pbleighton

"when is a 4 spade opener a preempt against opps and a pain in the **** for your partner?" Well, sometimes one, sometimes the other :D I would have opened 4S with the East hand, putting West in a pickle, since E-W weren't vulnerable. If vulnerable, I think West bids 6, because pd should have a very good hand (like the one shown), and you have a lot of good cards. 5D is an option, too, if pd will take it as a cue bid. I don't like 4NT because of the decent chance pd will have a void. NV, I would have passed as West too. It depends on your agreements. I prefer to be able to bid 4S on weaker hands NV, and pay the price of occasionally missing a slam. Peter

4H is preferable, 1H is not terrible. Peter

In the ACBL you can't open at the one level with less than 8, except for psyches. Peter

1S, I can always bid 2H later. Peter

3C. Ben, I think you misread. Peter

" 2D as mini/maxi roman" Jimmy- Explain? How did you like it? Peter

My reading is that Flannery as 2H is legal, though. Peter

Thanks, Richard, for confirming my suspicions. If this turns into a real partnership, I will ask for a ruling. Chamaco - thanks, but the Kaplan Inversion isn't GCC legal. Peter

A player at my club plays Precision with: 1) 2D as Flannery OR 3 suiter short in diamonds 2) 2H as any 4441, 16-24 I think both of these bids run afoul of the GCC: 1) 2D may be ONE of three hand types - this can show either of two - ?? 2) The 2H bid would be legal if it were 2C or 2D, but I can't see how 2H is legal. I will be playing with him a bit. It doesn't matter at our club, but I'd like to know if it's a problem at tournaments. Peter

I recently turned 50 and was feeling sorry for myself :unsure: Well, I don't feel so bad any more. The second childhood is better than the first! Peter

5C seems clear. Slam is possible, but unlikely. Peter

"I had a somewhat similar hand today: Jxxx Axxx Axx Ax, partner opened 2H at all white (very undiciplined). RHO overcalled 2S, I bid 4H, and RHO bid 4S. Would you pass, double or bid 5H?" Pass at Imps, double at MPs. Peter

It depends on what your red-red weak 2s look like. If they are solid, and if you don't open light at the one level, I would bid 2NT. Otherwise pass. Peter

Ron: I thought you didn't like the mini-NT. What system are you playing which uses it? Peter

With K-S style minor suit openings (5cM, weak NT, 1m = reasonable unbalanced 12+), the auction 1m-1M-2M shows 15+ support points if the raise is made with 4 cards. Responder can count on this, as long as opener doesn't raise with 3 very often. Does this constitute a good argument for not raising on 3, at least with a minimum? If not, and raising on 3 is fairly frequent, should responder not count on 15+? Peter

"The world of pick-up partners often stinks. It is true that partners should not leave in the middle of the game, but they will. Just like in ftf bridge partners shold not criticize partner, but they do. The answer, in online or ftf, is to find compatible partners. It may take a little while, but it is worth the effort." I completely agree. I used to play with pickup partners for half of my bridge. Now I rarely play pickup. Peter

1) Looks fine to me. 2) Agree with Ben that 3C was too much. If you don't play his methods, then it's tough after 1S-1N-2C-3S. If you play the first cue bid is first round controls, as you know pd won't have an ace, and probabaly doesn't have a void. Check for the SK, and go if he's got it. This may be double-dummy bidding. Peter

My most frequent partner has memory issues, compounded by an extreme distaste for independently studying system notes (he is, however, quite willing to review and practice bidding once a week for 30-45 minutes, which helps). In consequence, we play a relatively straightforward system, 5 card majors, standardish, but with mini/weak NT and light openings. The conventions we use are: 1) Stayman and major/minor suit transfers 2) Meckwell in defense to NT, and as a runout when our NT is doubled 3) 1M-2NT as a limit+ raise 4) Splinters 5) New minor forcing - very simple version 6) 4th suit forcing 7) Unusual 2NT and Michaels 8) Long suit game tries after 1M-2M 9) After overcalls of our NT, stolen bid doubles, and suit bids are transfers 10) 2C strong, artificial - 2C/2D = negative 11) Cue bidding controls I may have left something out, but that's about it. We don't screw up conventions very often. Our bidding mistakes are mostly judgment issues, and "sorry, partner, I didn't see the spade king" :) The key is that everything except for splinters comes up pretty frequently. I'm not suggesting you play the above list, but that you have some sort of frequency criteria, and dump almost everything else. I think hotshot's 3 game limit is too strict, but something of that nature would help you a lot. Peter

I play 15+-18-, but many play 18-19. "25 Steps To Learning 2/1", by Paul Thurston, says 18-19. Bergen's "Understadnding 1NT Forcing" says 17-18, 5332, but he advocates counting length for hcp in 1NT and 2NT openings, so this is equivalent. This OKBridge-related site says 18-19: http://www.annam.co.uk/2-1.html Perhaps someone knows. Did this used to be the standard treatment? Peter

"I don't think the whole world is going to switch to the kinds of systems you describe in the foreseeable future." Thanks, Fred, but my tongue was firmly in my cheek. Peter

"I prefer to play "down the middle" and try to win from either my good play, my partner's good play, or from the opponents' bad play. Bids like 5D on this hand will have a random effect on my results and I prefer to try minimize the effects of randomness on my score." Fred, does this mean that if the field became predominantly MOSCITO or EHAA, that you would feel obliged to switch to that system, in order to be with the field? Peter :)

Not that I disagree with Ben's and Richard's comments, but I will try to answer the question you posed: 3S, not 4S, was the right bid IMO. All that shape may not be worth much with two trumps, and no information on fit. The fact that righty doubled is a small negative as well (I agree that it was a horrible double, BTW). Give yourself a third trump, and 4S is arguable. Peter

Richard: 1) How light did you respond to the one bids? 2) What were your results like on the "2 club openers"? Peter

Has anyone played a system with no forcing opening bid with satisfactory results? If so, what is it like, especially: 1) How light do you respond? 2) What do you use the 2C opener for? 3) How much of a performance difference is there between IMPs and matchpoints? Peter

3S, because it shows your hand. You have a single suiter in the major with 8 playing tricks. If I had played a relay system I might bid 1H :rolleyes: Peter