benlessard

I surely didnt like my 2H opening, we are very liberal about our preempt since we dont care too much about ODR and LOTT. But this hand is clearly short for strenght as in 2nd seat R preempt are constructive, next time ill pass. Note that not bidding 2H and youll probably never 4H here. (probably going down on a top club lead a H swith and play the A on dummy) . For better or worse we are also playing that a passed hand that bid at the 2/3 level is showing either a tol fit in partner suits or a 6-4 shapes with an unbid majors if partner is passing. Rest of the bidding seems normal, some1 suggested that 5H is a possibility but i prefer X. Stiff club lead is IMO automatic. Ive played a discouraging card wich mean that i can tolerated a switch. Wich can only mean im ruffing D or have the Q. At trick 2 I think its not too tough to play A♠,A♦ followed by 2 ruffs.

Agree with Frances except that over 3H (wich should show half a stopper imo) i bid 3Nt.

[hv=d=e&v=n&n=sa7xxhaxxdatxxxcx&w=sqt98xhkxxdqxcakx&e=skjhdkjxxxcqt8xxx&s=sxxhqjtxxxxdxcjxx]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv] Pass------2H------2S---------4H 4S-------P---------P-----------X 9 of clubs lead. declarer won with the A and played low s, north didnt go up with the A, making. At the other table (EDITED) P---------P---------1S-----------2D 3C-------P----------3D----------Pass 3NT 3C by a passed hand is showing S tolerance. Down a couple after the H lead. Comments ?

Another factor however is that defense at imps will try everything to put you down while at MP they will often make safe defenses to avoid deadly overtricks. This is in favor of bidding close game at MP vs imps. Also they are more likely to make lightner or penalty X at imps then at MP. IMO at 50% its pretty much a break even point so since you cannot pinpoint accuratly all diverse factor anyway stick to 50% and you wont go wrong by too much

It mostly depend on the kind of stayman I play. Playing regular stayman i prefer a 3 pts range and even think that 3pts is slightly too wide. 12-14 NV & 15-17 vul are probably what i would like to play. Playing 2 way stayman ill play 11-14 with no hesitation. The setup i prefer is that 1Nt------2C- 2D---- 2M is 4M invite (partner can pass with 3 and a minimum) 1Nt------2D (all other inv wich allow to stop in 2M when responder is inv with the long M) A setup like this is excellent for INV hand but bad for slammish hands or hand where 5m is better than 3Nt. With a setup like this the best ranges are 10-14 NV and 12-15 or 12-16 VUL. The problem we cause to the opps partially compensate for some missed game or when we going overboard (more rare then you think) , but the real gain come from having an extra rebid that allow opener to transfer in his 2nd suit allowing opener to make 3 natural bids instead of offshapes jumpshifts. Also to be able to stop in 1Nt with 19 facing 0-5 in a strong club setup is fun too.

Amazingly the contract still goes down with a S return can you spot the defense ?

[hv=d=s&v=n&n=sqjxxhqtxxdkck9xx&w=satxxxhjxdtcqjxxx&e=skxxxhkxdaxxxcatx&s=shaxxxxdqj9xxxxcx]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv] Returning H wasnt good :) +1050 for NS S will permit S to make his contract because Jx---Kx seems more likely then Jxx------K Cashing the club ace is a pretty hard defense to find.

[hv=d=w&v=e&e=sqjxxhqtxxdkck9xx&s=skxxxhkxdaxxxcatx]266|200|Scoring: IMP[/hv] (P)-----P-------(P)------1D (1H)---1S-----(2H)-----2S (3C)---3S-----(4H)-----4S (5H)----X all pass 2H was a good raise, 2S showed 4 3C was a help suit game try North lead the T of D...

1st hand ive decided to X. I was hoping that partner can pass with xx and 3 tricks or maybe bid 3Nt with Ax and a quite good hand. But since partner wont have a running suit hell rarely bid 3Nt and will most likely pass the double. I wasnt afraid of partner bid 4D since he will have 5 of them. Its possible but not too likely that that 4D goes down while 4C makes but it seems that allowing 3Sx is a compensation. --- AQJx QJxxx KQxx 6C is fair. I slightly prefer 4C to pass but its close. if LHO bid 4S partner will need to double again (or bid 4Nt) and if LHO pass and partner X youll have to bid 5C. On the 2nd hand ive open a questionnable 5D with --- xx AQT9xxx KQxx I know some will open 1D and will hate 5D but i think 5D is a slightly superior bid. I think that passing 5D is clearcut since partner need good diamond + a ♣ control wich is highly unlikely.

on hand 1 if you pass partner going to reopen with a double.

What we play is 1C-----1D 2C-----??? 2D multi inv (with a long M or without M) -----2H i refuse a H inv -----2S i accept a H inv but refuse a S inv. -----2Nt stiff D but minimum hand. -----3C+ accept all inv. 1C-----1D 2C-----2M INV 4-5 cards , partner must have 3 to pass. 1C----1D 2C----2Nt GF without a suit. (our 1D isnt 0-7) 3C preemptive or courtesy

I think 4C is the correct bid but 5C is a small overbid. I dont like 3H because its likely to endplay us later. there is some shitty hand with wasted clubs that will make 6 a good bet. KQJxx x Kxx Kxxx or AKJxxx x QJ Qxxx etc..

W/W Imps pass------(1S)-----------X----------(3S) ??? QT 7xx AKx 98xxx You play responsive X, the first X is fairly sound. (PS does most play responsive double here ?) W vs R imps 5D------(P)---------??? AKTxx AKQx xx xx 4D as preempt is available.

North should make a neg double. For real players it can be done with 3S.

In Japan Go and shogi show are very, very popular. So its surely a good start to look what they are doing over there. The problem is that if you make a show for bridge players the ratings will be lows and if you make a show for everybody then they wont be a lot of bridge in it. Poker shows are totally unwatchable for any1 that know poker. The types of show that might work is a high stakes bridge table or an all around show about professionnals gamblers (backgammon, pools, sports bettors etc...)

pass. If you can make 3H youll be in 4. If you can make 4H partner is likely to find a bid.

4Nt keyc seems clear, partner with a minimum and D wastage would have passed 4D. So he has extras or no D waste so the 5 level is pretty safe.

Very interesting hand. In imps i would never pass this but in MP pass seems like a good gamble. Prospect of game arent really that much over 50% so +200 will rate to be pretty good. If partner got a powerhouse so taht we can make game then there is some chance for +800

Partner choose to rebid his clus intead of making a 3 card raise, so hes showing long good clubs, so how in the world its possible to pass 2D ? To think about passing 2S is simply gross.

I dont think its possible, assume youve got a swan with a solid suit, i still like to bid my M because 3NT maybe be better then 5m, if my 7 card suit isnt solid then i probably have pts in my M so 4M could be better then 5m. So its very close to never anyway

Is it possible to do cross-imps with acblscore ? If not any software you can download ?

I greatly believe in transfers, forcing bids vs non-forcing bids will give twice the amount of overall sequences, and it allow the unbalanced hand to describe wich is way more effective then relaying the balanced hand. So if I open 1Nt and i know that partner got Gf values i would like to play transfers, no doubt about it. But playing weak nt you expect to win imps on the 18-22 zone with stupid straightfoward auction. Anyone who says that 1Nt----2H transfer is similar to 1Nt------2S know nothing about competitive bridge vs a weak nt setup. This is where the non transfers approach will win most of their imps. The 2nd reason is that many that play weak nt today play a wider range like 11-14, for them stopping in 2M instead of 3M is important. So 1Nt----2C 2M(minimum)---- pass. Instead of 1Nt------2C 2M-------3M (inv) pass. Playing a weak NT you dont really care about garbage stayman so you can gear your system for allowing you to stop in 2M as much as you can. If you like transfer than play transfers and dont worry about it the advantage of one method vs the other is too small to lose sleep over it. IMO you should aim for trnasfers if you 1Nt may be offshape because a 5422 vs a 5422 is a hard thing to do without transfers because both side would want to describe their hands. You should play non transfers with a wider NT range & VS stronger opps, stronger opps will take full advantage of the 2nd round of bidding while beginners wont get much use out of it.

2 easy & essentials slam tolls imo are Baron responses over a quantitative 4Nt. 5C = 4C 5D=4D 5Nt i have a 6 card minor or a solid suit please bid 6C. 6?=5 card suits. The 2nd is that 5Nt is pick a slam (a slam tools of equal importantce to 3Nt non/serious). Ive seen many good pairs lose imps for just because they werent able to find a side fit (for me its simply unnaceptable). With your hand i would just bid 4Nt.

I play something similar but IMO the overall value of the hand is more important than the 3rd trumps especially if responder may have a 6 card suit or if you play a wide ranging Nt. AKQxxx xx Jxx xx Here you dont really care if partner has 2 or 3S but knowing he is maximum is more important. With agressive invite having a 3rd trumps isnt enough, partner may have a dead minimum 3343 giving no ruffs and a hopeless 4M contract. The reason why 2 way stayman is playable is that you can invite and stop low not because you can rightside the contract or relay the opener hand. Classic 2 way stayman is dreadful, small modifications make it playable. 1Nt----2C 2M (should show a minimum) allowing you to play 2M when opener is minimum. 1M-----2D here to play that 2M show 4 is unplayable since youll bid 2Nt and higher way too often, partner got the unbalanced hand so hes the 1 needing space to describe his hands, showing your 4333 shapes without showing where the values are is a bit pointless. Most top pair that play variable NT range play different method of their Nt.

If the 2D bid is forcing i would pass a make a delayed leaping M. Otherwise i would make a direct LeapM (2D)-------4C C+M very good hand 4D (good raise)-----5H Pass or 5Nt (PAS)------------6C I dont really buy the argument that H always play better then clubs. I admit that knowing partner is probably 33 in the round make 6H more attractive but it also depend on the number of D W has, give W the J of D instead of a S spades and the possibility of pitching 2H (A of S and on the 4th diamonds). Give him 2D and discarding a H is possible. I would have missed it at the table but it not the first time ive noticed that missing QJ is better than missing JT.