TimG

Same here. But, this thread reminded me that the e-mail address I had registered at ACBL is no longer valid. Don't know quite how BBO works as far as e-mail addresses go, but the e-mail address in my BBO profile is valid.

I would like to see a greater variety of online tournaments offered. If ACBL wants to undertake this, great. It does not really matter to me that they would be called "sectional" or "regional" tournaments, nor would it bother me if the points awarded in these tournaments were silver, red or gold. Could such events undermine the efforts of sectional and regional tournament organizers and have a negative effect on attendance at "in person" tournaments? Sure. But, would I care if there were no side-game series at a regional? Not at all. I would not mind if regionals in general were smaller tournaments focused more on Flight A/Open events. If the availability of online sectional and regional tournaments causes this to be the case, that's a beneficial side effect as far as I am concerned.

In the July Bulletin Jerry helms writes (p 40) about opening 1♦ with 4=4=3=2 shape. He says that 4=4=3=2 shape makes up 1.796% of all hands. (98.204% are not 4=4=3=2.) He goes on to say that "if you further calculate that a one-level opening bid shows between 12 and 21 HCP (and factor out the 15-17 HCP with this shape that are opened 1NT), the probability of a four-card or longer diamond suit for a 1♦ opener increases to 99.56%." Won't the percentage of 12-14 and 18-21 point hands that are 4=4=3=2 stay pretty close to the 1.796% of all hands that are 4=4=3=2? (My guess is that slightly more than 1.796% of 18 HCP hands are 4=4=3=2, in part because it is impossible to have 18 HCP in some extreme shapes).

Click the link in my last post and you will see the full hand, with full bidding and play. When I click on the link, I see the full hand, but not the bidding and play.

It seems reasonable to me to seek out vugraph sponsors or advertisers. BBO already displays advertising during vugraph broadcasts so this is being done (though I would be very surprised to find that the revenues amount to anything). But, there ought to be a way that the organizers can find their own advertisers and generate their own revenues from the broadcasts. Something besides the vugraph operators copying commercial messages into chat periodically. One solution to this is that BBO would charge a fee to broadcast a vugraph show and the organizers would own the broadcast, including advertising income. People, myself included, hate to pay for things they once received for free. But, after some initial grumbling, I imagine the bridge watching public would pony up a subscription fee to have access to vugraph presentations. I'm sure many people would pay a buck out of their BBO account for 30 days of vugraph access or for the duration of an event. When I was a kid, the TV signals came into the house for free, now just about everybody is paying a cable or dish company for those signals. At least here in the US. Lots of people pay a subscription fee to access radio stations, something that seems rather absurd to me.

If partner was interested in a heart switch, wouldn't he have played the diamond king then the diamond queen rather than the other way around?

Does Woolsey post here anonymously?

5♠ would ask about trumps, right? Or, is it just a general slam try? Would 5♣ be a general slam try with a club control? What if we have a hand like Axx Axx AQxx xxx and are concerned instead about a club control?

I got stopped at a "sobriety checkpoint" Saturday night on the way home from a bridge tournament. It was the first time this had ever happened to me. The police officer noticed my convention card and hand records on the dash board and asked what they were. After I explained, he asked if there was a lot of heavy drinking at a bridge tournament. Then asked: "playing for money?" I guess after finding me to be quite sober he was fishing for some illegal gambling. :-)

No. Very brief mention only of the US making the finals as a lower importance sports event in sports coverage (like after the baseball scores and after the tennis results). The main talking points in the US are Michael Jackson's death and the SC goven'r's "Appalachian hiking trip" to South America to be with his mistress. I think this understates the coverage by a fair bit. The win over Spain was covered in the first few minutes of SportCenter (on ESPN). The NBA draft was on Thursday (the day after the US beat Spain), but even then soccer had a part in SportsCenter. Any mild sports fan would have to have been living in a cave not to know that the championship match was being held Sunday afternoon. I even made a point to watch it and the last time I watched a soccer game was during the last World Cup. Michael Jackson's death has been huge news despite his irrelevance the last few years. I don't know when the governor of South Carolina went on his hiking trip to South America, but the first I heard of it was yesterday morning (from a friend, I still haven't read or seen any news report on this matter).

What about the need to think one is a better player than is actually the case?

You forgot the smileys; someone is going to take you seriously.

On the second day of NABC Pair events screens are not used. As I recall, they aren't used on Day 2 of the Open BAM either. I don't know how many screens ACBL has, but think that is generally a limiting factor in these NABC events.

I don't think cramming helps. It might work in the case of a few conventions or treatments, but much better is to get regular practice using the system you will be playing so that you are comfortable with it and don't have to expend excess mental energy trying to remember specific sequences -- the more it is second nature, the better. People who know how much I weigh may laugh, but I find it useful to get into a routine at the tournament that includes daily exercise. Skipping meals, eating meals at irregular times, alcohol, changed sleeping patterns, etc. are all things that can cause you to be at less than your best.

I do not like a negative double over 1♥-(2♠). I would expect some defensive values, even from a passed hand. I don't really want to invite opener to convert.

It has always been my impression that the vugraph operators do not bother the players with this sort of thing, that the vugraph operator enters as best he can what he sees, but does not disrupt the game by asking any questions of the players. Same as any other kibitzer.

Does this include things like not reporting to the director when you have overheard a result or bit of information from an adjacent table?

I wonder what different precautions are taken at the Cavendish as opposed to the USBF Open Trials. It seems to me that cheating at the Cavendish could be quite lucrative and must be on the minds of the organizers, perhaps even more so that at the USBF Open Trials.

You are out of touch with reality. I can easily go 120 minutes without having to go to the washroom, but in my experience this is far from being the case for many men who are 20+ years older than I am. My wife is an attorney. She tells me that in Federal Court here, the trial day is generally 8:30-2:30 with two 15 minute recesses at approximately 10:30 and 12:30. There is some flexibility, but it is generally expected that all parties make a good faith effort to stick to the schedule. Perhaps senior events should be run in 7 or 8 board segments instead of 15 or 16 board segments. :-)

But, it would add an expense for the tournament organizers to set up a special vugraph room (or rooms). Perhaps I am significantly out of touch with reality, but asking a competitor to do without the washroom for about 120 minutes does not seem at all unreasonable to me. Especially if there is a protocol for emergencies.

I think you've gone off the deep end! You're also talking about a system that needs an accomplice rather than a solo cheat.

If players must remain at the table during a segment, the potential for this sort of cheating is quite limited. How many people can pull up results on their iPhone while sitting at the table without the other players noticing? Especially if electronic devices are banned from the playing room.

The timing of the rhetoric makes no difference to me.

Or, maybe we should appreciate what we have and make an effort to keep it rather than resolve ourselves to an inferior product.

There comes a point where one might as well wait for the tournament report or just "watch" the event through the vugraph archive. Starting the vugraph show after the segment is over (and results are available) certainly crosses that line for me.