thepossum

So is it real or satire? :lol:

I wasn't going to ask here but when in a NT contract what is better T9xx or xxxx There are times occasionally when I adjust

I don't know about time zones and differences between USA and here but is it really April 1 in Florida Apparently Florida have banned Pink Floyd (De Santis has anyway) Maybe the wrong thread but people discuss all manner of ridiculous stuff here If its the wrong thread maybe someone will move it to the hijacked thread And I should find a reference in case its just satire

I would definitely consider a GF but may end up in unmakeable slam I think 1NT is the only bid available in 2/1 No idea what alerting requirements are if it's the only bid. I haven't played many humans recently. Maybe it's alertable with people who don't know your system. Need to check the rules and my card�� Sorry there is pass of course �� no EDIT Just checked and 1NT in 2/1 has to be announced or something like that :) Its a strange bid really. Neither one thing nor the other. Not sure why it is called forcing when it isn't necessarily. Things like that confuse me. According to an article by Larry Cohen my understanding is that partner has to announce whether it is forcing or semi-forcing

I have a fairly flexible attitude to opening and overcalling 1NT but that does seem rather extreme Was it not an unusual 1NT - that would have been my call 2NT Scrub all that. Sorry it is a response - I would say definitely questionable Was going to allow an unusual NT bid EDIT Again. What system are we playing 2/1 or Acol or something else? If 2/1 is it not the only permitted bid? Definitely not pass. I reckon argue for 2C EDIT 2 I know people maybe aren't interested in my explorations in various 2/1 systems but one just became rather excited after 2C response and ended in 6Cx :( EDIT 3 Further reading of the thread requires another edit. Under 2/1 if it is your only bid you should not have to alert it. I must check my card and the rules. If I alert something that isn't alertable what happens? You can tell I spend far too much time playing fake robot Bridge and not real Bridge with real people. Maybe I need to make a suggestion to BridgeBase on extra functionality. Another thread required regarding alerts if one partner knows the rule and another doesnt

I would most likely Blackwood. Is it available. Nothing to cue (unless KS) but you can always hope Maybe 6NT - chance of missing 7 6 or 7 hearts. Its clear 6 or 7 of something don't you think? Will be interested to hear what others say. My goto 2/1 computer alternative reference is Q-plus which by itself found 7H but with me using transfer and blackwood stopped in 6H If playing MPs convert all slams to NT

When I post stuff about 2/1 I am not just asking about Gib. I am asking about the genuine system, philosophy and how each bid should work No need to obsess over the robot which just happens to be my partner most of the time in the absence of finding good company from 3 or more regular others Very hard to find 3 others of similar bridge level and philosophy. Not many of us around :) Thanks for all the comments though. No need to obsess over the Bot. I always want to think like a human Next time I will post all the names as anonymous or even give them names so as not to have the thread undermined with obsession over a Bot What matters is when I find humans to sit and play with that I play correctly for them I think I have some kind of HCP counting disorder. Every time I count the points in that hand I get a different number - that appears to be because the hands are different. One has a King and One has an Ace :) - but they are very similar in many ways - just different by a point So I am now totally confused. I hope nobody else is. But at least all the discussion still applies :) The second fully posted hand with 15 points was the genuine hand. No idea why I suddenly thought I only had 14 - but for me that would still be a possible 1NT

I still don't get it. Simple little old me would have led a club I know its very naive and elementary to just have one lead under my belt so have started leading middle or bottom of nothing from time to time, which appears to be the fashion EDIT I am not that limited. Sometimes I am lucky enough to have a good suit from which I can lead from the top Because its apparently passive and safe and doesn't risk much I have a very simple mind and I at least appear to have two possible entries back to my clubs That's why I still regard myself as somewhere between beginner and intermediate I guess Generally in very small tourneys I don't like attention being brought upon myself in this way One of the other unfortunates may notice or may even have been watching. Scary That dastardly Possum knows how to psych the bot. He doesn't actually

[hv=https://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?lin=st||pn|thepossum,~~M30140,~~M30138,~~M30139|md|3SAQT3HQ5DAQ8CT972,SK5H83D975CAQJ865,S97HAKT964DKJ32C4,SJ8642HJ72DT64CK3|sv|n|rh||ah|Board%205|mb|1H|an|Major%20suit%20opening%20--%205+%20!H;%2011-21%20HCP;%2012-22%20total%20points%20|mb|P|mb|1S|an|One%20over%20one%20--%204+%20!S;%206+%20total%20points|mb|2C|an|Two-level%20overcall%20--%205+%20!C;%2010+%20HCP;%2018-%20total%20points%20|mb|2H|an|Opener%20rebids%20his%20H%20--%202-%20!S;%2011-15%20HCP;%20twice%20rebiddable%20!H;%2012-16%20total%20points%20|mb|P|mb|3N|an|5-%20!H;%204-5%20!S;%2014-21%20HCP;%20likely%20stop%20in%20!C|mb|P|mb|P|mb|P|pc|D5|pc|DJ|pc|D6|pc|D8|pc|S7|pc|S8|pc|SA|pc|S5|pc|DA|pc|D9|pc|D2|pc|D4|pc|HQ|pc|H3|pc|H4|pc|H2|pc|DQ|pc|D7|pc|D3|pc|DT|pc|H5|pc|H8|pc|HK|pc|H7|mc|11|]400|300[/hv] Generally happy with my bidding and scores in a small MP tourney but this top was rather embarrassing to put it mildly Can anyone explain the lead I didn't feel too dishonest about my likely stop but ..... :) I carefully and genuinely considered all options, checked all bid descriptions and felt ok about it Whatever happened to the trusty old 4th highest - even if it thinks I have the King its not exactly giving much away is it? EDIT With apologies to Gib and everyone else at the table (and the tourney) a mini-sim shows that if it thinks you have the King the diamond is a slightly better chance of almost having any chance at all of beating the contract. If it doesn't think you have the King it will lead a small club. Not a big difference though I need to check my theory about best NT leads

This was the full hand [hv=https://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?lin=st||pn|thepossum,~Mwest,~Mnorth,~Meast|md|1SAT865HAJ3DKQCJ62,SK43H872D54CKQ975,SQ72HKT96DT872C84,SJ9HQ54DAJ963CAT3|sv|b|rh||ah|Board%207|mb|1S|an|Major%20suit%20opening%20--%205+%20!S;%2011-21%20HCP;%2012-22%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|1N|an|Forcing%20one%20notrump%20--%203-%20!S;%206+%20HCP;%2012-%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|2C|an|New%20suit%20--%203+%20!C;%203-%20!H;%205+%20!S;%2011+%20HCP;%2012-18%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|2S|an|2-3%20!S;%206-9%20HCP|mb|P|mb|P|mb|P|pc|D5|pc|D2|pc|DA|pc|DQ|pc|S9|pc|ST|pc|SK|pc|S2|pc|D4|pc|D7|pc|D6|pc|DK|pc|C2|pc|C7|pc|C8|pc|CT|pc|SJ|pc|S5|pc|S4|pc|SQ|pc|H9|pc|H4|pc|H3|pc|H2|pc|H6|pc|HQ|pc|HA|pc|H8|pc|S6|pc|S3|pc|S7|pc|D3|pc|DT|pc|DJ|pc|S8|pc|C5|pc|HJ|pc|H7|pc|HK|pc|H5|pc|HT|pc|C3|pc|C6|pc|C9|pc|D8|pc|D9|pc|SA|pc|CK|pc|CJ|pc|CQ|pc|C4|pc|CA|]400|300[/hv] One of those terrible in-between hands that can cause trouble Many were in 1NT N or S. The rest of us in 2S I wanted to bid 2S but didn't feel I could do that and didn't really want to pass 1NT To me that is almost a pass by North - but risky if South has a total max

Mostly I play with Bots but I do try to check the system against other 2/1 references and bid according to real 2/1, not just Gib :) Apologies for my memory. It felt like a 1NT hand that I decided to open 1M I think many people felt it was a 1NT hand too :)

The system is GiB 2/1 and the range appears to be 6-12 for a forcing 1NT That is also what I have read on other pages. This hand actually only had 5 It does appear consistent with 2/1 pages I have read I find sometimes it leaves me with a guess on borderline hands It can have 3 of the M too :) Almost a hand where in the past I would have considered a 2S limit - back from Acol 4 card majors + 4 limit I still grapple with it a bit. You never know whether you are better to pass the 1NT or try to get back to 2x Dare I suggest that passing 1M was an option too :)

Sorry - just deleted a comment. Wrong thread :) The comment should have been With an ordinary 5323 hand all you really can bid is a fairly unexciting 2C - just like a relay or something - since I supposedly need 6 to rebid my M If it seems too strong to pass and too weak to invite that is all there is. 6-12 pts is quite a big range getting close to game with many ordinary openers but may only make 1 or 2 if weak In this case 1NT scored badly and 2M was the best contract [hv=pc=n&s=sat865hkj3dkqcj62&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=1sp1np2cp2sppp]133|200[/hv] It didn't feel like a great 1NT opener since it only had 14 pts :) - I have a terrible tendency of adding extra points occasionally. Subconsciously But the hand could have had potential opposite a maximum 1NT

Hi A few times recently when I have opened 1M with a 1NT strength hand 15+, followed by a forcing NT, I find the opener rebid ranges are a bit strange and inconsistent for a 2NT invite 2NT requires 18+ which on top of 6-12(?) seems very strong for an invite Obviously with 15-17 it is not safe to jump straight to 3NT I was not able to rebid the major so was forced to bid a rather meaningless(?) next step minor just to keep the bidding going, with responder giving more information on strength with their rebid Are there alternative opener rebid ranges or is 18+ the standard What are the best rebid options. What exactly do they mean or convey, especially if 1NT is generally used as semi-forcing Most recent example responder had enough for 2M+1 (5 pts and 3 trumps) so it worked. I just get a bit confused with the point ranges

Was considering another thread, then remembered this one from a few years ago [hv=pc=n&s=sajhk652daj8cat85&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=pp1n(15-17)p2n(Transfer%20to%20C)p]133|200[/hv] Proved costly for many. First hand in the forum daylong so wanted a good start to MP Do you accept the transfer knowing its likely to be passed or ignore and bid 3NT

Having just played one set of 12 in a tourney type that I have played many times, with an average well above my average across other tourneys, my poor performance today suggests, possibly, that emotional state impacts seriously on Bridge ability. I only have a few such cases, maybe not enough to draw any inference. It does appear a repeated pattern So I imagine psychology plays an important part in major tourneys. With all respect due to said players and teams Doesn't take much to psych me 😔

If you miss the educated informed intelligent points I made and can only resort to ad hom then there is no point talking to you ever again Don't be silly The thread was about sources of variance in Bridge, not how hands are generated. Seriously if you can't understand my post what is the point of disucssing anything I addressed everything you and everyone else has said in this thread so far Always someone with the attitude though :( One of the points I made was that there is no way to test what you or I say anyway The universe of Bridge Hands (in the real - not set theory sense) is an infinity. Not restricted by whatever number there are of different hands Do they not also have to be "designed" for many tourneys to avoid perceptions of bias :) Apparently also your idea of discussion requires my agreement with what you say :) Here are a couple of questions for you 1. How many hands out of the N you describe would be regarded as interesting vs boring for top teams competition - has anyone ever worked it out 2. Is there not an infinite universe of Bridge Hands - possibly even an infinity of infinities etc depending how you conceptualise it? 3. How many hands does any individual get to see in their lifetime, out of that infinity 4. Is it possible to infer very much statistically at all in Bridge 5. Are we quibbling over the use of the word designed" Is the word engineered preferable or parameterised 6. Maybe the use of the word all rather than some or many - an infinity of deigned one and an infinity that are not designed. That's two infinities for starters etc But as I said if you want to debate this issue can we please do it in another thread and get back to the topic. The other aspects of the question are what I was getting at and interested in discussing But to avoid further argument on your point I accept your approximate number of unique arrangements of cards which can be enumerated and written down in a nice simple expression like 52!/various other factorials I am now going to play another 12 designed hands rather than arguing - thats 12 out of the infinity of one specific format of GiB ACBL tourneys :)

Can we return to the main topic please :)

Yes they are. They have a script Are you really trying to tell me they are all 100% parameterless generated hands. What about all the boring hands which make up the majority of Bridge hands I believe Top tournament all the top elite players and teams sitting around, boring hand after boring hand - that's real Bridge - desperate for fun hands with some features :) I appreciate all this stuff is highly secret and secure stuff. But I imagined top hand consultants or designers - let's be less technical and call them sculptors or artists - that's one my pieces over there currently played by USA 1. Like championship golf course designers I just find it hard to believe that most script writers or hand designers make no attempt to add some features of interest to tournament hands I couldn't estimate the figures. Maybe Mr Pavlicek's site has some figures along those lines but I imagine the Bridge hand universe rather like our mostly empty galaxy filled with little bits of sparkling interest from time to time Also in line with Andrew's regular concerns over unfair sets of hands - you can't have that in a big match. Oh you were just unlucky this year. Can you imagine if the whole of the World Teams fell into a huge hole full of millions of featureless hands - infinity is big and you never know where you may end up with purely "random" hands. There may only be 2^96 to choose from but in fact for each of us there is an infinity. Imagine to be one of the unlucky ones who never saw or played an interesting hand because of their little part of infinity I do appreciate the truth will never be known. Just endless speculation and debate. And of course they have infinity on their side as a defence This is partly off topic of course - but has some relevance to the thread subject :)

Hi Mike I wasn't saying that hands were vetted. With computer generated hands they are all designed in some way :) That was just an aside. Sorry if I offended any top players :) Maybe the elite players can make any hand look exciting and interesting I was thinking in my case (mostly robot Bridge) its a combination of the quality/experience of the field, more bidding than play, and also any possible differences in how hands may be generated for different tourneys :) Surely there are ways of scripting hand generation to have "easy" hands and "hard" ones - maybe we can have a couple of contract options and an over trick for the more advanced players :)

2S perhaps - a bit offshape :) - appreciate a bit risky if we don't have hearts or diamonds - but if partner has clubs they would bid that :) - probably 2H so as not to upset people

Hi I was debating which forum to post this but it goes beyond robot Bridge and I know there are at least a few people who have analysed or are interested in this kind of thing. From my experience the biggest contribution to my variance in results is either the field or the nature of the hands that may have been setup to be easier or harder to play, rather than being randomly generated Anyone else have thoughts on the main sources of variance in duplicate Bridge. It appears clear from my results what it is I forgot that it includes your partner - but in the case of Robot Bridge that source has been removed While on the subject, despite apparent denials from some quarters would you not want to set up interesting advanced hands for the Bermuda Bowl against say a lesser tourney EDIT. Nearly forgot. Which aspect of the game is most important in that variance P

I'm now playing fewer ACBL tourneys. Maybe the value of their points will now increase too :) Best value is the reward. Both in terms of hands per BB$ and occasional returns Also with the added advantage of not being best hand so you get to explore more of the bidding system :)

Thx David 😊 I will print this out and refer to it next time. PS is that with a human or robot partner?

Fair game. Somebody scored better bidding 7C but not sure how the NT people went Some people made 6+1 of something If you are lucky you can make 6D. Disappointing :( Its good how you can do it :) - I think a heart lead to a ruff followed by a club lead back - which is almost beautiful in its way EDIT Those in 6C N also made +1 with a nice club lead - hard for me as south to bid it though - maybe that was agreed trumps thinking back though :) Sorry just lolling to myself over how people made 6nt+1. Wonderful defence unblocking clubs by dropping the king under the ace I know I don't think like a DD sim but its not something I would have even considered. Maybe that explains my level North was the hidden hand of course. to be fair And it took an expert from Poland to know they could make 6+1 that way when all the mere mortals were in 4,5,6 minus Some of us replace our disappointment with sheer awe at those at the top of travellers sometimes Its why some have expert next to their names and some of us don't :( Then again we are just playing a bot and not USA 1 or Netherlands 1 or whatever