vuroth

Would be a fantastic story if the opening lead was small from ♦Axx :blink:

I know with the old application, you could save movies. You can always go to online.bridgebase.com/myhands, look up your recent hands, and downloat the movie file.

After diamond to the ace [hv=n=sjh6d3c&w=skhqdkc&e=shd9cjt&s=shd7cq8]399|300|[/hv] I couldn't see it, but I do now. Neat.

As it turned out, we were down 1. I *think* we always make 3 on sharp declarer play, though I think we got a defensive play that made it easier. Alas, our opponents weren't making anything, so scoring in the minus was a low board. +140 would have been a clear top. Thanks, everyone. V

Exactly what I wanted to say, but put more eloquently than I was capable of. I think sometimes the Adv/Exp post things here because it's so quiet - trying to bring some B/Is out of the woodwork. Nothing wrong with that, but this forum probably works best when B/Is ask our own dumb/ridiculous questions. :blink: V

Thanks, guys. I'm glad to see that this is an area worthy of discussion. Part 3, if I may. What would you do if partner bid 3NT over Jacoby 2NT? 4♦? 4♥? Something else? This decision was the main reason I ended up looking at all the other hands (though I often do anyways). Rather than answer this question, looking at all the splinters gave me another question for my troubles. :blink: Thanks. V

Alright, maybe I should just share my disaster story. Playing with a very good partner in a club game. [hv=d=s&v=n&s=skxxxxhkxdaxxcxxx]133|100|Scoring: MP Not impossible that I was 4/2 in minors P 1♣ 3♥ (totally forget) 4♥ all pass[/hv] My reasoning was that partner shouldn't be more than -500/down 2, vulnerable. Looking at 2.5 tricks, I took a stab at a vulnerable game. Only after the fact did I remember I was playing MPs, not IMPs. The look on partner's face as soon as I bid told me that he felt that there was no hand that would pass initially that should raise to game. I pretty much concede that my bid was overzealous. What I'm curious about is how overzealous my bid was. (For example, if the K♠ is changed to an ace, should I try, even if only at IMPs? - granted some people would open 11 points 5332 with 2 aces)

eek! I'm nearly positive it was 1minor

Double-dummy, I only see one way to make, but that line is anti-percentage. I think both reasonable lines involve playing clubs for 3/2, and I think the heart finesse is superior to playing diamonds to be 3/3. I guess the question is how much the spade overcall gives away. It seems to me to be entirely plausible that RHO could have the heart queen (especially given the vulnerability). Granted, the first trick seems to imply that LHO isn't short in diamonds, so if he's short anywhere, clubs would be a good guess. Still, is it enough to endanger the high percentage line? It doesn't feel like it to me, but maybe the experts will have more to say. V

Nicely done, Quantamcat!! In response to JustADummy, I still find squeezes to be beyond me. I still need some work at counting/visualization, before I could reliably pull one off. The best that I can say is that sometimes it will occur to me that there might be a squeeze, but that I have no idea how to accomplish it. I certainly don't mind being exposed to problems like this one, but I'm not ashamed to admit that it was over my head. 0.02 V

[hv=d=n&v=n&s=s7hkqt9dak83cq543]133|100|Scoring: IMP Partner opens 1♥[/hv] For what it's worth, this is the hand that caused the question, and I bid 2NT on it. Out of the 16 hands, I was the only one. The vast majority chose splinters.

Playing with a pickup partner, what is the minimum hand you would raise a 3♥ overcall to 4♥, vulnerable. How much of a difference does MPs vs IMPs make?

Does bidding Jacoby 2NT, i.e. 1♠ - 2NT deny a singleton or void? Or are there times when you would bid Jacoby 2NT with a shot offsuit? Asked another way, with a GF hand with a singleton or void, do you always use splinter?

3 days late for scary costumes. :) :D :D

Ok. I'm a little bit confused. People are talking about 3♦ as being fsf. Is/should 3♦ still be an artificial game force, when we're already in a GF auction? (I really know very little about 2/1, but is 1♥ 2♣ 2♠ 3♦ also artificial fsf?) Is that because you're trying to "right-side" a NT contract, making sure the tenace/whatever is led up to? More generally, do both 2NT and 3♦ both promise a diamond stopper? I would have thought that if 3♦ was fsf, it would not necessarily promise a stopper. Fwiw, my vote was going to be for 2NT - showing a stopper, and communicating that based on my shape and partner's known shape, we might be best suited for NT. V

Honestly, I find that most of the people who post here are experts or better who are trying to help. When beginners ask questions, they're generally very good at asking. By and large, though, the material here seems to come from advancing players. I recommend that you ask questions here, and ask a lot of them. I don't think anyone will mock or laugh. If anything, I wish I asked more questions here. (Then again, I do ask a lot of questions of my mentor). 0.02 V

ahh nice link. Merci. Here's a quick question - when you're recording score, how do you tell between ♥ and ♦? Is one C and the other K?

spades = piques = "peek" hearts = coeurs = "curr" diamonds = carreaux = "carro" clubs = trefles = "trreffluh"

Ahh so many options - a sure sign I'll get this wrong. So RHO has 5 ♦s. I'm not really keen about him leading diamonds through me, though of course if the honours are split and I guess right I might survive. Still, I think I'd rather be putting LHO on lead, if I have to. So, while the clubs look like the most promising source of tricks, normally, I think the risk is just too great. (There are some Hx holdings I can pick up for 1 loser and take 3♠, 1♥, 1♦ and 4♣, but individually they seem like longshots) Instead, I'll aim for 4♠, 3♥, 1♦ and 1♣. A♦. Cash the A♥, low to the QJ. If RHO wins and returns a ♦ or ♠, I have my 9. If she returns a ♣, I might pick up my 9th trick on a guess in ♣s. A ♥ return is best, but maybe she'll be out. (A ♥ return also makes it safer to put her back on lead.) If LHO wins and returns a ♦, guess time. I'll go with the T and pray. Anything else, I win,. When I'm back in, cash A♠, cross to the K♠, cash the 9♥, and finesse the J♠.

B) Start playing as a junior? Read a lot? Enough knowledge to apply intelligent criticism to your own game, and play often enough to apply the lessons you're learning. Maybe I'll have a better answer in 10 years. B)

This was actually what I was thinking, but this isn't a subject I'd given a lot of thought. Good thread for sure. V

For years, I wasn't aware of how to apply the general mathematic principle to bridge. I think I understand the basic idea, and have played based on RC once or twice now. Still, I strongly suspect that the majority of club/BIL players aren't familiar with RC.

Ask and ye shall receive. [hv=d=e&v=n&n=s875h5dk952ca9865&w=saqjt4ha864d6cqj4&e=sk93hkt3djt83ckt7&s=s62hqj972daq74c32]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv] West North East South - - Pass Pass 1♠ Pass 1NT Pass 2♥ Pass 3♠ Pass 4♠ Pass Pass Pass H5 H3 H9 HA D6 DK D3 D7 CA C7 C3 C4 D2 D8 DQ S4 SQ S8 S3 S2 ST S7 S9 S6 SJ S5 SK H2 CT C2 CQ C9 CJ C8 CK D4 DJ DA SA D9 H6 C5 HK H7 DT HJ H8 D5 HT HQ H4 C6

Wow, this is great news. As a programmer and bridge player, I think that the idea of writing/tuning something like GiB is very interesting - and very intimidating. Maintaining/supporting GiB can only be a huge amount of work. Thanks for the update!

This is a TD call... What if I just put the club in my pocket, and open 1♥? :)