pbleighton

"Are you saying that the electorate or America should be punished some more or pay more of a price since it is America's fault?" The invasion is certainly America's fault. Why wouldn't it be? I don't think we SHOULD be punished for it, since the individual victims of the additional terrorist attacks we will incur because of it will be innocent, but I think we WILL be punished for it, what goes around comes around, etc. Mike, answer your own question: will we be punished? Peter

Tough call. I would pass (forcing) as South the second time around, which would let North raise to slam. Raising to 6C directly looks good when you see all of the cards, but I don't think I would do it at the table. As far as the takeout double, unless I am reading the positions wrong, it makes no sense. Peter

The imperialistic, self-destructive war crime which is the U.S. invasion of Iraq will result in more attacks on the West in general and the U.S. in particular. This is true whenever we leave. Bin Laden should give Bush a gold star for his success in boosting the cause of anti-Western terror. Bush certainly deserves it. My family and I live fairly close to NYC, so it may well affect us personally. Our invasion caused a civil war. Iraq is already a killing field. It will get worse, probably a lot worse. The violence will probably spike when we leave, whenever we leave, whther now, a year from now, five years, etc. Peter

"Good then GW Bush will belong to Britain" I always thought he would have made a great moronic Duke, huntin', fishin', and cuttin' and runnin' after knockin' up the local parlourmaids. Peter

Pass. Peter

I would have passed initially, now I bid 5C, but it's close. Peter

You might have upgraded your hand on the previous round (or might nor, I'm not saying you made the wrong bid). Now you must pass. Peter

"but there's no reason to suspect hearts are the right spot" Well, you have a very good 6 card suit, and lefty is probably short in hearts. I don't know, but I do suspect :lol: "I'm not a regular Precision player: if we pass, is it forcing?" Most people play it as NF. Peter

"personally I think a lot of people are oversensitive and should really try and relax, I dislike some of the riules about what is proper behaviour in brigde, but then I feel I an in a minority here" I agree, but "gloating" IS a violation of bridge etiquette, and some people are very sensitive. In my early bridge days, I was reprimanded several times (once quite rudely) bit off by some of those "oversensitive" people. These people all had unpleasant but "within the lines" behavior of their own.... So it's better to be careful. Peter

6H. Peter

I'm not upset with my 5S bid, as it is reasonable, but I am surprised at it, since I was sure I bid 4S. Peter

Double. Peter

"I got one word for all of this: ssccaarryy." What makes you nervous? :) Peter

Abizaid's "domino theory" is possibly correct. It also has little policy meaning, since the instability has got worse every year the U.S. stays. Does U.S. presence mitigate against civil war? The evidence strongly suggests no. We've screwed things up royally, and have no way to put Humpty together again. Peter

2H, probable wastage in spades makes me avoid 4. Pass, no keycards, 5D may not make. Peter

"As I said the current situation is terrible but making it legal when only worsen things....see alcohol" Mike, you never responded to my question: do you want to re-criminalize alcohol? Peter

3S is the culprit. 2C has limited South's hand (I might bid 2D here, but 2C is fine), and 3S must be forcing. 4C is just a preference, but now North has a really tough call, his own fault. If the bid is 2S instead of 3S, you can stop in 4 (or 3 on a chicken day). Peter

1. Close. At matchpoints I pass, at imps I bid 2NT, natural. I don't argue with a pd who makes the opposite choices. I don't like X, as I don't have two places to play. 2. Easy pass at these colors. Peter

"Maybe its just me but when I ask this question or respond to the same I am using sayc, 2/1 standard type bidding not Clauses version of Regres, Moscito or any other fringe system, lets not make it more difficult than it already is" Even within your parameters, system and agreements matters. I am definitely more aggressive playing with some people than others, and am more aggressive playing SA than 2/1. With SA or 2/1, if you agree to pass the majority of (literal, unadjusted) 12 counts, this is definitely a playable style (though I wouldn't want to play it for aesthetic/fun reasons). With SA, you can also agree to open most 11 counts/good 10 counts, and this is also playable. The definitions of weak, invitational, and GF hands by the responder obviously will differ between these two styles. I prefer a light style (actually weak/mini NT too), but with a pickup pd playing "SAYC" (whatever that turns out to be), I tend to be pretty literal, opening 11 counts only when 5-5 or with a 6 card suit, and the hand looking pretty good otherwise (not too quacky, no unguarded honors, reasonable suit(s) quality). I probably "should", in this case, pass bad 12 counts, but somehow I never feel like it :) Peter

Background: It was the last hand of the night at 10:30 in a small but decent club (matchpoints) game, the night before Thanksgiving. My partners and I had been having a terrible two week period. We tend to stretch for games, especially in competition, and the bridge gods had been cruel indeed. :) Sitting in the third seat, I picked up something like KJx-QJ-Q9x-KQJ10x. My pd opened a 15-17 (not good 14) NT. After some hesitation, I bid 3NT, which made 6. The hand was flat, no one bid slam. Specific question: would you have made a slam try? Your options are 4NT quantitative, Gerber, and 2S transfer to clubs, with 2NT = I don't like clubs and 3C = I like clubs. If you wouldn't, please say generally what you need to go to slam/make a slam try without any aces (and no voids with huge fits), in NT and in a suit. We had 30-32 hcp and a good source of tricks. I think I would have gone with KQJ of spades, for example. Peter

"I am going to disagree with Peter. For the most part ACBL TD's are also F2F directors. I don't think their average ability to direct and rule is any worse nor much better than the normal F2F club director." You may be right, Ben, you've played a lot more bridge than I have, but the BBO TDs I have experienced average ability to direct is definitely less than that of the ftf club directors I have experienced (only 4, and they have all been decent and experienced). Maybe I have been lucky in my ftf experience, or unlucky in my BBO experience. You are certainly right about the extra hassles the BBO TDs have to deal with, and my post was not meant as a slam against them, just as an observation. I think a number of the BBO TDs are relatively new to directing, and will improve. Peter

Tea tastes better, but coffee has the kick.... Peter

The level of expertise among BBO ACBL TDs is significantly lower, on average, than in a ftf club game, which in turn is less than that of ftf tournaments. There are some good TDs, but some TDs' competence is lacking (though the attitudes are generally good). My ftf game costs $9, BBO games are a buck. Complain if you like, but you get what you pay for. I like the BBO ACBL games, but I don't take them that seriously. I've had a couple of rotten TD calls. BFD. Peter

Very basic questions: 1. Do they guarantee 8+ hcp, or can they be done with a bad hand with good shape? 2. Do they tend to deny a stopper in the opp's suit? 3. Do they guarantee at least 1 4cM? Over 2m, do they suggest both majors? 4. Does opener tend to show a 4cM as a rebid? 5. If no 4cM and no stopper, what then? 6. With a stopper and no 4cM, do you bid 2NT or 3NT, depending on your strength? 7. Do they apply after 2C, or do you play 1NT-2C-X as invitational Stayman, and use 1NT-2C-3C as GF Stayman? Peter

Frances: Well? :) Peter