jdeegan

:P We are vul vs nvul. You are probably going to beat 5♠, so a double is not at all insane, but esp. at IMP's it has relatively little to gain assuming partner is something like nine ♦ missing the ace. If we are playing catch up, then I would double to protect our 'equity' on the theory that partner may have been stepping out a bit because of the state of the match.

:P Aw come on. You have an easy pass over 3♠ at (worst case) 50 a trick. If it gets doubled, still pass, really good one card support.

x

:P I didn't see the match, and I don't know their agreements. I would have liked to have bid 4♣, but I think I am too weak, and I don't want the auction to get out of hand. Still, given his subsequent bidding, partner must have some kind of monster hand, either ♠ and ♦ (most likely, imo.) or huge ♥ support and looking for slam opposite not very much. Either way, 4♠ seems right. Partner must be prepared for this, otherwise everyone wouldn't always be calling him Houdini. Why jec bid 4♥ is a mystery to me.

:P I was fortunate enough to see Bubba's shot live on TV. I still don't believe it. How can you do that with an open-faced club? The ball must have hooked 45 degrees in the air. It was still backing up almost back TOWARD the golfer AFTER it hit the green.

:P Nobody vul. You are third seat. Scoring is IMP's. The bidding goes: Pass by partner, 3♠ on your right. You hold: A Axx Kxx AKJ9xx

:P Just curious. If pard's double is negative, how do we ever play 2♠ (or the runout) doubled for penalties? If it goes pass by pard and pass on my right, what do I need for a balancing double? What kind of hand calls for a pass or bidding something else?

:P Have not read The Prince since college. All I care about is the spot price of Brent crude in October 2012 and December 2012. The realities of Iran's "folding" or even if that actually matters is really still a mystery to me. My December position is just an afterthought.

:P Even before reading the thread, I was thinking that 6♦ was worth investigating. The point being you have located a clump of spade high cards to your right. With your ten and pard's 20-21 mostly (very possibly) outside of spades, slam in your long suit looks somewhat promising. Maybe 4♦? If my pard opened 2NT with a stiff ace of spades, I would be mildly insulted. He must not like my dummy play.

:P 50+ years ago some Italian Blue Team pairs were known for their offshape TO doubles. How they did it I don't know.

:P Depends on the North American. You can view the weak two bid as constructive (ie. you definitely want to win when it is your hand) or obstructive (ie. your main objective is to disrupt the opponents auction). Normally, when playing money bridge or even IMPs (unless behind, late) against good opposition you want to be constructive. Playing MP's or even IMPs against the usual tournament field there is imo a very good case for being obstructive.

:P I was pretty complacent that Obama and Netanyahu recently made the obvious deal. Namely, the US will help Israel bomb the Iranian nuclear program, but Israel has to hold off until after the election. That way Obama should win the election easily. Iran may or may not decide to fold in the meantime (one oddsmaker figures 70-30 in favor of folding). Either way, Bibi can take credit for heading off Holocaust II, and the Kingdom will be pleased. Now I am starting to get the yips. Is there any chance the Israelis will jump the gun? That would mean $200+ per barrel oil before the election. And what are the real odds that the Iranians will fold? I have some money down on this situation, and I would love to hear any comments and/or opinions.

:huh:

:P I think everybody agrees that three and four level openers are primarily disruptive in intent. So, the rare 9-bagger or Andrew Robson third seat AKA preempts are imo not really controversial. And, you do bid again. Weak two bids are another story. The people who invented them played them very disciplined (exactly 6 cards with two of the top three or three of the top five honors and 7 to 11 HCP). They also played a lot in Al Roth's 2 cent (about 20 cents in today's money) game. When I was in NYC I sometimes played in Al's 2 cent game and was equally disciplined. Among those sharks at that form of scoring only an idiot would do otherwise. Back home playing MP's against the tournament duplicate field it was a different situation. The more hands I could open for a weak two bid, the better we scored. I don't think things have changed very much. Personally, I have a bias for action at the bridge table, so the undisciplined weak two bid sings a siren's song to me. As long as my partner has some minimal grasp of the LOTT, then 6-5's and certain 7-baggers call out to me. Even against good players, you never know when a weak two opener will throw a spanner into the opponents' bidding. When pard has the big hand I just want to survive. At least I will have the right number of high cards and playing tricks. Non-vul dealer with: Axx Ax 10987xxx x a 'pure' hand with 8 HCP and six playing tricks. Open 2♦?

:P I would have to bid a cheerful 2♠ playing MP's. At IMP's I can't see getting killed.

:P Yuk! I'm going to play the ♠ ace, then the king, hoping to get a read in the ♠ suit. With no additional info, I guess a third ♠ pitching a ♦ is right. Given a chance I'm going to finesse LHO for the queen of trumps and hope to win my ♣ by brute force.

:P But his rug (if he just had one) really would have pulled the room together.

:P Minor league hockey. Ultimate proof that white people got no rhythm.

:P I think you make an illuminating point about the so-called HCP range of the 2NT opener. One could argue that the well-known 40-60% loss on 19+ to 21 HCP 2NT openers that go all pass is more than compensated for by supposed gains on the remaining hands where it doesn't go all pass. My personal take on this is a little different. The data quoted are imo. based on hand evaluations done mostly by weak players. Counting high card points is only the start or first step in hand evaluation. Some 19 HCP hands need to be opened for 2NT like this brute: AK10x Q109 AQ98 Ax Some 20 HCP hands should be opened for a one bid, like this pussycat: KJxx Kxx AQxx AK Personally, I am not a great fan of the 2NT opener (except when playing rubber bridge for money and I hold it). Minor suit slams can be hard to bid. I guess the easiest way to cater to the advancing players is to up the HCP range by a point.

:P I can think of at least three situations. First is something like a nine bagger to the KQJ or an 8-4 hand, esp. in a major. No point in opening more than a four bid, but if opponents outbid me, I have at least two more playing tricks than advertised, so I advocate taking the push. This does not come up often. Second is a two suiter (6-5 or even 6-6) with lots of extra playing strength where I don't want to pass, so I open with a weak two bid. If partner passes and the opponents compete, I may need to trot out the second suit. Partner may be broke with support for the first suit (a save possibility) or fit my second suit. Again, this doesn't come up often. Third is when I (very rarely) open a nice seven bagger with a weak two. Something like: A109xxxx x A109 xx If partner raises to 3♠, I have to bid four based on the law of total tricks, if nothing else. Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.

:P Relocate the political capital of North America. Where would you put it?

:P Old school rules: 1. Game forcing opener shows (normally) 4 quick tricks and four losers in a major - 4 quick tricks and three losers in a minor. 2. The reason for the strong opener is to prevent the hand from being passed out in a one bid when game is a reasonable spot. This hand is right on the cusp with 3.5 quick tricks and 3.5+ losers. Personally, I would open it for 1♠ since I have only 18 HCP, so getting passed out in the modern world with game in hand is not a huge concern. If pard musters a bid, I bid 4♠ right or wrong. Opening 2♣ can't be considered wrong, imho. I just would not do it. If I open 1 ♠, I might be able to walk the dog up to 3♠ and buy the hand for a good score.

:P This is a nice thread. It has convinced me to play 3♣ as puppet over a 1NT open, and 3♣ as puppet over a 2NT open (Smolen must be considered the lesser benefit). What it has not helped me with is the ever vexing problem of investigating a minor suit slam after a 2NT opener when I, the responder, have a good 6 card minor and our partnership has about 30+ HCP. Any ideas?

:P El Paso in tempo. Not even close imho. I expect to lose about 5-10% of the time when LHO passes and we have a game at 3NT (where is my diamond stop?) or 5♣ or even 4♠. The only other situations are that LHO passes and we have a club partial (we win!) or when LHO balances (the most likely scenario) in which I love my position, esp. with the opps vul. In my estimation, we will do better than average 2/3 to 3/4 of the time after LHO balances. The modern use of the negative double has a distinct downside. Take full advantage of it. On further reflection, I am not sure the benefits of using the negative double after 1♦-2♣ are worth it - at least the way most people play it.

:P Yumm............ Hungry meat eating primates ...yummy... As we speak there are almost 100 million cattle awaiting slaughter just in the good old USA alone. Another 60+ million pigs await their fate while their feces slide their way into US 'hog lagoons' - not exactly the sleepy lagoons of South Seas memory. About 100 million chickens and turkeys are living their short (a few months) lives in brooder houses just in the USA. The rest of the world is imitating the US and western European (+Japan) lifestyle. We can grow enough corn and other grains to feed the aforesaid animals, but that can't be the end result, as I see it. We need to develop for ourselves a diet that normally eats mostly non-animal protein. Sacred and blessed animals should be honorably consumed at the end of their natural life. Eat well my friends. It is one of life's great pleasures.