fourdad

I could not agree more!!! Find a regular partner and work out a system with them and STICK TO IT!! Do not over complicate it in the beginning with too many conventions. Every time you add a convention, you also TAKE AWAY other bids. You will be learning when you can discern this. There are groups on BBO that offer mentoring.....join one!! as to your post..........1/2 seat 12HCP and a 5 card suit and 11HCP w/ a 6 card suit and 2.5 OT's will keep you out of trouble most of the time. I would not employ rule of 20 as a beginner as you have no experience that would help know when not to use it.

You are correct about the NT....need more coffee. But I pass these 12 py hands at MP, not at IMPS. Works quite well, but I tend to be contrarian, so the "almost nobody does this" is a compliment. TYVM!! Sheep get slaughtered! :) PP-1NT-2C-2D-3NT.

P (NOT 1D!!!)-P-1D-1H-3D-5D. Not scientific or blasting. Pure communication and bidding the points.

and I would value that hand as 16....I was not referring to HCP. I though Brits had more class!

It usually simplifies things to break it down to points. The X shows 16+ hence the 4S bid shows a bout 10 and 5+ spades (as the TOX of the minor preempt does not promise 4 spades.) The X'lers hand now values at 22 so I just bid 6S.

never say never! :D

generally not...but it happens

Completely depends on whether the hand is strong enough for a reverse.

I hope I am declarer someday in a NT contract with you on lead! :rolleyes:

I agree with slowing down......my partnerships would bid 1D as responder. The bidding would follow: 1C-1D-2S-4S...end of story. If responder bids 1S then N's most descriptive bid is 4S!! Showing game values if pd has a minimum hand. Would S continue? I think not.

Why not just ask what 2H means before bidding anything??

http://www.bridgeguys.com/doubles/negative_doubles.html

As my regular partnerships would play 4♥ as preemptive here, I do not hate the 3♥ bid as a reasonable limit raise. 4NT is just plain AWFUL no matter how you look at it.

and how would a "random partner" know to keep thigs "simple and avoid ambiguous situations" without agreements? Gotta love circular reasoning!

"No agreement, no informstion", given the number of random partnerships on BBO, violates the spirit of the rules on alerting, imo

5♦ is forcing and communicates strength AND a slam while still searching for a fit. 6♣ by S (again defining the shape and count of hand) and slam.

I doubt that what you are asking for is even possible. Every conventionyou add takes something else way and the nuances of such changes are incredibly far from the obvious. Such a book, if it could be done, would read like gibbereish to the vast majority of bridge players.

when one partner unilaterally alters the agreed system trouble ensues mor often than not. Not to mention that this is myopic and starts the bidding by giving partner an incorrect picture of the hand.

My regular agreements are that Michaels tends to be preemptive. My pd would know not to bid.

Seems to me it depends on what the 2♥ bid is? Natural? DONT? CAPP? Against Natural or CAPP, my partnersip agreements are the X is a "stolen bid", that is, a transfer to spades. Against DONT it is penalty. This is one of those areas where only detailed partnership agreements will prosper.

With regular partners, our agreement would be that the X guaranteed 4♠ w/ 15 or less points as the TOX would never bid again. W/ the ♦ void and a known fit, I value the hand at 10 TP and would bid TWO ♠. either a 1♠ or 2♣ bid can be made w/ ZERO points as a bid is forced by the TOX, true? If the TOX can bid again, you have game, if not, your actions have stressed the LHO's next bid.

IMNTBHO, where you erred was in, what I call, "telling the same story twice".....your original 4H bid accuarately represented your hand...hence PASS.... the most oft overlooked bid in bridge.

I would not consider 5!h...leaving X or pass.... Without any hope of a trump trick I would pass. X may work, what was the score for the pass?

I would suggest that the fine line betwen opening 1NT w/ 5M is whether or not you have more than 1 doubleton.....or, to put it another way, whether you are 5-4.

Being intelligent means NOT playing with those who think that they are "reasonable" when they blatantly ignore partnershipp agreements! Myopic, perhaps, not "reasoned".