jjbrr

slammish cuebid definitely sounds like a wrong bid.

if 4m is natural, 4M is M+m. You give up 4m natural to gain 4NT blackwood and M+m where you know the minor right away. This has been discussed on the forums before iirc.

Talk to CTV about "In the Cards". They might sell you a copy.

lol give up 4m natural to gain 4NT blackwood. sounds pretty brilliant

In fact, I know Gavin likes them, and he described them on his site: Gavin's site Edit: And Paul Bethe describes the method in OP as "Limited Meckwell" the more you know...

Ya I've never heard the name for this, though I recall something similar to it be referred to as spiral something. I prefer 1m 1M 2M 2M+1 to be the ask. There are better responses to the ask than those, but those are good because theyre easy to remember.

Nor has anyone described minimums in terms of strength/HCP/shape/spade support/whatever. I was one of the villains at the table that generated this alleged debate. I told kfay it shows "cards" and that the actual hand with concentrated, prime 13 with 2533 was close to a minimum but that I thought it needed a bit more - either better shape with support or another good card or something. I think it forces through 2NT.

I've often wondered this myself. People are stupid imo.

I would bid 3♠ instead of 3NT. I think partner hearing about my lack of Hx in ♥ and good stuff in ♠ is more important than him knowing I'm 5422, because if he bids 3NT it's usually right regardless of my shape.

Brag: I'm going sky-diving on Saturday. Cue jokes for "If at first you don't succeed...."

For a good explanation as to why the treatment is not useful, I suggest you read Ron Klinger's section on Major suit treatments in his Power system book. Alternatively you could explain it to us.

I think it's useful when playing limited openers definitely.

dummy's first bid suit imo

I agree of course that Helene is smart, but writing in language that others cannot understand is not a sign of it. I never understand mike777's posts. this

A trained chimpanzee can play poker, fwiw (and potentially be a winning player!)

Why did N bid 1NT?

I would have bid 3♦ so that we're in a forcing pass on the first one. Now I'd bid 5♥ in case partner can boost to slam. Saw off the second one.

+1

Disagree. Bridge *can* be a much more complex game than poker, if the restrictions on bidding were lifted, but as the games stand, poker is much more complex than bridge. One test that I have for complexity is who would be the winner in a computer vs human WC match. In a bridge contest, I think Zia long ago withdrew his 1M challenge. In poker, only very recently have the computers been good enough to take on the pros 1v1, let alone play at a table with 10 pros. I don't know what other criteria you use to determine complexity, but I think bridge is way more complex also. You can teach someone poker in 5 minutes and within a few hours they could be reasonably competent. You cannot teach someone bridge in 5 minutes, and even if you could, they'd still need a lot more than a few hours to really get it.

I am not an Owen Meany fan at all.

Lots of good things can happen if we bid 2♥ and (almost) no bad things can happen. We can still get to 3NT when it's right if partner doesn't have a ♥ fit and doesn't hint at ♦

2♥ ldo. Reverses by responder are forcing

IMO bridge and poker are apples and oranges. Poker isn't even a card game; it's a gambling game that uses cards. You could play poker with an Uno deck or a box of colored rocks and really the game wouldn't change much at all. Also the motivations to play the two games are completely different for the majority of competitors. I don't know very many people who spend lots of time and effort at poker just because it's a fun game. It's not that fun, but being good and putting in a high volume yields potentially lots of money. Many poker players refer to their hobby as "the grind" which should be a good indicator of how much fun they're not having. Bridge players, in my experience, play the game because it's a challenge and this type of challenge is fun. Also there is a social aspect that keeps people coming back.

i lol'd

ya nonjumps to 3M of opps suit are pretty much always requesting a 3NT bid with a stopper. if partner bids again hes got the nuts. jumps are shortness though!