Liversidge

What is GBK? ;)

(I posted this earlier today and it has disappeared. Hope it was not removed because I have posted in the wrong place.) I am relatively new to bridge and play at an EBU registered club level in the UK, with a mix of members from novice to intermediate level. Partner and I have an understanding that a double of a natural suit on the first round of bidding is for takeout, up to the 3 level, but have not discussed what happens as the bidding develops – we don’t double nearly as often as we should! I was pulled up by an opponent last week for not alerting after partner doubled a suit bid on the second or third round of bidding (can’t remember how it went). I was unsure what the double meant but decided it was for penalty and said so to my opponent when he asked. When he said I should have alerted my partner said that when he doubled he wasn’t sure how I’d take it but was quite happy if I left it in or took it out. I have checked up since and according to the EBU Blue Book 2013, the rules for alerting doubles are: (a) Suit bids that show the suit bid Alert, unless the double is for take-out. (b) Minor suit openings which may be shorter than three cards but which may be natural and which do not promise a strong hand Alert, unless the double is for take-out. © No trump bids Alert, unless the double is for penalties. (d) Suit bids that do not show the suit bid Alert, unless the double shows the suit bid. I take this to mean that no matter how the bidding has gone, including passes or No Trump bids along the way, if partner doubles a natural suit bid then I have to take it to be a takeout bid, and if I want to convert it to a penalty I just pass, without saying anything, and presumably have a hand that justifies my pass (i.e. good cards in the doubled suit). So if my opponent asks what partner’s bid meant I say ‘takeout’. If partner opens 1H and the bidding goes 1H (1S) 2H (2S) 3H (3S) x (P) P then do I take it that my partner needs to alert my double as being a penalty double (which it obviously is from the bidding – we are only interested in hearts)?

I am relatively new to bridge and play at an EBU registered club level in the UK, with a mix of members from novice to intermediate level. Partner and I have an understanding that a double of a natural suit on the first round of bidding is for takeout, up to the 3 level, but have not discussed what happens as the bidding develops – we don’t double nearly as often as we should! I was pulled up by an opponent last week for not alerting after partner doubled a suit bid on the second or third round of bidding (can’t remember how it went). I was unsure what the double meant but decided it was for penalty and said so to my opponent when he asked. When he said I should have alerted my partner said that when he doubled he wasn’t sure how I’d take it but was quite happy if I left it in or took it out. I have checked up since and according to the EBU Blue Book 2013, the rules for alerting doubles are: (a) Suit bids that show the suit bid: Alert, unless the double is for take-out. (b) Minor suit openings which may be shorter than three cards but which may be natural and which do not promise a strong hand Alert, unless the double is for take-out. © No trump bids: Alert, unless the double is for penalties. (d) Suit bids that do not show the suit bid: Alert, unless the double shows the suit bid I take this to mean that no matter how the bidding has gone, including passes or No Trump bids along the way, if partner doubles a natural suit bid then I have to assume it is a takeout request, and if I want to convert it to a penalty I just pass, without saying anything, and presumably I should have a hand that justifies my pass (i.e. good cards in the doubled suit). And if my opponent asks what partner’s bid meant I say ‘takeout’. So, to give an example, if partner opens 1H and the bidding goes 1H (1S) 2H (2S) 3H (3S) x (P) P then my partner has to alert it to be a penalty double (which it obviously is from the bidding – we are only interested in hearts!!). And if I know he was doubling for penalties but he forgets to alert, what next?

Playing Acol weak no trump what do I open with this hand and why? Spades AQ76 Hearts KJ32 Diamonds K874 Clubs 9 If I bid 1 Diamond and partner responds 2 Clubs I am too weak for 2NT. If I bid 1 Heart and partner responds 2 Clubs then a rebid of 2 Diamonds shows five hearts. Which lie is the least bad? Or should I pass?

My partner and I play Benji weak 2's in the majors. He has another partner who plays weak 2's in Diamonds Hearts and Spades and has asked if we can play this too. I am OK with this, though It means giving up the Strong 2 Diamond bid. In our current system 2 Clubs shows 23-24 points balanced or 8/9 playing tricks M/m, and 2 Diamonds shows 25+ points balanced or 9/10 playing tricks M/m, and Rule of 25 etc. for both. We will now have only one strong bid other than 2NT - i.e 2 Clubs. I assume this will still show 23-24 points balanced, but what do you recommend regarding required playing tricks with an unbalanced hand? Also, under what circumstances do you suggest responder can stop short of game. At present we say 2 Clubs is usually game forcing with 2-3 points and 2 Diamonds is usually game forcing unless responder has a bust. For example, if the bidding goes 2C-2D-3m, what sort of hand would responder have to justify a pass, (I assume 2C-2D is still just a relay and 2C-2D-2M-2NT is the negative response with 0-7 points. )

If partner responds 2m I would take it as 4+ cards and 9-11 points playing Acol and would pass with three diamonds and pray that it is left in undoubled. We had come to the conclusion that on this hand we just had to take the medicine but wondered if there was a cunning escape mechanism. If not then we might not do any worse than others given best bidding all round.

My partner played with someone else last night and his 1♥ opening bid (13HCP and five hearts to a King) was doubled by his LHO passed by 3rd seat and then by 4th seat, who converted it to a penalty double with a fistful of hearts. Partner's partner :rolleyes: had only 3 points. Partner went 3 off vulnerable, -800 I think. Is there any damage limitation action you could take against this, or is it just bad luck - move on?

Another tricky hand from last night: My LHO opened 1♣. [hv=pc=n&s=sqjt75ht8dq975c95&n=sahaq64djt63ckq87&d=w&v=0&b=8&a=1c]266|200[/hv] We play Weak No Trump and play Stayman over a 1NT overcall, which shows a balanced hand. If partner doubles and I bid 2♠, I think a rebid of 2NT by partner shows a much stronger hand - 19-20 HCP. How should the bidding go?

My partner and I have recently signed up to LoTT and bidding to the level of our fit. It takes a bit of nerve to raise partner's 1♠ overcall to 3♠ with four card support and a bust, but we are getting used to it. Overcalling with a 4 card suit might well work on this hand but night well spook partner on future hands so he won't know whether to trust me. I hadn't thought about doubling holding a 2 card suit with honours ('rules' for us novices say you should have 3+ card tolerance for the other suits) but I guess the odds are in favour of partner responding in one of my two better suits - most of the time a better outcome than passing and letting Opps make 1♥ or go one off.

This came up today. My clubs looked too weak for 2♣. "They" say you should have an SQT of 8 for a 2 level overcall, mine is 6 in Clubs. I did not have 5 spades so could not bid 1♠. I didn't have a stop for 1NT. But with 15 HCP I felt I should be competing. (Vulnerability Red-Red). What is the best response? [hv=pc=n&s=sakj2hj8dkjcq9754&d=e&v=0&b=14&a=1h]133|200[/hv]

Thanks for that. Can I bolt on a question on another deal or should I post separately? My partner bid 2♠ on a hand something like this. I am sure of his spades and hearts but iffy on the rest, except that he had around 8/9 HCP in total. [hv=pc=n&s=shaqjt9dat9752c85&n=sqt86542hk4djcq72&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=2sp3hppp]266|200[/hv] We went 2 off, including one Diamond ruff. Our opponents said partner should have opened 3 spades. I wonder if he should have bid at all. I also now think I should have passed his 2♠, or maybe bid 3♦? Supposing partner had passed and I opened 1♦ partner would have bid 1♠. I could not bid 2♥ as that is a reverse, and I have only 14 points including length (no fit) so I would have rebid 2♦. There's a good chance partner would have rebid 2♠ and we'd be where we actually started. How should the bidding have gone?

My partner and I play Weak No Trump & Stayman. Last night I had this hand: [hv=pc=n&s=s8hk865dqcqt98653&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=1np]133|200[/hv] What would your response be? Up to now partner and I have agreed that we take out to 3♣ via 2♠ showing either 11 HCP or a 7+ minor. Partner bids 2NT with 12 HCP and 3♣ with 14 HCP. With 13 HCP he upgrades or downgrades. The alternative is to bid Stayman followed by 3♣/3♦, but partner has another partner who likes the response 2♠ = 11 HCP and 2NT = 12 HCP and this seemed like a reasonable compromise. Another player and I share a lift to the club. he is a much better player and when we have discussed the takeout to3♣ in the past he has said he would NEVER use it, and would always pass. Last night the two hands were:[hv=pc=n&s=s8hk865dqcqt98653&n=sqj52hq9da642ca72&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=1np2sp2np3cppp]266|200[/hv] We made 3♣. Most other boards did likewise. My car sharer passed and made 8 tricks for a top. On the way home he ribbed me about it, saying he had bet his partner that I would bid 3♣.

[hv=pc=n&s=skjt93htdq7cakj96]133|100[/hv] I play Acol with 4 card majors. Tonight I opened this hand 1 Club, despite remembering the 'rule' that with two five card suits you open the higher ranking one. I was worried that If I opened 1♠ and partner responded 2♦ I would have to show my five clubs at the 3 level and then at the 4 level. I thought that by bidding 1♣ and then 1♠ and 2♠ I would have described my hand at two levels lower but only told a little lie about my Club suit, worth it I thought. As it turned out my partner had good Clubs so we bid and made 6NT while everyone else made 4♠ plus one or two. Maybe that was because we had more room to communicate. Afterwards one player said we were lucky because I didn't follow best practice and it just happened to fall our way this time. I have checked up, and the EBU system file says always bid the higher ranking 5 card suit, so does the Bernard Magee Basic Acol cribsheet, but Klinger and Brunner say that Clubs & Spades is an exception. My Club suit is better than my Spade suit. Would my bidding be different if the two suits were reversed?

I liked the way a half stop was described when using 4th suit forcing - where if you have a half stop and partner has a half stop then you have a definite full stop between you, with a half stop defined as either Qx or better, or Jxx or better, because if you have one and partner has one then he must have the other one as your opponents cannot take more than two tricks off the top. I have come across this explanation more than once, and have found it easy to remember as it is based on logic rather than what experts refer to as common sense or judgment. I can also recognise one stop or two stops in one hand. I was just hoping that the idea of 1 1/2 stops could also be explained in a similar way - i.e. in the context of both hands. Having thought about it I presume that when 1 1/2 stops is referred to it must be in connection with a 1/2 stop (Qx or Jxx) in the other hand, so any combined holding that can stop once, give the lead away, and then stop a second time. I hoped that as several authors had explained what a half stopper is so neatly, perhaps someone had done the same for 1 1/2 stoppers. Maybe I will try emailing Sandra Landy!!

It appears in a book by Sandra Landy, Mark Horton and Barbar Seagram, published in 2006, "Bridge Conventions for Acol Players" : Page 54 - No Trump responses to a takeout double: 11-13 points, with 1 1/2 stoppers in opponents' suit, bid 2NT I suspect these eminent bridge players would not appreciate being written off so dismissively.

The idea of a half stop makes sense to me only if you know partner also has a half stop so that the partnership has a whole stop. So if partner tells me he has at least a half stop and I have Jxx then I know he must have Qx at least. If Qx and Jxx are minimum half stops can I assume that any holding opposite either that provides a combined two stops has 1 1/2 stops on its own? For example, opposite Jxx a holding of AQx, KQx, QTxx, and opposite Qx a holding of AJx, KJx, KTxx? Then there's the matter of how good the stop is. T9876 is a stop of sorts but my opponents might take four tricks first. Qxxx may or may not provide a stop, depending a lot on who bid the suit, RHO or LHO. Does anyone know of any good references on evaluating hands for 0stops?

I know the definition of a stop in No Trumps is roughly a holding that stops the opponents running a long suit straight off the top. It has taken me quite a time to find an explanation of a 1/2 stop, such as when bidding 4th suit forcing with a half stop asking if partner also has at least a half stop, which, in combination is equivalent to a full stop. So Qx and Jxx are half stops because in combination they stop a run, and if you hold either combination you can give a positive resoinse and bid No Trumps. Today I have read that that to overcall a suit in No Trumps you ideally need 1 1/2 stops at the 2 or 3 level in addition to the required point count, but no explanation as to what means. For example, is Kxxx 1 1/2 stops and why / why not. It is frustrating that practically every author who mentions the need for part stops just assumes that novices will know what is meant without examples or explanations of why. Advice much appreciated thanks. PS: I know that experts will not tie themselves to rigid rules like this but they are a good starter for novices.

I have been playing for two years. I play Acol. At one club I play Weak NT, Transfers, Weak 2's (majors) Benji Acol, Michaels, UNT, Landy and RKCB (in theory) but don't play often enough to bid them well, and my card play needs developing. At another club (different partner) I play Acol strong 2's. I am happy to play fewer conventions or to try something new. I'd like to have a go at playing at the BBO Acol Club but would rather not do so with a pick up partner.

Thanks for that. In time I will be able to refine my bidding, but right now I am discussing it with my partner and we will use it next time. As you say, it has been a bit like playing poker until now. Trying to compute the implications of bidding or not bidding when it is my turn to bid can be rather stressful, and I often end up blurting out a bid or pass, and regret it a few seconds later.

I have just found a chapter about LoTT in Paul Mendelson's book "Control the Bidding". He describes the LoTT as "tremendously powerful and wonderfully simple". With two caveats he says that "it is very accurate on the vast majority of hands". That sounds pretty emphatic. Like a lot of guidelines in systems like Acol, novices like me start with black & white rules such as 12-14 HCP for a weak no trump, Rule of 20 etc., and some time later they refine it (downgrades / upgrades). I don't think I'll come to too much harm using this rather blindly to start with, when I consider the sorts of mistakes I might otherwise make, under or over bidding. Mendelson expresses the Law as follows: When the points between the two sides are balanced or your side holds the MINORITY of points, you are safe to compete to the same level of tricks as your side holds cards in the longest suit. The caveats are: 1. Your side is at equal or favourable vulnerability 2. Both sides are playing and defending perfectly (!!) He adds "in these situations, the combined length of your trump suit is the only factor which should determine to what level you should complete. I really do mean the only factor" He goes on to say that the same principle underpins 2 level (weak 2) and 3 level preempts. In each case you can expect partner, on average, to have two of the outstanding cards in your suit. And he says that if partner overcalls the opponent's 1 ♥ with 1♠ and I have four spades, I should go straight to 3♠ rather than bid 2♠ and the go to 3♠ if needed, to cut out bidding space for the opponents.

This seems too good to be true. According to 'The Law' ( which I don't fully understand in terms of why it works), if you are in a contested auction against competent players, and from the bidding it looks like the points are reasonably evenly split (let's say no side has less than 17 HCP) then it is fairly safe to bid to the level of your fit, regardless of vulnerability or point count. You just bid on combined trump holding. So if LHO bids 1♥ and my partner bids 1♠, and LHO bids 2♥, I just assume my partner has at least 5 spades, so I just count my spades, and with three spades I can bid 2♠. With a weak hand and four spades I can bid 2 ♠ and then 3♠ if needed. From what I understand, you may well not make your contract if left in it, but usually you will come out better off (even if doubled) than if you had let your opponents have the contract. I appreciate that as I get better I will put more intelligent thought into my bidding than just this, but meantime is this a good device to use to help a novice like me compete more effectively?

I am a novice myself so am ready to be pulled up on this, but my understanding is that if opener's second bid is higher ranking than his first bid and at the next level up then it is a 'reverse' showing 16-19 points, whereas if responder's second suit is lower ranking than his first suit then he would have to make a jump bid in order to show similar strength. On this hand opener's first bid has set a barrier of 2♥, so a bid of 2♠ would overstate his strength, and if partner does not like either of opener's suits and is unbalanced he might well be at too high a level. Opener is limited to bids of 2♦ or 2♥. Add 3 HCP to this hand and a rebid by opener of 3♠ would be an unnecessary jump, as the 2♠ reverse would do the job. For partnerships playing Splinters (most tournament players) 3♠ would carry a specific conventional meaning, showing at least game support in Clubs (5+ card Club support) and a singleton in Spades, with a possibility of a slam if partner's values are outside of Spades (I think!!!)

Next week I am playing as a one off with an experienced player. As we left the club last night he said he plays the strong 2 Club, and that I should show an ace by bidding the suit, regardless of suit length, and he will take it from there. He didn't have time to discuss it further and assured me that he was quite relaxed about it all, saying we were bound to get a few things wrong but 'it's just a game', but I'd like to brush up on it beforehand, even though it's unlikely to come up. I can find quite a few variations on responder bids but not anything that covers this. Another club member plays the same system. Any help welcome.

I have used the discussions forum for months and find it very helpful. I now want to investigate whether tehre is an area where I can play Acol in a friendly supportive area. I am relatively new (played for two years) and have never played on-line, and I am sure I am going to have hiccups with learning how to use the system to start with. I don't want to frustrate regulars as I learn.

Thought provoking, 1eyedJack. There seems to be an area of uncertainty regarding responding in No Trumps with a balanced hand and 10 points. Some soruces say 1NT with 6-9 points and 2NT with 11 points, leaving the 10 point hand in a grey area, where you have to decide whether it should be downgraded or upgraded. Is this what you are referring to?