Rickysa

Yessir, that is the exact situation I would find myself in and be flummoxed and frustrated by the lack of ability to communicate it...reading Kantor's description of checkback makes it seem pretty slick. :)

That is great information, and it certainly plugs a hole in my bidding education folder :) I found a chapter online in Marvin French's book :"Marvin's Conventions and Treatments." in .pdf form, but hesitate to include the address for fear of copyright issues....should anyone else be interested in learning more, a google search of "CHECKBACK STAYMAN BY RESPONDER" should show you to the site. Many thanks for the info!

Beautiful, Wank! Just what I was looking for...many thanks! If playing pickup in BBO, how would (or should) this be decided...since I don't believe it's SAYC. I see that Cohen says: on his site. New minor forcing vs. checkback would be something to pre-determine?

Hi all! I often find myself (in the world of Bridge Baron :) ) holding a five card major with game support and am not sure how to show it in response to a one minor open. Mentioning the major of course shows 4, but I seem to wind up in NT even with a 5/3 fit once dummy shows. I ask this because, with the 5 card major and holding weak in the other major, I hate winding up in NT if partner is also weak in the second major. Rebidding shows six, so is there way around this? Thanks for any replys!

V, yes, that was my question as well....it seems that possibly on a higher level of play a 3H bid is stronger...Since I was holding 3+ support with 14pts? jt, My appologies, I see what you mean now...lol....the actual bidding sequence went 1H, 2D, 3C, 4H,...etc. I wonder if her second bid was demonstrating her points, leaving the decision to go to slam to me.....if so, then a 3H bid to keep the auction going would be clearer to me, as a new suit above 2 of opening suit promises 15+ and is game forcing? As I was holding 14 pts., I would then bid 3H to say "partner, we have more points than needed for game, but I'm not sure about slam", and the bidding would continue...?

Helene, Thank you for the reply, and as I am still working through the fundementals of SAYC, I am trying to get the basics down pat...Cuebids, splinters, etc. and hand evaluation based on shape (other than shortness/longness) are things we will be concentrating on down the road a bit...I believe the 3H bid in this instance was likely more advanced than my simple understanding of..."ok, P bid 4H, so he has 13-15, and I have 19, so slam is possible, so I'm going to bid 4NT" So much to learn!!! Rick PS...jt, we were posting at the same time, I've not seen 4H promising clubs...something more to research...thanks for the reply

This arose during my lesson yesterday, and I'd welcome input.... The lesson (in the BIL...some may have sat in) involved bidding with hands having slam potential. Partner opened one heart....I held three support with GF (13-15 pts). According to my SAYC notes, I respond up the line with a 4+ suit, and then go to game in hearts at my next bid....thus showing my support and points. With this info, partner can add to his hand and decide to persue slam or not. The consensus from those playing and my teacher was that I should bid 3H at my second bid, so as not to close out the bidding? I understand that when slam is possible, the slower you go the better, but it conflicts with standard bidding? Rick

Thank you Marlowe, It was primarily with inv/gf points that I was questioning....I wasn't aware of conventions to check for 3 card support. Something else to add to the "need to learn" list. B) Rick

Partner opens 1 minor....I'm holding a 5 card major and points to respond...so I bid the suit...partner doesn't support. My notes say to only rebid 6-card suits, but couldn't we miss a 5/3 fit? Rick

Thanks so much for the replies... As a beginner, I'm wanting to try and hammer down the fundamentals as best as possible, knowing they aren't "rules" per se, as I see advanced players stray from my "notes" in bidding as they are applying the nuances from their knowledge. Just wanting to make sure my "bidding poster" was correct :) . Rick

During my session with my mentor yesterday, two questions arose and I'd like to get input from others as to the common practice when: 1. Responder has 10+ pts, no support for partner's 1 heart opening, and holds 4 spades and a 5 card minor...SAYC, I believe bids the length (minor), but it seems most folks bid the 4 card major? 2. Hand reevaluation: My understanding is to evaluate point count: HCP + Length when opening or bidding a new suit, and only reevaluate point count when responding to partner's suit by HCP + shortness? Thanks for any advice, Rick

Ben, That was a wonderful explaination and many thanks for taking the time to walk me throught it. :) :) I hadn't thought that deep.. into signalling, opening leads etc. (and, alas, my teacher and I didn't get a chance to study leads :( ) Are you taking students??? hint hint :P Rick

Ben, Thanks so much for the quick reply...it is a diamond finesse in hand 103. But the "lesson" being taught is who to finesse (which is the problem I'm having pounding thru my thick head :) )...Playing out that hand (holding on the Ace of spades) all the way until the diamond queen finesse doesn't demonstrate any further holdings other than LHO held two hearts. Both opps played 3 spades, I held three, and dummy 2....so 2 spades are still out, why must they be in LHO as indicated by BM2000, which is the object of the lesson, not to let the hand holding the spades have the lead as they could then defeat the contract. LHO followed spades three times, clubs three times, diamonds once, and showed void in hearts after two rounds (sluffing a club). RHO followed spades three times, clubs twice, hearts three times and diamonds once. As far as I can tell, with four cards held, two spades, one club, two hearts, and three diamonds are not accounted for...and all I can say for sure is that the RHO holds the remaining two hearts. Your response above makes perfect sense, but I couldn't find anything pointing out how the final two spades would be distributed among the opps...which seems to be the point of the lesson :) Rick

This may well be way to detailed a question for a forum environment, but since I've lost my teacher, I didn't know where else to turn :) . In practicing declairer play (finesses), the movie will often say, eg., "as you can see east has no more spades so you should finesse through him (when west holds two spades)" How the heck are you supposed to know that when both east and west have followed suit everytime spades were played, and no indication of bidding has been given? (Level 1, Hand, M-103) Rick

Hello! I'm in need of a teacher to help me learn the basics and good habits in the learning phase (although that is probably life-long :unsure: ) of Bridge play. I am a beginner studying SAYC and have taken two excellent online courses on beginning defense and 1NT responses. I am practicing cardplay with "BridgeMaster", but am in real need of something similar with the auction. I am in the EST zone and am flexible with scheduling. Thanks for your help!! Rick (Rickysa on BBO) Rickysa@aol.com

Sorry for a dumb question, but how do I get the undo feature to work? I'm opening a table in BIL to play against the 'bots, but am unable to "undo" when I hit the wrong card by mistake.....really, that's what happens :rolleyes:

Too funny!! Dentist here and..... Offshore fishing guide on the side :P

Ben, Thanks so much for the timely reply! I've joined the BIL (they are kind to let in a novice :) ) and that is where I've been kibitzing...the suggestion of the robots is great!! That's my plan for this afternoon! (anybody want to join me??) And the idea of someone coming along and walking me through it is great! I'm online at work....shhhhhhh don't tell anybody :P (9-5 est), so if anybody want's to keep a newbie from making a complete fool out of themselves (before the cards are even dealt :wub: ) let me know! Again, many thanks Rick

I've kibitized a good bit, but don't feel comfortable sitting down at a table due to being unsure how the "controls" work... Is there a "sample table" or the like where folks could just practice the ins and outs of how the software works? Aside...as a novice/beginner, I have enough concerns over making an idiot of myself without having to worry about how things work! :)