TimG

No, I have not been following European bridge closely.

In some events, yes. In some events, no. There are some Brazilians that play in the English premiere league, no? Are there prestigious European events that are open, sort of the equivalent of the ACBL's Spingold and Vanderbilt?

Perhaps this should be asked in the Water Cooler, but other than "that's the way it has always been", why is it important to have teams made up of members living in the same country?

The trouble with a double dummy simulation here is that you need to be able to quantify the value of concealment. There will be no difference in the double dummy result for the auctions 1N-3N and 1N-2C-2D-3N on the same hands, but there is a statistically significant real world difference*. A few weeks ago, I ran some double dummy simulations to look into this very matter. I dealt only with 4432 and 4333 hands, ignoring the possibility of opening 1NT on 5422 or 5M332 hands. One result that surprised me a bit is that when responder has a 4432 hand, it may be right to hunt for a 44 fit, but the really good news comes when you don't find one. 4=4=3=2 opposite 2=3=4=4 produced game in NT when there was no 44 fit more often than 4M made when there was a 44 major suit fit. Having long card potential in all four suits was a clear winner -- I imagine it would have been an even bigger winner on a non-double dummy basis. (For this study, I was looking at cases where HCPs were divided about 15-9 or 15-10 -- cases where game was making about 50% of the time on a double dummy basis.) * 8-9 years ago I worked on a study of this with 3 other people using a few million OKbridge results. We found that even an auction like 1N-2N-3N was better for the defense than 1N-3N.

They don't, only pick-up slips do. I'm sure there are more than one kind of traveler and that some of them have columns for "made" and "down".

I don't believe that is always the case. I remember this issue being raised in New England and being told by the directors that there was a difference in total masterpoints awarded (and/or number of pairs who win masterpoints) depending upon which method was used. This may have been 10 years ago, so maybe it has since changed and is done the same throughout ACBL, but I doubt it.

isn't there a mention in the pledge too? also, can't you request a different to text to swear on in court? (first edition of a suparman comic would be pretty neat). I'm pretty sure you can opt for a non-bible pledge for truth telling. Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence read "We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable, that all men are created equal..." Franklin changed "sacred and undeniable" to "self-evident". The Pledge of Allegiance, written by a Baptist minister (and Socialist) in the late 1800s, was originally "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." "Under God" was not added until the 1950s.

Someone changed their ways? "swedes" must not live in the US... Last time I saw a traveler, it had a column for "made" and a column for "down". If the contract was 4S and 11 tricks were taken, that would be a "5" in the made column; if 9 tricks were taken, that would be a "1" in the down column. If I'm telling someone about a hand on which I took 11 tricks in 4S, I would say "made five", not "made eleven" or "plus one"; similarly, if I took 9 tricks, I would say "down one", not "made 9". Of course, there are variations, but I think "made five" is the most common way of expressing 4S+1 verbally, at least around these parts. And, it should come as no surprise that people tend to write things consistent with the way they say things.

Did you get a response from ACBL?

I've experienced a few timeout errors. Usually right after the link is provided during the vugraph presentation.

Thanks, everyone. I probably posted this in the wrong forum.

I think they must take at least 10% of themselves and can demand no more than 50%.

(1♦)-1♠-(P)-1N (P)-2♣-(P)-2♦ Is 2♦ an offer to play? Nothing special about the 1♦ opening.

Suppose they opened a natural and limited 2♣ instead of 1♣. Would this change your overcall vs double choice?

Wouldn't ♠A84 ♥AQ86 ♦T975 ♣K8 also be improved by the club call from partner?

So, it's a matter of having the values to bid 3♠ over 3♥? What about ♠AKxxx ♥JTx ♦x ♣AQJx or ♠JTx ♥AKxxx ♦x ♣AKQJ?

I would have bid 3♣ on the previous round. I suppose once I've decided to hide the club support, I'll go through and try 3N now.

What do people think of 3♠ vs DBL with this hand?

When opener showed a singleton club, wouldn't east have thought he had a good hand for slam if he held A KT52 AK98 5432? Is there five-level safety opposite QJxx AQJxx Txx K? Actually, slam is still good, isn't it? I'd like to assign blame to the marginal opening bid and the system choice of fast arrival showing a minimum hand, but it seems to me that east should have overcome both these handicaps.

Yes and no... Justin did mention that he would pass a 6♣ opening opposite me and I was one of the folks who gave consideration to a 6♦ opening. I didn't understand Justin's comment to be reference to a 58 hand. I thought he was referring to your game theory influenced tendency to make "either or" preempts (let the opponents guess whether or not I intend to make). I suggested a 49 hand in the other thread, which I suppose is pretty close to 58.

What thread was that? I must have missed that one. This one. Notice that if you switch opener's minors on the first hand from that thread, this hand could be opposite.

I read the vulnerability to be: "they're white, we're red". For the simulation to be useful, you'd also have to factor in suit lengths, wouldn't you? ♥xxxx ♦x is more useful than ♥Jx ♦xx, isn't it? Playing with Richard, I would open 1♥ (canape) and introduce diamonds next round. Interesting that a couple of people have suggested 6♦, but in a recent thread where we were faced with a 6♣ opening, no one mentioned the possibility of a 5-8 hand.

The "downside" is that fewer masterpoints are awarded, or fewer pairs win masterpoints, I forget which. But, the way this tends to be done in ACBL events is in large part due to masterpoint awards.

1. 3NT 2 & 3 Wouldn't it be nice if a direct 2NT showed a balanced GF?

I take it Kimie does not read this forum! As far as the e-mail addresses, either will work.