Quantumcat

Whoever gets to 1NT first not vulnerable wins the board. If you can't punish them when it's your hand, then they'll keep getting good matchpoint scores. So it shouldn't be takeout.

If playing matchpoints, they probably have close to a 100% board anyway if they find this slam and it's making. So you won't be risking much. Anyway, let's assume these guys were misguided when they bid to slam instead of game. Possibly, some people will be in 3NT not making when everyone else is in 5♦ making. You don't want to get a worse score, or tie with them. Any defender in that situation certainly won't double, they'll be quite grateful for their positive score. So if you want to beat them, you need to double. So, you might be turning a 10% board into a 0% board, or you might be turning a 75% board into a 100% board. So you might as well double. In imps you may as well double too - not sure of the actual numbers but if it makes you might lose 200 points (could be insignificant if your teammates don't get to slam). But in the times where the opponents are complete idiots and it is going five off, you definitely want to get your 1100 instead of 250!!

This is the same problem with Australia's rating system. Someone played in a small country town for a few years, and naturally beat all the little old ladies on a regular basis. But they would be quite pleased if they finished in the top quarter on a national event. For a while, they were rated in the top 20 players in Australia, ahead of multiple-national champions, and people who represented Australia overseas. Obviously the rating system doesn't work!

I'm quite glad there are women's events - when I am too old for youth, but still not quite good enough to be confident of getting into my state's Open ANC team, I can play in my state's Womens ANC team. In fact I feel quite sorry for average male youth players - when they get too old, they have to wait about 40 years until they are old enough for Seniors. That's a long time to wait to get to play in ANCs again! Although I have heard that Womens players are all gossipy and horrible (no actual experience on my part), and on Vugraph the commentators spend more time laughing about the stupid things the Womens players do rather than actual serious commentating, I would much rather play with/against them than not get to play at all! Any woman who doesn't like women's events can always play in the equivalent Open events. I know a few people who always play in Open and wouldn't touch a women's event with a ten-foot pole. So really there should not be heated discussion either way - it has nothing to do with men, and any woman who doesn't like women's events doesn't have to play in them, and any women who enjoys higher-level events but isn't good enough for Open, so plays regularly in Women's, won't be complaining...

If the opponents have a nine-card heart, diamond or club fit, you won't be able to keep them out of the 3-level when you open 1♠. This is one of the main reasons for opening at the 2-level. However I do agree with your opinion on opening 4♠.

If you have 2♣ completely free you can play Brad Twos. Every 2-level opening shows that and spades, at least 5-4 either way (and less than an opening hand). 2♠ is just spades. Why is this good? 1. The opponent in direct seat never knows if he is going to get another chance to bid, unlike multi two diamonds (he will), or plain weak twos (he won't). This means he might rescue us if we have a total misfit, or not compete when he is supposed to, and his partner does not have a bid, so it gets passed out. 2. You have two chances to find a suit to play in - you are very likely to have a fit. And unlike playing multi two diamonds where a major suit 2-opening shows that and a minor, you only have to go to the two-level, not the 3-level, when you don't have a fit in spades. You also get to know what the minor is in advance, so you don't end up at the 3-level with no fit at all! 3. In every case, if you have a spade fit, you get to compete to the top of the two-level which is always good. 4. If pard passes and is not vul, you can try some 1♠ opening or overcalling psyches now and then, knowing he is extremely unlikely to hold four spades (and if he does, he has a bad flat hand so he is unlikely to bid 3♠). 5. The corollory (how do you spell that) of the above, is that you don't want to open Brad Twos in 3rd seat anymore (a spade fit is unlikely, and if the opps have spades you have told them how to play trumps). So now 2♣ is clubs and hearts, and 2♦ is diamonds and hearts, and 2♥ is just hearts - you can explore every possibility of finding a 2-level fit, in any seat! 6. You can play transfer responses to a 2♠ opening. These are awesomely good (although you could do this with any system that has a weak 2♠ opening). If you like this, I can tell you the enquiries for when partner has a good hand, if you like.

Hi, I'd love to find some opponents - we always play against GIBs since we have gotten sick of people accusing us of cheating when we alert (they don't realise partner can't see the alert), and people accusing us of cheating when we don't alert (they think we are psyching, and chatting on the phone to end up in the right contract). But then we get an easy ride with the GIBs, since they think our bids are natural, and then lead the wrong thing, or don't compete when they should (if we have bid their nine-card fit). I will add you two to our friends list - if you play late at night, that might be during the day for us. We are Quantumcat and Redgrover.

Really?? What does mid-chart mean for playing tournaments? You aren't allowed to use it in the Novice sections for instance? Yeah, don't worry about what you hear about system restrictions in the US - as far as I can tell the ACBL is like the Church and bidding science is like astronomy in Galileo's time.

I play 4th seat pre-empts as asking pard to bid game with any maximum pass or medium pass and good fit, and raise with a medium pass or a weak pass with a good fit. Therefore I would open 2♠ and pass if pard only makes a single raise.

You could also play 4♦ as KC for clubs and 4♥ as keycard for diamonds - the agreement is it is keycard if it is a jump right after someone just bid the minor naturally, or whenever a minor has been bid and agreed. 4♥ is only not KC if the other partner bid hearts and you have had ABSOLUTELY NO OPPORTUNITY BEFORE THIS BID to give preference to hearts. Example: 1♥ (2♠) 3♣ (3♠) 4♦ (pass) 4♥. (Note 4♦ was not KC for clubs - 4♦ was not a jump and clubs haven't been bid and agreed.) If the bidding got above the KC bid before you were ready to use it, 4NT becomes KC. Also you can say that 4NT is to play after a KC bid. So then you have the freedom to look for a minor suit slam without giving up the ability to play in NT (esp. good for matchpoints). Having different bids than the suit itself for KC means you can make a general slam-try-ish bid (bidding 4 of your minor) without committing to KC.

For intermediate level: "Take all your chances" by Eddie Kantar is really good. They are problems rather than blocks of text, but the problems are easy enough that you can always get them right if you have the patience to think for a while (I tend to get discouraged when problems are too advanced for me, and stop trying and just read the answers after glancing at the hand for a few seconds). A main benefit is that they are not problems where there is a 100% correct solution (where you make the contract no matter what the opponents have or do) so they are slightly more lateral thinking, and (for some of the harder ones) you might come up with a line but can't be sure you are right (for problems with a 100% correct solution you will know it when you have it) so you keep on thinking and thinking, even after you have the answer - which might help teach you to keep looking even after finding an acceptable line of play, a good habit for anybody. Another one I like (also by Kantar) is "Take your tricks" - full of bite-sized snippets that are quite easy to digest. Perhaps you already know most of them through general experience and recognising situations you've seen before and figured out (example - you have a ten-card trump suit missing the king, and one side suit K third opp. J third with the others short but solid. Cash the ace of trumps, play out the other side suits and ruff their small cards, put an opponent in with the king of trumps and you can't lose more than 2 tricks from the bad side suit) but there will be ones you've never considered, and are awesome, so worthwhile reading just for those.

Hmm, nobody read my comment? X if you are only strong enough for 1 bid, but 2♣ if you are strong enough for two (2♣ then takeout double) - you shouldn't worry about 5-1 fits.

Partner is showing 18-19 balanced, the same as if the auction had gone 1♣ (1♠) pass (pass) 1NT If you have the values to make 1NT, you can pass of course. If you don't, you need a suit to pull it to - and here you don't (presuming the missing card isn't a heart). It's really the same as if your partner's 1NT opening got doubled, and you have a 4333, and pard does not have a five card suit - you will be better off trying to scrape a few tricks in 1NT than be a level higher in a 4-3 fit with two balanced hands.

Yes, 2♠ is the right bid. Rebidding at the 3-level is gameforcing, and shows at least a good 15 or 16. The reason is, you don't want to have used up all that room (1♠ 2♥ 3♣) if you have not yet answered either of the two basic questions - how high do we want to bid, and what suit do we want to play in? You have to have a strong hand, so that the first question is answered (you know how high you want to bid - at least game) so the partnership can relax about finding the right suit. In the sequence 1♠ 2♠ 3♣, the partnership has already decided where they want to play, the only question is how high. So it's ok to have used up space, you only have one question to answer now.

If you are weak, or at least weaker than partner is likely to be, given the auction, it is a GREAT idea. Partner should give you a clear signal. If playing encourage/discourage, then if he has a good suit worth attacking, he will discourage, and you can work out which one it is. If he has no suit worth attacking, he will encourage, and you can let declarer figure out the side-suits by himself. Whereas if you lead another suit, it is a complete guess first of all whether partner would want you to attack any suit at all, and secondly you have to guess the right suit, even if he does. Better to let partner tell you than to take a 25% chance guess. However, if you are strong, or at least stronger than partner given the auction, you have more information than your partner does. Pard is unlikely to be able to help you decide what to do when you lead the ace. If you have a good side-suit worth attacking, you may as well attack it. If you don;t, then perhaps leading any other suit would help declarer - lead ace another in the partnership suit. Of course, if pard DOES have a good suit worth attacking even though he is weaker than you, he can violently discourage your ace and you can figure out what suit it is he wants you to switch to. So, most of the time it is right to lead the ace. It is only a bad idea if you have a good suit to attack, and pard might not know about it.

A reverse, for example: 1♣ - 1♠ - 2♥ is unlimited. Auctions can sometimes get murky (neither partner knows if there are game values or not) but usually, rebidding a suit is non-forcing. For instance in the example auction, is responder rebids 2♠ then opener can pass with a 16-17 count and 2-card support, and if opener rebids 3♣ (showing 6 clubs and 4 hearts), responder can pass with 2 hearts and 2 clubs and a 5 or 6-count. To show a good hand and avoid partner passing, you can either jump in one of the suits you've shown, or bid fourth-suit-forcing (look it up on the forums - lots of explanations) and then bid the suit you want to show afterwards. A jump-shift however, is used when your second suit would not be a reverse, and you have game-forcing values (a good 18 HCP or better). It is not simply "mildly strong" like a reverse. You have a SERIOUS hand. In the auction 1♥ - 1♠ - 2♣ opener can have up to a 17-count or bad 18-count. Responder should try and find a bid unless he is very weak, and he has a singleton in opener's first suit and a tripleton in his second. The usual default bid is putting opener back to his first suit. Opener can then show a 15-17 count by delayed support for responder's suit (with 12-14 and 3-card support he should raise immediately, not bid his second suit), or by rebidding one of his suits (to show an extra card) or bidding 2NT - although this will be rare unless playing a weak 1NT opening. Jump-shifting into a suit that would have been a reverse simply does not exist. A lot of people have conventional meanings for such a bid (for instance - an invitational splinter). A usual agreement for SAYC is that a 2 over 1 response is forcing to 2NT. Therefore with a good hand, you have to bid 3NT, not 2NT. But it also means you can rebid your suit at the 2-level, and not need to jump to show a good hand, and therefore waste lots of space, and it also means that in an auction like this you won't get forced to play in 3♥ or 3♠ without a fit, or in 3NT without sufficient values. This is something to talk about with your partner, because it is not something set in stone.

Hi, my advice might not be very relevant as I live in Australia. However, while passing through America on a world trip I played in a large tournament in Orange County, and everything seemed the same (except there were no hand records?!?!? Isn't California the birthplace of modern computing?) 1. Stop cards are just an accessory in the bidding box, no one uses them. In fact us youth players sometimes steal them and wear them in our hats as a joke, or write messages on them (one kid I knew wrote "HAMMER TIME!!" underneath the "Stop" on all the stop cards he ever came across), or paste them on exercise books as decoration. In New Zealand some old people occasionally still use them, but they get a lot of eye-rolling when they do (at least from Aussies, maybe not from British people or other Kiwis). 2. Pick up an alert card, place it next to your partner's bid, and say "alert". If there are none in your bidding box, tap his bid and say "alert", and start looking aorund for one to steal out of one of your table-mate's boxes. If you are too slow and the opponent bids before you alert, if he looks concerned about it, call the director, they will let the opponent change their bid (if they would have bid something differently given the information in the alert). 9 times out of 10 he doesn't care and after offering the director you can go about your normal business. Leave the alert on the table near your partner's bid right till the end of an auction - if it's long, the opponents might want to clarify the alerted bids, and the opponents may claim you never alerted a bid if you move it and they didn't notice it was ever there. In the case of an alert card missing - the benefit of the doubt might go to the opponents. Don't get had by unscrupulous opponents - leave the alert there and no one can complain). Don't announce the meaning of the alert unless one of the opponents asks you. However at the end of the auction, if the opponent on lead shows the slightest interest in your auction, it is polite to explain the meaning of any bid that you alerted, and any bid that isn't what it looks like that you couldn't alert (bids above 3NT, doubles, bids of the opponent's suits). You usually describe your partner's bids, and your partner describes yours. If they bang down their lead card immediately upon the final pass, they don't care. Don't feel the need to explain to an uncaring opponent, sometimes they get annoyed at you giving an unsolicited explanation (who knows why! people are a mystery), and anyway it's their loss if they don't understand your auction and misdefend as a result. You won't get into trouble for lack of explanation unless, when directly asked by an opponent, you deliberately, grossly misdescribe something in the hope they misdefend. You wouldn't do that, would you? 3. Possibly a difference between the U.S. and Australia - unsolicited announcements during the auction are not allowed, you should give the opponents your pre-alerts at the beginning of the match (these will be bids that the opponents might want to agree a defence on, before starting play. E.g. you play strong club, or myxamitosis twos), and if they want to know your NT range, carding etc, they should look at your convention card - that's what it's for. 4. Just grab a double out of someone else's box. Or else act up looking through your box for a red card, an opponent or a partner will usually hand you one. Passes and doubles usually get unevenly distributed between the four boxes on a table, since people pick up other people's alerts, doubles and passes at the end of the auction quite often. I like to keep a ready supply of doubles and alerts in my pocket - bidding boxes never seem to have enough for a whole auction! It is very rare for a missing card in a bidding box to not simply be in one of the other boxes at the table - if you are suddenly missing a 4 club card, for example, and it is definitely not hiding between your other cards, in between hands have a look at your table-mate's boxes, I guarantee it will be in one of them!

I have an excellent convention for handling these hands. A 2♣ response to 1-major shows either a limit raise in the major with 3 cards, a gameforce balanced hand of any strength, or gameforce with clubs. Opener rebids 2♦ if he would accept the limit raise. Responder rebids 4-major if he had the limit raise, or 2-major with a balanced hand with 3-card support that is gameforce, or 2NT with a gameforce balanced hand, or any other suit if he has clubs (then it is natural with clubs and the other suit). Opener rebids 2-major if he would not accept a limit raise. Responder passes with the limit raise (staying out of 3-major with an eight card fit), and as above with the other hands. Opener rebids anything else to show slam interest even opposite the limit raise, natural.

Another alternative is criss-cross minors, lots of way to use it but I like this best, for opening weak 1NT's: 1♣ --------2♣ = 10-12 HCP, invite opposite a normal unbalanced hand --------2♦ = weak invitation with clubs (7-9 HCP) OR completely gameforce (13+ HCP) --------3♣ = weak, 0-6 HCP Same for 1♦ opening, but swap 2♦ for 3♣ for the same effect. First benefit is you always know what to do as opener with whatever hand you may have. Second, the opponents won't have any idea what sort of hand opener has, and can't count points to defend accurately like they would against the auction 1NT-3NT. Third, with the multi nature of the 1♣-2♦ response, the opponents don't know whether they should come in to compete for the 2 or 3-level, or pass because you might have game values or super-game values (e.g. opener has a strong NT and responder has a 15-count) and they are about to get doubled.

In my old system, I used to do the same, but 1♣ was weak balanced, and 1♦ was strong balanced. i.e. if 1NT was 15-17, 1♣ was 12-14 if bal and 1♦ is 18-19 if bal. Then, responder is free to raise to 2♦ assuming a 5-card suit is opposite as long as they are at least a little bit constructive (i.e. 5-HCP minimum) so can make 2NT opposite 18 balanced HCP. I think Gumby & Lazer came up with the split ranges first, they have been playing it for years and years, but for them, 1♦ is their weak balanced and 1♣ their strong. Not sure why.

2♣ 2♥(1) 3♥ 4NT 5♣(2) 5♦(3) 5♠(4) 6♣(5) 6♥(6) 7NT(9) 1. Positive, no really good trump suit 2. 1 or 4 3. Do you have the queen 4. Yes 5. What do you have in clubs 6. The queen 7. Can count 13 tricks if opener has 6 hearts, or 5 hearts and the king of diamonds or the queen of spades Alternate auction if opener swapped his clubs and spades: 2♣ 2♥ 3♥ 4NT 5♣ 5♦ 5♠ 6♣ 6♦(1) 6♠(2) 7♣(3) 7NT 1. Nothing (not counting the ace of course) 2. Ok, what do you have in spades? If you answer "nothing", We'll be in 6NT, but unless you have the crappiest 2♣ opener in the world (6 hearts the the AQ, 3 aces), AND there are no squeezes or anything, we should make. 3. I have the queen 4. Good - can count 13 tricks as per previous auction.

As said above, showing 4-card support at the 1-level isn't very useful, since with an 8-card fit you will always bid to at least two of your suit, and all the space in between is wasted - you are never going to play any of the contracts in between 1 and 2 of your suit. Most people I know who play transfers to 1 club do this: - Bidding the transfer = exactly 3-card support, any HCP or shape, OR 4-card support with a weak hand (11-13 HCP) (opener will repeat hearts over whatever partner or opponents do next) - Bidding the transfer at the 2-level shows 4-card support and 14-16 HCP, at the 3-level 4-card support and 17-19 HCP (you can bid game if you think you can make it opposite Q to five hearts and nothing else). - Anything else denies support and is natural A good reason for playing this way is if you play transfers after a 1-1-1 auction, you can bid really really well so the more often they happen the better. If opener is going to not let a 1-1-1 auction start (he raises the suit to the 2-level or higher, or rebids his suit, etc) then there should be good definition so responder can know what to do. E.g. if he has a six card heart suit and the auction starts 1♣ 1♦ 2♣, he can forget about his hearts, since having denied 3 cards, opener will be extremely happy to offer his 2-card support at a later stage. The auction could continue 1♣ 1♦ 2♣ 2♦ (natural) 2♥ 4♥

Pass is fine, if you double, your partner will bid 4♠ and then the universe punishes you. Just cause you would have landed on your feet in THIS hand doesn't mean you will on others :-) By the way the stronger you get, the more off-shape your takeout double is allowed to be - you want to be sure of slam somewhere if pard bids game in one of your short suits (he would rate to have a balanced 11-15, or maybe 8 or 9 HCP with a good 5 or 6 card suit and a singleton and no HCP in opponent's suit - use this to determine if you can make a double off-shape, to see if you can bid slam opposite both of these hands)

3♣ because that's exactly what I have - 4th seat pre-empts are usually a decent hand (13-15 HCP) that ask partner to bid game with a fit and medium amount of HCP or any maximum passed hand. They are both useful for getting to game with a bit less than game values (when pard has a nice fit) and they keep the opponents from making an easy 1 or 2-level overcall and finding a sacrifice or just competing, or telling each other the killing lead. This is usually only applicable to 2♥ or 2♠ openings in 4th seat, but if you and your partner already have an understanding about those then he should figure out what the 3♣ opening is. Depending on pard's hand he might pass, bid 4 or 5♣, or bid 3NT. I would expect with a fitting honour and some kings and queens he might bid 3NT, with a small singleton or doubleton club but some aces he might bid 4 or 5♣.