PriorKnowledge

I consider odd/even (roman) a little better than lavithal. But neither has a "I don't know, use your best judgement" signal. I can't count the number of times a partner has made a disastrous and obviously wrong play late in the hand and claimed, "But your lavinthal (roman) signal asked for that suit." "The Hog" had it right. Make sure you understand good defense first. Make sure you are counting suits and points. Then the addition of Lavinthal or roman discards can only improve your play. Lavinthal, Roman and UDCA solve an occassional problem in getting information that standard signals sometimes cannot give. But the Smith Echo against NT solves a problem that no other signal solves. It tells the partner how the player feels about the suit of the opening lead. When following to the offense's first lead, and only not when count is obviously needed, a high card indicates favor to the opening lead suit, and low indicates non-favor.

Of course you duck the 2nd spade. By playing AS, you hope West has K52 and does not unblock, but if you duck 2nd spade you run West out of spades anyway. Now West cannot make a great play. Plus there is the possibility that East has KS or West has K5 stiff.

How sad and how insulting... Is this how you win debates? Or only how you shut-off further discussion? I like complex conventions. I know 10 times as many conventions as I use. I probably know them better and more thoroughly than people who play them. I developed a Puppet 2N that has over 100 sequences designed to find every possible major fit with mild, invitation and forcing slam tries. All without unnecessarily divulging to the opps opener's distribution. The #3 analogy was meant to show how many view these conventions. 90% of bridge players play once or twice a week and cannot make it a full-time career. They take a bridge vacation once a year to a large tournament. Are they allowed to be competitive? Or only the 10% who spent countless hours devising Yet Another Useless Convention (named after themselves, of course) for the sole purpose of confusing the opponents. ... and these constant arrogant attacks against America... Too bad USA wins most of the world championships and is the source of most of the advances HA HA HA. Only Italians have a right to be so arrogant. My great respect for Italian bridge knows no bounds.

Let me dive into this with both left feet..... Issue 1) "Destructive bidding systems." These are not systems or conventions designed to achieve a good contract or snooker the opps out of theirs, but to specifically destroy certain conventions or systems. These are illegal in ACBL land. For example: A forced overcall of 1S showing 13 cards over opps Precision 1C opener. I am not going to argue this one for those that can't see that this is not bridge. Issue 2) "Highly unusual or overly complex bidding systems or conventions" At anything but the highest levels of play, this is cheating in my opinion. Some of these bids have no value over other methods. Their purpose is to confuse the opps. I am not talking about complex bids that solve a problem or hide a weakness like transfer advances or not-serious 3N. I am talking about bids whose sheer complexity make it impossible for the opps to understand the bid or know all its nuances. Any bid that can't be explained in 1 or 2 short sentences falls into this category. Issue 3) "An enjoyable night out or why I dropped out of chess" In the last chess tournament I attended, I lost a game to a much lower-rated player because he had read the latest "Chess Informant" that had a refutation for an opening that I favored. I realized that to play in tournaments, even casually, it would take hours and hours of studying every week to keep up with all the grand master games and analysis. That was work, not fun. The same principle applies when playing against so many different and complex bidding systems and conventions in all their infinite variety. In some games, every bid at every table is different. How many conventions, systems, and methods do I have to understand if I want to be competitive? Bridge no longer is an intellectual challenge, but work, listening to long-winded, tedious, lawyerly explanations of every bid. "Ha... you should not have lead a heart... In paragraph 6, subsection C, I specifically told you that I had the AQx of hearts... Weren't you paying attention?"

Given your system, out of 10 experts, I don't think a single one would bid again. 2D is silly. Clubs are better. You only have 8. You are hardly protecting anything. Even if partner is a strong 17 you probably don't have game. 2D is real silly. Why bother have a partner if you can't count on them to pick which of your suits they like best. 2N promises 10hcp. you only have 8. You are lying to partner. Did I mention that you only have 8hcp AND a probably misfit? Your system is simple. Responder with <10hcp can pass, bid 2D with equal or better diams or 2H with 6h. 2N is not an option. Learn your system.

1st, 2nd, 3rd - 1D - not even close. I use old point count and open any 13 or 12 hcp. 11hcp + 2 = 13 4th - pass. Use rule of 15 11+1s = 12.... if Qxx x AKxxxx Qxx in 4th, Open 1D.

4N, RKC. Need 2 controls or 1 control + QS. Don't need to ruff too many hearts because can set up an extra diam or 2. If partner has as little as AQxxxx xxx xx xx 6S is a good shot. Even AQJx xxx QJx xxx, 6S is a good bet. Can't believe anybody would pass this.

When the opps have the hand, psyching a safe, false pre-empt or psyching the opps major after a takeout dbl is so common, it should not prevent any expert or advanced player from finding their fit. It worked here, because they don't have the heart fit. Since these situations occur on a variety of situations and are opportunistic, it can't be considered a controlled psych or an understanding. Do some counting here... You have 4h, dummy has 2, declarer has at least 1 and bid NT, so declarer must have more. Either this deck has too many hearts, or partner psyched the 2H and has a spade suit. Very successful psych.

Agree with Luis. You have 8 tricks, so need 4 from diam. Wrong to play for 3d plus 2nd finesse when you could play for 4d with only 1 finesse. Small to KD and then small to 10D works better only when stiff J is offside or Ax is on-side (7.7%). Small to 10D works better when AJxx, Jxxxx, Jxxx is onside (17.4%) Wrong to cash side winners first as AD can then cash 2nd trick to set you.

#1. Count, since attitude is implied by Dbl of 2C. You need the count #2: AH, ruff h. QD pitching a club. If opps return spade. take in hand, ruff heart, ruff small diam draw trump. AC to 2 good diam. You win 8s+1h+2d+1c=12. If opps return a club, try to cash 10D. If successful, you have 12 tricks, on a cross-ruff. 9s+1h+1d+1c. If opp ruffs 10D, you overruff, and ruff a heart and try to cash JD. If opps ruff JD, you overruff, ruff heart, club ruff, draw last 2 trumps with your last 2 trumps. If hearts are 43, you make on 9s+2h+1c. #3: AC, club ruff. AD, ruff diam. If East follows, East has either a small heart, club, or diam left. Also possible that East's QJ10 diam may have dropped. If East has a minor card left, the KH drops. If a small heart, you lead last spade for end-play. If you believe East started with 4324, you have already blown it, when you pitched a club earlier. :D

And while you are insulting masterpoints, I'll bet if I told you I had 30 masterpoints, you would never play with me. But if I told you I had almost 6,000 you would play with me in an instant.

The question was asked if BBO does anything to prevent masterpoint fraud. Somehow this turned into a discussion on the value of masterpoints. Worse, it turned into an insulting personal attack about a person's life choices. If I say I like ketchup on my hotdog, does that make me stupid? Are you going to tell me what an idiot I am because everybody knows you put mustard on a hotdog and ketchup on a hamburger. Maybe you might harass me about hotdogs in general. "Do you know what they are made of? How can you eat that?" You people should be ashamed of yourselves.

You do not have to inform the defense that you misclicked or misbid or psyched, should your side declare. You only have to correct a wrong explanation, or failure to alert. Self-alert means you explain your own bids. The opps are only entitled to information that your partner knows. Not anything particular about your current hand, or whether you have the values for your bid or not.

2S = 6-7 with 3s or 6-10 with 2s One thing to consider - In a major suit contract our minor quacks are probably worthless. This is the type of hand where precision has an advantage because opener can't be 16-18, so we can safely pass or bid 2S depending on whether our partner likes 5-2 vs 4-3 fits - (There are people who prefer 4-3 fits :rolleyes: ) BTW, opener could be 6-4 or 5-5 as well as the likely 5-4 Not playing precision, we should bid again to give opener a 2nd chance. Not 3S = 3-card LR (although Kx is close) Not 3H = 4h+ LR 2N is 2nd choice - only a point shy, M honors may bring one or both of those suits in, and NT gives us value for our minor quacks.

Pass Let's see... We have 21-24 hcp and no major suit fit. Might even be a misfit (if partner is 3433 or 3532 or similar). Sure, let's go exploring and end up in 2N or 3m on a weak misfit. Why not pass and surprise partner that we actually leave partner in a makeable contract

Why does everyone think that to take a risk you have to OVERBID? Why not take a risk by UNDERBIDDING. This is not likely to foul up the field and just as likely to generate some extra tops. Another way to generate some tops is making anti-percentage plays. This is even MORE likely to generate a top than going crazy in the bidding. For example. Ax xxx KQ10xxx xx xxx AKxx Ax KQxx 1N - 3N Opening lead KS. When in with AS, play the AD and finesse the 10D. Most of the time this will throw tricks away. But when Jxxx is with West, you make when everyone else is down for a cold top.

3N. For goodness sakes, when are you going to bid 3N. Stop dancing. I am with the Hog on this one. It is too late now to bid this hand properly. How much are you going to bid on this min opener with 4333? Your first bid should have been some level of NT showing your balanced 14. If not on this hand, what kind of hand do you use those bids for? Of course, now that you have pin-pointed to the defense opener's heart singleton, NT is more dangerous now. You have already made a GF bid. You have no more than what you have already shown, no longer suits, no better support, NOTHING. If partner is stronger or more shapely, let partner go beyond 3N.

On a plane trip to the Nationals, Steve Robinson was seated next to another bridge player. They were arguing about conventions. Finally, the guy said, "Well, at least we can agree about Stayman!" Steve agreed, but did not have the heart to tell him that he did not play Stayman, either! :P

Little known useful conventions: Smith Echo - 100% essential Lead of Ace against NT demands partner's highest honor or count if none Double of splinter asks lead of higher ranked side suit Double of 3N after both defenders have bid asks for lead of opening leader's suit, not doubler's Slam double after previous lead-directing double, cancels the previous lead-direct

Use 1C (1H) X = 4s and 1C (1H) 1S = 5+ is useful because the auction is likely to get out of hand quickly and we don't want to misunderstand the spade suit. Playing Negative Free Bids solves the problem of a weak hand and good diams. I will agree that using 1C (1H) X = both minors is also useful, but to label the X=4s as a "Worst Convention" seems harsh.

That is where I differ from most. 18hcp + weak 6h = 3H rebid. You want responder to increase the value of heart honors. I don't see how rebidding in a 3-card suit is better to honestly showing a 6-card suit? To me, this the KISS rebid.

That reverse is a GF in your system? Standard meaning is a 1RF. If it is truly a GF, then 3S seems obvious (assuming that 1N denied 4s). If it is a 1RF, then 2N followed by 3S showing a weak hand that does not want game opposite a minimum reverse also seems obvious.

What about the obvious bidding: 1H 1N 3H 4H The 4H raise is iffy. Responder will have to recognize the value of the H-KJ

west has 3s and east has 5s and 14cards. something wrong. If west has 3s, and KD, my line works

luis, my line works with spades 43, diam 32, and either kd onside and hearts 31 or kd offside and hearts 22 so far you have said my line is wrong, but have not shown how your line works. I have shown how your line does not work. Now you say my line is dangerous if diam 4-1? Right. My line fails. Show me trick-by-trick ANY line that will work when my line fails when diam are 4-1 and you start with 4 rounds of spades. Talk is cheap