vuroth

To be totally fair, I've seen far better players than me called morons on BBO. You've never really going to avoid it entirely, but there are certainly safe havens around. With some mentoring and study, you'll probably find that a lot of the critics are throwing stones from their own glass houses.

I go up with the A♦, run a ♠ (probably playing the J, but whatever). Next chance I get, I'll probably run a ♠, hoping to catch Hx or HH. Ultimately, I'd love to draw trump and establish diamonds, although the chances of my having losers to throw on diamonds by then are slim, I guess. I don't care for the 2♠ bid, though honestly I suspect that many intermediates would make it. A better suit would certainly help, as you found out when you had to declare it.

As helene_t said, why on earth do you want 2NT to be 10-11, when partner may have 0 HCP??

You are alowed to have a good hand, good suit when you open a weak two, you know. I have to admit, I'm tempted to start a new thread asking if I should be spanking weak 2 openers a lot more often.

Would it be fairer to say that: [hv=v=b&s=skxhaqjxxxdxxxcxx]133|100|[/hv] Is a better maximum 2♥ open? I'll admit the 3631 shape had me a little worried. Sorry, was just trying to make a point that I think counting the club for 1HCP is pretty bad.

4♥ now, showing my ace. Obviously, earlier questions about whether I should make a courtesy control showing bid below game, or limit my hand and just bid game (4♠), remain. I don't like 1♥. This hand is fundamentally no different than: [hv=s=sk64haqj963d987c2]133|100|[/hv] ...which not only fails the rule of 20, but seems like a max but reasonable 2♥ bid to me. That's just my intermediate opinion, though.

No, I understood it well enough. First of all, I don't know that many existing hydroelectric generators are designed to take advantage of this system. Secondly, a very large driver is peak power - by playing with the levels of the upper reservoir, you're really playing with the peak power that the station can put out. Specifically, in this case, you're reducing it. This may well pay off in the long run, or maybe the difference is negligeable. Probably depends on the surface area of the upper reservoir. Thing is, environmentalists (at least up here) go completely insane when you even suggest building a hyrdoelectric dam somewhere specific. Having two reservoirs would probably net you twice the opposition.

How many voted to put someone with less executive experience than her into an actual position of power? You guys seriously need more choices.

Interesting. Beyond the fact that it's enormously difficult to build a hydroelectric plant (due to non-greenhouse environmental impact), I would have thought that most plants run with a nearly full reservoir anyways. Aren't you creating an inefficiency in the first place by running the reservoir a bit lower, to allow for pumpback? The long term outlook, I think, is that we are going to see electricity prices skyrocket in a way that will make us long for the gentle increases in gas/oil prices. It's really the only way bring alternatives to the forefront. When that happens, people will be less excited about the Volt.

if you have a limit raise and partner qbids then if you can cooperate below the game level. The meta agreement should be to cooperate below game in auctions like this. I confess that I thought this was the standard treatment - that as a courtesy you showed control bids below game if you could. In this case, 4NT gets you the info as well, but what if you held: [hv=s=sakxhakxxxxdckqjx]133|100|[/hv] or [hv=s=sakxhakxxxxdckqjx]133|100|[/hv] Now 4NT isn't as useful to me, and I'd sure like for partner to show which minor suit ace they have, if any, even if they don't think they have a useful hand for slam. I'll agree with Fred that I don't recall all of this being laid out in 5 weeks to winning bridge. :) I find control-showing bids, when to use them and when not to, to be inherently confusing at the B/I level. Maybe my biggest problem as a B/I is that, once I "learn" a new toy like control showing, I next need to learn when to use it and when NOT to. On this hand, it's a good lesson that a simple 4NT gets the job done. V

This is confusing. Now I have no idea when to show controls and when not to.

As much as I hate to disagree with justin, I think at the beginner level NT is best. Justin's idea is interesting, and I think it's something that I'd revisit for an intermediate. If a beginner can identify the lack of a fit, the relative strength of the hand, AND the flaw with the notrump bid, that seems like an awfully good start. (And if they don't see the lack of a diamond stop as a problem, it might help them to play a few NT contracts with a suit wide open :rolleyes:) If nothing else, the lesson that "there's no perfect bid" is a good one to learn. 0.02

[hv=d=w&v=b&s=sakqt432hada2ca93]133|100|Scoring: MP 4th seat, if it matters[/hv] Sorry, I'm not normally one to complain about GiB, but the bidding seemed wrong to me, so I thought I'd offer it up as evidence, in case it's as crazy as I think it is, and anyone ever decides to tweak the robots again. http://online.bridgebase.com/myhands/hands...581872-16882493

This line may fail when spades are 3-1 with west, as he may be able to ruff the third ♦ with the ten. Better to win trick 1 in hand I think.

Gah still intermediate!

Looks like I'm late to the show, but I'll try anyways. A♥ Club ruff T♥ overtaking. I make on any 2-1 (roughly 75%), and roughly 50% of 3-0s on a diamond return (when the short spades, since they ARE 4-2, don't have the remaining trump). Club ruff then finesse does pick up righty having 3 hearts, but if the finesse loses I'm only 50-50 (either losing diamond finesse, OR having my ace of spades ruffed).

If "semi-forcing" is a bit of a nonsensical term, and yet it's the most natural and obvious one people can find to describe the concept, maybe the concept is a bit nonsensical?

Thanks guys. I passed, and when partner opened we had an easy NMF auction to 3NT. My thought was that I should pass this, but bid if ♠s were swapped with either minor. Sounds right? V

Going to suck if declarer has ♦QT2 ♣Ax. Given partner's penchant for unsound openings, I guess it wouldn't be shocking if declarer had AH in clubs. I'll try ♦, but I have no idea how to calculate which option is correct.

♠J743 ♥A9873 ♦QT ♣A9 All red, you deal. Open or pass? (MPs if it matters)

I can't handle the ten being single, so win in hand. Draw another round of trumps, A♣, ♦ finesse (I NEED this). Ruff a club. Draw another round of trump. ♦ tot he ace, hope ♣s run. If trumps were 4-1, I should still be able to get to hand with a ♦ ruff. I hope. Hoping for 4♠s, 1♥, 2♦s, 5♣s, losing a ♠ likely.

White Plague

1♠ 1NT 2♠ P Alternative, I guess, being 1♠ 1NT 2♦ 3♦ P

This is just wrong, of course. Jillybean is correct, 1NT is usually the only rebid with 1453. I realize this is quite common, but I hate it. :(

I'll play for diamonds being 3-3. AKQ♦, discarding a club. Ruff a club, draw trump, play the winning diamonds. If that doesn't work, I'm down plenty, but I don't see another way to make. Aside: