Wackojack

I notice that BBO Advanced names Jacoby, Bergen (3♣ limit) and splinters for major suit raises. Since I have never used Bergen myself, could anyone tell me the advantage of reverse Bergen over normal Bergen? Most of the more advanced players at the local club play a response of 2NT as a 4-card raise (or more) to the 3 level or better (when a splinter does not apply) This method although probably not the best in locating slams seems reasonably effective and has the advantage of simplicity. Does anybody know what this convention is called? I have read of a convention called Jordan which applies specifically to 1M - dble -2NT, but no mention of it applying to an uninterrupted auction. Thanks ps Speaking of Jordan, all those from the UK will be reminded of a lady celebrity of that name who has a skinny body and two eye-bogglingly large trumps. :ph34r:

With a partner worse than me: Transfers With a partner better than me: take out double With a partner better than me who makes a take-out double of a weak 2 bid: Lebensohl With a lucky partner: RKCB with specific King ask and 3RC ask For fun: forcing pass 07 or 17+

Ben, The hand in question was board 5 in tournament 84. I have downloaded Bridgebrowser but I have been having trouble using it. I remember 2NT was the opening bid and 3C was the response. I see the final contract was 5c in a 4-1 fit. (So opener must have initially made some bid other than 4c) Incidentally you were one of the opps. The potential bidding interest to me if I had responder's hand would be "do we have an agreement on what to bid with a 5431 7-count?" 3S? Also what does 3C mean. 4 or 5-card (puppet) stayman. Either way it should be easy to get to either 4S or 3NT. You caught me out on that one, next time I hope to have Bridgebrowser going and check my facts. I am glad that the 3H bid must have been a misclick. btw I haven't yet learned how to request an undo although, so far it, hasn't been needed- touch wood.

This is a bit of personal feedback on my experience with BBO. 1. I played bridge at a fairly competitive level as a young man, then quitted entirely for about 25 years. About 5 years ago I was pesuaded by some ladies who were learning bridge to take it up again, so I started playing rubber bridge then duplicate at the local club. More recently I decided that I wanted to improve and move up a level. I found the BBO forum and decided to use it to further my bridge knowledge. 18 months on, I can say that I have learned so much all due to the really informed contributions to the forum. I am not exaggerating when I say that the dedication and knowledge shown by most of the posts fill me with admiration. You are doing a fantastic job. 2. Until very recently I have not been tempted to play on-line. I confined myself to occasionally watching view graphs of international matches. Recently one of your regular posters said hi to me when I was checking the viewgraph. After a brief chat he showed me the mechanics of playing on-line, and since he was the perfect tutor in that respect it playing was a fun experience. Next, I started to go to the main bridge club on-line to get a pick-up partner at intermediate or advanced level. What was most noticeable was that the players in their profiles in so many cases say they play so many obscure conventions - and inevitably Gerber and Capeletti - when if they paid more attention to good bidding principles they would be much better players. On the other hand, I did once kib a game played by regular posters playing their fiendishly clever systems who obviously knew what they were doing, and most importantly were having a lot of fun. Last Friday, however, just before my bed time (UK) I dipped into kib a homebase tournament and was taken aback at the standard of bidding by some of the players. Twice in succession hands that even Mrs Guggenheim at the local would have got right went badly wrong. The 1st when 3 clubs was bid opposite a 2nt opener, raised to 4 clubs presumably because it was thought to be natural. The 2nd when the 2nt opener rebid 3 hearts with 4 spades and 3 hearts in response to 3 clubs. (raised to 4 hearts in 4-3 fit) Why is this happening? Do playes treat on-line bridge tournaments more carelessly that f2f local duplicate bridge. Or would they do this kind of thing anyway? 3. All that said, I am not put off on-line bridge and can see that it could become very addictive. I find it amazing to be playing with people from all parte of the world; to see the Bermuda Bowl on viewgraph; and to get expert views on Bridge issues - and all for free. Thanks :lol:

Playing Acol, I have a specific agreement with 1 partner that 1s-2c-2s-3c is forcing. I believe that in old fashioned Acol this passable, but to me it does not seem to make much sense. Playing Acol with a good partner even without specific agreement, if I has a weak spade rebiddble hand and partner rebid 3c, I would not dare to pass it, considering that partner was probably making a constructive bid, possibly even exploring slam possibilities. So with a a 5332 I would probably next bid 3nt. With a 5323 and a weak doubleton I would bid 4c and if partner next bid 4s I would pass.

Hi Wayne, with a regular f2f partner we play over 2NT: 3♣ = puppet (5-card stayman) 5+ in major use red suit transfers, except 3NT shows 5♠+4♥. To explore minors for slam: 6 carder: bid 4m 5-carder: bid 3♣ then 4m over any response 5-4: bid 3♠ transfer to 3NT, then bid 5 card minor 5-5: bid 3♠ trasfer to 3NT, then bid singleton major This may not be the most efficient but it is not too difficult to remember. With the 5-5 minor west hand shown, my guess is opposite a random 2NT opening, slam would be good a little less than 50% of the time. If the bidding goes: 2nt-3s 3nt-4s then if opener who started with KQJx, AJx, Kxx, AQx would have to sign off in 5c. However if the singleton spade makes opener's hand look good (east's actual hand looks reasonable to me) and tries 4nt for key cards having one ace and 4-card support for clubs to the king. Then you would need to be playing 1430 not 0314 otherwise you are too high. I dont know what you do with 5-5 in the minors and say 10HCP with no ace. It seems a complete guess.

Quote Frances Hinden "For the long diamond to be important for a club discard, declarer's shape is 2632, or 3532. That's consistent with the auction, but there's no reason for him to have played a spade at trick two with that: he could just play diamonds himself (before or after some trumps depending on his trump holding). If we trust that declarer is doing something reasonable (dubious of course, but we have to start somewhere) then it's not a tempo hand, because he's deliberately given up a tempo. I can't construct a hand where we need to attack clubs at once." Why can't declarer's shape be 2533? I would class the opps to be average club players and playing a spade for a ruff looks reasonable at this stage. Declarer would not know that diamonds will break 3-3 and with 3 small clubs would not know that they lie badly. Quote J Silver "At this vulnerability, I doubt partner would let 4♥ play if he had 4♠. More likely, he has 2. In that case, declarer will need some ruffs in dummy, and it sure looks like he's trying to get some. I'd lead a ♥. This will put him in a bind if partner has the K. I don't think a ♣ lead is urgent or even advisable. If declarer wanted to set up the 4th ♦, he would've ducked the first trick or played another ♦ himself." Your overcall is ostensibly weak but at this vulnerability after partner has passed could be undisciplined. I would guess that partner's raise must be with at least 3 and suggests some defence against 4H. It would seem reasonable to put partner with either 2623 2524 or 2533 shape. I can't see a diamond lead having any advantage over a club lead with any of these distributions, whereas it could be essential to lead a club to break the contract if declarer is 2533 shape. So the question moves on to what does partner need in clubs. If partner has K109 you have 2 club tricks if you lead the jack. If partner has K10x you need to lead small from J6. .....................Oh it has just occurred to me that if you grab 2 club tricks they are set up, so with trumps 3-2 they can provide discards to make 10 tricks. So perhaps it doesn't matter what you lead back. ;) [hv=d=w&v=e&n=sk1063hj75dj97ck109&w=s2ha96da863caq543&e=sj5hkq1084dk52c872&s=saq9874h32dq104cj6]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv] This was the actual deal and I was sitting north. Partner played a 2nd diamond and after trumps were drawn, one losing club was discarded on the established diamond. When the contract was made I perhaps unjustifiably berated partner for not switching to a club. Onto the bidding. I am never sure in these circumstances whether or not I should compete to the 3-level in spades, thereby possibly pushing opponents into the heart game which they otherwise might not have bid. On the other hand you could argue that if 4H makes they would have bid it anyway. Should you compete to 3S only if you have good defence to 4H? Views on this gratefully received.

[hv=d=w&v=e&w=s2ha96da863caq543&s=saq9874h32dq104cj6]266|200|Scoring: IMP[/hv] Bidding which some might not like, but not asking for comments here: W N E S 1♣ p 1♥ 2♠ 3♥ 3♠ 4♥ p p p p You lead ♦4, west plays low, partner J, to declarer's K. Declarer then plays ♠J, you Q and partner 3. Partner would by default play reverse count unless he judges suit preference to be more important. What card would you play now and why?

This looks good to me with the support double agreement. But playing weak no trump does the pass then suggests an unbalanced hand with a rebid problem? Something like Axx, x, KJxx, KJxxx or even worse Axx, x, AQxx, Qxxxx? Or on the other hand would a bid of 2c now definitely show 6? Quote "1NT here depends upon your agreement. I believe in SAYC this would be hand too strong to open 1NT to keep you from getting too high in 2NT with a possible good spade lead against you." Then what would a rebid of 2NT mean in SAYC?

Assuming SAYC or similar; The bidding goes: S W N E 1♣ Pass 1♥ 1♠ ? What type of hand does South show by bidding?: a pass b double c 1NT Is there a standard or is this a matter of partnership agreement? Would playing a 12-14 NT opening change this? Thanks for your thoughts.

Surely a heart lead defeats 7S?

Thanks for the problem. I took the bait. Like you said an excercise in clear thinking. :P

I am no expert so I hope this is right. Now I will read Trumpaces solution and I hope I don't discover I was wrong.

1. Partner if very weak for the overcall and with 3 diamonds could have passed 2. Nobody has bid hearts. 3. On opps bidding we must assume that partner is unlikely to have 2 clubs. I can just about come up with a hand that some might overcall vul against not where 4S cannot make. KJxxxx, xxxx, Qx, K. So I would press on to 4S.

[hv=d=w&v=b&n=sakxxhaqdxxc10xxxx&s=sxxh108xxxxdcakqjx]133|200|Scoring: IMP [/hv] A hand from Gold Cup 2nd round. West opens a weak 2♦, partner doubles, East raises to 3♦. I sat South and inelegantly jumped to 4♥ which was passed out. Suggestions please for a realistic auction to get to 6♣. (Preferably with natural bidding or using well known conventions) Thanks.

Quote"1C-p-1NT-p-p-(X) holding AQx xx Jxxxx QJx which I looked at in horror." The balancing hand is Kxxx, Qxxx, AJxx,x which is as you say an automatic double. You have shown the opposite hand. :D

Quote Robert "If you are playing Acol you could open a 4 card major. If the other pair bids up to 3Ds, you might be 'fixed.' You play against people who double 1C-p-1NT-p-p with AQx xx Jxxxx QJ9 ??? Do they like to play for money? Their heart support 'looks' a trifle 'thin' by my standards" Hi Robert, I am not trying to defend Acol or the players at my local club but just for the record: Opening 1h is not Acol Overcalling 1d or not with the west hand is a judgement decision not an Acol decision. Since -110 was a popular score I would bet that many would have overcalled 1d. True- if the bidding goes 1c-1d-p-3d you have been out competed. No, but I do play against people who might double with Kxxx, Qxxx, A10xx,x especial at green after 1c-p-1s-p, 1nt-p-p. Yes we pay £1.50 for the privelage of playing. Quote Winston "I ran this hand through Deep Finesse, and it seems the only 3 cards south can play at trick 3 that lead to defeat are the J of hearts, the 3 of hearts, or the K of clubs. Any other line can lead to a make" Hi Winston, Is this Deep Finesse solution double dummy as the cards lie, or the line most likely to succeed not knowing opps cards? I think we have worked out how to make double dummy. I was still uncertain whether going to the Ace of clubs and finessing was the best line with unknown opps cards.

Quote Robert "If that is too strong for your methods x AKQx Ax KQxxxx" OK pd would have opened 1C on that hand and I would have been ashamed of myself. Now I have broken partnership trust. :P btw I would take 1c-1s-3h as a splinter. Quote FrancesHinden "I'm happy with the reverse, and I'd end in 3C and take my +110 happily" Yes agreed, but what interests me is that 2H appears to be marginally safer than 3C and potentially higher scoring for MP. Quote Robert "I would open a 15-17HCP NT as a possible solution. Playing 12-14 1NT openings, I would open 1C and rebid 1NT over 1S." Since -110 was the most popular result my guess is a popular Acol land auction would be 1c-p-1nt-p; p-x-?-2d.... then possibly competing up to 3d. :D :D :o

[hv=d=e&v=n&n=sj1074h1087d54ca862&w=saq8h95dj8732cqj9&e=sk532hq642da1096c4&s=s96hakj3dkqck10753]399|300|Scoring: MP This was the full deal Contract 2♥[/hv] At the table it was me that passed partner's forcing bid. (A first for me) :) I am still not sure that this was all bad with these cards at MP. We play 1♣ normally max <8 playing tricks (clubs trumps) or 19HCP. Possibly more with small singleton major no good suit. After Ace and another diamond by defence. Partner played small to 10H and duly went down when clubs split 3-1 and hearts 4-2. (Actually could have made with defence playing a third spade instead of next a diamond) I am not good at double dummy solutions but it seems to me that if the finesse in hearts is successful you can make 2♥ with hearts 4-2 and clubs 3-1. OTOH you go down with hearts 3-3 and clubs 3-1 if the heart finesse fails. So it looks to me the odds with safety favour the finesse over playing first a heart rather than a club. For me a complex problem so I appreciate the inputs especially your observation that defence should give ruff/sluff in diamonds after cashing 2 spades. Incidentally this was a local club duplicate in weak no trump Acol land with mixed abilities. Any plus score would have been good as would be expected with a par to NS =-100. +110 scored 16 out of 20, -110 8 out of 20.

"there are 2 lines:the safest is ♥AK, then ♣s". If hearts are 4-2 and clubs 3-1 (not that unusual) then the defence ruffs the 3rd club and plays the queen of hearts to remove dummy's last trump and then a diamond. Down 2!

♣[hv=d=s&v=e&w=s4hak53da104cakj42&e=sk32h92dq95cq9765]266|100|Scoring: MP 1S-X-3S-P p-X-P-4C P-P-P [/hv] Is East or West to blame for not bidding a virtually certain 5C or is North's bid of 3♠ such a good randomiser that neither can be blamed?

[hv=d=e&v=n&n=sj1074h1087d54ca862&s=s96hakj3dkqck10753]133|200|Scoring: MP Bidding p-1C-p-1S p-2H-p-p p[/hv] Do you like the bidding? Do you like the contract compared with 3♣ or 1NT? As declarer in 2♥, after lead of 3♦ to Ace and another to your king, would you: 1. Play J♥? 2. Low heart? 3. Club to Ace the run 10♥? 4. Club to Ace then heart to Jack? 5. Anything else?

Barely one month into my 2/1 learning curve, the theory you have given has been very useful and very relavent to some things I would like confirmed. Playing 1nt=15-17, and all 4 card raises of 1M either raise immediately, splinter or bid 2nt. Then after: 1s-2c-2d or 1s-2c-2h or 1s-2d-2h 2nt = stop in 4th suit 13-14 or 18-19 2s = any doubleton support with no stops in 4th suit 3s= strong 3-card raise 4s = min 3-card raise and generally: 4th suit bid is 4 or more genuine suit. raise of 2nd suit promises 4. Is this consistent with style (i)? It seems that most contributors do not subscribe to this method. Is bidding 2s with Hx more normal? Is it not normal to show a 4-card raise on the 1st response? I hope I am on the right track

Many play this difference to mean many things. Pick one and agree with partner. I play: 1m=1M=1nt=2nt is that you bid 2nt directly with a more square hand(stuff in the unbids) that would never want to be in a suit..but you ticktock with something that is the right strength, but isn't so strong in the unbids and therefore probably having good support for opener's minor. So if opener is on a minimum with length in her own suit, she can bail back to 3 of her minor. btw another issue to discuss is does 2clubs always force 2d or does partner only bid 2d when they deny 3 card support for your major? I play the priority is to show your 3 card support but believe that is a minority viewpoint. In that style opener can rebid 2 of a major with a minimum and responder can pass. 1c=1s 1nt=2c 2s=pass btw2 this brings up the issue of: 1c=1s 1nt=2h and how do you want to play that compared to going through 2c invite checkback. Thanks MIke: So far I like: 1m-1M- 1NT-2C-2D-2NT = no trump invite 1m-1M-1NT-2NT= relay to 3C. Then pass = weak clubs 3D= 4-4-1-4 invit 3H = 4-1-4-4 invit 3S = 1-4-4-4 3NT = 4-4-4-1 With regard to after 1m-1M-1NT then if you play 2-way check back, where then 2C introduces invitational hands, 2D game force hands. So 1m-1M-1NT-2OM, would logically be weak 5-5 or 5-6 no game interest. Obviously following 1C-1D-1NT, 4441 hands are not applicable, so the meaning you suggested looks OK Oh! It has just occurred to me that 2 similar sequences would then have very different meanings 1C-1D-1NT-2H is GF at least 45 in red suits 1C-1S-1NT-2H is very weak 55 in majors. :)

Hi Hannie, I if am understanding you: 1C- 1D 1NT-2C (relay to 2D) 2D- 2M = 45 invit 1C- 1D 1NT-2M = 45 GF This looks good to me. However, what is the difference between: 1C-1D 1NT-2C 2D-2NT and 1C-1D 1NT-2NT?