mishovnbg

Hi Paulhar! Paulhar: "You're not playing anything fancy (i.e. transfer followed by splinter.) Texas isn't allowed. 3S is a slam try. How do you bid this? Yeah, I know these methods are not best, but these are the conditions of the poll" ->Transfers and splinters are not "fancy", they are part of standard bidding. If you like to learn something "fancy" read about Equality method of xfers in competition B) IMO you choose wrong section for your pool. If you already didn't notice, need to inform you that Beginner/Intermediate section exist too and is right place for your questions... :D As I like to say everybody is free to be crazy by his own unique way, untill he/she didn't bother anybody. :D Despite wheel was invented many time ago still there is some people who like to travel round the world on their own legs... Of course this is one of ways to do this, but like bridge bidding without transfers/splinters, it is terrible uneffective :) Misho

Hi Ben! First need to say without your work "Equality" method didn't exist, will remain only an idea. So please wrote about it as Misho&Ben's method please :rolleyes: Two way bids remain same in method and are up to partnership to decide how to use them. IMO main rule must be: "the higher is bid, the more offensive hand it show". By the way same style was used for answers to 2 suiters with shown 2 suits... Examples: 1♣ - (1♥) - ? DBL: 4+♠, defensive hand, partner can pass dbl, deny ♥ shortness 2♣: 4+♠, offensive hand 2♦: 5+♠, offensive hand, inv+ 1♠: is bal hand unsuitable for nat 1/3NT bid or 5+♦ and is normal part of equality method. Note if opps overcall is in minor, then such bid include only bal hand. -------------------------- Free bids which remain between overcall and cue bid of overcall suit are free for any use of partnership. In our with Ben its meaning is fnjs of course B) . 1♠ - (2♦) - 3♣: inv, values(suit) ♣ and ♠ fit. Remarks: - By "Equality" method there is no such thing like "transfer que bid". Cue bid at 3 level always ask for stopper with solid suit. - 3 level jump raise include pure preempt and mixed, like on opening. Misho

Pass. And your partner will play with you again. You told your story, he decide to pass, instead of 4♣ p/c. Trust him! He can have unexpected for opps hand, stopping their suit with junk. Example: 10xxxx,xxx,Axxx,x Opps can expect to take their ♠ with AKQJxx... Misho

"If anyone else has an opinion on what is Standard (if no artificial conventions of any kind are allowed), please let me know." Of course you can use horse instead of automobile, the only problem your life can be not enough long to reach destinition :D. I wonder why people learn to drive automobile, instead of using own legs only :)? Are they not afraid of mistakes? Catastrophes? Shortly - lack of science&technique will never be right way for nobody. Misho

Hi friends and thank you♥! I am hard working now, but hope to have more time in the future. It is really hard to survive as "one man company" like mine in Bulgaria. Politics(lobby) make laws with privileges for big companies only(money) and only talking a lot about support of middle/small business. Can you say how are things at your countries? Misho

4♣ Misho

The big disadvantage of natural system is wide range of strength. This normally lead to regular underbid/overbid problems, like one in example. When you must guess in same positions best way is to overbid for possible game. Pass with 10 hcp as responder is ridiculous, when opener can have up to 17-18hcp(bad for suit contract, but good for your NT contract, like stiff honours). 2♠ is acceptable bid, but underbid is just wrong strategy. Best bid is 2NT. You have perfect hand for NT: fill with high honours p long suits and low honours in side suits. Your stops are not sure? Not a perfect world...Bridge is game for bidders, like wrote Mike Lawrence! 2♠ with such wide range as 5-10hcp can lead to worse overbids from opener, with less information than responder. 2NT also give you chance to find good game on 4♥/♠, if your p rebid 3♦, in which case your hand will be perfect(i will bid 4♣ as pick up contract). Misho

Depend of hand... Because of weak opening you can expect missing honors behind you, so all tenaces are bad, unlike 1 level opening, where you expect they to be good for you. Hand in example is good for bid at 1 level and bad for 2 level opps opening. Still agressive take out double is possible, if you play some convention for unbalanced hands with 4+ card in unbid major - 2NT raptor or meta overcalls. This way your p expect normally 3 cards support in unbid major and will not overbid often. Misho

Like my friend Boian like to say: "Bridge is concrete game". Contract can be wrongsided with any strength, but statisticaly better to play it by stronger hand. We play with him 2 way system, where in most of cases you can pickup side to play contract. Misho

Q1: 1♥ - 6.5 L, 1.5QT, good suit, marginal hand. If you play duch 2/muiderberg - 2♥. If you play Wilkosz - 2♦. It is bad idea to pass and bid later at highest level. Q2: dbl - you still have 3 cards support and hcp compensation. Q3: 1♠, not interesting question. Q4: 1♠, good for leading direction too. Misho

4♦&6♦=blame Misho

Never dbl for penalty for reopen position, unles you have good rebid on any p bid. You can dbl for penalty only if previous penalty dbl by your side, because now all subsequent dbls will be penalty too. The reason of such way is playing with direct t/o doubles, trap passes and reopen t/o doubles - normal way now. With hand in example you have happy pass ;) . Misho

Optional, because you know that your p can have max 4 cards in ♥, penalty for ♠ of course, but max to inv hand. Trap pass with GF hand is bad idea. Misho

Hi flame! When you try to play some convention/agreement in competition is nice idea to play same in similar situations, because else will be very complex and hard to remember your agreements. The method I use to pay is: pass: Possibility to play dbl contract after weak artifical opening(like multi). Stopper+ after transfer/stayman/relay/strong artifical opening. rdbl: deny possibilty to pass or bid by system. Puppet to next suit, giving the rdbl possibility to sign off anywhere(own suit). bid: system on The advantage of above method is you continue to play your system as long as it is possible and use your work on it. It also give you sign off in all suits, most of time even to pick up between 2 suits. Examples: 2♦{multi} - (dbl) - rdbl{puppet 2♥} - (p) 2♥{accept puppet} - (p*) - ? pass/2♠/3♣: s.o. 2NT: ♣+♦ s.o. Note *. If opp dbl instead of p, then rdbl=♠+m s.o. 1NT - (p) - 2♦{transfer} - (dbl) - ? pass: stopper + ♦. rdbl form p now ask to pass with 4 cards rdbl: deny stopper ♦, prefer p to play contracts 2♥: 3♥, prefer to play contract bid: system (1♠) - 1NT{raptor} - (dbl) - ? pass: can play 1NT rdbl: puppet to 2♣ (own suit) bid: system (p/c) As you can see by examples method is suitable and usefull after almost any artifical bid in competition. Probably usage of specific bids in specific situations is more effective, but imo is good for computers only ;) Misho

The way I play rebids of 3/4th suit forcing show min/max: 1♣-1♦ 1♠-2♥ ? 2♠: min, deny stop ♥ / fit ♦ 2NT: min, stop ♥ 3♣: max, deny stop ♥ / fit ♦ 3♦: min, 3+ ♦ 3♥: max, Axx+♥. (IMO will be best to play it as exception as max+fit♦) 3♠: min, 6(5)+♣-5+♠ (with max you are for reverse early, I prefer to open 1♠ with such hands if ♠ are not very bad) 3NT: max, stop ♥ 4♣: max, 6+♣ good suit-4♠, slam interest 4♦: max, 3+ ♦, singleton ♥ 4♥: max, 3+ ♦, void ♥ 4♠: min, 5=0=2=6 With given above responses I will not seek for slam, but for best game and my bid will be nat 3♠. Now my p can bid 3NT with Qx in ♥, because he denied stopper early. By the way by bidding singleton ♥ isn't shown!!! Your p can simple have hand like: S: AXXX H: XX D: KJX C: AQTX or S: JXXX H: XX D: KQX C: AK10X... Misho

"LHO had a 18-point 2-2-4-5 hand, and he passed." LOL, ROLF... Misho

overtake without long thinking... Misho

It is ok imo. I can only add, that if you like you can alert your pass on 3NT like "I suppose 1NT from my p was psyche". Why? Because your normal bid is dbl and you pass based on knoledge about your partner can bluff sometimes and opps bids, not on your cards, which you show by bids already. Still dbl on 1NT CAN be psyche too, your rdbl can be taken as transfer for cl, dbl as lead directing for di and all that bids with few hcp... Shortly will be fair to inform opps that your pass on 3NT was based upon knoledge of your p habits. Misho

"Equality" - the first complete method of transfer bids in competition, invented by me and Ben. It is even better than regular take out double, because it is extension of it. It is better than use of NT bid as take out, because add possibilty of nat 1NT/3NT contracts, without losing distributional bids. It is the best ;) : http://bridgebase.lunarpages.com/~bridge2/...?showtopic=2727 http://bridgebase.lunarpages.com/~bridge2/...?showtopic=2731 http://bridgebase.lunarpages.com/~bridge2/...?showtopic=2730 http://bridgebase.lunarpages.com/~bridge2/...?showtopic=2728 http://bridgebase.lunarpages.com/~bridge2/...?showtopic=2729 Misho

Pass. Because 2♠ is GF 3NT is fast arrival and show min! Misho

If Opps are known to be beginners, I would say Psychic bid is a bit unfair. Hongjun It is not only fair, it is nice for them... Learning to play against psyches is part of game. Beginners can lose board by different way, by psyche is the best, because give them chance to win, if p didn't discover psyche :) Misho

std BG method: 2♦-2NT, ? 3♣: max ->3♦ relay -> inverted majors 3♦: min, ♥ 3♥: min, ♠ 3♠: strong variant unbalanced 3NT: strong variant balanced (if doesnt exist, the any major AKQxxx) Misho

Brown sticker convention - forget about it... Most popular defense vs alternative bids like multi between experts is to accept one (more often or if equal higher) variant and play against it. So vs multi dbl is take out on ♠, while with take out on ♥ - pass and take out later. Misho

I have every right to expect my partner not to psych, i dont see any problem with that. Psychs are a problem in the bridge law, because you nearly can never say that the psych's partner didnt have even the slightest advantage over the opponents, its enough that you and your partner both read about with a specific psych, or both read this thread, you already have some info about your partner bids that your opponents didnt have. With all this said, dont get me wrong, i never complained (or even called a director) when opponents psyched against me. You have more advantages playing with regular partner long time about usage of bids and cards as extended version of any system/marking, because psyches are rare. Misho

Science... instead of stone age bridge... Misho