Mbodell

I was able to successfully listen to voice yesterday for a while, but now later yesterday and today I'm getting an instant disconnect with 2 connect to voice server failed messages (there are 2 commentators, not sure if I'm getting one for each, or just 2 for no great reason). the start listening instantly switches to stop listening. I don't think it is on my side since I was successful with the same computer, same account, same information. I've tried both with normal sign on and invisible, so I don't think that effects it. I'm not sure if there is some global gap that is being hit or what not.

You could well be right, but I wouldn't be shocked if some partners might think 5♣ over 3♠ is exclusion keycard and be off for a disaster.

If the alternative is to contrast blast or pass with making a keycard call that may lead to a bad answer, that still might be the right call. For instance if the blast and pass answer says to blast, then trying keycard even if it may get you too high may be advisable if when you (surprisingly) get a really low answer you can stay lower and/or if you get the very positive answer you can show all the keys and allow for a 7 to be in play. I'm not saying that GIB is bidding right in all cases or in your case, but I think there are times when the bid is sensible even if there is some chance for a bad situation.

X for me. You can pull 4♠ to 5♣, raise 3♥ to 4♥, over 3♠ I guess you try an in tempo 3nt unless you know something special about RHO in which case maybe 4!C in that case too, but 3nt down 2 unlucky seems a spot of destiny. Maybe opponents will be kind enough to X 3nt if it is going down.

Some people want to play the weak and/or wide ranging only in 3rd seat where game forcing is off the table. And if you said the nt opener passed with 5 or 6 in the minor, and hence a known 8+ card fit, that seems a reasonable non-forcing treatment.

FWIW I know I'm not necessarily normal in my schedule but I actually like the times. In the free practice I played around midnight or 1am West Coast time. I plan to play from Toronto and will be likewise playing in the shortly after midnight or 1 am time period, possibly later if I were to play zip KO, so for me if it were 3am-3am that would be worse and 6am-6am would not be great. I figure it will take me about an hour, maybe slightly more, to play each session, so I do prefer playing them before going to sleep, since I'm likely to wake up around noon on NABC days and not want to play before or during in person NABC events.

I think best would be full random, but if you aren't going to do full random, a reasonable way to goose the points without restricting the opponents information is that the human player always has 10+ hcp. Then you don't know, the opponents may both have better hands than you, or your partner may have better. You'll still declare and have more of the points since you always have at least the average number of points, but you can't count on anything for the other hands. You know the opponents will never have 31+ hcp, but you know that by looking at your hand, not by applying another rule.

11 Smerriman vs 22 (43) Mbodell Q1 mbodell 30 (30) smerriman 11 (11), +19 net in quarter, +19 net overall. Hands http://webutil.bridgebase.com/v2/tview.php?t=ARDCHALLENGE:c129ae02.5ae4.11e7.be39.0cc47a39aeb4-1498532419&u=Mbodell. A good first quarter for both of us IMO with 11/16 push boards. BTW, from the other thread I'm very pro the non-best hand setting and mildly pro-IMPs.

I've experienced something similar in some instances where the first time a program is run things aren't initialized right and get 0. I solve it by re-running the command in the case that 0 is the answer.

I think most players do, but to be clear stratified is different than flighted. Flighted means if you aren't in the top flight, you don't play against the best players and can't win the overall most prestigious result, and are only compared against others in your flight. Stratified means you play against everyone and can, in theory, win the best overall award, but if/when you don't, you can still win awards for best result for those in your stratification. The event gives out more points to more people when it is stratified, so I think most people prefer that. Making big championship events non-stratified makes them more like real national events and is a way of field strengthening, in theory, as people who feel they have "no chance" overall, but "some chance" in the lowest strat, might have played if stratified and might not play if not. Stratification may also present challenges for this event in a couple of ways: 1, BBO often moves their strats around in ACBL tournaments to fit the field and this might be more difficult if each 18 person comparison section is a different field strength; 2, it will make more clear that the tournament isn't seeded (which I assume it isn't) where some player will have 90% of their comparisons against A strat players and someone else will have 90% of their comparisons against C strat players.

Good match mlbridge, it was fun. Ended up mbodell +47 net. Final score mbodell 122 - mlbridge 75. (first two quarters already reported) Q1 mbodell 26 (26) mlbridge 1 (1) +25 net in quarter, +25 net overall. Hands http://webutil.bridgebase.com/v2/tview.php?t=ARDCHALLENGE:96233f85.5718.11e7.be39.0cc47a39aeb4-1498114876&u=Mbodell Q2 mbodell 14 (40) mlbridge 24 (25) -10 net in quarter, +15 net overall. Hands http://webutil.bridgebase.com/v2/tview.php?t=ARDCHALLENGE:e0865a77.57df.11e7.be39.0cc47a39aeb4-1498200471&u=Mbodell Q3 mbodell 37 (77) mlbridge 29 (54) +8 net in quarter, +23 net overall. Hands http://webutil.bridgebase.com/v2/tview.php?t=ARDCHALLENGE:0e1c6995.58c8.11e7.be39.0cc47a39aeb4-1498300191&u=Mbodell Q4 mbodell 45 (122) mlbridge 21 (75) +24 net in quarter, +47 net overall. Hands http://webutil.bridgebase.com/v2/tview.php?t=ARDCHALLENGE:1e27fd68.5926.11e7.be39.0cc47a39aeb4-1498340590&u=Mbodell The most interesting boards were likely the third quarter, where the most combined imps were scored, especially the second half of that quarter where for that part of the match GIB EW had a winning card.

The 4 session championship pairs at the Santa Clara regional (d21) is not stratified. Neither is the 4 session championship swiss in the Sacramento regional (d21). So there can be some regional events that aren't stratified still.

Sorry I missed that, I accepted this next challenge and played the boards front my side. I got an error from bbo trying to challenge back a second 16 board match though.

Phil hooked me too, and I had seen a couple of challenge youtube vids. I'm in.

+1 for The Americans. I haven't started this current season yet, but it has been top notch so far.