MarkG_VA

My point exactly. And thanks for that ... your name has now been black balled :)

I stand corrected on this point, thank you.

The analogy is valid only up to a point. Do you transfer over 1N opening and then pass when you are invitational? That is what GiB did on the second hand by NOT bidding NMF to show his nice 11. The situation is fundamentally different in another way. When the auction begins 1m-1M-1N, much more is known about the hands, and how they fit together. We're not talking 15-17 opposite next to nothing transfer here.

GiB seems to routinely rebid 5 card majors over opener's 1N rebid. We are not talking KQJTx here either. Why does GiB risk a 5-2 or 5-1 fit(when GiB has ♠, as opener could be 1=4=4=4) and being a level higher on minimum hands instead of just passing 1N? Here's a case in point from a recent tourney: http://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?myhand=M-13781770-1300567501 Here's one where GiB bids the same off a maximum, when it should have bid NMF: http://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?myhand=M-11456501-1300163401 This "bug" needs to be fixed ... !!!

Yes, of course. As The_Hog would say, wtp? (finally dawned on me ... wtp=why the problem ... lol)

I think this would be a great idea. Personally, I often log on with exactly that thought in mind, i.e "Let me find a table that is as close to 4 world class players as possible and kibitz," with the hope that the players will talk amongst themselves about the boards and that others are watching and talking about them as well. Otherwise, you are left to your own devices and have to search for such a table (admittedly they are ways to do this, but with no guarantees of success).

To me the key phrase in the scenario was you "have an agreement" with partner. Yes, left to my own devices, I would bid 2H regardless. HOWEVER, for whatever reason, I have agreed "to play a sound style in competing" with a relatively new partner. This game is all about building a partnership, and I am assuming the goal is to develop a long term partnership with this person. So, at IMPs, I will bid 2H and justify myself later, if needed (shouldn't be necessary if this is a partner I'm thinking about keeping), but at MP I will pass, taking the short term loss for the long term gain in partnership trust, and re-discuss agreement later. :) I felt an explanation would be nice, since I was the only one to vote this way. I will be interested to read any reactions. Mark BBO = MarkG_VA

Yes. I, too, would like to know the answer. In a slightly different vein, I have often felt that there should be a better system for ACBL games here on BBO, specifically when calculating MP awards. Example: #41_Pairs_.----------_ACBL_Mon_1pm_-----__~1~1109613852~41 (couldn't quite figure out how to insert link) The above situation happens to me all too frequently. In this particular case, my partner and I placed 2nd overall out of 34 with +43.81 IMPs (1st was 44.81) and 2nd in our section. There were 4 sections. Yet, we received LESS than 3rd and 4th overall and MUCH less than the section leaders from the other 2 sections, both of whom scored well below us, IMP wise. Take a look at the full results page to fully appreciate this. It's much harder to explain verbally here. Mark BBO = MarkG_VA

I would also pick low ♣ (specifically 5 since I lead 4th best). wtp = ? Also, would be interested in learning the prevalent argument/thinking behind 3rd/5th best leads instead of the "standard/what they teach you first" 4th best leads ... follow up questions: then does partner have difficulty distinguishing between 3rd and 5th? When do you choose to lead 3rd and when 5th? Thanks, MarkG_VA

Hello All, I am in a bit of a pickle and thought it might help to advertise here. I LOVE THIS GAME! Also, unfortunately or fortunately, depending upon how you look at it, I am just a tad competitive :D . This, in and of itself is not a problem. However, I have found it difficult/time consuming finding players sufficiently stronger than me that are still willing to play/discuss bridge with me. I hope to find a mentor/partners to help me continue on my steep learning curve. Please contact me if you are willing/interested and I will be appreciative. Since playing my first hand of bridge/joining the ACBL in July of '03, I have amassed over 200 MPs. Also, I really enjoy playing with junior/semi-junior players (am 27). There are too few of us in the game B) . May all your finesses work (except at my table ... jk), MarkG_VA [The above is my handle/name on BBO]

Hi All, Just a small, and easily implemented, suggestion to consider including in the next released version of BBO ... I have noticed that when I open a chat room a big chunk of the last messages from the Lobby are automatically carried over. This is a bit annoying and it would be fairly easy to start with a blank page instead (or if the issue is that some would find it beneficial to carry over the last few messages, at least limit it further). It is great to have the option of having any kind of extended conversation in a chat room as opposed to the lobby for numerous reasons that don't really need to be stated. Having the default state of a new chat room NOT include messages carried over from the lobby would make it even nicer :P. To Fred & the entire BBO team, thanks again for all your hard work and keeping BBO free. Especially the last release (3.9.9), b/c with previous versions I was not able to stay on longer than a few minutes without freezing. Good to be on here now! MarkG_VA On since Jan. '05