vuroth

I can ruff to clubs, using a heart and a spade to get to them. That's 11 tricks, only need hearts 4/3, or the hand with heart shortage to be single or void in trump. V

I'll admit, I'm surprised that this was a problem for so many people. Given how bad I usually am at the intermediate play puzzles, I found this one surprisingly easy. Guess I have different blind spots than other people, that's all. V

Gah there's always something else to think of. Plus, finding these things at the table, while still getting in more than 2 hands a night....

Mark me down for 2 club ruffs. My trumps are delicious, and the second club ruff can't be over-ruffed. V

I see that. I don't see any way to handle a 4-0 club split, though. If the opponent with 4 clubs does not have the long trump, letting them in early allows them to set the contract on a ruff. If the opponent with 4 clubs DOES have the long trump, they can't be endplayed, as they can exit trump and make me break clubs. If I absolutely knew that clubs were 4-0 I could try to entice east to cover the T9♠ when I led towards the queen, but given my first discard that seems anti-percentage. V

When I was young, Joe Cocker's "Get By with a Little Help", no question. When I was a bit older, the Bangles "Hazy Shade of Winter". Lately, though, Johnny Cash's "Hurt". I'm very sympathetic to Cake's "I Will Survive", but only because it makes me laugh. V

fwiw, it took several people making the point to me for me to change my rating from beginner to intermediate. I was definitely concerned with being "caught out" by someone.

fwiw, I pass. No problem, yet.

J'apprends beaucoup aujourd'hui!

C'est en anglais, mais ici http://online.bridgebase.com/myhands/index.php on peut rechercher nos résultats. Le tournoi est ici, en bleu? http://online.bridgebase.com/myhands/hands...time=1197003600 V (qui s'excuse pour son français terrible)

The finesse seems like the natural course. The only other option I see is to just cash AKJ diamonds. Maybe the queen falls. Maybe diamonds split 3-3. The only reason I can see to try this line is that you only need 1 entry. I have no idea whether the odds are better for this, or for just finessing. If you had 2 entries, finesse then split in diamonds would make much more sense.

Just reinstalled for ubuntu 7.10. One thing that I noticed was that my query for BB$ activity would not accept text entry into the fields. Not sure why. V

It looks like those sessions are weekly, on Sundays, at 5:30-6:30 US east coast time.

I know that the Beginner/Intermediate Lounge has had some basic info/tutoring sessions recently - not on bridge, but on BBO itself, and learning how to use it.

I can't bring myself to limit raise with east's hand. It's a near max 2♥, but that's my bid, too. I think 4♣ is a clearer bid than 4♥. There is some slam potential in west's hand, and 4♥ just slams the door on slam. Fwiw, I find forcing passes rather confusing. Still, I hope I would have found some positive action over 4♣ - 5♣, while 4♥ - 5♣ I think it's more difficult to do. Still, the opponents could have made the whole auction easier on us. For B/I (since this isn't the expert pickup forum!), I think my first instinct would be to congratulate opponents rather than berate partner. All imho of course. V

So you're playing 2/1? Is bypassing a biddable suit in favour of presenting an immediate game force a common strategy in 2/1? Assuming that the OP wasn't playing 2/1, 1♠ hardly seems a killing blow. 3♣ - if it's fsf, my understanding of fsf is that you use it when the flavour is still uncertain. Is this because east is contemplating 3NT? This seems awfully perfectionist to me. There's a known 8 card fit - just bid 4♥. 4♠ - if 3♣ was fsf, this is too unilateral. Bid 3♠ and let partner go from there. If you don't play fsf, well then this is way way too unilateral - 3NT and 5♦ may yet be superior contracts (4♥ too). 4NT - If fsf, 4♠ was 4540 and no slam interest - given the void, probably a weakish hand. Pass like lightning. If no fsf, 4♠ may show extras, but East's hand isn't exactly controllish. Plus, my club values may be wasted. I'd hate to assign blame. East failed to support with a fit, and west supported with no known fit. Then again, what do I know?

Some beginner questions: - What will 5♥ mean? First round control? First or second round control? - Can partner reasonably have 4 spades here? (This makes a big difference, right? We need to ruff at lest some hearts, depending on partner's high cards, without being overruffed.... The hand presents some huge, obvious upside. How much certainty does 5♣ - 5♥ give us? V

Isn't "fast arrival" about bidding the final contract as soon as you know what it is? If I have 4+ spades and 13-16 points and my partner opens 1 spade, I certainly do NOT know what the final contract should be yet. As for forcing raises, all you need to know is that responses in a new suit by an unpassed hand are forcing for one round, and voila, you have the delayed game raise. To a total beginner, I would explain that a raise from 1M to 4M shows a hand that wants to play in 4M, but has no interest in slam. ymmv V

Had a line, but hand got edited!

Isn't the principle of fast arrival pretty essential for a basic understanding of bidding?

Technically SAYC includes 2NT forcing though. Not like anyone plays SAYC, and I agree that 2NT invitational is "de facto" standard. SAYC: after 1m 2NT: 13-15 3NT: 16-18 So it's not just Goren. I agree, though, that it's not what I would expect from a pickup partner, even one playing "sayc".

This is one of the most sensible posts I have read in the BBF for ages. Roland Hehe thanks. Only time will tell whether it does any good....

I'm in EST, am often on for a bit in the evening, including weekends. I'm not generally available during the day on weekends, but occasionally pop in for a bit. I'm a low intermediate who is currently trying to pla a natural SAYC system with as few gadgets as possible. My goal is to really understand the basic system before I clutter it up. If you're interested in playing a few hands together, feel free to look for me. I'm vuroth on BBO. V

An excellent event. My wife, whom you could not PAY to watch the Bermuda Bowl, watched some of the Friday hands with great interest (mostly, I expect, to see how outrageous the NEXT deal would be). V

Trumpace's post is excellent. Clearly, my counting and visualization needs to be just a little bit sharper. V