PhilG007

As partner has already bid,the double is for penalties.

I would view the 3♥ bid as a DAB (Directional Asking Bid) asking partner for a heart stopper with a view to a NT contract. I would have thought,though,that cue bids and their meaning are a matter for partnership discussion/agreement.

1NT in my sleep regardless of system. I have all the requisites 16+ points and a double stop in the enemy suit. I'm not into trap passing......

PASS is obvious. LHO has not yet declared his full strength. He could be sitting with a 19 pointer and is testing the water. Any overcall you make could trigger a penalty double on your left and you can get ready with the sackcloth and ashes. In this game,a highly developed sense of danger is an essential tool to have.

Have the Thai police got nothing better to do than this(?) I thought the Keystone Cops were in the USA...it seems they've emigrated(!)

There's something everyone here (including the original poster) seems to have overlooked...what do you do if LHO comes into the bidding(?) Suppose you double for takeout then LHO bids 3♦ Now the situation has changed dramatically. You have 15 HCP but both opponents are in the auction. It all depends on what partner does. If he passes and the 3♦bid comes round to you,you are in a quandary...LHO has spoken and any overcall on this hand could be highly dangerous and you risk incurring a hefty penalty. You are in unknown waters and,although it may seem cowardly,the best thing to do is PASS. At least you are giving away -110 at most you are risking -500 Sometimes the best action to take is none at all(!) Sometimes you have to accept you will be gazumped but that is in the nature of the game.You win some.you lose some.

I would have to say that if a conventional bid(or one that can be construed as conventional)is not on a players profile,then it shouldn't be made in the first place.

"Clicking 50 times..." I would regard as harassment and totally unacceptable conduct....and I would tell the TD so once I had summoned him/her to my table.

This is a sad situation and it clearly shows the dangers of playing anything other than a simple system when playing with a casual partner.. I suspect the reason for your expulsion from the tournament was that you gave different answers to the opponents. This was ambiguity so the TD, in fairness to the opponents had no choice but to remove you for giving conflicting information. If partner makes a bid you are not sure of or don't know the meaning,you should say so at once. In bridge,as in life,honesty is the best policy. Many moons ago,when I was learning this game, our teacher told us that, when bidding "you should tell the truth,the whole truth and nothing but the truth and on the occasion when that is not possible, you should tell the whitest lie that you can"

Rebidding ♠would be totally pointless as partner had the chance to bid the suit over your 1♥. I would regard the 2♣ response as forcing but not game forcing(at least not yet) Depending on the points held in opener's hand,I would rebid 3♣ thus fixing the suit on minimum values but jump to 4♣ with 16+. The void in ♦ would seriously discourage me from going into No Trumps.

1NT for two reasons 1) The hand has the requirements for a 1NT overcall 15+ HCP and a double stop in the enemy suit. 2) No other action is sensible.

You cannot muddle the two doubles. If partner has not already bid and the bidding is below game,then the double is a take out request. If however,partner has already bid then the double is for blood. Hope this clears up the confusion.

Unless there has been prior partnership agreement,I would view the double as for penalties since partner has already made a free competitive bid.

An absolute no-brainer. Open 1♣ and rebid 1♠ over any 1 level red suit response. This asks for preference and firmly puts the spotlight on the remaining red suit. Partner should not go into NTs unless he has this suit well covered What if partner responds 1NT over 1 ♣? Re bid 2 spades showing a minimum of 9 black cards and asking for cover in the unbid suit for NTs

I would never open 1NT with a singleton. On the South hand I would open 1♣ the suit below the singleton hoping partner will respond in a major suit which clearly will happen here and the major suit fit will be found. The problem with opening 1NT on a 4-4-4-1 shape is that 1NT is likely to be passed out with the singleton suit wide open and the opponents taking the first 7 tricks to kill the contract in its cradle. There is an old adage that says that if you invite trouble,it usually accepts(!)

The issue of 'psyching' at the bridge table has long been a bone of contention. The ACBL,particularly has taken a dim view of it. I quote the article about it in the ACBL Bulletin in February 1978 authored by Donald Oakie :- "[ It is high time that we call all of our members' and directors attention,especially at the club level, to the fact that, while a psychic bid is legal,its discriminate use is not. People who employ psychic bids against less experienced players may be guilty of unsportsmanlike psyching and thereby be in violation of League regulations. People who psych against their peers may be guilty of frivolous psyching.or of having an unannounced partnership understanding. People who psych against more experienced players will probably get bad boards,and they may lose the few good boards they get by being judged to have indulged in unsportsmanlike psyching or to have disrupted the game. "What does this mean to you as a player? If you want to psych any call other than a forcing call,go ahead and do it - it's perfectly legal. If you psych on an average of once a month.no player or director is likely to say a word about it.If you can't resist the temptation to do it oftener,you are going to fall foul of the Laws and League regulations. The excitement of using a psychic bid often exerts an almost irresistible attraction for a newcomer to duplicate bridge. An occasional jaded 'duplicateer' will fall back on psychic bids as a means of having "fun" during a session marked by bad results in the early rounds or where few rating points are at stake. Expert players and the large majority of experienced club and tournament players seldom or never make a psychic bid. " A psychic bid carries a high price tag. When employed agaianst one's peers,the chances of success are 50-50. When they fail,they can prove to be very costly.When they succeed,in a very short time the cost in partnership confidence can far exceed any momentary advantage gained. By its nature,a psychic bid,whether successful or not,is remembered by the opponents as well as the user's partner. A player who becomes addicted to psychs soon becomes a 'marked' man. Psychers live in a storm's eye of gloating or infuriated opponents,harried TD's and sceptical tournament committess. Win or lose,they,as like as not,tend to disrupt the events they enter and thus find the protection extended to them by the Laws offset by their inability to prove that,by their action,they have not violated the Proprieties"

3♥ Showing 7 playing tricks and a solid ♥suit. This is NOT forcing but highly invitational.Partner should regard the 3♥rebid as though it were a pre-empt and not go into NTs unless he has the outside suits stopped.

In a ♠contract,the South hand is actually stronger as he can add an extra point for each of the doubletons in the minor suits due to the ♠ fit. Declarer simply has to hope that the trumps will break favourably, A 59.57%

My gripe is at the other end of the spectrum. On the occasions I have managed to fulfil a difficult contract(often made all the more challenging through partner's inane bidding) the result was greeted with a riot of silence. Talk about casting my pearls before swine(!) :angry:

The Laws of Bridge make it perfectly clear as regards to hesitating without good cause. Sadly,it's unenforceable in the online game(!) <_<

No fear of that...if partner does have something to say,he'll say it.....rest assured(!) :)

Another very good reason for passing is that in 2nd seat you are sitting "under the gun" LHO has not yet bid so there is unknown strength there. If you overcall and the remainder of the points are bunched on your left, the next thing will be a penalty double from there and you can get ready with the sackcloth and ashes and get prepared to record a hefty minus score for your side. Anyone with a good sense of danger will unhesitatingly pass and hope that if the bidding is passed round to partner,he will balance(as he should)

Anyone who overcalls 1♠ with a rag tag suit like that is DEFINITELY a fruit bat(!) The same goes for overcalling 1NT with only a single stopper. Pass and await developments is the only sensible course of action here.

That article only deals with his acting and personal life. There is only a passing reference to bridge.

Omar Sharif sadly passed away in Egypt yesterday aged 89. He was the reason I took up the game many moons ago. I frequently played in the worldwide pairs contests sponsored by electronics giant EPSON throughout the '90s Omar commented and analysed the deals in a complimentary booklet. It was a joy to follow his comments. He admitted in an interview 10 years ago that,ironically,it was his addiction to cards that wrecked his acting career. A born gambler,he lost thousands at cards and not just at bridge. He was also a heavy smoker and this contributed to his failing health. During his time as a player,Sharif partnered many of the top players of the time including legends Belladonna and Garozzo. He also founded a touring team of professional bridge players called the "Omar Sharif Bridge Circus" which made tours of Europe and North America throughout the 1970s and 80s taking on powerful teams including the legendary DALLAS ACES in head to head matches.Despite sponsorship of $50,000 in 1970,none of the American tours were a commercial success although they did generate wide publicity for bridge. Sharif once commented that "Acting is my business,bridge is my passion". All through his life,he was a great ambassador for the game making frequent publicity appearances at top level events. He will be sadly missed,by thespians and bridge players alike.