Quantumcat

I play on BBO with people I am practicing with for a tournament, it is cheaper and more convenient than going to a club, and in practicing a new system, the Partnership Bidding room is excellent. I also sometimes play with some friends of mine that I know in real life, for fun. If possible in every circumstance we try to play against people we already know in real life. On occasion you find a nice random who is not unpleasant to play against, but most of the time they do idiotic things that stuff up your picture of the hand, you can't make any inferences about their line of play if you are defending, nor about their hand from the way they defend when you are declaring (I have seen many leads of 2 from QJ2, or K from KT76, or 8 from KQJT8 etc). They are incredibly rude (esp. to their poor partner), and don't understand what claiming means: when forced to play against randoms, I try to restrict claims to when I really have nothing but trumps and high cards rather than on crossruffs or things like that, but people STILL reject! They usually don't understand how to claim, either. Continuing to think whether to play the ace of trumps or the king of trumps in the 2-card endgame. They usually are very rude to their partners when they get to a bizarre contract, and usually it's their fault. They usually also don't understand what the ? symbol does, and like to use 50 of them as though they were testing out what result it gives. Anyway, in conclusion, I avoid random BBO people whenever possible. I haven't yet met a random who is nice enough I would consider playing with them, although I admit there is a possibility a nice one exists.

Even if they have the pips to pass me, it would have to be someone with very long hearts. Who wants to give up 650 to only get 500? People want to defend vul and they will have the pips for it, hence pass vul.

Also, even if you make a really good psyche that will work well for almost anything your opponents have, but it backfires, and your partner doesn't sympathise with your decision, he/she will be pissed off and throw the next five boards. Even if it works out and you get a good result, they may still be pissed off and throw the next five boards anyway. If you psyche it should be with a person sympathetic to psyching and someone easygoing who won't get annoyed and just laugh when it backfires, or else in the last few boards when you won't be playing with them ever again, or if they are clueless and won't even notice.

I don't think the reverse is forcing to game. Why would you have two ways to force to game? I think it is some kind of shapely thing that can make game if partner has the right cards, otherwise not. If you have a definite force to game, you would bid 2♦, gameforcing. 1) is invitational with 4-4 majors -- if five hearts and four spades, he bids 2♥ after 2♦. Opener bids 2♠ if he has four, and if responder does not, he bids 2NT to complete the invite, or 3♠ if he has four spades. If opener has three hearts and does not want to accept, he passes. 2) opener has four spades and two hearts (just describing his hand while he can) 3) shapely, needs opener with good cards to make game With 3, 1♦ 1♠ 1NT 3♥ would be the same hand, but spades longer or equal

If you thought your hand was worth 2♥ to start with, stick with it. Maybe you should have started with 3♥.

My partner did the last one to me two sessions ago. He bid 2♠ over their 2♦ multi, the other guy bid 3♥, but unfortunately I had a 4♠ bid, and the multi bidder had a weak two in spades. Another good opportunity is this: 1♣ (X) 1♦ (X) ? If you have a couple of diamonds or long clubs and a short major, bid your short major. If they have agreed takeout doubles, they can't double you. Partner either doesn't have a major or has a good hand with diamonds and a major, but that's unlikely with both opponents in the auction. Even if they manage to make a penalty double at the one-level, you can run to clubs with long clubs or to diamonds. And one more. If you open a multi 2♦, and your partner bids 2♠ (happy to play higher in hearts if you have them), and you have hearts, you know your probably have a 9 or 10 card fit. Try passing. The opponents probably have game in spades. I was vugraphing when Peter Gill (famous aussie player) did this! It was awesome.

I would open 3♥ NV versus V, 2♥ NV all and pass otherwise. If the spades got moved into the hearts, I would open 3H in all but V versus NV in which case just 2♥.

If you play a low diamond to the ten, you miss the opportunity to get three spade tricks when East started with three because you have to use the ♥Q to finesse the diamond. Also note that the defence has only six clubs so they can't be 5-3 :-) Oh, and West won't have Qxx of diamonds with East having AKxx of clubs - that would mean that West bid a natural 2♣ holding a small doubleton. If you meant East might have the doubleton AK, West would have passed holding ♠xxxx ♥xx ♦Qxx ♣xxxx hoping his partner has a five card suit and will redouble.

west can have 3 points at the most - probably the king of clubs, because he can only have 4 cards, and he might have chosen the four card suit that he had an honour in, to run to (unless he is 4333 in which case he'd probably pass and hope his p redoubles with a 5 card suit). So, win in hand, ♠A and low to the jack. Did the king pop? No, East has at least three spades, with five hearts and two clubs. He has three or two diamonds. Try the ♦A. Do we see the jack? No, he has three diamonds. Play the king and another. Win heart return in hand, cash diamond. Then play a little spade from both hands (East has three spades only) and win ♥Q and cash spade for ninth trick. If a diamond honour appeared, cash the ace, and play a spade. He can have his two spade tricks but then has to play clubs or hearts. If he plays a low club, and West wins, win what he returns and play a low club (we know he has ace doubleton). Win again and the ♣Q is your ninth trick. If he cashes the ace first you have a club trick without any work. If he plays a heart you just play clubs yourself. If the king popped at trick three, play a low diamond to the ten, and finesse the 9 when you win a heart in dummy (after cashing the spade of course). This is because he might have four diamonds, and you can't force out the queen by just playing AK small. If you play the ace first, you can't finesse anymore. He can have four with a 2542 shape. Absolutely 100% on the bidding!

1♥ 1♠ 3♦* 3♥ 3♠** 4NT 5♦*** 7NT *forcing to game ** cue (now North knows his spades run) ***3 or 0 (obviously 3, with the gameforcing 3♦) North knows both hearts and spades are running, 5+6=11, plus the AK clubs and partner's ♦A = fourteen tricks. South even produces the ♦K for fifteen. The key bid is South's spade cue. It is very important to tell your partner about help in his suit! In some partnerships, in certain auctions, you can cue queens in your partner's suit.

The reason a 2♠ bid isn't very good is that you have a lot of defence and a bad suit, so you may find your partner sacrificing when he has some spades and they can't make their 4♥ or 3NT contract. i.e. imagine your p has ♠A643 ♥J64 ♦K ♣JT432 And the auction goes 2♠ 3♥ ? or 2♠ X ? I'm sure most people would bid 4♠. And they can't make 4♥, because the 2♠ opener has so much unexpected defence. Anyway, with the play, you don't mind diamond ruffs too much, since with a bad trump suit they are probably only ruffing with natural tricks. But, you don't want them to make a diamond and TWO ruffs, so take the ace so they can make only 1 diamond and one ruff. That's pretty much it. They'll make some trumps and a club and heart and diamond, you'll scrape together eight tricks in the end. Also, RHO is more likely to have the ace of trumps (people who lead singletons like to find their partner with aces rather than have them themselves), so I'd probably lead toward the king of trumps, then play a low one.

It's good for extremely common conventions to not require an alert: then if it is alerted, you know it is not the convention you expect. For the bidders: if 2♣ is not stayman or any version of it, and you alert it, if the opponent fails to ask then it is not your fault if they think you have a hand that you don't. For the opponents: If it must be alerted, then there isn't a way to tell if it is stayman or something else without asking (and you don't want to ask in the middle of an auction if you can help it, since that would only help the opponents). So for both sides, having common conventions be self alerting is beneficial. Can you get into trouble for alerting things that are self alerting? You could be having a secret agreement with your partner about when you alert and when you don't. Can you get into trouble for not explaining an alert at the end of an auction if the opponents don't ask? For instance say 1♦ opening is either strong balanced or 5+ diamonds and you have an innocent-looking auction like 1♦ 1♥ 1NT. Do you have a responsibility to tell the opponents you have 17-19 balanced, and not 12-14 balanced as they might naturally expect? And does this change if you have a convention card at the table?

This is what I use: 2D neg 2H positive but not a suit good enough to suggest as a trump suit (positive = A, K or 8+ HCP only 1 jack or 9+) other: suit good quality enough to suggest as a trump suit 2NT=the above for hearts and reverse kokish: 2H by opener puppets to 2S then 2NT shows 22-23, 2NT after 2D shows 24-25. Responder can choose to not bid 2S after 2H if they can't make 2NT opposite 22-23 balanced.

3♣. Assuming pard will make a takeout whenever he possibly can in the passout seat, we may not make 2NT and 2♥ will probably make unless pard has a good hand.

Points aren't that useful, and as you said, opener usually knows what suit he wants to play in, so knowing his suit is also useless. What about this: You hold, ♠7 ♥AKQJT54 ♦AK6 ♣A2 And you have an auction 2♣ 3♠. Does he hold: ♠A7654 ♥76 ♦QJ54 ♣43 With 13 top tricks Or does he hold: ♠KQJ65 ♥76 ♦JT65 ♣43 Where you will lose 3 tricks and should stop in 4♥. Is 4♥ forcing? Does he know to not bid with the second and keep bidding with the first? He doesn't. You have just wasted all of your space (already having lost a lot with the 2♣ opening to start with) and jeopardised any chance of getting to a good contract.

What if opener doesn't have a hand that knows what strain to be in, which is difficult to describe and needs responder's help in choosing the strain? Now he has no room. Imagine this:[hv=n=sa42haqjt9dakqjtc&s=sj7653hk654dxcaq5]133|200|[/hv] 2♣ 4♠ Now what? 7♥ or 6NT is a good contract, how are you going to get there instead of spades?

if they hold up - life is EASY! Just ignore the good heart, ruff a club and discard a diamond on the ace of spades - they can only be ruffing with the king of hearts which they would get anyway.

It could also go: 1♦ (1♥) 2♣ (P) 4♣ (P) 4♥ (P) 5♣ (P) 6♣ (P) (maybe)6NT PPP

Play the ♥A, if both follow then play another heart. Whatever they do, you can ruff a club and discard the diamond on the ♠A. Ten tricks. If someone does not follow, still play another heart. You have two entries to ruff a spade good and enjoy them: the ♥T and the ♦A. Whichever one he plays, you use the other to go back to dummy for the ♠A9.

a1) 2♦ a2) X a3) 2♦ b1) 2♦ b2) X b3) 2♦ c1) pass c2) pass c3) X

North opened 1♣, right? Since South is declarer? and LHO overcalled a spade? ♠J, ruff a spade, hearts until the ace appears (they break?) win club return, draw any remaining trumps, we have still a heart in dummy, knock out ♦A (keeping the jack in dummy), they win a club and we ruff the next one, take the other diamonds and the spades. Losing 1 club, 1 heart, 1 diamond.

If you have only one major, then you have to be at least 11 or 12 HCP in case he bids the wrong major. If you are weaker, you have to have both, so that you don't mind which he bids, you can pass. You pass because you don't have 4-4 and you are not more than 11 HCP. You have long clubs, so partner is going to make a takeout double, after wich you can bid 2♥. If you had shorter clubs and longer diamonds, you could bid 2♦.

That would be a great method: your partner bids 2C so incredibly smoothly that the opponent doesn't notice, and passes to accept the bid :-) The problem with playing 2S as for a minor, is that 3D must be to play, so you'd have to bid 4D, going past 3NT...

If including 13-17's in the 1NT response means I can't open this hand because I can't pass 1NT and may not be able to make 2NT opposite 10-11, I'd rather not include them and be able to open more often! Anyway if your pard knows you open hands like this there really isn't a problem: he doesn't GF with balanced 13's anymore, he can just invite (invite would be 11-13 then). Means that with a 15 or 16 count as opener you may have to make a tiny extra noise but that's all. Same as people with only sound openings would do with a 16 or 17. And opening light, you get the benefits of introducing a suit your partnership may want to compete with, which you may not have gotten the chance to overcall!

2H shows either 6 hearts or a hand not good enough for a reverse that has a 2nd suit lower than the one responder bid, and also can't bid 2NT.