Robert

Hi Blofeld If the debate were beneath me, I would not respond. I have learned quite a bit on this forum even if the posts are greatly uneven in their value. Many of the posts differ from my view of bridge, however, that does not mean that they are wrong or bad. If it is snobbish and patronising to select my own bidding style, I am guilty as charged. I also believe everyone picks a style and that most(non LOLs) people change over the years. I do use the inverted commas for emphasis. I have been doing so for several decades now, I doubt that it will soon change. Only time will tell. Why would it be patronising to contribute to a post? You also posted on this forum and are instructing me on how I should 'not' use inverted commas? If I may be so bold, who gave you authority to instruct me on how to write my post? I was under the impresion that CAPS were a form of shouting and that was to be avoided 'if' you did not mean to shout. Would you mind explaining why you think that inverted commas are both snobbish and patronising? I also use :) faces and they are not snobbish or patronising. At least I hope so, I do tend to overuse the :( symbol, however, I think that I am getting somewhat better in this area. Hi hrothgar If you only attack the last posting. I could see that your attack was not just against me. Standing in the target zone seems to be the 'hot seat' at that time. That use of "Robert" also made it appear that I was 'smack' in the middle of a live fire zone. Thanks for the comment about interesting posts from both Ben and Robert. Apparently some(many?) think my posts are both snobbish and patronising. I would freely admit that I have often(over the years) overcalled a strong NT with a singleton in some unbid suit. I have of late attempted to play Raptor because it seemed to deal with a difficult(impossible?) hand type. Edgar Kaplan established certain ideas in my bidding style. I like a heavy 1NT overcall normally 16+-19HCP. Bidding that diamond suit would never happen. I want my partner is play me for a 6+ card suit when I overcall at the two level. Some very strong five card suits do sometimes happen, however, only with extra values. My Michaels bids are always 5-5(+), never on 4-5 or 5-4 shapes. I am aware that Fred does not like Raptor. I play many non standard bids and Raptor is only one of them. My style has changed a great deal of the years and I might yet drop Raptor for a strong NT. Thank you for the explanation and your kind comments, Regards, Robert

Hi everyone I answered just like inquiry did. I drew an attack from hrothgar and inquiry did not. I read the post as inquiry did. The last 'choice' was marked 'other' explain. I like a Raptor bid with this hand because it shows 4 hearts(over a 1S bid) and a 5+ minor. This is a difficult hand type to describe 'without putting your head on the block' by bidding a bad 5 card suit at the two level. Richard makes personal attacks on me and I 'come off as patronizing?' What exactly is his behavior called? His 'strawman argument' attempt that 'misdescribed the shape of a Raptor overcall' was at best in poor taste. I was wrong(in his view) because 'he did not understand' a convention that he claims to play. He gets to use 'Christ', 'crap', 'ass,' and assorted other 'choice words'(inquiry did not censure their use by Richard, so I assume that I will be allowed the same leeway) during his 'civil discourse' ranting and raving. Richard also draws a number of supporters that say these words are needed to show his 'strong feellings.' How about using 'I doubt this very much' or perhaps 'I object in the strongest possible manner?' If you do not want gadget discussions, why not leave out the choice of 'other' and 'explain' as the final 'choice. If the last choice of 'other' had not been listed, I would not have replied to the post. If I have offended anyone, please explain 'what exactly offended you.' Responding with a strawman example will not be judged an acceptable answer. Richard is allowed to rant and rave while using strawman arguments that would be out of place in a junior high setting. Anyone else object to strawman arguments or is that tactic accepted behavior on this forum? Just my opinion. ;) Happy holidays and best regards, Robert

Hi everyone The conditions stated several choices. One such choice was 'Other please explain.' Apparently inquiry and I both checked 'other' and also 'explained.' hrothgar Perhaps you would explain why you neglected to read inquirys' post? Please read the conditions of contest before you compain without a reason. Civilized discourse is much better when you read the question and write your answer afterwards with the facts known. I was very careful to first list 1NT=Raptor and 'explained' my choice as per the conditions of the post. Where you produce your bids 'from' is your business. If you knew Raptor, you would also know that it does not promise diamonds over a 1S bid. It promises 4 cards in the other major(hearts here) and 5+ cards in 'one' of the minors. I am bidding 'other' please explain. If that is not a choice, why was it listed as such? Regards, Robert

Hi everyone Have you cosidered getting a new partner? He dumped a real UI problem in your lap 'with' not just one but two of his 'pauses.' Didn't he feel that just one pause was sufficent? That second pasue and 'pass' took a 'minute?' Would you mind posting his hand, I am really curious about just what he was 'thinking' about. What are you agreements about a passed hand double of a freely bid game? Void showing(suggesting a lead) or 'trump stack?' When the TD arrives, I will point at partner and say that he 'paused' and passed twice. Did the other pair really 'not call for the TD' after that second pause 'for a minute' and that final pass? Regards, Robert

Hi everyone 1NT=Raptor. What inquiry posted. Regards, Robert

Hi eveyone The reason that we celebrate the 4th of July is that we 'won' our war with England. They showed considerable good sense in letting us have our own country. America would have dominated the Empire 'if' they somehow remained in the Empire. Perhaps you would like to become the 51st state? We probably would not approve your application, we have a couple of other 'much better' options that appear much more likely to be approved. Many other parts of the Empire also managed to leave when the Empire crashed and burned after WWII. If English rule was so good, why did so many nations abandon the 'good times' under English rule? King Henry the VIII gives you reason to complain? Was it Chamberlain that said that Hitler was a gentleman? Either the police or the National Rifle Association would arrest/detain any possible British attempt at landing on our shores 'if' our military did not want to get involved. The riots after your 'football' games are another example of fine British sportmanship? Don't people get killed when your fans 'complain' about the result of a game? Why show us German cars? The British ones aren't working? Baseball is played in many(most?) areas of the world. Americans spread the game while they were touring during WWII. We did like the Beatles, but warm beer? Regards, Robert

Hi jmc Carl both answered all of my questions and he volunteered a great deal of additional help. He suggested another 'much better' book for my order. He knows a great deal about his stock and made many helpful comments/suggestions. Just drop him an message and prepare to be amazed. I was very pleasantly surprised by his very good prices, the high quality of his books and his 'extra special treatment' of a stranger. :P Regards, Robert

Hi jmc You might want to try ACBL@CarlRitner.Com He was suggested by several members of this forum. I found him to be very helpful. He appears to have about 20-25 issules of the Precision newsletter for about $2.00 each. Regards, Robert

Hi everyone Only one side uses logic? Citing a world champion player to support a viewpoint is a bad idea? If only one side was using logic, why discuss the matter? We have different 'opinions', several people have joined in 'on both sides' so opinions do vary. Your opinion(and mine) may not always be the correct one. I mentioned almost four decades of going over bridge hands, I mentioned two world champions appear to share my general style of bidding in this area. If I am not using logic, why did I respond to your suggestion to examine 'six years' worth of bridge hands 'by saying that I have gone over bridge hands for almost 40 years?' I use logic and still come up with a different opinion than yours. Justin is merely a very good young player 'that posts on this forum' and is fairly well known(at least on this forum anyway) If anyone suggested that either Justin or kenrexford were God, that suggestion might set back religion by several thousand years. Best regards, Robert

Hi everyone Those that do not study history will not have one. hrothgar You seem to have the only correct opinion. How does having the only possible 'correct' opinion feel like? Can you also walk on water? I strongly disagree with many(most?) of your opinions. Apparently that opens me up to attack. Thanks for showing off your good manners and style. :P The pap that you are peddling appears to be very wrong IMO. Civilized discourse is that what your ranting about little boys, tanks and any ideas that disagree with your ideas are always wrong? B) Kill them all. Their Gods will know their own. One version that I have read. Following your ideas might just also destroy America. I am not a big fan of President Bush. I apparently have that right under U.S. law. If some of your ideas are correct, I apparently cannot disagree with you without being attacked by your 'ranting and raving.' Many thanks and Best Regards, Robert

Hi everyone I learned bridge in the late 60s and have been getting Bridge World since the 70s, I have quite a bit more than six years worth of 'studying hands.' Jlall likely has a couple of years of study devoted to hands and the quoted 'many time world champion' has several decades of 'playing and studying' hands at the highest levels. Unless you somehow believe that everyone else cannot evalute hand records, there appears to be a various opinions generated from looking at thousands(millions?) of hand records. Did you happen to read the article that stated that the American team would have gained IMPs 'if' they had bid no(zero) slams in one championship? Would you mind telling me why a multiple time world champion 'maxim' should be presumed wrong just because you think that other people 'do not' study hand records? I have been buying bridge books and also getting hand records for almost four decades now, the very idea that I did not study the hand records is a very strange idea IMO. I have several programs that generate hands to specific(and general type) shape and HCP values. I often produce hundreds of hands to 'see' what results might happen from using different bidding ideas. You might come to different conclusions, however, please do not suggest that no other players study hand records. We do study them and we just might come to different conclusions. Best Regards, Robert

Hi everyone He who lives by the sword dies by the sword. He who finds himself 'without' a sword had better have a gun 'if' the other person has a sword and intends to use it. If you want peace, prepare for war. Roman matrons told their men to 'come back carrying your shield or on it.' This custom declined, so did Rome. Maybe a decent army is not all that bad of an idea. Certainly Poland in 1939 or France(plus other assorted nations) in 1940 would have been better off 'if' they had defeated the Nazi war machine. Russia just barely had the army needed(after tens of millions of war dead) to defeat the Nazi war machine in four years of bloodly fighting. The police appear to back up the airline on this story from at least one newspaper. I will not say that whatever you read is the paper is true, however, some of it might be true. Regards, Robert

Hi everyone Playing (1m)-1H-p-1S forcing showing 4+ spades creates as many problems as it solves IMO. If that 1S bid is not forcing, bidding 1NT in reply with this ace less wonder and 'no diamond stopper' is taking that first step out of the airplane while wondering 'if' I happen to be wearing a parachute? You normally will be wearing a parachute, however, 'if' you forgot, that sudden stop at the end of your jump might well prove fatal. Just a matter of bidding style, I have tried both methods and I feel that it is a close decision. I currently play non forcing 1S bids after a 1H overcall. Regards, Robert

Hi jillybean2 nmf is normally played after a 1NT rebid(many also play it after a natural 2NT rebid) 4sf is used when the partnership has bid three suits. I like to play the XYZ convention 'if possible' instead of both 4sf and nmf. When I first found out about this convention, it seemed much better than either of those bids. Hi everyone I looked at Keri, however, it just did not do nearly as well in getting me to all of the good contracts that my version of Stayman achieved. Keri also seemed to have a couple of holes in the bidding that just proved too great a price to pay. Intermediate? We left that far behind when the first long list of conventions was posted. Most players would do much better to play fewer conventions. They need to 'know' how to use(and also 'not use') a convention before it becomes worthwhile. Regards, Robert

Hi everyone You might try the LAW results using various numbers for total tricks. Why would 17 tricks be your starting point for this hand? Long suits tend to make extra tricks(in LAW type auctions) and that Jxx of hearts appears to make the play of the hand much better for the other side. My doubles at IMPs tend to be for 'down two.' Doubling for one trick sets is a bit rich for my taste at IMPs. Passing a 'game going' partscore 'without a trump trick' is also a bit rich for my taste. At MPs, doubling for down one will often be a top so my quickdraw approach to MP doubles is fairly standard. Going back to compare results with a '3HXed making' result for the other side is just not my idea of IMP style bridge. You 'quoted the 75% figure' and I replied 'using your guesstimate.' My estimate was that you would not beat 3Hs at quite your 'quoted' 25% rate. A slightly lower figure would be more likely IMHO which would move your IMP results into a minus value rather than being a 'wash.' Do I recall correctly that partner is an 'aggressive' balancer? If so that 25% to defeat the contract is even more suspect IMO. I looked again and that was the comment made in the first post. Regards, Robert

Hi everyone I did not offer a maxim 'as a rule to follow blindly.' I consider myself a capable slam/game/part score bidder. The person asking the question was seeking opinions and I suspect might not be world class(I am not world class by any possible standard) I see that Jlall apparently is bidding 1C-1H-2H-4H so 'some quite decent' players apparently do not attempt to try and find perfect(or near perfect) hands to bid slams with this example hand. Your viewpoint should be put into the balance along with other opinions. The other gentleman whose quote I used has 'numerous world championships' to his credit. I will offer his opinion 'with some degree of confidence.' I also did not mention that giving too much information while bidding a hand sometimes gives the defense 'the information needed to defeat' some contracts. Going down in a game at either IMPs or MPs does not normally score nearly as well as making a game contract. Please feel free to challenge any and all opinions, maxims and/or quotes that I offer. I will, however, still feel free to offer some ideas that assorted world champions 'first' suggested in defense of my suggestion/opinion. If you happen to read all of my post, you might notice that I also suggested a game(slam?) try bid of 3Cs could be made 'because their 2H raise 'promised 4 trumps' and that might lead to a slam contract. I did add a note that 'seeking' a perfect/near perfect game has drawbacks 'as at least one leading(multiple world championship winner) player' suggests some degree of caution might be exercised. I try to offer different viewpoints when I attempt to offer suggestions for bidding. :) Regards, Robert

Hi jdeegan The problem is given while playing IMPS. Playing IMPs you should not be letting them make a game(3HsXed) 25% of the time and hopefully beating them 75% of the time. 'If' playing MPs 75% scores are fine. Regards, Robert

Hi everyone pclayton What do you bid as dealer since you would not have passed? bearmum WTP? 2H might be ruled to be an insufficient bid after that 4H call. Jlall I try to follow my gut feeling. Would changing the colors 'change' your call? What makes you want to overcall 1M with hands that other players bid 2M(weak jump overcall) on? Regards, Robert

Hi everyone I agree with the post that says that playing Precision limited the opening bid to 11-15HCP, this eliminates a number of possible 2/1 auctions. I play a game forcing 2NT over 1D openings in my Big Club(modified Precision?) auction. This makes the 2C bid either a real suit or hints at a flaw for NT play. I suspect that I would be moving towards a minor game/slam because of just using my bidding methods. Playing more standard Precision methods(1D-2NT limit and 1D-2C GF) I might pass 3NT. Depends a lot on choice of my partner and our bidding style. With most decent partners, I think that avoiding 3NT might be best. My partners tend to bid 3NT on most hands where that game is a possible choice. Bidding 2C and raising diamonds suggests either higher ambitions or that 3NT might not be a good contract. Regards, Robert

Hi everyone My first three impulses are to bid 4H. Finding partner with a void seems to be more than a little optomistic on the bidding so far. 2Hs is a normal raise. Jump reversing with xxxx deserves to find the doubler with good hearts(anyone surprised by that?) and partner with a 6-9HCP hand(3HXed could be very ugly) Since your methods 'promise' four trumps, you could make a game try(if system methods allow) with 3Cs. Partner would bid 3D(4DS?) and you could now get to slam. I would not lose any sleep over missing this slam. Playing partner for an unlikely 'perfect' hand is frowned upon by at least one leading player. Resubmit the problem and change the hands to allow the doubler to hold your four top trumps and 'see' what the recommended bidding is? Something like Qxx xxxx Kxx Qxx with the 1H bidder Regards, Robert

Hi everyone Pass is also a bid. If you like to bid, take a normal tempo to just say, "Pass." Weak hands should not be bidding at the four level without being forced to bid. The 3H bid did not interfere with your bidding. Your methods interfered with your bidding. If you rebid 4Ds with junk, what do you rebid with a 'better'(much?) hand containing just one Ace? RKC or 5Ds? Gee, the hands are a misfit, you still want to bid at the 4 level and now you have partner bid either RKC or 5Ds 'thinking' that you might hold a decent hand? Phil 'If' you held a heart suit that could stand alone at the 4 level, wouldn't you have bid 3Hs with that holding. If you have a fit, they have a fit, why wait for them to bid 4/5 of a suit before you show long strong hearts? Regards, Robert

Hi everyone Maybe before 9-11 six men might take over a plane with a box cutter or a seat extender. If I had to act alone, it would not take place again except over my dead body. I think that there might just be a couple of more Americans around that would also object in the strongest possible terms. I saw comments about this same flight on another forum. It seemed to be a possible 'set up' according to information posted on that site. I shall await more facts before I decide, however, I will not be surprised 'if' someone is 'jerking our chain.' I faced bayonets in basic training, so I guess that a seat extender would not cause any real terror. We let certain elements on several planes and lost the Twin Towers as a result. If we are more careful now, perhaps those several thousand dead give us a reason to be slightly more careful. Regards, Robert(ex-U.S. Army)

Hi everyone I think that the advice of a football coach might be of some use here. He told his players 'not' to celebrate when they scored a touchdown. You should act like you expected to score. Accept the plus 1,100 without any special notice. I would ignore the comment 'if' I gave away a -1,100. If it was joking around, I am not amused. If it was to get 'under my skin', I would not give you any satisfaction. The Italian Blue Team was famous for its team spirit. One player ran from a making 7S contract to a doubled 7NT 'which did not make.' His partner did not say one word, they went on to win the championship. Regards, Robert

Hi everyone He bid 6 Spades in 'tempo.' Without any sort of tell? Really? If 6Ss is not making, bidding 7H seems to be turning a plus into a minus 'unless' partner holds a miracle hand. MPs rewards plus scores. Regards, Robert

Hi everyone I forgot that a side bonus of doubling them might be to stop them from bidding this hand to slam. Regards, Robert