Double !

after looking at the demo, I don't believe we have most of the necessary options needed to run the program.

I was just wondering exactly what Deep Finesse does, and how it works. When I've accessed it from the sign-on screen (from Open Bridge Movie"), all it did was replay the hand. Is it supposed to do more? If so, what and how do I access the "more"? Am I supposed to stop the play at some point and try a different line from that point on, or what? Thanks in advance. DHL

Hannie: Don't intend to scare you but I would've bid the same way and would have drawn the same conclusions as you did. Uh oh. lol DHL ;)

This wasn't a BOL's tip, but I remember reading an article in BW many (MANY!) years ago that was titled something like, "Not If You're An Expert". In this article, the author provided a series of bidding and play hands where a supposedly expert player made some strange or "different" bid or play when many would normally make a fairly straight-forward bid or play, expected partner to read it correctly while in actuality distorting some aspect of his/her holding, and consequently obtained a poor, in some cases, absurd result. The author then suggested a "normal" bid or play (defensive) that the vast majority of knowledgeable or expert players would have made, asked whether or not these bids or plays wouldn't be what one would expect, and answered/ concluded each example with the statement, "not if you're an expert!" The tongue-in-cheek theme of this obviously sardonic article was the idea that "expert" bid or play is not something more esoteric than normal bridge, and that one had no one to blame but oneself when it blew up in one's face (so to speak). Wish I could provide some actual examples, but I suspect that the message is fairly clear.

That's an awful lot of dittos for sure. Sounds to me like this TD is trying to avoid disputes over hands such as the one that Sceptic recently posted. However, I agree with the Dr. that, unless this restriction is clearly posted as a condition of play, it seems highly improper to me to then insert such a restriction and threaten you with Ave -. As I understand it, the TD may impose restrictions provided that they are posted ahead of time. Sort of makes me wonder what other "heinous violations" might warrant an adjusted score in this TD's mind.

Matchpoints, Vul., 2 controls, 25 (maybe 24) Zar pts, 8-losers. Is this an opening even playing light openers? Shouldn't there be some trick-taking potential still present even with light openers? OK, maybe that is the bidding dinosaur in me asking. Always willing to listen and learn. I suspect that west bashed 4S (when east didn't pass 1S- a key issue) because of having 5 decent spades (playable opposite Qxx or Axx, and an honor combination in diamonds, east's bid suit.

The hcp ranges are approximations and rough guidelines for what constitutes an invitational major suit raise. (While some advocate 3+ card trump support, many more advocate that it shows 4+). I'll let Ben do the Zar explanation, but I was taught another way to look at a limit raise is that it shows about an 8-loser hand with 4+trumps (assuming an opening bid shows a 7-loser hand or better). P accepts with 6-loser hand or better, and declines with 6.5 or 7-losers. Upgrade the hand a little if it is relatively heavy in terms of controls and/or good in terms of "in and out" honor locations (secondary honors in trumps and primary honors outside, honors in combination in longer side suits, etc. often being preferable to the opposite), and downgrade slightly if minimal in terms of controls. As a side issue: IMO, not being able to make a 2/1 followed by raise or jump-raise as invitational to allows opener to assess his/her holding in responder's side suit is a mild weakness of playing 2/1. Some attempt to address this by playing fit jump-shifts. I guess you gain something and you lose something.

For the record (and I have witnesses). I was watching two superb players playing against GIB. The BOTS bid to 5D, got doubled, and despite my immediately informing them that you had specifically requested no redoubles, the BOT rewound 5D anyway and went for something like 1400. So, the blue card appears to be contageous and may also be infiltrating the GIB motherboard. :( DHL

Maybe because he had an 8-loser hand and was somewhat quacky.

May I assume that my P didn't psyche? Are the opps playing sandwich NT? What kind of hand can rho have that is consistent with the bidding (whereby rho was unable to take action over 1S)? Majors and a full opener, likely with a diamond card? If P dbls 3NT, does this tell you to lead hearts or spades? Heart lead doesn't seem right. Club lead makes some sense as does spade lead if P has the jack. I would lead a spade. If it's wrong, maybe I'll have time to switch before they run 9 tricks.

I agree with Peter, especially playing matchpoints. 3rd seat, prepared to pass any response that partner makes, and holding the master suit. IMO, east erred by raising spades immediately instead of passing 1S and then raising if necessary.

A good player would say, "I wouldn't get myself into that situation." lololol sorry :(

This hand is not worth reversing IMO. Isn't this one of the types of hands that were the basis for discussion during the thread about Gazilli or Ritong2C? Not good enough to rebid 2NT/1NT, but too good to pass?

Does the chance that, (if one takes the line of eliminating clubs and spades before attacking hearts), even if you guess hearts incorrectly, that you might lose to a dbltn honor on your right, leaving rho endplayed, enter into the equation? Not disputing, just asking.

An attack of insanity just hit. Many people open 3NT to show a pre-emptive to 4 of a minor (for the purpose, usually, of namyats). When was the last time you held a minor suit freak worthy of a 4NT opener (or whatever meaning you ascribe to the bid)? Idea: What about making a 4NT opener show a 5-level pre-empt in Cs or Ds without good honor structure like the sample hand (5C= pass or correct), and 5 of minor show the suit with good honor structure? This might help responder judge whether or not to bid further on a hand with good controls but minimal trump support. OK, just took my meds. Am feeling much better now, thank you.

try the website. all sorts of Kantar stuff there including a section called "Ideas". Worth looking at IMO.

Actually, you can get to 3C legally on such a hand if playing a treatment referred to as "weak 4-6". It's more of a matchpoint treatment, similar to the sequence 1m-1M-1NT-3om, showing a noninvitational hand, 4 of the M and 6 of the om. The same can be applied in response to opening 1NT. Bid Stayman, pass if P bids your major, and rebid your 6 card minor (to play) in all other situations. The downside (and not much of one) is that you might have to adjust how you show invitational and GF hands with a 4 card major and a 5+ card minor.

Exception #1 to G-B 2NT per Bergen is "when 2NT must be natural and invitational." Not sure of this sequence fits that exception or not. But P said to bid a minor, so I actually hope I am showing a better hand by bidding 3 diamonds as opposed to visiting 2NT first. I can then bid 3NT if P asks for spade stopper and P will have a reasonable approximation of my strength and shape (I think...).

Do you mean the Dallas Aces? That's interesting. I thought that he came from the NY area/ guess I'm wrong. I always associated Ira Corn with developing/ sponsoring the Dallas Aces. Thanks for the info.

Yeah, I think this works, (tired) I just couldn't find it at the table. Thanx. DHL

instead of just thinking hcp, i ask myself what i plan to rebid after various possible rebids by responder, and whether or not i have the values for each potential rebid. I play that a reverse by opener promises another bid, that responder may not pass my reverse (an "expert" P recently did it to me), and that there should be a game somewhere if responder has more than a minimum initial response. Point requirements are more important the less distributional my hand is as well as the less support i have for responder's initial suit. The better the support for partner, or the better the trick-taking potential of my hand, the less emphasis i place on points. i just need to be sure that i have the values for my promised 3rd bid. can't comment on ingberman: never met him. lol but, regardless of what kinds of responses to reverses you are playing, ensure that you and P agree on whether or not a prefernce to your first-bid suit is or is not forcing (example: 1D-1S-2H-3D?)

Maybe I better give the east-west hands. Everything you all said went through my mind more or less. West ♠ QT7 ♥ T7 ♦ AT93 ♣ 8742 East ♠ 9653 ♥ AJ96 ♦ J ♣ Q965 As can be seen, the winning play was to let the spade ride to the Jack. Interestingly, it turned out better for west to win the diamond trick and exit with the spade before I had a chance to discover the bad news. I popped ace, led a second diamond from the board, started feeling really badly when rho showed out, and I won the queen. At this point I got lucky. I led the club Ten. Rho won but did not continue spades. Instead, rho continued with a 3rd heart. This along with two more clubs (pitching diamonds from board) squeezed west who eventually pitched a diamond. Got lucky. the throw-in/ endplay putting lho in with low diamond at this point was successful. I still don't think I played it correctly, I don't know if the winning spade play was clear or strongly suggested at trick 5, and I guess I just got lucky. So much in a seemingly benign hand.

OK. Thanks I thought ace and another made more sense. Hopefully something interesting during the play of the other suits and trying to count things out will provide some clue to the heart suit. With my luck, hearts will be 3-3, opps will be counting out my hand, lho will duck 2nd round of hearts (after A and another) and rho will win holding Jxx of hearts.

That is what I did. LHO won ace ( I didn't like the look of the diamond jack that rho played), and lho shifted to spade 7. At this point I didn't know if I should let this ride or not. Another reason I played to club king was to reduce options should lho win diamond ace (I suspect it would have been better for defense if he hadn't won the trick, but here I was at trick 5 with the spade lead and 1D, 2H, 2 or 3S, and, likely, 3 club tricks.) To let the spade ride or not? How much does the diamond Jack change the situation. Is it the only one rho had? As for table feel, I never know what to expect from opps. (That means that my table feel is very poor.) But, thanks for your feed-back and personal congrats on Spingold win.

In retrospect, this might have been a better play than club to king. I don't know. Assume lho ducks the diamond king and rho plays the jack. Next?