Robert

Hello kalvan14 I count seven(7) diamonds in my hand. I am just guessing that the odds shift holding seven cards in partners suit, when you decide what partner might hold. Towards the bottom of this post I cite part of the results from Mr. Frosts report on suit holdings from a five year period of World Championship play taken from his classic book(Bridge Odds Complete) If you held a diamond void, I expect that partner will not nearly have(as often) that 4432 pattern. My major concern is does partner hold the Diamond Ace? If he does, whether he holds Axx or Axxx I will fee better about the chances of 'running' the D suit. I think I saw this type of bid by the Chip Martel/Lew Stansby partnership. If they use a 2S* bid here, it is a good reason for it to be my choice of bids. My guess is that the top level players like to add a bit of bluff into their bidding. After you make this kind of bid, the other pairs will regard your normal bidding with some distrust. I think that it is a good idea to create doubt in the other pairs minds. :D I also like play a jump to 3S as a splinter 'showing a diamond raise' as another person suggested in their post. Bridge Odds Complete, Frederick H. Frost, page 20, lists the odds of 7-3 and 7-4 suit holdings. He also lists, "The Summary Tabulation of the Trump Distribution between partnerships wining the Auction at Suit Contracts in World Championship Play during the five years of 1955-1959, U.S.A. vs Europe. The results listed show sixteen(16) total 7-3 suit fits and only one(1) suit divided 7-4 according to Mr. Frost's book. My guess is that a 7-3 fit is somewhat more likely than a 7-4 even playing 2/1 methods that only open 1D holding 3 cards with 4432 pattern. :D Regards, Robert

Hello everyone That example hand with 19 junky HCPs made up of an unguarded J, a stiff Q and two broken suits AKJxx Jxx AKJx Q might be better off bidding 2D over 1NT If you are a beginner or intermediate with a weak heart do not read anything below this line. The methods described are not standard bidding. ****************************************************************** Alvin Roth describes in his book, "Picture Bidding' how he bids a powerful hand by showing three suits and allows partner to pass if the hands do not fit at the three level. Since partner often holds xx or Hx in spades, an auction opposite such a hand would be bid as follows. Roth would likely not bid this hand(his opening bid show 14+HCP) as a powerful three suiter, however, if it were worth a jump shift, he would likely bid 1S-1NT-2D-2S-3H passable and showing 5341 Since with a four card heart suit, he would have bid 1S-1NT-2H-2S-3D with 5431 Roth also suggested that responder over a jump shift should just bid the next higher suit so that opener could bid out his pattern. 1S-1NT-3D-3H* is a waiting bid like 2C-2D* is some standard methods. 1S-1NT-3D-3H*-3S would show a 6S and 4D hand so the champions of the spade Queen being worth xx would be correct here. Opposite the example hand with AKJxx the stiff Queen is much less valuable in a 5-1 trump fit. After partner shows a 6 card spade suit 1S-1NT-3D-3H*-3S that spade Q is an easy raise to 4S. If Roth is your partner, a 4C cuebid over 3S might even be possilbe. Roth had very high standards for opening bids. His strong jump shifts would be a thing of beauty and a joy forever. 1S-1NT-3D-3H*-3NT could show 5242 Holding 5341 I really like the Roth auction 1S-1NT-2D-2S-3H passable I tend to sometimes bid this way in my Big Club system. :D Regards, Robert

Hello kalvan14 If I was playing standard methods, 4C is not forcing. Hello everyone I play a Big Club system and the 1S reply was GF, so my 4C bid would still be GF. I do play some 'GF forcing to Q4m', however, this is 'not' one of those auctions. Partner shows 5+ spades so my double would not show 3 card support. Pass would suggest that partner reopen with a double 'if' suitable. Holding one less club and better diamond spots, pass asking for a double would be an easy bid. Holding the A10xx of diamonds, I might want to take a penalty even with AKxxxx of clubs. With AKxxx it would be a clear cut 'penalty' type pass. Meckwell likes to play for penalties in close decisions. I like that idea myself, I have seen some of those frisky 3D bids. Christmas might be coming early 'if' we chose to defend. This hand is neither fish nor fowl. My bidding might change from day to day on this hand. I suspect 'at the table' I would double(forward going) and pull to show a flexible hand type(two or more places to play) Holding an 'all club' hand I would bid a direct 4Cs 'forcing' in my Big Club methods. A pass here would suggest that partner should double. Change my diamonds to A10xx and Christmas would be in November this year. :D Regards, Robert

Hello everyone A slow signal 'cancels' the meaning of the spot card when played by some players. Some players using 'upside down' signals use that method 'unless' they do not have the 'right' size card. They now play a card to the trick very slowly and with much pain. Playing standard carding, if they hold 987 and want a switch, they play a very slow '7' while their face is showing signs of pure agony. In a somewhat more relaxed game, they simply smile and nod approvingly when partner leads the right suit. Their partner would be foolish to take any 'negative' meaning from 'a' 2 played in this manner. Regards, Robert

hello everyone I do not believe that there would be any strong inference available after a trump lead. Most bidding would show majors in one hand and minors in the other hand. The 4-3 nature of the trump suit would often be well known. With either auction(using a Big Club opening and another auction with standard type methods) that I would use to bid to 4Ss, both auctions would show two unbalanced hands that were playing in a 4-3 fit. If the contract happened to get to 6Ss, many defenders would lead a trump to try and stop a cross ruff. The bidding(misbidding?) that resulted in this contract would not give much information away, however, that bidding was only given after the comments about the opening lead were made. Regards, Robert

Hello everyone WITP? Isn't this hand worth a 16+ 1C* opening? If you produce another hand, the bidding might be more challenging. Playing Standard I open 1D no other bid comes close. Very likely to rebid 3Cs over either major. Regards, Robert

Hello beatrix45 Hands generated were maxed out at 35+HCP First 20 hands only produced four hands with 36+ HCP. 37HCP had 14 top tricks. 36HCP had 18 top tricks 36HCP had 14 top tricks. 36HCP had 15 top tricks. The 35HCP hands twice had a missing Ace. I couldn't make more than 12 tricks. Two contracts made only 11 tricks. Seven made 12 tricks. Four made 13 tricks. One made 16 tricks. One made 15 tricks. These were random 35+HCP hands. Regards, Robert

Hello beatrix45 I use a CONFIT auction with pretty fair results over my 1NT or 2NT openings. My policy of Jacks being a warning sign in 31+ auctions seems to work. :) I am a poor card holder, I will have to run a simulation to get practice holding combined 36, 37 and 38HCP hands. :( I would much rather be off four Jacks than one Ace holding 36 HCP if I am trying to make a seven NT contract. How many hands do you want me to run missing the Jacks necessary to get my total HCP down to 36, 37 or 38 points. Is 16 hands a fair indication for your suggestion? Fire up my hand generating program. Be back shortly I hope. Regards, Robert

Hello mike777 Are you sure that the ACBL has insurance to cover this? I was under the impression that several players were restored to ACBL membership because they either started or just threatened legal action. Why wouldn't the ACBL fight those cases 'if' they had insurance to cover any loses? I do not see banning someone and later 'not defending' your actions in court 'if' no money changes hands from ACBL sources. I do not know anything about civil law. Uniform Code of Military Justice maybe a little bit? I had assumed that the burden of proof was on the ACBL. You can ban me for cheating 'without' sufficent proof and a civil court will not rule against the my accusers? Boy ain't American justice just grand? I would prefer that the ACBL defend any reasonable action to the bitter end. Why the ACBL wouldn't follow that policy is way past my understanding 'if' they had insurance to cover any monetary losses? Regards, Robert

Hello everyone Since you are prepared to bid to the 5D level, why not blow a little dirt into the other pairs eyes. Bid 2S as a limit+ raise. If partner had a spade stopper try 3NT. The other pair might think that they have defense and defend 3NT. Axx of diamonds plus a spade stopper makes 3NT a fair contract. Opening bids often have more values than a spade stopper and the Ace of diamonds. If your little plot fails, you can always bid 5Ds over their 4S bid. This auction should cause the other pair to doubt your bids for a very long time. Having the other pair wondering about your normal bids should be of some advantge in the future. :( Regards, Robert

Hello mike777 Several players have been restored to ACBL membership when their lawyer suggested that a law suit might follow unless the ACBL relented. Perhaps a lawyer(on this forum) might post 'if' this case would involve a charge of libel or slander. Unless the ACBL could prove beyond a reasonable degree of doubt that the pair in question was guilty as charged, very large sums of money would change ownership. Round up twelve Americans off of the streets of the U.S.A. and you really believe that not one person in twelve would not have some reasonable doubt? Will the ACBL gamble a very large chunk of money that their case is 'highly unlikely' to lose? Unless there is some additional supporting 'hard' evidence to support these charges, I would guess that the ACBL will restore membership to two gentlemen in the not too distant future. Regards, Robert

Hello everyone I would appeal the TD's decision. If this isn't MI, I have no clue what is. I am sure that this pair has no agreement. I also believe that the moon is made of green cheese. Let this other pair with their 'credentials' attempt to convince a committer that something is not very rotten in Denmark. Perhaps they can convince a committee that an aceless 13HCP hand opens 1m and rebids 2NT over his partners 1H bid 'without' some agreement that this shows a balanced hand 'with' 4 card heart support and only "13" HCP playing SAYC? Western Union should have wires that carry information half this well. :) Tar and feathers have gone out of style. Pity. :( Regards, Robert

Hello everyone Well everyone is not shy about bidding if those example hands of a 2H overcall over a strong 1NT are to be believed. :( In my methods, this would be the slaughter of the 'not' so innocents. Turning the cube would be an easy call. :) :) If I am playing with someone whose methods allow a 2H bid with the example hand, pass is my call. I agree with other posts that say we have an advantage because the bidding pushed the other pair to the three level. :) Regards, Robert

hello Fluffy I am passing for now. I do not see why the other pair will normally bid game. You are looking at six HCPs and partner did open and reverse 'in front' of a NT overcall. I expect that we are more likely to hold a slight edge in the HCPs than the other pair will have the extra values. Even if they hold a combined 21-22HCP(unlikely in this auction, as partner did reverse) that is far short of a normal 4H contract. Your Ace is also behind the 1NT bidders club holding. Regards, Robert

Hello beatrix45 HCP do matter in slam auctions. The right kind of HCP also are very important. Borderline slams with several Jacks often go down because of a lack of controls. I have a warning in my CONFIT bidding section that says that the presense of even one Jack is a warning sign in minimum HCP slam auctions. The presense of 2+ Jacks is a caution flag. In the example bidding hand, the two jacks in the stronger hand is a reason to hold back 'somewhat' in the bidding. Neither Jack added to the trick taking power in this hand. Trading the two jacks and the spade queen in for the KJ of spades(both 4HCPs) would raise the odds on this hand to about 50% from the 24% odds that resulted in this slam going down. Regards, Robert

Hello everyone Several of these auctions seem to be jumping off of a cliff in the night 'guessing' that the drop will be short. 2C-2D-2NT showing 4+/4+ minors appears to be an unbid without at least ten cards in 'known' minor shapes. Even a 5-3 fit at the three level could suffer from a 4-1 break. 2C-2D-3D showing a three suiter with short clubs also should fail when partner has wasted club values and also does 'not' have an exceptional fit. That auction ending in 2Hs, showing hearts plus 'either' spades or clubs is dangerous. "If' you want to get out of hearts into spades, you must hold spades plus clubs 'playable at the three level. You cannot move directly to three clubs because your partner might hold the majors. The auction ending in 3Cs showing clubs and a 3 suiter with 'any' shortness is playing with dynamite with a short burning fuse. A 4-4 fit is not a good sign at the three level. You cannot choose another suit at the three level without being able to play in at least two suits. I play negative doubles from both sides of the table and 'if' either side doubles for takeout, this can become a bloody mess at the two level. If you drive to the three level, the Red cards can appear with blinding speed(in tempo of course!) Almost any suit bidding by the NT pair will often put a large spoke in the wheels of this convention. As you might have guessed, I am not switching to this method. :P Regards, Robert

Hello everyone I was not worried about whether they could be disciplined. Whether or not a court will approve the ban is quite another matter. I have been banned from playing with one player a number of times. He keeps coming back and asking me to play. How do I convince him to 'ban' me from playing with him forever? Any lawyers around to explain whether this might be libel or slander? I seem to recall that 'just' the threat of a lawsuit has returned several players back into the ACBL. If someone decides to sue over this matter, the ACBL will have to go to trial and win. If the ACBL lost, it might have to pay something in a seven figure settlement would be my guess. Would twelve 'normal' Americans think that bridge players were all crazy to even consider going to trial over a card game? Reasonable doubt might be a really hard sell to a jury of non bridge players. If even one person has reasonable doubts, the ACBL could lose a huge amount of money. American lawyers seem to ask for millions of dollars for some really interesting cases. The courts sometimes cooperate by giving away those millions. And so the circle continues going round and round. Regards, Robert

Hello Winstonm Partner might think that you are showing four spades and a club stoper when you bid (1C)-X-2C-2H-2NT unless you have firm prior agreements. I like your auction 'after prior agreement' with partner. I am still nervous about our club stopper. Larry Cohen likes to picture his hand opposite a 4441 shape when he tries to picture a final contract. Opposite 4441 I do not fancy our chances in 3NT. Maybe your strong auction will stop a club lead. :) Hello Rebound What does partner do with a weak 3451 hand? Partner only bid 2Hs over that 2C cuebid. If you are expressing doubts about 2NT with this auction, partner with 3451 should be very nervous about passing 2NT. If partner does have 'extra' values, how about him bidding 3Cs over your 2NT bid? That way a direct 3D bid over 2NT could show a weak 3451 type. Regards, Robert

Hello everyone I like the double from either side as takeout method. You tend to get a penalty 'if' either partner holds their suit. You also do not defend with 2-2 or 2-3 fits. This method also often gets you to decent suit contracts. A 4-3 fit often plays very well with 3 card support and taking ruffs in the short trump hand. Against weaker pairs, the takeout double style sometimes scares them into running from a good contract into a bad contract or they 'push' themselves into a higher level. You might not have beaten a two level contract and they push themselves into a three level contract that you can beat. Regards, Robert

Hello Everyone When does it go to court or will just the threat of a law suit get them reinstated? Bridge World August 2005 page 67, "When I was younger, I used to touch my hair while thinking, without being aware of it. One day, the Director called us at the end of the match and asked us to follow him in a room. There was a big table with about ten persons around and two available seats for my sister and me. One of the committee members informed us that there had been complaints about us, focusing on my nervous habit, 'What does it mean when you touch your hair?' Fortunately, this man had a nervous habit of his own-a constant winking of the eyes. 'And you,' I replied, 'Can you tell me what you mean exactly when winking like that while looking at me?' There was a short silence , and then the man said: 'Okay, thank you; you can go.' Benedicte Cronier was telling about the time when she and her sister were playing in the European Junior Championship when she was 19. I keep my cards out of sight of the other pair. If someone holds there cards so that I might see them, I turn my head away and ask them to hold back their cards. If it goes to trial, an American jury must decide beyond a reasonable degree of doubt that they are guilty. Will twelve Americans all decide beyond a reasonable degree of doubt that they are guilty? I do not know all the facts, however, the defense lawyers should have a field day with a reasonable doubt defense. The judge will likely throw out the anti percentage play 'evidence' after hearing that trailing team experts do that every day of the week. I would of course not get angry or upset if I was taken before a committee and accused of being a cheat. I wouldn't even mention a possible lawsuit. Will anyone making an anti percentage play 'that wins' be branded a cheat? Regards, Robert

Hello everyone There is a 'reply' from the other side in Bridge World Dec. 2005 issue starting on page 3. Is it just me or does eveyone else hold their cards so that another pair can see their hand? Bridge World recently had a story about accusations of cheating from one of the pairs in Challenge the Champ. The lady sometimes touched her hair while playing bridge and she was accused of cheating. She was taken before a committee and asked to explain the touching of her hair while playing bridge. As luck would have it that the gentleman asking her the question had a minor eye blinking condition. Her response was to ask the man, "What is the meaning of your eye blinking while questioning me." She was allowed to leave without any further comment. I once placed my hand down on the table to 'fish' something out of my pants pocket. There were 'raised' eyebrows that I was signaling a weak raise to partner when I bid 1M-2M. The opening lead was made and I put down a very fine dummy. I do play 'upside down' signals, however, my bids convey my meaning. Not any emphasis on bidding, not by folding up my cards and putting them on the table, not by voice infection and also not by the speed of my bidding. I have seen all of these methods in use for several decades. I do play to win, but, cheating to win is just cheating yourself. Regards, Robert

Hello everyone You might want to read Bridge World Dec. 2005 issue starting with page 3 for the other side of this discussion Hello Inquiry There are at least two Americans not liking the Reese Shapiro case treatment. I have often suggested that I would be happy to defend them using the hands records. I have read several books about this case(from both sides) I also have read many of Reese's books. The hands do not suggest that they were cheating 'if' you know their bidding style. Several hands exist that knowledge of the heart holding would have saved the Reese Shapiro pair from a bad result. Regards, Robert

Hello P-Marlowe I like to 'trust partner.' He loaned the the book about DONT methods. I did not see anything about 5-5 shapes and 5HCP. 54 shapes and near opening bid values seemed to be the 'standard.' I did see the Meckwell 5(6?)HCP example bid with extreme shape and it appeared to be a reasonable bid 'if' partner was also in on the joke. :) Getting to a good save or a makable contract is good bridge. Having partner double the other pair because he believed that my 'little joke' showed near opening bid values is not good bridge. :( I switched recently to a better method so hopefully I can bid more over enemy 1NT opening bids. I agree that bidding with a 5HCP hand with extreme shape is correct tactics. I just want to make sure that my partner also holds that same view. :) Regards, Robert

Hello Gerbe42 The Boys like to bid. If nothing else, they are entertaining to watch. They are not often boring. I doubt that they play mandatory support doubles at the 4H level, however, I would not be very surprised 'if' they did. Their style is to push the other pair around. They often open in 3rd seat with 7-8 hcp. The system forces(allows) them to bid to 3NT on 22+(21?)HCP. I was half expecting(putting on my Flak jacket and helmet while I waited) for someone to object to my 'super maximum' example hand of a 3H level 'support double' using my 11-15 base opening 1D bid. Kxx x AKJxx Axxx If the Boys held that hand they might(would?) upgrade it into a 1C=16+ opener. I do follow their example and 'upgrade' seven card suits headed by AQJ or AK into 1C opening bids with somewhat less than 16HCP. In earlier years this would have never happened. There may be hope for me yet. :P I believe that Meckwell opens 10-15HCP following system methods and their freguent 'upgrading ' style enables them to often(sometimes?) open 9(8?)HCP hands at the one level. In 3rd seat their 7-8HCP 'openings' are standard Meckwell opening bids. Do not get me wrong. I am a big fan of the Meckwell players. I also tend to use some of their methods. I just am not ready to blindly follow their 'style.' My bidding has loosened up considerably over several decades. I still like to have some values, however, sometimes my system methods allow me to bid with little or nothing. Partner is 'in' on the joke so we rarely get 'carried out.' Regards, Robert

Hello P-Marlowe I often balance and I also made direct bids when a 15-17HCP NT rears its ugly head. I just swtiched to a 'hopefully' better 1NT defense so I hope to bid and balanced at a somewhat higher rate against 1NT openings of any size. I would 'never balance' with the 'quoted example hand' when 'vulnerable' and probably not even if non vulnerable. :P Meckwell shows a 5-5 or 5-6 shape with as little as 5HCP if the one example that I saw is standard with them. My direct actions tend to be a bit better than that example. I suspect that if partner knows what is going on(a prior agreement) you can bid with extreme shape and very few points. You might find a cheap save or perhaps even a making contract. :) Regards, Robert