goobers

OTOH hand how often do you play in f2f and have time to improve from only f2f playing? I think for the vast majority of us nonexperts, we have much more time for online than f2f counting drive times but more distractions. B) Yeah, I play f2f very rarely (even more rarely now that work has taking like 12 hours of my day), but when I play f2f, I focus a lot more, because it feels like there's a lot more at stake. You don't want to look stupid, you don't want to let partner down, you paid money... :) I try to pay attention online, but when you realize you can't draw any inferences from your opp's (or even your pard's) carding/bidding, it gets a bit frustrating.

I find playing online has a negative effect on my game... I tend to pay a lot less attention and thus not improve as much as I could.

Wait, opps are cold for game, you didn't get doubled in 2S, and your pard left? Did he leave just based on principle?

I noticed it was a reverse when I put down dummy and partner said.....7nt has a better play than 5 hearts to all at the table. :) ...sigh.......... I just wanted to crawl into a hole and die. :) Yeah, that's about the same time I notice that partner's so-and-so bid was forcing... when he announces to the table as I put down dummy :D

Lol, I assume you would've been much better placed had you noticed the reverse and bid 3S? At what point did you notice that it was a reverse? Partner is something like 2425 or 1435, slam must be cold on our combined values, (unless at the point of the 3NT rebid, you still hadn't noticed a reverse, then shrug) I don't know how to find the grand anymore, I might just bid 6H. But anyway, this is why I'm B/I :)

The frequency of 10 card support for partner's 5 card major opening is very low, even in B/I bridge. However I agree with the intention, and wish that Jacoby 2NT would stop being taught, or included in SAYC. We need a simple scheme like: 2NT: Limit Raise in major 3NT: Game raise in the major, no singleton/void, not lots of extras Double jump suit bids: Splinters, not lots of extras 3M: Weak raise, 4 or longer in partner's major 4M: To play, 5 or longer in partner's major, has a trick (or two) somewhere 2/1: Handles raises with extras -> learn how to bid out hands to explore for slam Easy to learn, easy to play, develops bridge skills. 2NT: natural, balanced! Otherwise, this is actually what I play (well, 3M is still a limit raise). I don't know what the next step forward is, but I don't care too much, at the moment this suits me fine.

Dude, according to Verizon, they're the same thing anyway! .25 cents = $.25

Wow, this poll is really skewed toward the younger side... probably because you'd have to be on the younger side to be participating this actively in these forums :)

I agree, just learn Jacoby 2NT for now. So-and-so's esoteric form of 2/1 is a better system than SAYC, but that is not to say that SAYC is worthless to learn. If you sit down with a random pickup, let alone a B/I, you are going to play SAYC, not someone else's superior bidding system. Jacoby 2NT is so widely played that you may as well learn it.

Because if you wanted to be in game at all costs, you would have jump shifted and not risked hearing partner pass 2C.

Opener promises a 3rd bid when responder takes simple preference!? Anyway, I would consider it NF for the reason Jlall pointed out... opener failed to jump shift and establish a game force, so this cannot be forcing.

Say the auction is something like 1C - p - 1H - 1S, or 1D - 1S - (2H) What would a double by opener be? By responder? Similarly, if opener passes, and responder bids a new suit at a lower level than original, what strength would that show? Something like 1C - 1H - (1S) p - 2D or 1D - 1S - (2H) p - 3C Would you interpret the above 2 auctions any differently?

BBO self ratings certainly lend themselves to that statement.

I don't get it, why not 4N quant? Opener has basically no shape.

I was 21, in college, and one day I just said to myself, "I think I'll play bridge." I'm 23 now. So I did. I had to drag 3 of my friends into it though; playing by myself was fairly uninteresting. No bridge club or bridge players at my campus.

Wait what? You have a takeout double of 1♠... make it! If 1N is forcing and responder just happens to have his upper range, AND we don't have safety anywhere, then oh well, next board.

Just curious, what is the principle that makes people believe that partner has 4 spades? With 4, she could've made a negative double (or whatever methods you use). If she was too weak to act, then are you playing the odds that partner has 4? They have a fit, we have a fit?

If you want a really quick and easy brainless way, just count HCP + your short suits. If partner bids your short suit and you have not managed to find a fit, then stop counting your short suits; they are not helping partner. Also, if your short suit contains honors, count either the short suit or the honors, not both. After a while, you tend to start looking at the hand as a whole, and this becomes less of a problem.

I play (even in SAYC) that opener is unlimited when he rebids 2♥ in a 2/1 sequence. Is this uncommon?

Edit: lol oops, I didn't see 3♥ was preemptive. Trying 4♥ anyway ;)

Yikes, I agree, I wouldn't know that 4♦ was a splinter after 2♥ interference.

3♣ can be passed in sayc? Not for me! If 3♣ can be passed, then I give up and bid 4♥ or 5♦ or something like that. I will also not play with someone who thinks 3♣ here is not forcing ;)

Assuming the 2/1 is not 100% GF, I think I'll try 3♣ and hope I can untangle the mess later...

Double... it's not that close for me.

I never really liked cheaper minor 2nd negative, which is why I play 2H bust. You will be at the 3 level, with no information at all from responder aside from "my hand is very bad." It gets even worse when the auction is 2♣ - 2♦ - 3♦. Now 3N is the 2nd negative. Yuck. For what it's worth, I really like 2H bust because it's easy, and basically the only problem is when opener has hearts. (I don't play any complicated structures like Kokish or whatever, so if you only play 2D waiting, then I think 2H bust is good agreement with few downsides.)