paua

Pass and come in later with clubs. Be happy to defend 1NT. Or play Multi-Landy, 2D shows any single-suited hand, partner relays to 2H, bid your suit.

No, you're not weird. They are being unhelpful. :(

What's that ? ;)

Totally agree. But it can be hard for a new director to find that happy ground between being a mouse and being bossy. It takes a while for the players to get used to a new face and voice, and you have to earn the players' respect and trust, by getting the Laws correct 99% of the time :) Strangely, consulting the Law book rather than knowing the Law from memory helps to build respect. When I started directing I thought the players would laugh if I didn't know the exact Law application instantly from memory. This is not so, although to cope and also to gain qualifications it is important to UNDERSTAND the concepts behind the Laws. Mucking up a movement is not good, although I think that's primarily a club responsibility.

Because that's the more obvious way to use a double. It takes quite a brain-twist to think of using low-level doubles for tactical takeout purposes. Same with reverses, cue-bidding, overcalling 1NT, leading aces, drawing trumps every time, discarding your lowest card, etc etc. Beginners think "naturally" and some never make the shift. My example above of a double of 1S with four spades, the player has been playing for 15 years ! :)

This is similar to a hand here from Monday night. South opens 1S on AQJ42 JT QJT QJ7 West doubles. North raises to 2S and West doubles again. West held K975 AQ5 97 AKT6 2S could make but South misplayed, partly misreading West's bidding. North-South not very happy.

Simple solution : If a player wishes to protect themselves then they should carry their own STOP card and display it on the table before play begins. Firstly, this announces to the opps that they use a STOP card, and therefore will use it for ALL jumps, even 1NT-3NT. Not just when they feel like it. [We use bidding pads, so I like the method of holding the card over LHO's bidding space for 10 seconds. LHO doesn't have to do the counting now, just think about the bidding.] Secondly, when RHO jumps (or makes a non-jump bid that is unexpected), a player can play the STOP card on themself to indicate that they consider this a situation worthy of a pause. LHO can count and remove the card. Any players who do not carry a STOP card and follow this procedure have no protection against UI, similar to the idea that any player that does not have a system card has no protection against misinformation. But I know there will be a lot of reluctance at club level.

I think you have complicated the situation with the rudeness and asking Qs for partner's benefit issues. In the above situation, when East asks South what 3D means, South can easily and politely explain that "it depends on what 2S means. If 2S doesn't show diamonds then 3D is natural. If 2S shows diamonds then 3D is a cue." No angst. East can now make his bid. At South's turn to bid s/he will presumably now ask what 2S means. It will unravel.

Completely agree. North asked the question and the answer was provided to North. South must ask again at their turn to bid, even if only to clarify. "Spades and Hearts ?" System cards would help.

I understood Wayne's ambiguous Queen call to be in a situation where dummy was on lead. If "Queen" is called then it is by Law the queen from the last suit played (and won in dummy). If ambiguous, the Laws specify that declarer must clarify. This is not a good habit to get into. To me "Play" means "play anything", and the defenders can choose the legal card. Maybe this is a New Zealand thing. Wayne has more experience than me, but I have never heard "play" in New Zealand. "Yup" or "Thanks" common. I would also like to add the phrase "diamond AWAY" to the discussion. This is used by a few people when discarding from dummy. Does it specify the lowest diamond, or can the defenders choose the diamond ?

Congrats ! Seating problems, I would tell these difficult players that they won't be playing tonight so they might as well go home ! Late arrivals if you can still fit them in, get an automatic Avg minus. Having said that, you really need to anticipate such problems, if possible. Surprised club management haven't got a policy on these situations.

I had similar last year. I asked about a jump shift by opponent. "Oh, come on !" was the scornful reply. Unacceptable. I think you have to just quietly continue with business, knowing you are in the right. If the perpetrator doesn't calm down, then call the director, make the perpetrator look ridiculous. I think really each club should keep a complaints book, name and date. So you run off to the director who quietly talks to the other three at the table to clarify the situation and wording. The issue gets logged in the complaints book. If the same player shows up in the book several times then they get a written warning from the President ... Zero tolerance.

The Laws are very clear on this as explained. There is sometimes UI from a FDOL. "I'm merrily leading our bid suit." An unscrupulous pair could have an agreement for the wrong defender to make an incorrect FDOL, meaning whatever : "lead your suit not mine", "lead the unbid suit", "lead a minor", etc. So the Director should be called so that it is witnessed and mentally recorded. If the same pair do it several times in a session the Director will be aware and take serious action.

Most of the world doesn't care about selection of another country's bridge team. Believe me.

Or look at how four cards split. There are 16 possible combinations, so each should be 6.25%, but in fact the two 4-0 splits are only 4.783%. Each 3-1 split is 6.217%, and each 2-2 split is 6.783%. The simple at-the-table method over-estimates the extreme splits, and under-estimates the even splits.

Another interesting website : http://www.durangobill.com/BrSplitHowTo.html

Yes. Why do so many North Americans assume everyone else is in North America ?? :)

Continuous responsibility of the club committee to educate the players. Combination of educating at the time of an irregularity, notices/booklets/emails, and the occasional speech by the Director during play. Some people are stubborn, so they only learn by being smacked.

Hi, welcome. Yes, you are correct on all points. :) Point 4. I read as - "if we *DO NOT* alert" ... The word "convention" is very very misleading. It has thankfully been taken out of the new 2007 Laws. Think in terms of "partnership agreements". And although we call these agreements by names (Stayman, Transfers, Blackwood) they should be explained in plain words, not just giving the name of the 'convention'. Insist on this.

I also would do away with Gerber. What are you currently doing with 1NT - 2S ? Use it as a size-ask and you won't need Gerber. Partner responds 2NT if minimum, or bids a 4-card suit if maximum ... Wish I'd learned this (and transfers) as a beginner. Also over a 2NT opening. I agree with Negative doubles and Fourth-Suit-Forcing. I'd add Balancing if you aren't already doing that, and upgrading / downgrading for various features. Michaels and UNT are easy to remember the mechanics, but can be abused. Checkback Stayman and Unassuming Cue Bids maybe next, but depends how comfortable you are with everything so far. When I started learning conventions I thought I'd learn one each year until I mastered it, then move on. Actually, your brain can somehow usually cope with a few at a time. Maybe not similar conventions at the same time. I'm having confusion with various 2NT sequences at the moment, after Ogust / Lebensohl / Multi-Landy / Multi-2D.

"Just bid what you've got." 4C P P X 4D P P X 4H P P X and the Jack of Spades !