benlessard

Pure nonsense. Cost is 95% driven by supply-demand so insurance for everybody will increase cost per capita. Better management might reduce some cost but I seriously doubt you will find somebody who think gouvernment management/regulations will do better than private sector. Ill believe in the tooth fairy before ill believe that price will go down when demand go up. Im canadian and even if our system compared to yours is a success, its in reality a big failure. The cost per capita difference between US and Canada is mainly due to.. 1-Lower salaries for everybody working in health system. Many nurses are going to work in Switzerland and elsewhere. For doctors its worse and for specialist its a joke. 2-Population is clearly in better health than American (better nutrition, more physical activities, less stress, better environment) This is fairly obvious for every canadians that make a trip to USA. Also where i live (in Montreal) when we compare the health of immigrants from Asia vs Africa/Haiti and its clear for me that Afro-American are probably an extra burden for Usa. 3- Less high end service in Canada. All the top surgeon, top researcher etc work elsewhere where they can make 5 times more money and pay a lot less income tax. 4 Public funds --If you calculate public fund that endup in reducing health care indirectly you ll get a different picture. Our Universities are mostly public funded, so getting MD an getting a lower income is more tolerable. Same thing for immigration, we get immigrants with Md degres and other health care workers, because even if the salaries are lower/more income overall its a good deal for them because they get more security and more benefits for raising a family. Many indirect services are paid with publics funds so less pressure for insurance for MD/hospital. More governement prevention, regulations (tax on smoking products) etc.

I like pass and... over 1Nt ill X= show a good hands with H (imo it cannot be a delayed bal nor a big bal hands) over 2S ill bid 2Nt= good hands with clubs and red, has to show a pretty good hand) over 2D ill just bid 2H wich should show only 5H (with 6H a direct 2H is available) and a good hand+ a likely side suit. (partner will likely play me for 4S and 5H) but ill pull to 3C wich has to show a powerh. I dont think my hand is that great but im too strong for 2C. Normally i would double but here passing and delayed bidding seems to be the best way to show my hand (unless your a believer in delayed balancing).

use automaton http://www.automaton.gr/tt/en/odds.htm considering that with KQJ you can play JK,JQ,and QK (order is irrelevant) so you basically have to divide by 3, less if you think your opps dont randomize enough (not able to play Q+K from KQJ) you also have to take into account that KQJ in a side suit make a pretty nice lead.

Ouch ive completly miss this thread Ive watched the whole series 3 times (except the 5th only twice) and my fav is 3,2, 1 and 4 tie, and 5 is last. The 2nd season really become better after a rewatch since its how hard working mens with good intentions get into the criminals worlds, so its a bit slower and less direct than the others seasons (maybe season 2 is the casue of low ratings for the entire series), after rewatching season 2 its simply impossible not to rewatch s03 wich is clearly the best television series I know. I still dont understand why its not in Bluray...

we are playing a strong clubs starting a 15 where there is no D hands under 22 nor M hands in the 18-22 range. my main features is using 1C--1D waiting and getting rid of all 6-bad8 inv so that 1C--1D--1H show a balanced hand 15-20 and 1C-1d-1h-1s-1nt is is still wide 15-20 --------------------------------- This free up 1C--1D--1Nt (forcing, clubs or 21+ bal) wich is a killer improvement. 1C--1D--1H bal--any responder responses is forcing add huge amount of space. ------------------------------------------ -------------------------inv recap. inv with 4H are in 1C--1S inv with 4S are 1C--1H inv with a long m are in 1C--1D--1H (bal)--?? 1Nt (5c inv or +) 2C (5D inv or +) inv with short m are 1C-1NT, 1C-2C (44)(41) + (43)(15) inv with 3334/3343 are lying by showing 4S inv then pulling to 2Nt or stop in 2D. inv with 3244 are showing 4M (if raised 2M will play well) 1C---??? 1D =(waiting, many weak hands, many GF hands, inv with 5 in a suit) 1H = 4s weak/inv, 3244,3334,3343 inv. any 6S hands, some 5S GF 1s = exactly 4h inv, 6h gf 1nt = short C inv(3 suiters) 2C = short D inv i know it look weird but keep reading. 1C--1D--??? 1H bal 15-20 or GF red suiters-- this is core sequence of system 1S 5S 15-17 or GF 1NT clubs or bal 21+ or GF (4441) 2C 5H+4C+S tol 15-17 2D 5H +4D+ S tol 15-17 2H 5H+4s(15-17) rest is 5H/4S GF 1C--1D--1H--??? 1S weak or GF relay 1NT = 5C inv or better 2C = 5D inv or better 2d = 5H+D GF 2H = 5H + S GF rest is 5H + C GF ----------------------------- 1c--1D--1H--1S 1NT = bal 15-20 (with stransfers GF or weak after that/stayman Gf) 2c=5H+4D 15-17 without S tol or gf. 2D=6H GF or 15-17 2H+=rest is D GF ------------------------------------ 1C--1D--1H---1NT---?? 2C bal min 2D 6H weak or GF 2H bal 18-20 GF 2S rest is D GF ---------------------------- 1C-1D-1H-2C-??? 2d bal min 2H 6H 15-17 2S rest is GF ----------------------------- 1C--1D--1S-- our usual system ----------------------------------- 1C-1D-1Nt Same system after 1C--1??--2C showign clubs (but opener can have big bal) 1c 1d 1Nt 2C pass 16-20 clubs 2D bal 21+ range check 2H nearly GF nat 5C + 4H 2S nearly GF 5C + 4S 2NT GF 6 clubs 3C 21-22 clubs NF -------------------------------------------------------- 1C--1H(spades/ could be 3 cards if inv)--??? 1S extras,any 4S fit,any clubs hands 1NT min no fit. 2C 4C+5H 15-17 2D 4D +5H 15-17 2H 6H 15-17 2S 5S 15-17 ------------------------------ 1C--1H--1S (extras) 1NT (0-5 but show 4S) 2C inv 2D inv that is now GF (3/4) 2H 6S (weak or GF) rest is GF 5S + os -------------------------------------------------- 1C--1H--1S--1Nt (0-5 but showing 4S) pass extras but not 4S 2C clubs 16-20 2D range check 2H S raise, GF or to play 2S 2S H GF bal GF 3m nat GF ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1C-1H-1S--2C (inv) pass = clubs 16-17 2D = min with 4S/ but also 4D or 4234,4432 (to allow 2D to be better than 2S if responder is 3343 inv) 2H = S raise min or GF 2S = GF with H rest is GF nat ------------------------------------------------------------ rest is later

i was seeing declarer played the Kc wich is unreasonnable. if u have qj9 and xxx in clubs. on the 4th clubs u have to discard. allowing him to get to dummy if hes has Ax of h in his hand. So the falsecard kind of change things indeed since you throw im off a good line if u have Qj9 in S and xxxx in clubs. (if your have 2,3,5 clubs falsecard change nothing right ?)

that the problem its not even written. its old LM indy so i assume everybody is playing standard count att. There is no comment about the 4S bid instead of transfers. i think rho has q axxx kj6 qjtxx the book dont say if rho play J or 6, dont really said wich club it played at trick 3. Really worse it says nothing about keeping the 2 of trumps to reach dummy if S are 22 Kehela played a club and went down. Kaplan says playing for the overtrick was the best line.

playing Q from QJ9 is too likely to cost a trick for a falsecard if RHO doesnt have 5C. It was an old indy tournament so i suppose they werent playing texas here so i assume everybody is in 4S by south. I think cashing another S is better since if you want to go overtricks with trumps 3-1 you need 3S and 4C for wich mean that reds are splits 6-9. The risk that lho has only 2C (mean that the reds are 8-7 is simply more likely.) I dont think the defense is going to get it wrong iff LHO overuff.

[hv=d=w&n=sak3hk84da2cak985&s=st87542hqj6dt43c7]133|200|Scoring: MP[/hv] (Pass)--2Nt----------4S (no transfers) :) D7,A,6,3 CA,4,7,2 C5,6,ruff,3 S4,6,A,Q Do you agree so far and whats next ?

Bridge players are lucky because if you play other type of cards game (or poker) you realize how difficult it is getting nice and easy formula. Tarot a french card game (with 22 trumps and 14 cards in each suits) is pretty tough for evaluating add to that cardplaying tougher than bridge (no dummy and 78 cards ! with a running pts count) and you have a great card game. Worse is there is a 3/4/5 players variants and there are so different one from another because declarer is 2vs1 3vs1 or 2vs3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_tarot

Was looking at the store and see all kind of crappy stuff put in blu-ray that are sold under 10$ (otherwise they collect dust) while The Wire and many great movies arent in Blur-ray. I really dont understand the big studios selections. I hope they release The Wire one pack after another and not in a whole bunch otherwise I wont be able to work or play bridge for a full week.

I agree with Justin i would never unblock here, and i play attitude when unblockingn is dangerous (stiff or good holding on dummy) wich is clearly the case here. even unblocking Jxx vs KQt8x give declarer A9xx 2 stopper. If you lead Q from KQT8x then we clearly dont play the same game.

NF, but south has a clear 4H

At these colours 3s often get raise to 4, so partner 4H is often an invite to sac. So clear 5H no ?

meant at 2D. Our 1D opening is 12-22 even in a strong clubs setup, 2D is always available for big bal or extra strenght. Another thing im thinking is ... The question to ask is when finding a 4-4 at the 1 level matter most ? 1 When responder is weak and its possible 2M makes and 1Nt go down. 2 When responder is inv and it allow you to bid game on a fit that might be missed if opener rebid 1Nt. So if 1C--1D--1H is bal wide range. 1C--1D--1H--1NT (is inv without 4M) (wrongside but 1NT wont go down) 1C--1D--1H--1S--1Nt (can be 15-20) 1C--1H (exactly 4S inv or weakish) or GF with 6S 1C--1S (exactly 4H inv) or GF with 6H Do any1 play similar setup ? This allow for 1C--1D--1Nt (forcing)= clubs or bal 20+

1NT is your weakest range. 1C--1D (is 5H or waiting) 1C--1D--1Nt is your strong range. 1C--1D--1H--1S--1Nt is middle range. If responder show a suit you have good/many ways to show extras values. Even if they are by far the most popular 3pts are the worst ranges. You really need some invite yet the invite arent frequent enough to justify the bids/space for them. 1- do you agree with that ? 2- what is the best solution. a- play 1 wide range and 2 narrow range. b- play 3 x 2.5 range and push the 20pts hand to the 2 level (and pass some below average 12) c 3 narrow range and show the 19-20 at the 2 level.

Now that is subtle.

+200 for me

close but i dont like xx in H. Reverse the red and ill do it.

IMO its best to have strong lead and not so strong leads. The best is to play both. A= not great K = strong Q =show the K J= show the Q or nothing above T= Strong like coded T With AQJ9 you lead the Q You ll have to work pretty hard to find where this setup can blow a trick or put you in misdefense.

I think some non-bigclubber are traumatize by hands where bigclubber bid a perfect slam and they just want to make noize too much . I think many gagdet over 1 clubs are bad and some just terrible. Just bidding 2x natural with 6 is what i find the most annoying. followed by 1M natural. 1NT can be used for both M, for 5H+5m or all 5-5 is nice too. By default we play crash but i think we should just bid 1NT with any 55. Giving them space + telling them how to play the hand is dumb imo. (The pass or correct raise dont seems to come up oftne enough in my book) I doesnt bother me when opps bid 1Nt for both m and i like it more when they X 1C with 4/4 or 4/5 in the M. I semi-liked it when they bid a short suit. PS or suction is annoying but not more than an natural bid.

Perfect hand for X and 4Nt. In my book X followed by 4Nt always show a 0535/0355/0553 since with a 0(445) i prefer to X 4S and with a 6430 i prefer to overcall. Only trouble hand is a normal strenght 0(445) at Mp where you want to compete but are too weak to X.

options after 1H(unbalanced) 1S relay (tend to show xx in H or at least 3 cards in the 3 others suits so that if opener as a 2nd suit we can give a preferennce and be sure of a 7 cards fit) 1Nt 5S forcing 2C clubs 6-10 NF (could be 5c-5d) 2D 6D nf 6-10 2H 4-7 NF rest is fit jumps and mini-splinter and void splinters. Good idea. My most regular partner went back to France but Ive add up new players. In fact we could be 4 players for the BBO forum contest trying to play the same system, im changing some little things right now so it might screw us but ill ask them. You might see us in bbo partnership bidding, noodle shaztaz yyatazs (or close to it) benlessard

our range is narrow so AKQ pts isnt necessary, so its simpler to set trumps and do spriral scan (its very efficient) I would like to see a test drive comparaison of Sscan vs other methods.

Hands with fits are not a problems. Many of our side suit bid are not forcing. Relaying and bidding a new suit is GF. Opener rarely has ambiguous bids like Moscito and we dont relay balanced hand (wich is simply ridiculous), so after he make 2 "naturals bids" a further relay ask for final shape and a relay break show a misfit and ??? Also our range is narrow so after shape showing we dont need AKQ pts. Example 1D--1H 1Nt(6D any strenght) or D+H 12-14) --2C 2D (showing 6D 12-14)---??? here 2H is GF asking for shortness/balanced 2S/3C would be natural GF here i think the suit requirement to break the relay should be very high because relaying is fairly economical. so here AJ9xxx is not good enough in my book. ------------------------------------------------------------- 1C---1D (strong --waiting) 1S---1NT (5S----relay) 2D (5+S/4+H) 15-17 or 22+GF---??? 2H/2S would be pref 2NT GF relay if you have Ax xx xxx AQxxxx and decided to relay partner might show a 5521 and you will be on a guess. If you bid clubs natural GF should partner bid 3NT with a D stop or repeat his S to show 6 ? After a 3C relay break, my view is that opener would bid something like... 3D half a stop/unclear hand 3H 55 3S 64 or 5S solid 3NT D stop 4C keyc clubs at least xx or stiff H+ hand rich in control 4D club raise soft values. 4H near solid 5H 4S near solid 6S On a side note i think a raise in partner 2nd suit when is range is narrow should be an invite with shortness in his main suit. With KQxxx/Axxx/???? he pass with Axxxx/KQxx/???? he bid game do you agree ?