Lobowolf

I think this is unlikely enough that you could count the number of republicans trying to block reform for this reason on one hand, and pay down the national debt with 5 leftover fingers. I'm a betting man... How much you want to put down? A thousand? Two thousand? More? For the record, there are direct quotes from Republican strategists discussing the need to block health care reform to deprive the Democrats of any electoral success and prevent the emergence of a new constituency that supports government supported health care the same way they support Social Security, Medicare, COBRA, and the like. There is also the HIGHLY amusing example of multiple Republican's voting against bills that they sponsored to deprive the Democratics of any legislative momentum... All my gambling money is tied up in March madness and boxing, and I'm also looking for a site that will take bets on whether or not the proposed healthcare bill, if passed, will be deficit-neutral.

That's a far cry from opposing it because they believe it will be a huge success that would reflect favorably on Obama.

I think this is unlikely enough that you could count the number of republicans trying to block reform for this reason on one hand, and pay down the national debt with 5 leftover fingers.

Most feedback I'm getting (from clee ofr instance) indicates that QJT9753 is better. I guess that's what makes it a good bet. If many people think one is better than the other, and many people think the other is better, it's probably pretty fair. Roger and I were discussing something similar to ken, is the 3>2 or is the 2>3? I was thinking maybe the 3 is better, however maybe the level will be so bad that many people just lead their lowest card, in which case the 2 is very valuable. It will be a 1 session swiss, so if we win 2 matches then we will play others who have won, so I doubt it will be that bad. In fact it might increase the chance we play an entire match against a 3/5th pair, in which case the 2 is the nuts again.... Interesting. I'd think that the 2 would be the nuts, regardless. 3/5 vs. 4th best leads affects the outcome in the 4-card and 5-card suits, mostly, with respect to the specific holdings Hx32 and Hxx32. But the 2 is always chosen, regardless, from H32. (I'm assuming no substantive difference between having one instead of the other, e.g. Hx3 vs. Hx2 has to be a wash). I think since the 2 always gets the 3-card holdings, it has to be superior regardless of whether it gets the 4-card holdings (playing 4th best) or the 5-card holdings to go along with it. Granted, playing 3/5, the 3 picks up on Hxxx32, but that's probably compensated for by pairs that play "attitude" leads against NT and will always lead the 2 if leading low from a suit containing both. With respect to the original division, I'd like the Acey-Deucy option.

There's plenty of time to jump out of perfectly good airplanes. Plenty of time for the rest of it, too, though you might want to get a move on that sex thing.

The tagline you had about open-mindedness was funnier.

It'll certainly free up Dexter's schedule!

Me too - not even close :blink: Fred Gitelman Bridge Base Inc. www.bridgebase.com In and out?? You live in Vegas! True but I was surprised to find myself cheering for Canada in the Olympics so, since I am apparently not a real American yet, I don't see how I can consider myself a Las Vegan :( Nonetheless, I do like In and Out and also Fatburger (but what a dumb name!). Fred Gitelman Bridge Base Inc. www.bridgebase.com Kind of weird to see "Vegan" "Fatburger" and "In and Out" all in the same mouthful, as it were. In my pre-vegetarian days, I'd take Tommy's over the other two, but all three are pretty tasty.

It is their duty to memorize this number!

What is your login for those not enjoying the site? I can't imagine any such people exist.

Easy 1♠ bid for me. Generally, when it comes to borderline HCP openers, I look potential rebid problems, defensive strength, spot cards. I also take a look at losing trick count to see if I'm grossly misconstruing the hand to consider it an opener. Here, I have no rebid problem, two quick tricks on defense, and only slightly subpar spots in a 7-loser hand. I'm all over it. For me, a 2♠ bid at this vulnerability/position would be stronger in spades and weaker overall.

For those enjoying the site, I'm frequently logged in as LobowolfXXX

www.playcurling.com

Why do you feel very strongly that they should be disallowed?

IMO, game tries don't exist in a vacuum; by this, I mean that a bid asking for help in diamonds doesn't JUST mean "Bid game if you have diamond help, and don't if you don't." The game try exists in the context of the general strength of hands in a particular range, whether it's 3-7, 6-10, or whatever. In practical terms, this means something like (make up your own numbers here): 15% of hands in the range are too bad to accept pretty much ANY game try, i.e. the question of help in a particular suit is irrelevant - if partner wants to be in game opposite a hand this bad, he has to suck it up and bid it himself; 10% of hands in the range are good enough to be in game opposite ANY game try - these are the hands that really only didn't make a limit raise on a mental coin flip, and if partner is interested in game, you want to be there - the question of help in a particular suit is irrelevant. 75% of hands are neither good enough nor bad enough for me to make the decision unilaterally. On these hands, and only these hands, do we address the question of help in a particular suit. The 3♦ bid essentially means something more cooperative, like, "If you think game might be reasonable, but you're not sure, evaluate based on your diamonds, and make a final decision." (or re-punt with 3♥. The given hand is one of the first group of hands - it's so bad, even within the context of a 3-7 range, that I don't address the diamond question. I think given that the range is 3-7 and not 6-10, you might come to a different conclusion - it does have a 4th trump and a doubleton. But it's still pretty bad. The specific answer, though, is less important than the process. It's not a 1-step process (bid game or don't). It's a 2-step process (evaluate whether game is potentially reasonable based on partner's failure to bid it himself and my advertised range; THEN evaluate my diamonds).

I think it's as much a game theory question as anything else. I wouldn't change too much, but to the extent you're going to change at all, don't go conservative; they're probably going to go agressive, and you should do the same thing to minimize the swings. You can't blow a big lead by doing what they do at the other table. Again, that doesn't mean bidding 10% slams; I'd just be careful to resist any temptation to go the other way. If you're conservative and you're not, that creates swings. Even if the odds are in your favor on any given hands, creating swings isn't what you're after with a big lead.

+1 for Stairway The Hendrix cover of All Along the Watchtower is right up there, as is Aerosmith's Dream On. I'd put Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath on the short list, too. Strongly disagree with Mike about Hurricane; I think it's Dylan's best. I'd probably like it even more if I thought Carter were innocent. Best......hmmm you mean his best song ever....no not close.... Lets just start with Like a rolling stone...which many consider the greatest rock and roll song ever. --------- :) IMO, Hurricane > Like a Rolling Stone, and it's not his only song that's better than Like a Rolling Stone, either. It's on his short list, though. It's like "Hey Jude," but not nearly as bad - I've heard radio station countdowns where Hey Jude comes in at #1. For the love of God, it's not even in the top 10 BEATLES songs. ????wtf? Like a rolling stone is not in dylans top all time ten songs....hmmmmm Houston we have a failure to communicate! ---------- What next Abby Road studios sold for scrap? No, I said Like a Rolling Stone isn't as bad as the Beatles/Hey Jude thing. I think it's a top-10 Dylan song, but I don't think it's a top-3.

Absolutely love the Kindle. Saves time, space, money...it's great.

+1 for Stairway The Hendrix cover of All Along the Watchtower is right up there, as is Aerosmith's Dream On. I'd put Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath on the short list, too. Strongly disagree with Mike about Hurricane; I think it's Dylan's best. I'd probably like it even more if I thought Carter were innocent. Best......hmmm you mean his best song ever....no not close.... Lets just start with Like a rolling stone...which many consider the greatest rock and roll song ever. :) IMO, Hurricane > Like a Rolling Stone, and it's not his only song that's better than Like a Rolling Stone, either. It's on his short list, though. It's like "Hey Jude," but not nearly as bad - I've heard radio station countdowns where Hey Jude comes in at #1. For the love of God, it's not even in the top 10 BEATLES songs.

1♦-1♠; 2♦-3♥ In my regular partnerships, I play this as a splinter (1 level higher than a forcing bid in hearts). Is it standard to have 2♥ and 3♥ both be heart raises? Is there an "expert standard" and "acbl standard" distinction here?

If you haven't read his other stuff ever or lately, I'd suggest doing that, too. Love Franny & Zooey, Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters, Nine Stories...great stuff.

Then you're missing out on a lot of the best of it.

+1 for Stairway The Hendrix cover of All Along the Watchtower is right up there, as is Aerosmith's Dream On. I'd put Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath on the short list, too. Strongly disagree with Mike about Hurricane; I think it's Dylan's best. I'd probably like it even more if I thought Carter were innocent.

Correct! Davey Moore, "The Springfield Rifle," world featherweight champion, killed in the ring at the age of 29. Bizarrely, another world champion named Davey Moore was killed tragically OUTSIDE the ring, a week short of his 29th birthday. He sort of ran himself over; his car lurched forward when he got out of it while it was running, to open the garage door. He was still active and had won his two most recent fights, but is probably best known for losing maybe Roberto Duran's last great performance.

Song topics for $600: These two professional boxers were the subjects of songs by Bob Dylan.