MickyB

It is a linear model, i.e. if the coefficients are Dekistan: 10 Oktistan: 8 Quintistan: 5 so Dekistan is expected to beat Oktistan by 2 IMPs and Oktistan to beat Quintistan by 3 IMPs, then it follows that Dekistan is expected to beat Quintistan by 2+3=5 IMPs. It could be that the general response function is slightly convex (Dekistan will beat Qintistan by less than 5 IMPs) or concave (more than 5 IMPs). I suspect it would be less than five imps.

I dunno, if it goes 1♥-P-3♥ back to me, 4♦ sounds very much like a 5-7 :) Of course, if partner bids, it can get very messy.

Why 3D and not 2D? I'd have thought 2D was less likely to get passed out, and that should be our main concern.

Looks like the Aussie team was selected at trials in March. The BB team performed very well in the early stages of the competition, before winning the 64 board final by 1 imp from Zolly Nagy, Bob Richman, Tony Nunn, Sartaj Hans, Peter Gill and Paul Gosney.

I once bid with a finesse in mind.

Bleurgh :P Go on then... 1C!-P-1D!-1S! 2C-2H-3C-3H P-P-4C-P P-4H-P-P 5C-X-AP

[hv=d=e&v=b&s=sjxhajt9dqxxxcxxx]133|100|Scoring: IMP RHO opens a strong club, LHO bids 1♦ negative, and partner shows at least 5/4 in either the majors or the minors (you haven't had any discussion about how good a hand it shows). RHO bids a natural 2♣, you bid 2♥, 3♣ on your left, and you proceed to have a disgusting auction where everyone at the table bids once more until they land up in game (5♣). What's your lead? Edit: Full auction below.[/hv]

4♠ at these conditions, probably 3♠ at a different vul or in second seat.

Doubling 2NT on this auction has not been successful when I've tried it. Maybe I need to defend better, or just have a partner who makes better leads. With NS vul, EW might have somewhere to run to if South redoubles 2NT, so I don't think pass is insane.

I recently discovered that a local expert has a different understanding of the term "double finesse". He also used the term "combination finesse", which I hadn't heard before, is it a valid term? What term describes the finessing possibility with the following card combinations? AJ9 opposite xxx AQ9 opposite xxx AQT opposite xxx AJT opposite xxx

:) and, periodically, I am. is bridge addiction a disease? How do they test for that? Can it be done from a urine sample?

From the Orange Book - "( B ) Short, Nebulous, Prepared and Phoney minor openings. Double of these bids is not alertable if for take-out; alertable otherwise." So...who knows whether the double is alertable or not! I think those terms are all meant to refer to openings that are either nat or bal (or maybe 4441 with a stiff in the suit opened). It certainly shouldn't be described as "takeout", this implies that you are encouraging partner to bid the other three suits. I have no problem with opener adding more the the explanation here. I can't see it being an issue unless 4♥ gets doubled and partner runs to 5♣. And yes, putting away the bidding cards before the opening lead is pointless IMO. The defender not on lead might still have questions to ask, and there are people who can't remember even relatively simple auctions.

Probably just a badly-described short club system

[hv=d=s&v=b&s=sqxxxhkqxdkxckqjx]133|100|Scoring: MP 1N:2♦ 2♥:2NT ? If it makes any difference, over half the field plays weak no-trump, but whether they would open 1C or 1S, and what they would rebid, is unclear.[/hv]

Yup, I'd take a call on this if my methods allow. If not, no great loss - if it goes 1NT AP maybe we'll beat it when the hand was theirs in a spade contract.

Defence to 1NT - 2♣ = majors, 2♦ = spades+minor Various ways of showing shortage opposite a 1NT opening, e.g. transfer to a minor then bid a major = shortage Bidding Stayman then 2♠ = INV, 5+cards

There seems to be a problem with unbalanced hands with exactly five diamonds. :lol: I'm sure you treat all of them as 6-cards..... B) It seems Ken treats 5♦422 as balanced and opens 1♣.

Sure, there are auctions it will do badly on, and I've never encountered your defence before. I suspect I could come up with something that makes good use of the extra space to describe responder's hand immediately, reducing the potential for damage. Even using standard agreements, we will sometimes take penalties when you are in a 5-2 fit, and I'd expect us to do well from reaching our 5-2 or 5-3 major fit quickly more often than you will from reaching your minor fit quickly.

Oops, missed that one. South can pass over 4NT X if he just wants to play in one of partner's suits. Maybe redouble should just ask overcaller to bid his longest suit? Is there a standard here?

If South just bids 5♣, he can then pull 5♣ X to 5♦, which should now be to play.

Don't you need to start with only two remaining? And when it refers to a vote, it means 50% plus *including the head pirate*

Bizarre. Most of the time opener will be 11-13 balanced, in which case he has described his hand very well and rates to gain IMPs in a competitive auction. Compared to the pair playing natural methods on the other table he's far behind. They have shown a 4-card suit or two, have found their fit and on occasion are bidding undisturbed. Haven't they shown one suit of three-plus cards? I fail to see how showing a three-card minor, or even a four-card minor, is as useful to partner as promising tolerance for his five-card suit. Showing your longer minor on a hand unlikely to want to play in it is as likely to help the opponents as it is to help you, and prevents you from immediately describing your hand well on an unbalanced hand with a primary minor suit. Or are you arguing that we will start 1♣-P-1♦ (ART negative) when you are starting 1m-P-1X? This doesn't happen often, as a positive response is only showing 7+ points or so, and our 1♣-P-2m auctions, where 2m shows 5+cards, unbal, 7-11 or so (GF opposite strong hand, to play opposite weak NT) are likely more descriptive and preemptive than the bid chosen at the other table.

Bizarre. Most of the time opener will be 11-13 balanced, in which case he has described his hand very well and rates to gain IMPs in a competitive auction. Well, yes and no. If you don't have a takeout distribution and you don't have a suit to bid, you will be fairly balanced. These hands can choose to bid 2NT, double or pass depending on the actual hand and the auction. I think it is unfair to compare how these hands are handled against a strong 1♣ opening. There is one type of hand that is well-placed in competition having opened a strong club, and that is it. Try comparing it to SA. The 18-19 balanced hands are similarly poorly placed. Short club and 14-16 NT has a big following, and that too has to show the 17-19 bal hand at its second turn, no matter the level of the auction. In fact, you are better placed having opened a Swedish Club, because partner has had the opportunity to make a negative freebid/takeout double on the assumption that there is 11-13 bal opposite. Even if you play NFBs opposite a short club opening, you can't make them as frequently because partner may have a misfitting hand with clubs, whereas the Swedish Club guarantees either tolerance for your suit or GF values.

1NT auctions are clearly simpler and more comfortable for beginners, so I'm surprised that it isn't normal to encourage them to open 1NT more often.

2-way pass systems are even worse... It's not an original idea in the first place, and it doesn't work as well as you think. The effectiveness of two-way bids depends on the precise definition. I maintain that a 1♣ opening showing 11-13 bal or any 17+ does very well, because - * Partner can assume you have 11-13 bal (the dominant handtype) unless you tell him otherwise, which you'll usually be fine to do * He never wants to bid opposite 11-13 bal but not opposite 17+ * If partner bids on the assumption you have 11-13 bal, it is still useful information opposite the strong type * If partner wants to bid opposite 11-13 bal, you are happy to be in a GF auction opposite the strong type * The dominant hand-type never wants to take another call in competition unless raising partner The following definitions for opening bids fall down on at least some of these points - * 1♣ as 11+ with clubs or 15-19 bal * Pass as any 0-7 or any 16+ * Pass as any 0-7 or 12-14 bal (the stronger hand will often feel unable to take a call in a competitive auction, so pard will go on assuming you have 0-7) Pass as 0-7 or 12-14 unbal does fairly well on these points. Often, the unbalanced nature of the strong type will enable you to bid at your second turn.