Jlall

haha, did RHO have exactly T842?

I loled so hard

I have no idea what is standard. When I learned bridge I think standard was 5-5 invite in the majors on the basis that forcing would bid 2H then 3H. It seems like less people play it this way now so I dunno, I still like that treatement.

More thoughts on this hand: I realize all of my analysis is assuming LHO does NOT have the club queen. So I should probably state better why I think this is true: 1) If LHO has FIVE clubs, I believe they cannot have the CQ, since RHO encouraged. 5 clubs is not that likely, but they play precision so it's certainly possible (1345). 2) If LHO has THREE clubs, AKQ tight is very unlikely, because RHO encouraged, and because it's simply unlikely to be dealt (1 combination), and if it was dealt they might lead the queen or play the queen the second time. I'd say AKQ tight is just unlikely. 3) If LHO has FOUR clubs, they never have AKQT (RHO cannot encourage with 8xxx), and probably they cannot even have AKQ8 (If RHO has Txxx and partner goes club club club it sets up the 7). Ofc it's possible RHO made an error with Txxx so it's not impossible, but it's weighted less. Even if LHO has AKQx, it is very possible they'd lead the queen or play the queen the second time. So basically if LHO has AKQ, I think it's an unlikely AKQ tight, or AKQx (not 8 or T), and it still requires them to have played ace then king, and still requires RHO to have encouraged. All that said, for completeness I will say that if LHO has AKQ of clubs then they are extremely likely to NOT have the heart ace, since they don't have much room for any other honors. But imo they probably don't have the queen like 95 % of the time, and if that's the case my analysis above on why they rate to have the ace seems true. Oh and one other minor point, if LHO happens to have a doubleton heart, our only play to make is the king.

I definitely prefer 2D. By bidding 3D, you are saying that you want to be in game opposite many of the "max" hands that will pass a 2D preference. IMO for game to be good we'll need him to have a hand good enough to bid over 2D. Also it's MP so getting too high and going down 1 is very costly. I mean yeah it's god several very nice features, 5 trumps, a stiff, an ace, JT T in the majors could have some use, but at the end of the day it's a 5 count and we're talking about playing 5 of a minor, we just need more wood imo.

I gave jdonn my answer while I was drunk but it seemed to me that: LHO does not have the AKQ of clubs (he might have played the queen at some point, and RHO might not have encouraged with Txxx, and definitely wouldn't encourage with 8xxx). Given that, if LHO has just the AK of clubs, he is a big favorite to have the HA. Eliminating QJx of hearts (would split), then if he doesn't have the ace, his max holding in hearts is the Q. Giving him: ?? Q9x ????? AKx? That is only 9 points. This means he must have at least KQ of diamonds...mayyybe KJ but that's a thirteen count. With KQJ of diamonds he might have led a diamond or shifted to a diamond also (unclear, but possible). If you give him J9x of hearts, he really has to have KQ and that is still a thin double that he might not make, or KQJ (where he might have led a diamond). Basically, by limiting his heart holdings to non ace holdings, we force him to have all the diamonds which is less likely. Not to mention we force him to have the 9 of hearts, else our play is irrelevant. Basically it's one big parlay. Assume we give him the heart ace now. ?? A?? ????? AK?? Obv we don't know the exact shape hence all the question marks. Anyways, in this case he can have KJ of diamonds, QJ of diamonds, K of diamonds, AJx of hearts and the DK, AJx of hearts and the QJ of diamonds, etc. He is also not forced to have the 9 of hearts. This seems like a lot more holdings, and they are all sharp 14/15 counts that would be extremely likely to double (compared to the soft 13 counts above). Also, I hate to say this guys, but the weak opps are playing udca. There is a VERY real non zero chance that they play the 9 from J9x or Q9x! 655321 mentions restricted choice, but these people do not know that the 9 could be relevant. I mean to be really honest I think I would play the 9 a non zero percent of the time irl, so I assume that bad players would do it most of the time. Even if you don't believe this to be the case, I still think the king is the right play, but it is a practical consideration that makes the K much much much more likely to be right. In fact, it may be near 100 % to be right if they give count most of the time like most people do. It's not a normal situation, and it's hard to see why playing the 9 might cost when you're looking at KT doubleton. Edit: Also I realize jdonn didn't say they were bad, I extrapolated that from them Xing and not knowing what it means, and that it maybe means "balanced max" when limited to 15 lol. And yes I use "bad" loosely in the sense that 99 % of people are bad.

X?

A little too strong for this imo

Haha just kidding man, I was curious what your first forum post ever was and then I thought it was funny.

This seems like a question that is best answered by some large database like bridgebrowser

How much worse can he be? He did open the bidding. AQx Axxxx xxx xx? Alright dutchymcdutch

Personally, the only reason I would want to play money bridge on BBO would be to play with my friends and acquaintances. If BBO takes that ability away then there is no point, surely there are better things to do with one's money than put your faith in something as random as GIB. The fact that GIB's antics will even out in the long run is moot. Just like bad beats in poker, it is the individual dastardly things GIB does to a player that will weigh on the player's mind for all eternity, regardless of whether it ultimately evens out. Online bridge, even for money, should be a far more social setting than online poker; having GIBs thrust upon me would ruin the experience. If my three friends and I trust each other then that should be enough. I don't understand your point of view, Uday. Why would a clear disclaimer that the players are playing at their own risk not be enough? Perhaps there are legal or liability issues involved that I don't understand, but it seems like if online poker could allow players to take the risk of cheating then online bridge could allow it. One would think that the money players are a slightly more sophisticated group than the open room players, so if they are willing to put their money on the line then they understand the risks involved (including that of cheaters) and don't need BBO to play mommy. Give the 'innocents' you refer to a little credit, they need not be as naive as you think. If they are worried about cheaters then they will only play in set games with people they know. If they are not worried about cheaters then that is their risk to take. One of the money games I play in is held at a bridge club in Los Angeles next to their regular club game. Imagine a hypothetical situation: Instead of playing amongst ourselves, each of us in the money game has to partner a random player from the regular game, and they aren't playing for money but we are. Even if the randomness of all our partner's evens out in the long run, do you think any of us would want to keep playing? That is what forcing us to play with GIBs instead of people would do, and that's why unless I could play with only people at my own discretion I would hardly be interested in this service. Two more quick comments. One is that despite what may be perceived as a harsh tone, I still love BBO and everything you guys have done with it. The other is that since it seems to have been discussed to death I won't add much to the rake discussion, except to say that ten cents a hand is outrageously high at penny a point, in my opinion. (Allowing a table of four people would allow the rake to be significantly lower as well, no?) Lol, now all you do is play with gibs!

Against 3N maybe 80 %? Against suit contracts I would guess less than 50 %, because usually people are declaring a major, and usually a trump is not led. Against 1N maybe 70 %

Peace and prosperitty to all!!! ♥

This was pretty sick, that was my hand exactly (plus the heart ten).

I double, not obvious but I fear having my 3N stolen from me.

Yep, super old fashioned. You should overcall with up to 17 without fear.

lol hanp humor

Never heard of playing it forcing, not surprised some people might think it is though if they haven't really thought much about it.

Yeah I guess at imps vul 3D might be ok. Obv at MP it is a disaster to end up in a MINOR SUIT though when you could play NT or a FOUR THREE MAJOR SUIT.

the dou...never mind

yup

A spade lead is horrible, I cannot believe that fluffy called it passive. It is very likely RHO has Hx and you just pick off something like Jxxx or QTxx or QJxx etc with partner. After that it is pretty random, but it's clear to me that a diamond is better than a heart, because there is less chance of us blowing a trick by leading from our 4 card suit rather than our 3 card suit. So that makes it a diamond or a club. I know the hand now, but pretty sure I would have led a diamond and hoped the 4-2 spade split offside means we can just go passive and beat them. J87x is just too likely to blow a trick imo.

That is strange, most people feel the opposite. I guess in theory it should be easier to concentrate online if you do not browse/chat/watch TV/listen to music etc, but I find those distractions easy to succumb to where live it is not an issue. It might just be a comfort zone thing also. Basically you will do best when you're most concentrated and most comfortable and least distracted. If you find live play to be distracting, just figure out what in particular is distracting you and try to tune it out.

Would you still bid 1NT if this was IMPs? Even red at imps I would bid 1N, but I would at least be nervous in that case heh.