luis

I submited your problem to the MWF (Masters Weirdos Forum) and got the following responses: (Roswell the ET): 2♣ looking for a 4 card red suit to know if NT is better than 2 spades or not. Over 2♦ I bid 2♠ over 2♥ I bid 2NT, over 2♠ I pass. (Mr Administrator): 2♠, with aces and kings it's obvious 2♠ even in the 5-2 fit will play better than 1NT. (Emotion Overkill): 2NT invitational, my overcalls are so bad that pd may have 11-12 for his 1NT bid so I bid 2NT confiming 5332 shape with opening values. Making opener lead and with some strategic QJ pairs in pd's hand 3NT can be a very good contract. (Larry on esteroids): We have 7 spades so I expect him to have a 7 card fit in a red suit, maybe even 8 so I'm bidding 2♥, if pd has 4 we play in the 4-3 fit that can be better than the 5-2 spade fit, when pd has 3 hearts we play 2 spades and they miss the diamond suit. When pd has only 2 hearts they miss the heart partscore. So 2♥ is clear here according to the law.

a) All of these bids. In my style this doesn't even need any consideration. If we have spades we bid spades we live by the rule we die by the rule. As justin said if you find they are ending the auction in 3NT and your pd is on the lead you will really regret not having overcalled 1♠.

If you are going to pay a MPs tournament with a new pd and you don't have enough time to discuss a system then you are in a very bad position respect the other pairs, so the recommended tactics is to try something very very unusual so your results will be completely random and your opponents will have the same problems agains your methods you are having dealing with them. For example you can try "little d'houvre" (sp) a french system where you open your 2nd best suit (with 6331 you pick the best 3 card suit for example).

Luis That's NOT what I wrote. (see above) I wrote that after 1♠ - 2 ♦ ; 3♦ - ?? 3♥ SHOWED a ♥ stop but denied a ♣ stop otherwise Responder would bid 3NT I then went on to propose what Responder bids with a ♣ stop but NO ♥ stop ( a much more difficult problem) Perhaps you should re-read the "complete nonesense" a little more dispassionately Kvetcher It's the same you don't have bidding space to know if you can play 3NT or not. It's very simple.

A perfect recipe for disaster.

Forget all those and focus in competitive bidding. That's the area where an unprepared partnership will be likely to lose a lot of imps. When is pass forcing, when a double invites to game, what the cuebids mean, what is the meaning of 2NT in several competitive hands, do bids that don't show direct support deny it in competition? Are jumps fit-showing? What about several different doubles? What about splinters? Exclusion RKCB? How do you continue when pd overcalls? Do you play two suiters? What kind of hand? How do you contuinue? what to you play against their two suiters or preempts ? etc etc. Handling the bidding when they never enter the auction is easier and in the worst scenario your problems are shared by the field but in comepetitive auctions you are not sure if what is happening at your table is happening in the others so you have to be very prepared. My 2 cents. Luis

East, there's no need to bid 3♠, 4♣ is much better if west has 2 spades and bids 4♠ as choice of games east can then pass.

What I said was precisely that the best MPs system is the system played by most of the field if you have a good pair. If your pair is not good compared to the others then play a system as weird as allowed to go "against" the field.

I love the topic, it's complex and it has many many facets. We'll never reach a settlement about what system is best or about how good each system is. For every partnership there's one base system that is best for them and the longer they work in their agreements, style and treatments the better they are. The best pairs in the world can play very different systems but they all have a great amount of work in their system: competitive auctions, special sequences, dealing with intervention, forcing pass situations etc etc. So even if it's not written I think there is a huge book of system for every good pair even if the base is 2/1 Polish club, SAYC or 2/1 are not really bidding systems but "base systems" that you can adopt to build over them. The longer you work on what you build the more chances you have to get an edge in some auction over your opponents that haven't worked as hard as you. If your opponents play a strange system then their system becomes part of your system since you have to deal with the auctions where they open the bidding before you or when they enter the auction with some special treatment, so as more systems are played you need more hours of work to deal with them. It's more about how much you work than what base system you use.

At MPS you must copycat the field, play exactly what the majority of the field plays, do a poll if needed to find out. The important thing at MPs is to take more tricks than they take and you don't need a system for that just play better than they do in the same contract that they are. There're some good tweaks special for MPs like being able to offer a choice of 3NT or 4M when you open 1NT or 1M etc.

6♥ if we are saving it just costs a little more if it makes then great, if 5♥ makes and 6♥ doesn't and they don't have 5♠ then I say sorry. I feel I can't pass 5♥ with Qxxx in hearts, a side QJxx and a side ace. Luis

I think I hate the redouble but I hate the 1♠ bid more, I think with 7411 East can just bid 4♠ after all he has a 4♠ opening in his hand so why not bid 4♠? I would have bid 2♦ instead of XX as a way to invite to 4♠.

Where have you been Luis? This "problem" was solved a long time ago - stick around for the miracle cure to the "Luis Endplay" situation BTW did you invent this "situation?" Over 3♦ a) With ♥ stop Responder bids 3♥ with ♥ stop but NO ♣ stop (else 3NT) b)With NO ♥ stop Resp bids 3♠ showing EITHER 1) 3 card Spade support OR 2) ♣ stop but NO ♥ stop Opener assumes 2) and bids 3NT with ♥ stop Responder either passes with 2) or corrects to 4♠ with 1) Its not exclusively a 2/1 Problem! ALL systems including Polish ♣ have a problem when, by virtue of the suit ranks or opposition intervention, bidding space is curtailed there's hope for us all then! ;) kvetcher Do you recognize that what you say is a complete nonsense? If 3♥ asks for a heart stopper then what about clubs? Are you going to play 3NT with xxx and xx in clubs or are you going to play 4♠ in the 5-2 fit with AKx and Qx of clubs ? You just can't do it, invent whatever you want but you are trully endplayed in the bidding. Luis

7♥ in the 6-2 fit missing the heart queen? Good to know you don't play that methods anymore :-)

In order to choose a system you have to consider 3 things: 1) How good is the system in isolation. In this area I think relay systems such as Moscito are superior. But this is the least important of the 3 factors to choose a bidding system. 2) How good is the system for your partnership? As Roland said this is maybe the most important factor, as long as you feel good and confortable playing a system then that system is the best for you 3) What the other players play? This is for the "field protection" factor I mentioned before. As long as averybody plays the same system the system is not as important as judgement and play. So answering your question I think 2/1 ranks excellent in #3 and very poorly in #1 so depending on #2 you may play 2/1 or not. With some pds I play 2/1 and even when I think it's a bad system I reckon is the best tool for one of my partnerships. I have 3 regular partners now (for different events) and I play 2/1 with one, Moscito with the other and Fantunes with the third one.

2/1 is better than SAYC so it's not horrible, just bad. Among the many problems of 2/1 is the "Luis endplay" situation that no single 2/1 lover ever solved. 1♠ - 2♦ 3♦ - Now let's say responder has a balanced 12 or 13 count hand with 5 diamonds and 2 spades. How do you solve the problem of having only the 3♥ bid between you and 3NT when you may have a club stopper or a heart stopper or none or both? What is 3♥ in this situation and why? I will agree this is not the worst problem of 2/1, there're worst scenarios like how to survive after a forcing 1NT when opener has a strong hand or how to determine who is strong enough to look for slam when both hands have 14-16 unbalanced hands. Etc etc etc. I don't think Polish club is perfect, In my opinion is better than 2/1. But wait, I'm not saying you shouldn't play 2/1 because it's bad, field protection is one of the best things to have on your side and if everybody plays a bad system then you can win without any problems playing the same bad system as long as you defend and play the hands well, that is exactly why most SAYC or 2/1 lovers tend to say other systems are satanic and would like to ban them because in a world where 2/1 or sayc is only played by 20% of the field you are in great disadvantage if you play such a system. Just some quick thoughts, I can be right I can be wrong I can even change my mind soon.

We all hate the 6♣ bid no excuses.

[hv=n=skxxhxxdkqjxxcaxx&s=saxxxhakjxxxdaxcx]133|200|[/hv] How would you reach this excellent slam? At the match I was seeing the bidding was Table 1: 1♦ - 1♥ 1NT - 2♠ 3♦ - 4♥ pass Table 2: 1♦ - 1♥ 1NT - 2♣* 2♦ - 3♥ 2NT - 4♥

My conclusion after reading all the posts about ACBL tournaments is that the ACBL wants to run SAYC tournaments but since that is not possible they try to harrass the players that deviate from SAYC reaching some interpretations of the laws that I would describe as comic. I think there're a lot of different things that can be done to improve the quality of the tournaments before even thinking about system regulations, it's a pitty they put all the effort in silly stuff.

4♥ not even close

Yes pd opens with that and even less than that. I have no problem playing a game and go down.

3♠ following the theory that if you are going to make a mistake it's better to do it as early as possible. I don't like the scenarios after passing or doubling.

3♣ of course showing 9 cards is better than showing 6.

2♦ is fine, if pd only sees his cards and not what you bid you may need to change your pd not your system.

4♥ automatic.