thepossum

How many do? The vast majority of all news (of any quality(?) or political leaning) is simply reporting what someone said or wrote I appreciate those are facts but they are not primary evidence Also it is very simple to cobble together facts or falsehoods into any narrative you like. Even easier these days

Hi I appreciate this hand was badly played by yours truly. It should have made 4+1 but I noticed in the traveller how many had made 4+2 after leading the 10 of spades which was covered versus leading the 9 to finesse If you lead 9 West plays low and if you play 10 it is covered. I don't know if that is common playing technique but useful to remember in future [hv=https://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?lin=st||pn|thepossum,~Mwest,~Mnorth,~Meast|md|1SAT9HAQJTDJ765CQ7,SJ83H84DAT94CKJ53,SK76542HK7653D2C2,SQH92DKQ83CAT9864|sv|e|rh||ah|Board%203|mb|1N|an|notrump%20opener.%20Could%20have%205M.%20--%202-5%20!C;%202-5%20!D;%202-5%20!H;%202-5%20!S;%2015-17%20HCP;%2018-%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|2C|an|Stayman%20--%20%20|mb|P|mb|2H|an|2-5%20!C;%202-5%20!D;%204-5%20!H;%202-4%20!S;%2015-17%20HCP;%2018-%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|4H|an|%20|mb|P|mb|P|mb|P|pc|S3|pc|S2|pc|SQ|pc|SA|pc|HA|pc|H8|pc|H3|pc|H2|pc|HQ|pc|H4|pc|H5|pc|H9|pc|S9|pc|S8|pc|SK|pc|C6|pc|S4|pc|D8|pc|ST|pc|SJ|pc|DA|pc|D2|pc|D3|pc|D5|pc|C5|pc|C2|pc|CA|pc|CQ|pc|C4|pc|C7|pc|C3|pc|H6|mc|10|]400|300[/hv]

Hi Not sure if this is one of those inadequate number of hands to simulate situations or Gib was looking for more than 1 trick Declarer (not me) has been made anonymous to protect the innocent :) - I cant see anything wrong with the bidding although most were in Clubs North (or NT) not South, and its an ambitious Grand :) Any reason why East doesn't play its Ace on trick 1 I appreciate there may be intent to make two tricks but do you not need to make one trick first [hv=https://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?lin=st||pn|anon,~Mwest,~Mnorth,~Meast|md|3SAK83HQ85DAQCQJT5,SQJT762HJT4DT72C7,S5HK72DK9654CAK43,S94HA963DJ83C9862|sv|o|rh||ah|Board%201|mb|1D|an|Minor%20suit%20opening%20--%203+%20!D;%2011-21%20HCP;%2012-22%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|2C|an|Forcing%20two%20over%20one%20--%20biddable%20!C;%2014+%20total%20points;%20forcing%20to%203N|mb|2S|an|Overcall%20--%20twice%20rebiddable%20!S;%2011-16%20total%20points|mb|3C|an|4+%20!C;%204+%20!D;%2011-21%20HCP;%203-card%20!D;%2012-22%20total%20points;%20forcing%20to%203N|mb|P|mb|4N|an|Blackwood%20©%20--%20biddable%20!C;%2020+%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|5H|an|Two%20or%20five%20key%20cards;%20no%20queen%20--%204+%20!C;%204+%20!D;%2011-21%20HCP;%203-card%20!D;%2012-22%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|7C|an|biddable%20!C;%2024+%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|P|mb|P|pc|HJ|pc|H2|pc|H6|pc|HQ|pc|DA|pc|D2|pc|D4|pc|D3|pc|DQ|pc|D7|pc|D5|pc|D8|pc|CQ|pc|C7|pc|C3|pc|C8|pc|CJ|pc|S7|pc|C4|pc|C2|pc|C5|pc|S2|pc|CA|pc|C9|pc|CK|pc|C6|pc|CT|pc|S6|pc|DK|pc|DJ|pc|H5|pc|DT|pc|D9|pc|H3|pc|H8|pc|SQ|pc|D6|pc|H9|pc|S3|pc|H4|pc|S5|pc|S9|pc|SA|pc|SJ|pc|SK|pc|ST|pc|H7|pc|S4|pc|S8|pc|HT|pc|HK|pc|HA|]400|300[/hv]

Call me old fashioned but I can't see the point of trying to teach an algorithm to "learn" Bridge without giving it the basics of the game and how to bid reasonably to start with

Out of curiosity I put this through another major Bridge program Same auction, led King to East's 4, then switched to diamond, East unblocked hearts during subsequent play, and finally led back the Jack but sadly West had discarded one to many hearts and the contract was made exactly EDIT forced a lead of the Q on trick two, sadly also blocked - I realise it already has been blocked by the play of the 4 and the Queen - my bad Will report back if I find anything that defeats the contract.

Apparently I am World Class 😂 ...but I am sure I fall into the huge amorphous blob of Intermediate prone to Beginner errors and occasional moments of advanced or even expert brilliance How did he setup that endplay. I don't know

The world is doomed

2 or 4

1 or 3, or even 2 if you insist That's usually a 1 bid for me

Just came back to this wonderful thread after a few weeks. I have no idea where to start but am happy to see that my concerns about the role of entertainment, media and popular culture are being widely discussed I realise I could be part of the problem enjoying the more satirical/comic shoot-em up genres. You can't win EDIT I must admit to being something of a Die Hard fan and find it one of the most rewatchable examples of its genre. As for Bruce Willis one of my favorite films of all time was the Hollywood remake of 12 Monkeys EDIT 2 on a very serious note I feel it is hard to argue the case that the availability of <insert problem product here> is not linked with increased use/abuse EDIT 3 (almost forgot - trying to cover everything in one post) its also a sad reflection n society and the state of the world that a 1970s/80s (?) Star Trek scene is what passes for philosophical discourse these days. That is the state of the world now EDIT 4 As for the state of the world can you really not watch a Tarantino film during certain hours in England anymore? EDIT 5 Hopefully the last one. While the above points may seem like trivialising the impact of culture/entertainment/games on people's behaviour I have become increasingly concerned (without having researched it) in the apparent increase in people being unable to separate fantasy from reality EDIT Sorry this is the last and it ties everything together about the state of this world and what appears to be the problem. In fact all my points are linked. Dumbing down of a whole planet. More and more low quality product. Not every movie is a Tarantino and most people appear incapable of analysing such a movie or industry anymore anyway etc EDIT N Maybe start questionning the world when the industries supposedly most concerned with our physical and mental well-being have also become dominated/obssessed by fake reality and technology. Imagine a world (its here) where your life can be ***ed up in VR too. Link the dumbing down, massive bloat in certain sectors it means that all of us are rats in mazes these days. Oh those ones didn't make it. Never mind on to the next etc. Don't forget all of us are small mammals on the same ship, despite how much resource is wasted trying to find another one. I nearly forgot, some of us have quite high level knowledge of research on (juvenile) psychopathy but don't feel qualified to comment. People being silenced using that kind of ad hominem is another way the world has plummetted especially when so many of those supposedly qualified cannot even put up a good argument about anything much. 1st year academe from memory (I think a 101, maybe a 2 but it should be primary or pre-school level) included not relying on or using argument from authority yet sadly it is used constantly. I realise that I have contradicted myself on how this world has been degraded (for whatever <political?> reason) but is not everything self-contradictory

Thx very much for the interesting post. Hadn't thought about much about this stuff for a while so enjoyed reading the thread :)

Thx everyone for the discussion Remarkably I had my second impossible spade in a few days [hv=https://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?lin=st||pn|thepossum,~Mwest,~Mnorth,~Meast|md|1SA9HKQJ64DT753CK6,S743HT875DK92CQJ3,ST52H3DAQ84CAT952,SKQJ86HA92DJ6C874|sv|o|rh||ah|Board%2011|mb|1H|an|Major%20suit%20opening%20--%205+%20!H;%2011-21%20HCP;%2012-22%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|1N|an|Forcing%20one%20notrump%20--%203-%20!H;%203-%20!S;%206+%20HCP;%2012-%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|2D|an|New%20suit%20--%203+%20!D;%205+%20!H;%2011+%20HCP;%2012-18%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|2S|an|Impossible%20spade%20--%204+%20!D;%202-%20!H;%203-%20!S;%2011-12%20total%20points;%20forcing%20to%203D|mb|D|an|6+%20HCP;%20rebiddable%20!S;%20!SKQ;%2016-%20total%20points|mb|3D|an|3+%20!D;%205+%20!H;%2011+%20HCP;%2012-13%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|P|mb|P|pc|S3|pc|S2|pc|SJ|pc|S9|pc|SK|pc|SA|pc|S4|pc|S5|pc|HK|pc|H8|pc|H3|pc|HA|pc|SQ|pc|D3|pc|S7|pc|ST|pc|HQ|pc|H7|pc|C2|pc|H9|pc|D5|pc|D2|pc|DQ|pc|D6|pc|DA|pc|DJ|pc|D7|pc|D9|pc|C5|pc|C4|pc|CK|pc|C3|mc|10|]400|300[/hv] Worked out ok at MPs this time but still not much the wiser :)

A few times my partner has bid the impossible (two) spade. I am still confused at its use since it seemed quite a reasonable spade bid in the below hand. It confused me and I had no idea if it meant spades were good, useless, and how you know where it is forcing to I appreciate its not really a novice and beginner topic but I'm fairly basic level and keep coming across strange bids [hv=https://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?lin=st||pn|thepossum,~Mwest,~Mnorth,~Meast|md|1SA98HAQJ874DK75CT,S63H965D93CK98642,SKQ5HK2DQ8642CJ73,SJT742HT3DAJTCAQ5|sv|o|rh||ah|Board%2011|mb|1H|an|Major%20suit%20opening%20--%205+%20!H;%2011-21%20HCP;%2012-22%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|1N|an|Forcing%20one%20notrump%20--%203-%20!H;%203-%20!S;%206+%20HCP;%2012-%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|2D|an|New%20suit%20--%203+%20!D;%205+%20!H;%2011+%20HCP;%2012-18%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|2S|an|Impossible%20spade%20--%204+%20!D;%202-%20!H;%203-%20!S;%2011-12%20total%20points;%20forcing%20to%203D|mb|P|mb|3H|an|3+%20!D;%206+%20!H;%2011+%20HCP;%2012-13%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|4H|an|4+%20!D;%202%20!H;%203-%20!S;%2012+%20HCP;%2012-%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|P|mb|P|pc|S6|pc|SK|pc|S2|pc|S8|pc|HK|pc|H3|pc|H4|pc|H9|pc|H2|pc|HT|pc|HA|pc|H6|pc|HQ|pc|H5|pc|D2|pc|C5|pc|SA|pc|S3|pc|S5|pc|S7|pc|HJ|pc|C9|pc|D4|pc|S4|pc|S9|pc|C6|pc|SQ|pc|SJ|pc|D6|pc|DT|pc|DK|pc|D3|pc|H8|pc|C2|pc|C3|pc|ST|pc|D5|pc|D9|pc|D8|pc|DJ|pc|DA|pc|D7|pc|C4|pc|DQ|pc|CA|pc|CT|pc|C8|pc|C7|pc|CQ|pc|H7|pc|CK|pc|CJ|]400|300[/hv] Can I assume in future that the impossible simply means its a reasonably natural keep bidding bid :) Maybe better named the plausible or quite reasonable spade or something like that

Its about finding the hand afterwards In Daylongs you often have to wait almost 24 hours to access them In other tourneys you dont have time. Its about specific bids in a deal, or specific plays in a deal EDIT Like an "I didn't have a clue what this meant" tool or "I didn't know what to do here" tool or "why did partner do that" tool

Hi Apologies if its been asked for previously and if such a tool/addon exists Often in the middle of a tourney a hand raises an issue (particularly bidding) but there is not really time to save and note or flag the deals Does such a tool exist. All I know is the save option which doesnt work easily for that purpose or a pencil and paper (EDIT I will be starting a thread somewhere about the Impossible Spade for example. It seemed to bear no relation to the hand) (EDIT 2 That's assuming I can find the hand - how about a search for hands with strange bids tool) P

Nothing much more boring than watching a bot play itself when the number of tricks is clear to everyone

Is everything here code? I try to avoid ad hominem attacks on arguments but I checked the WebSite of Nesta which is supposedly about social benefit but apppears to be more about tech sales. Could say the same about many "trusted" institutions (not naming names). Also scary when a mental health conference or pharmacology conference (I found) is all about apps and AI (just an interesting aside - to me at least) I think being a consultant is much easier these days. (Sorry we can't help you but) We have an algorithm and app that can help I do appreciate the sad reality of attracting the ignorant market with bells and whistles but it used to be intellectual pursuits, complex ideas and debates that attracted high quality people and money. We can't help you because of these complex issues to be discussed. Rather than we can help you with this box of tricks. (EDIT I know that claim is not strictly true - read the history books if anyone remembers history)

That's code for scams is it? I have limited sympathy though. My antisocial side is losing patience with people being scammed after years of warnings

Thx everyone for commenting Here was the hand. I could possibly quibble that North was a point or two light but not really [HV=https://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?lin=st||pn|thepossum,~~M20527,~~M20525,~~M20526|md|2SAQT2HJ654DQCAKQ6,S83HDJ976CJ985432,S64HAKT987DAT854C,SKJ975HQ32DK32CT7|sv|b|rh||ah|Board%204|mb|P|mb|1H|an|Major%20suit%20opening%20--%205+%20!H;%2011-21%20HCP;%2012-22%20total%20points%20|mb|1S|an|One-level%20overcall%20--%205+%20!S;%208-17%20HCP;%209-19%20total%20points%20|mb|2S|an|Cue:%20limit%20raise%20or%20better%20--%203+%20!H;%2011+%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|4H|an|5+%20!H;%2015-17%20total%20points%20|mb|P|mb|4N|an|Blackwood%20(H)%20--%203+%20!H;%2017+%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|6C|an|Odd%20number%20of%20keycards.%20Void%20in%20C%20--%200%20!C;%205+%20!H;%2015-17%20total%20points%20|mb|P|mb|7H|an|3+%20!H;%2021+%20total%20points|mb|P|mb|P|mb|P|pc|CT|pc|C6|pc|CJ|pc|HT|pc|HA|pc|H2|pc|H4|pc|C9|pc|HK|pc|H3|pc|H5|pc|D9|pc|S4|pc|S5|pc|SA|pc|S3|pc|CA|pc|C2|pc|S6|pc|C7|pc|CK|pc|C8|pc|D4|pc|HQ|pc|SK|pc|S2|pc|S8|pc|H8|pc|DA|pc|D2|pc|DQ|pc|D6|pc|D5|pc|D3|pc|H6|pc|D7|pc|CQ|pc|C4|pc|DT|pc|S7|pc|SQ|pc|C5|pc|D8|pc|S9|pc|ST|pc|C3|pc|H9|pc|SJ|pc|H7|pc|DK|pc|HJ|pc|DJ|]400|300[/HV] A bit costly since half the field were in 6 and half in 4

What happened was that we had a beautiful grand except for Qxx of trumps with East 3-0 trump break :( I was not unhappy with the 4H bid

[hv=pc=n&s=saqt2hj654dqcakq6&d=w&v=b&b=4&a=p1h1s2s(Cue%20-%20raise%20in%20hearts)p4h(15-17%20pts%20%5Bnot%20HCPs%5D)p4np6c(Odd%20keys%20and%20club%20void)p7h(Approx%2070%25%20grand%20IMO)ppp]133|200[/hv] Did I overbid. I appreciate a lack of cues and precision on bidding but I reckoned the spades were onside etc Sadly I fell into the approx 30% (possibly 20%?) Any advice on bidding would be appreciated :)

They are just ranges I see on some online pages but seem rather high to me I remember reading somewhere that 2NT is thought by some as a slam killing bid - I think I prefer sometimes 2C followed by 2NT

Any investigation by the Committee into the role of media in the long run up to the events of Jan 6 and the ongoing circus EDIT Apologies if I seem disrespectful to Congress but I am trying to respect the US Constitution and Democracy

Thanks. That's a shame that our identity is defined for us by others based on something like that Which city was I in. Whose bed was I in Going to tell me my race, gender and sexuality too Don't tell me it's linked with the Cookie law. It may seem trivial to some but these things are important to some of us I also imagine it's a simple database change to fix it please (edit not really) Also why I may seem anxious given the state of the world at the moment these things matter in ways that many people would not understand. But the extent of global creepiness and control over our lives using tech is getting a bit scary It was just upsetting more than anything It could have been State of Origin type but my first international bridge was played somewhere between Beijing and Irkutsk Or the first league I joined but I am not sure the USA needs me Or the first humiliating bridge Club experience. That's my home country Remind me to associate with Turkey next time. I like winning teams or perhaps I could live in the Caribbean or South America I do appreciate that's it's a small chance that I could be denied entry and deported based on lying about my nationality from a lookup on Bridge Base World Cup but these things happen Don't tell me why the line "I fancied Cuba but it cost less to Majorca" just came to mind

Hi all Apologies for raising a possible inappropriate deviation from a system. Also this relates to the GiB 2/1 system but more broadly to No trump target point ranges for game. Lets start with an assumption. You need 25 points for a NT trump game - just an initial assumption (not a hard and fast rule) The 2NT ranges I often read about online are 20-22 points with 4-5 points response giving enough for game The 2NT range in GiB 2/1 is 20-21 points with anything from 5-10 points leading to a 3NT response I have found these to be far too conservative and occasionally (not often :) ) will open with a nice 19 or even 18 point 2NT If you run Sims on 5-10 point range surely 20-21 is far too conservative. I appreciate with only 4 points opposite you may be struggling Would be interested in any discussion. Similar considerations for 1NT I guess I should add that I am thinking of things like match points where I believe there is a 50% target for game bids. Then of course that percentage depends on your opponents does it not etc P PS I hate to be seen as causing trouble for Novices and Beginners but when I read pages on the Internet about such matters that say "***** is far too complicated for beginners and we aren't going to discuss it" a bit annoying. But I'm not a teacher so don't patronise my students in that way. I remember annoying teachers at primary school with questions outside their skill level