bid_em_up

In my partnerships, we play that you only use inverted minors on hands that can see possibilities of 6m opposite a minimum opening. This interest is conveyed by 1m-2m and cuebidding sequences follow. It is possible to stop in 4m when holding 3 dead in a suit in both hands. Just because you play it as g/f, doesnt mean you HAVE to bid game knowing you have 3 quick losers (kinda silly, imo). After 1m-2m, New Suit = control after New Suit: a) 2N = control in other 2 suits 1m 2m 2H 2N (controls in both spades & other minor) 1m 2m 2S 2N (controls in hearts and other minor) 1c 2c 2D 2N (controls in spade/hearts) b ) new suit = control in this suit, denies control in other unbid suit 1m 2m 2H 2S (control in spades, denies control in other minor) c) new suit new suit 3m denies control in 4th suit. 1m 2m 2H 2S 3m denies control and STOP (Qxx, J10xx) in the other minor. (would bid 2N with control, 3N with slow stop). 2N = Controls in all other 3 suits, better than minimum. (This is usually a hand that was about to rebid 2N over a 1 level response). Continue cuebidding. 3m = minimum, no side controls, and no slam interest (will usually be followed by 3N by responder on a wing and prayer) and should almost never occur (at least not in our system). 3M (or 3D if Clubs is the minor) = splinter If either hand cues a suit that they could have cuebid earlier, it is stiff/void. The auction 1C 2C 2H 2S 3D denies opener having a diamond control so 3D should be stiff/void. Also, in this auction 2N over 2S, would show a slow diamond stop (having already denied diamond control). Alternatively, you could define 3D to show a partial stop in diamonds, Qxx or Jxx. Partner holding Jx, Qx, Jxx, Qxx bids 3N, holding 3 dead, he will bid 4m to play, and holding xx, should bid 5m. As soon as either hand knows that there is an unstopped/uncontrolled suit, it should bid 4m with 3 dead cards or 5m with doubleton. Continued cuebidding shows stiff/void in the uncontrolled suit. When partner hears 4m, he looks at his hand, and passes with 3 dead in the unstopped suit, raises to 5m with doubleton, or cues the uncontrolled suit to show stiff/void (any other cue will promise the same thing as well, since you cant still be exploring 6m while looking at 2-3 losers in an uncontrolled suit). The one problem auction is 1D 2D 3C (denying heart/spade controls), but the same general principles apply. I know this sounds convoluted, and it isnt written out as clearly as I would like for it to be, but given a little practice and tweaking for your own needs, you should find that it works. jmoo.

ROFLMAO. How true.....sad, but true.

1H. While this hand certainly contains enough playing tricks, it does not contain any semblance of defensive tricks that a 2C opener should have, imo. If opps get into the bidding, partner may eventually end up doubling a making contract, expecting more defense in your hand.

To the best of my knowledge, negative free bids are not the norm in either SAYC or 2/1. New suit by responder is (almost) always forcing.

It is definitely penalty oriented, since your side has already found a fit. (What would you be taking it out to? Your own suit?) I believe that double of this type should say, I am on max pass of 2H, and have some defense (and should have 3+ spades), how do you like your hand on defense pard? (Cooperative/Maximal double) This, of course, also needs partner to be able to use good judgement in deciding whether to leave in or pull, or you will frequently find yourself -470/670. jmoo.

fwiw, another online bridge site ran 16 and 24 board ACBL sanctioned tournies that were open games (along with 12 board tournies at approximately the same times). They were finally discontinued due to lack of interest. Nobody was willing to commit 3 hours to playing 1 tourny, when they could play two 12 board tournies in the same period of time (or play one and then go on to do other things).

A few things I have noticed while playing at the "fun" tables that I would like to see changed: 1) Make "fun" balances a cumulative score. This way, I can have some idea of how I have fared over a period of time, not just this session. Reset this balance to $100 automatically should it ever reach zero, so I can continue playing "for fun". 2) Quit closing the table automatically when one player declines a hand. Just clear his seat and don't deal the next hand until a new player joins the table. It's just a pain to have to open a new table each time. 3) I would like to be able to see a list of players actually playing (ie, tables in progress), same as main bridge club list, only you couldn't join the table. 4) Some method to disable outside chat while playing money bridge (both to and from the player). While some people may want to be able to chat with their friends that are elsewhere on BBO, I think it could be very distracting if playing for real money to have outside chat constantly coming in. It could also be used as a means of cheating (hey Joe, what do you do with ??) 5) I've tried different settings on the bot speeds. I havent been able to see much of a difference in the caliber of the bots, other than they just take longer to lead, and follow suit. The bidding is still atrocious. I had started a table on slow settings and wanted to change the bot speed, if only to speed up their play. No way to do this, unless you close table and start over. I dont think you should be able to do it during a hand, but maybe be able to change bot settings to take effect for the next hand? 6) Not sure what to do about bot bidding. But given the following example (bots on medium setting): My bot opens 1C (1S opp bot) p (2C live opp) p (2S) p (2N) p (3S) at this point, I'm holding K109xx J10x xx Qxx, I double 3S, a clear penalty double on the auction (what else can it be?!?!) So what does my bot do? Holding xxx AQx AKx J10xx, he bids 4D, turning +800 (or better) into -800. At $0.01, thats a $16.00 swing. To be fair, the bots do play and defend rather well, for the most part, but until the bot bidding improves (or I learn how to handle them better, hehe), I will have to say "No thanks" to playing for real $$.

If playing with a random pick-up partner, I might take another call. Who knows what they bid 3N on? Yes, I agree with 2C. In normal partnerships, I agree with Mike that pass rates to be the winning call.

True, but it may well help to prevent future, umm, indiscretions....or to establish a pattern of repeat offenders. Without being able to see who the PP's are being assigned to, how can this ever be recognized? jmoo.

That is simply an untrue statement. There is no other way to put it. Jacoby does not deny shortness and it never has. You can't seriously believe that, can you? Ok, maybe you do, but....seriously "JACOBY 2NT - Updated With the advent of limit raises a need for a forcing raise resurfaced. Since there was rarely a need to play in 3NT when we had a 9+ card fit in a Major, Oswald Jacoby suggested using a jump to 2NT after Partner's opening 1H/1S (without an intervening bid) to show 4 card support with opening bid strength in a balanced hand." Yes, I think I remember seeing this excerpt from a 1952 Harper's Bazaar next to an ad for bomb shelters and a picture of the 1953 Nash. Well, if it was good enough for Ozzy.....then who am I to mess with it? :lol:

That is simply an untrue statement. There is no other way to put it. Jacoby does not deny shortness and it never has. You can't seriously believe that, can you? Ok, maybe you do, but....seriously "JACOBY 2NT - Updated With the advent of limit raises a need for a forcing raise resurfaced. Since there was rarely a need to play in 3NT when we had a 9+ card fit in a Major, Oswald Jacoby suggested using a jump to 2NT after Partner's opening 1H/1S (without an intervening bid) to show 4 card support with opening bid strength in a balanced hand." The idea was that you already had splinter bids to show the values in responders hand that contained shortness, and why opener shows his shortness as a response (because responder is known to be balanced). You may choose to play it as containing a stiff or void, but to assert that it "never" has denied shortness is absolutely false.

Personally, I wouldn't open this hand B) Yea, yea, heard it all before, I manage just fine passing in first seat with this, tyvm. Having been forced to do so, I cannot come up with a rational justification of leaving the XX when I have: a) a void in their suit (great for offense, not so good on defense) b ) a side 5 card suit that hasnt been shown c) absolutely no semblance of the defensive tricks that I originally promised with the opening bid (my hand might take 1 trick, 2 if its lucky), and d) support for partner that has not been disclosed. This hand is meant for offense, not defense, and I wouldnt be too surprised to find 4S xx'd making, possibly with an overtrick (or two). If pard has a hand that is good enough to be able to defeat 4S....then he probably shouldnt have bid 2C. Although I voted for 5C, 4N is probably a better call (and I cant go back and change the vote) since it brings both minor suits into the picture. I also dont think I would have passed the original X of 4S either.......for the same reasons listed above, nor would I have passed 3S, so asking me what I am going to do over 4S xx'd is kind of a moot point. :-) As always, jmoo.

So, let me see if I have this right. Holding honors in both black suits that have been bid by North, and North has reasonably shown a hand that is 4-3-1-5 or 4-3-2-4 most likely, opposite what is supposed to be a weakish hand in the South, a competent West decides to lead trump to cut down on possible ruffs in dummy and is accused of cheating? This, when South has A) misbid his hand, B ) misplayed his hand, and C) violated every rules of ethics when he made his accusation? Oh, Please. I sincerely hope that South has been banned from BBO, or at least, severely reprimanded. jmoo.

Holding no side entry, it is probably correct to lead small. However, with the spade Ace, the auction (and your distribution) says: the 2C bidder holds at most 4 spades (they did not transfer or make some form of smolen call after 2D), and the 1N opener holds at most 3 spades, so pard will hold 3+ spades. If the 2C bidder is 4-4 in the majors, it is unlikely to matter what you lead, since your two small heart spots are so poor. If hearts are 3-3 in the opponents hand, it is probably a moot point whether you lead high or low (either way they are likely to have a stopper in the suit), unless partner specifically holds Qx of hearts. From your hand pattern, declarer is likely to hold 5 (possibly 6) diamonds along with his 3 spades, making him a strong contender for holding a doubleton heart. While partner may not hold much, there is just enough room in his hand to hold Jxx of hearts (with declarer or dummy having Qx) or any 4 hearts. Lead the Ace of hearts (or king, whichever your partnership uses for count) and see whats in dummy. This is unlikely to cost a trick, you can always lead small to the next trick or cash the other honor and then lead a third heart giving appropriate suit preference signal depending on the count you received. The only time I can see that this may be negative would be if dummy had Q(J)xxx and declarer holds Q(J)xx, as your spots are so poor you may allow declarer to establish 2 heart tricks with ease. I dont think this is likely to affect the outcome, as leading a small heart would effectively do the same thing. So, cashing a high heart rates to win or break even most of the time, while leading small only wins if partner holds the stiff Q (AND he returns spade AND you find Jxx in opps hand) or if he holds Qx of hearts. Again, jmoo.

Who is Wendy? Grant Baze's wife at the time, was Shalene Natarro, i'm fairly certain (but not sure of the spelling of her last name). Pretty red/auburn brown haired lady, from Atlanta GA where they met. Grant left the Atlanta area in the mid-80's to move to CA and Shalene followed. They were married shortly thereafter, if memory serves me correctly, and then divorced sometime in the 90's. And from the post, i assume you were in your late teens, early 20's, so was I at the time......she was too old for me also. LOL!!

Even though 3 people said 2H, it appears that I am the only one who actually voted for it. Try and make 4H on a trump lead....

I'm with the 4N bidders. The question becomes what to do over 5C/5D by pard. I also think this should be a strong(ish) two-suiter (or really freakish distributional 7-0-5-1, 7-6, 661, etc). Weaker, less distributional hands, could have simply michaeled. My inclination would be to pass 5C and raise 5D to 6. However, it also depends on who my partner is. :D

Actually, what we are supposed to have agreed to is sound/full openers in 1st/2nd seat. Third/Fourth seat openings may be light (10-11, possibly even a good 9), in order to protect the passing of a good 11/12 count in 1st/2nd. Or at least, thats what I am playing, anyway.

Put me down for 2S. Why waste a round of bidding and have to show the spade suit at the 3 level? If partner has spade support, this hand becomes golden. If he doesn't, you now have more room to explore. The old adage about a positive response being a 5 card suit headed by two of the top three honors is, well, outdated, at best, imo. Seriously, opposite a 2C opener, where are 2 of the top 3 honors in your suit most likely to be? In the 2C openers hand!! Dont waste a round of bidding to show a positive hand with a 5+ card suit, simply because it lacks these honors. By telling partner immediately that you have a decent suit and a positive response, you will usually find yourself much better placed later in the auction. jmoo.

For the record, please note, this situation is not being presented accurately. I was the partner in question, and a few hands earlier another questionable call was made on a 4-3-3-3 pattern. I told hearta then, that it has been my experience that it does not pay to be aggressive (in the long run) with these kind of hands. Then this hand follows. First, the actual auction was P P P 1C (not first seat opener, as the original problem says). Second, noone has asked vulnerability, should it make a difference. It was unfavorable (We are vul, they are not). What was actually said, after hand was over was: "sen, from now on, I want you to subtract 2 points for each queen you hold" which was meant in a joking manner, and that 3S would suffice. This hand should be downgraded for its flat 4-3-3-3 pattern and its soft "quacky" (QJ QJ) values, imo. 4S says you dont trust your partner to do the right thing when he hears 3S (or 3H, which is a good alternative). I did not yell, did not get mad, never said 4S was a bad bid, or that it was a bad contract, and I certainly didnt leave the table at the time. We played two more hands after this. The entire next two hands, hearta continued to insist that he was absolutely right (one of which, he misdefended one hand because he too busy in his attempt to justify the 4S bid), and upon being requested to let it go and move on, he continued. After 2-3 times of asking that it be dropped, and it wasnt, I stated that I'd had enough and then left. Not because of the bid, in and of itself, but because of the refusal to drop it. I have better things to do with my time at 12:45 am on a work nite than to continue to argue/disagree about a bridge hand, once I have requested that the matter be dropped. But did it die there? Nooooooo!! Instead, in his incessant need to be proven correct, hearta then comes here and posts this. Ok, so the majority agrees with 4!S, big deal. I do not, but to each their own. Many have suggested that 3S is simply competitive but at unfavorable it really should not be merely "competitive", but highly invitational, imo. (Actually, I'm not so sure they do, the actual majority appears goes to 3S or 3H if it was listed as an option from reading the posts). Good for you sen, feel better now? But does it die there? NOOOOOOOOO!!! Now that he has believes he has a majority agreeing with him, he then comes to table two nights later while I am in the middle of declaring a hand, and says "I posted this on BBO forum and the majority agrees with me". (paraphrased). I stated again, drop the subject. This is akin to my 8 year old going "nanapoopoo, i'm right you're wrong, everybody agrees with me". I get enough of this at home. I dont need it when I am attempting to enjoy my one outlet from working full time and being a full-time single dad. I, again said, let it go and he wouldnt. At this point, I AM mad. And let him know it in no uncertain terms. I really dont enjoy this, its annoying and detracts from my enjoyment of the game. Enjoy your new partners, sen.