pilowsky

Let's keep the Trump administration far away from it.

Masterpoints are supposed to provide players with some sort of idea of their skill level. To some extent this is true. Possibly the simplest way to understand masterpoints for the average player/newcomer to the game is from the image below. Moments ago I played in an ACBL tournament on BBO. There were 15 players. You can see the rankings on the left and the masterpoints on the right. The graph at the top shows the distribution of masterpoints amongst the players and below after a logarithmic transformation. What this shows is that to get a masterpoint you need to be in the top half. It is just like pH. Below half is basic, and above half is acid - tasty: roughly speaking. Not all Bridge competitions work this way, and in other formats it can be different. A lot of people come to Bridge from individual sports such as Chess (I did) where ranking systems such as the Elo system are used. This method means that each players rank increases when they defeat a higher ranked player and falls when they lose to a lower ranked player. Bridge is complicated by having pairs. In some ways, masterpoints can be considered a licence to print money. You want to have fun playing bridge and testing your skill. This requires a certain amount of infrastructure and skill on the part of the organisation running the competition, Masterpoints are the currency. Of course, whenever money is involved everyone wants more than their fair share.

I don't know how many of you have access to The Lancet, so here is a copy of the recent report concerning the new vaccine from Oxford. I have read it and it looks very promising. Safety and immunogenicity of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2: a preliminary report of a phase 1/2, single-blind, randomised controlled trial

Not entirely sure about this one but it came down to a 5 card ending that my partner - the North robot did not find. As usual, I was pretty kind. Is this misplayed? Or is it a reasonable guess? Here's the 5 card ending just before the train-wreck. It's South to lead and make 4 more tricks for 990 and 6 IMPs: or not for -10.8. [hv=d=n&v=0&b=1&a=1np4np6nppp]133|100[/hv] [hv=pc=n&s=s9hdjca83&w=sj8hdcj96&n=saqhdcqt5&e=sk2hdck74]399|300[/hv] Of course, as someone commented earlier "my bidding does need a ton of work" - I am in the wrong contract. Here's the full deal. Here's the hand as played On the plus side, it is on the practice table in Prime so only the robot's pride is at stake.

I haven't looked at the plans because homes are intensely personal. I was born in Capetown and have lived for more than a few weeks in more than a dozen cities large and small. Sydney is my favourite. Sheffield, England I liked the least. I have lived in and renovated so many houses that I will never move again. The clip below provides all the advice you will ever need. The guy that made this show also made VEEP. Good luck I hope it all works out smoothly. Our last one was the best. I'm not planning another move.

Thanks, everyone for your insightful comments. Extremely helpful as always. I understand the point about Strong JS. Like or dislike, there is no point sitting in the passenger seat if you want to drive the car. As I am sure you do as well, I modulate my approach depending on my partner and the format I am playing. When playing with robots I use whatever works best with robots. It isn't brain surgery. I agree my bidding needs work: so does every other aspect of everything I do. I was serious about the lesson - my Bridge teacher agrees with the 1♥ option so it's back to the drawing board for me.

OK how about this: A long long time ago, people used to think for themselves. If they made a mistake then they had to fix it up. Because it was wrong. Sometime later, a carpenter got sick of his job and thought to himself "wait a minute, I'll invent a new concept called 'hope' ". Hope is a concept that dissociates right from wrong. Children steal things and hope that they will get away with it. New players play the wrong card and hope that it will win a trick. Then they go and see the man on Sunday and pray for forgiveness - they are hopeful. Real-life doesn't work like that. In real life you have to work, study and learn to get what you want or pandemics, famine and climate change will ***** all over you. The carpenter should get a job.

I think that you have definitely hit the nail on the button there. The "investors" that wanted to build the wall could be characterised in much the same way as people that invest money in "gentlemen" that offer to absolve them of all their sins for a small consideration. Perhaps it is just the third side of the same coin. To give you a heads up.

That's an interesting perspective Stephen. Since I am aware that you are a much better Bridge player than me I shall take your comments in good part. On the other hand, here are some things that may not have occurred to you if you do not play in this style of tournament often. The IMP's challenge ACBL format sets about 12-20 players of varying skill level at individual tables with 3 robot opponents. Each has 58 minutes to play 12 hands. If I finish quickly I can kibbitz the others and watch my IMP's change as they do better or worse. For me, this is the best part. It is completely different to the Daylong format and to many other challenge formats. Unlike matchpoints formats, it does reward occasional bold bidding that results in large swings. Before the tournament starts I carefully watch who is registering. This is because the tournament generally attracts a very broad skill level. From the very best, to - well - me. My plan is to test myself against the best players in the tournament. To do this I need to get the "average" boards right, but I must also find something special where I can. Next, it's a best-hand tournament. So on this hand, I tried to imagine what North might have given what I had. I completely agree that in normal circumstances a Soloway jump shift is a stretch. With GIB if I bid 6NT as you suggest I am quite likely to end up in 7NTx-1: not a good outcome. What I imagined was that North would have a solid Club suit for its bid and a little extra on the outside. Combined with my nice Hearts and Spades I figured 6NT was makeable even if the ♦A was missing. This was my reasoning for deliberately bidding Soloway (17+ total points). The layout was exactly what I expected it to be: Unfortunately, so was my card-play. Interestingly, although I lack the solid suit, I do have 19 total points - so there is that... Luckily, I have a lesson today .

Come to think of it, I suspect the old adage "double of 1NT is for penalties" is mainly intended to apply in the situation where your partner has made an opening bid. THEN RHO bids 1NT - usually because they have a balanced 15-16HCP. To be fair I can't take credit for this I read it a couple of days ago in Michael's book (Judgement at Bridge 2 - Mike Lawrence). In this situation, if you find yourself with a nice stack of points then it's a different ball-game. Opps are definitely playing Snooker on a sticky wicket with a croquet hook.

lookatallthehelpfulpeopleyoucanfindontheforum

I'm playing in an ACBL IMP's challenge tournament - robot individual. Here is the Board 1 Disaster. I won't show you the other tournament where the same thing happened - it's even worse. The great thing about IMP's though is that you can recover into a place. My hours of practice with robots has taught me to read the bidding carefully and now I can regularly find the right spot. The problem I have now is that my card play is so terrible I am usually at least a couple of tricks short of Nirvana. My friend North opens 1♣. This is wonderful news in a best-hand tournament because I have 16 HCP and a singleton ♣. Also, my practice with GIB reminds me that 2♦ is really going to excite North, who tells me 4♣ - no, not Gerber. He's got a "solid suit -- 11-21 HCP; solid 6-card ♣; ♣AKQ,no ♣; 12-22 total points" I'm now a world expert in GIBberish; this means he's got a long solid club suit and not much else. I decide to check: 4NT. 5♠ - yep, 2 key cards and the queen. OK, what can possibly go wrong. 6NT. I'll tell you what can go wrong - my card play. Here's the hand. - No solace at all that nobody else found it. West led the ♠K[hv=pc=n&s=sa632hak43dkq63c2&w=skqj875ht5d952c96&n=st4hq72d87cakqj84&e=s9hj986dajt4ct753&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=1cp2dp4cp4np5sp6nppp]399|300[/hv]

For what its worth, I just gave the robots 6 deals where the opener had 15-17 balanced and RHO had 15-16. GIB doesn't double. But it bids Cappelletti on just about anything in my limited experience. Weak NT, now that's a different ball of fish, which is why I am always very particular when people sit down and say "we play Acol" - There are so many variants of Acol about, that online it's useful to know in advance what you are up against. With weak NT I like dbl to be "I have the same as they do and all systems on" - of course, this needs to be discussed in advance which is why it's a bit fiendish online. In some ways, I think having Acol and SAYC at the same tournament is a little bit like having boxing and wrestling together: both tests of skill, but is it a wise combination?

I could not agree more. I also play in the BIL. It is outstanding. Maureen Hall who runs the Beginners Intermediate Lounge from New Zealand is an ornament to the international community. She and her team of Directors deserve medals. They run the best Bridge Club I have ever had the pleasure of participating in. The quality and behaviour of advisors on the BIL stands in sharp contrast to that which I have witnessed in other places.

I do not think this is the right place for a discussion about Teaching and Education. The demographic that plays and learns bridge is for the most part highly educated. The Journal of Higher education is called the Educator. Why do you claim expertise in an area that you are clearly non-expert? Also, this is not really the topic of this thread. Please start a new topic in the water cooler where I will be happy to answer any questions that you may have about teaching and education.

Even better. No need to return it then. I'll keep it with Root's Introduction to bidding that was due back at State Library of South Australia 22 Jan 1975. 5c/day fine. Please don't tell anyone. He says "On occasion, the opponents will interfere with your bidding." There was a 3 page Chapter on defensive bidding. There are three types of defensive bids: The overcall The takeout double The Pass - e.g. AJ984, 7 AQ96 KQT Then I had to go and study for my exams.

What if I borrow Blackwood's book to learn his convention? Is that OK?

OK OK You got me.

Interesting point, we've been through this before quite recently. It's Michael Michaels eponymous bid. So I feel that I'm entitled to add the apostrophe anywhere I like. For a full and really invigorating discussion of 's' and possessive apostrophes see Fowler. Personally, I think the whole thing is a bit overblown but it's entirely up to you. I hope the spacing is up to snuff

I'm playing in a 15 second instant tournament right now so I don't have much time. When this hand arrives and RHO bids 1♦ What should I do. 10 seconds to go.... [hv=pc=n&s=st8762hakjt62dtcq&d=e&v=n&b=2&a=1d]133|200[/hv] Oddly, it didn't end as well as it should have:

Here is a link to the Prime club information https://blog.bridgeb...t-is-bbo-prime/ I am not a Bridge professional, and I do not work for BBO. I am a professional educator. Vampyr's advice is pretty good. In the main, I would avoid people that style themselves as 'Teachers' because they want you to sit still while they tell you things. There are very few people that I know for whom this is a good learning modality. The best Educator will engage you in a discussion, direct you to resources and give you insights into how to develop your game. Whether or not you choose to play with a partner, online against robots or whatever is up to you. The assertion that practice with robots will damage your game is not supported by any evidence. It is not one that I agree with. My game, with robots and face-to-face, has dramatically improved after using the robots for practice.

In retrospect, 4♥ would be the best. To me, the amazing thing is that even 4♥ should not make. Just one of those hands. Even the robots characterise the West hand as 1♠. [hv=pc=n&w=sqjt432h7dk52caj3]133|100[/hv] Which is fair given that KR gives it 12.3, although in the old money it only scores 11. Here is the full deal: The dealer was South and all were vulnerable. IMHO this deal is a monster.[hv=pc=n&s=sk975hjdqjckt9654&w=sqjt432h7dk52caj3&n=sa8hq4dat743cq872&e=s6hakt986532d986c]399|300[/hv]

I am in a similar position to you except that I used to play Chess. I don't agree with Mikeh. Mike is an Expert who has reached his level. He is in a stable position with a system that works for him. But I do agree with Nige1. The robots bidding and play is neither 'good nor bad', They do make 'wrong' decisions, but so do humans. This makes practising with them useful. The GIB system is 'cut down' and they play it in a highly reliable fashion. Best of all, they never forget, and they alert all their bids. I would do the following Join Prime. This way you get to practice endlessly with Advanced robots in defence and as declarer.Learn shape as well as HCP - people say 'shape' but no-one in the Club explains what it means.Get an Educator that you like and have regular one on one lessons. As a retired Educator I can tell you that the most important thing about a mentor is that you know that they are good and that you understand what they are saying.Don't worry about a 'regular partner' until you find your level. Partners will come to you as you reach your level.This process may take a while but Bridge is a mind game. Although it is played with a partner, it's still your mind.Be relaxed. I find the Robot system quite soothing because of its simplicity. When I have conquered it I may start to add more, but I think it will take a long time. When I play with partners I generally play SAYC with even fewer gadgets. Most Bridgeplayers are not as strong as GIB. There are a lot of resources out there. I really like Max Chauvet's (card-play) and Rob Barrington's (system) videos. Mike Lawrence's Books are good but again, choose a style that you like when it comes to books. Some Bridge writers tend to be writing for themselves. Anyway, that's my humble opinion. Good luck partner.

Can I put money on the North robot?

Well spotted. That is exactly why I was in a quandary about what I should do next to indicate the sort of hand that I had. My thoughts were: 1. My partner has 12-14 HCP if I bid 4♥ we could miss a slam. 2. My partner may have up to 19 HCP and a shapely hand and we're going to miss a slam. 3. My partner has opened light and this is going to end badly. 4. We are playing IMP's and I don't want to miss game. 5. We are playing IMP's and I don't want to miss slam. 6. I can't bid 4NT 1430 because 1430 for what? 7. I need to go to the bathroom. 8. One minute has now gone past. 9. 6♥ What can possibly go wrong? So here it is. https://www.bridgeba...D5|pc|HQ|mc|11| And I managed to only go off 1 for -4.1 IMPs so I was not too sad. Top board for 9.1 was 4♥+1 P2♠P4♥PPP On BBO, no-one can hear you scream.