. He has fair card sense but generally overstates his hand. He follows some of his own conventions which are not advertised, are generally out of the norm, often change from hand to hand, i.e. Overcalls opps open with 4 card major and insufficient points to open or X, ignores vully, ignores the scoring implications, etc. He arrives at BBO and asks to be assigned to a table, is always assigned to a Main club table. I told him to find people in Relaxed. He ignored. He claims he is disrupting opponents bidding. I take the position he is lying to his partner and his opponents both and have told him so. Until such time as he follows conventional rules I will not play with him and have told him so. I have shown him his wide swinging scoring history on BBO and tried to explain the scoring swings as too severe. He cares not. I'm hoping that if I can show him a set of specific rules that showcase rules he is breaking perhaps he will change his ways. I know his actions are inappropriate. Does anyone have knowledge of specific rules, chapter and verse, that I can show him in hopes of getting him off the dime? Thanks!