wyman

I'm not sure I agree. A thread I read yesterday (http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/51174-worth-the-5-level) found several A/E regs:

this is where I hoped this discussion would go

link is broken your new link works

So, I'm pretty comfortable deciding whether or not to bid U2N with a hand when I see it (at least in the style I'm used to), but I'm playing with a new partner who is used to playing that U2N is either maxi or mini, so the midi hands all bid the suits out. I don't like this style, and I'd like to lay this out for pard, so that we can have a discussion about the relative merits of each side. His major concern is that we're bidding 2N on such a huge range that partner won't be able to make a good decision. I think shape, ODR, and losers are way more important than HCP for high level decisions, but I'm having trouble trying to put into words what I think we should and shouldn't bid 2N with. Part of what I'd like to say is something like: If you want partner's input at the 5-level, you need to bid 2N. So a hand with defense in the short suits might not bid 2N, for example. So I was thinking ODR, rather than HCP was one good metric. But I'm not sure that is sufficient. Help me out, BBF. When do you bid 2N? When do you *not* bid 2N? Or what do you think "expert standard" is? Any bits will help, I'm sure. Thanks.

Opps playing capp (so 2C=single suiter, 2D P/C) What's the difference between these sequences? And do you play Lebensohl on in the latter situation (my inclination is yes, but...)? 1N (2C) dbl [stayman, presumably] 1N (2C) P (2D) P (2M or P) Y where Y is either a cuebid or Leb-cuebid edit: I guess this is a more general question; since systems are on over 2C, we'll have a variety of immediate vs delayed actions to distinguish between.

well, it could mean that you have a heart control...

assign

Does it matter if the pair is playing LTTC?

4th seat r/r IMPs [so your partner is making the overcall in hearts, not you] x / Kxxxx / x / Q109xxx Q1: who would you rather be? (1C) 1H (1S) 2H (4H) 5H (P!) P (X) P (5S!) P (6S) AP (p = forcing, 5S is slam invite) or (1C) 1H (1S) 4H (X) AP Q2: Your call in 4th? Q3: Your lead against 6S?

2/1, standard gadgetry IMPs [hv=pc=n&s=s954hqjtdakj2ca76&n=sakjt632ha72d7c84&d=s&v=e&b=3&a=1n(15-17)p2h(%21s)p2sp4d(splinter)p4sppp]266|200[/hv]

lolol

A lot of A/E play 3D is weak and 2D is limit+ (or they play criss-cross, or whatever). This leaves constructive hands to bid 1N, which I think is a somewhat normal treatment.

Now everything makes so much sense! :)

You've never played with me, it seems :)

penalty here, I could have taken out 1H.

Simon, You might want to look at some of jdonn's posts at Bridge Winners. He has a series there titled "Breakin' the Rules." In particular, he has an article on off-shape 1N and another on upgrades into and out of 1N. http://bridgewinners.com/#series/breakin-the-rules Even if not everyone agrees with him on every hand, the articles are coherent, and you'll get a reasonable general sense of why one might choose 1N over an alternate call (or vice versa). You can them experiment (and make mistakes! and post hands/generate discussions here!) to develop a style that fits you and/or your partnership.

Maybe we should take this offline since it's going beyond the scope of this discussion, but can you still bid hearts naturally if pard superaccepts in diamonds?

Sure, sorry. I had this hand in mind when I asked. My question is "why did responder bid 2N if he wasn't going to move over a max?" Was he really going to move over a max w shortness? It's suspect to me, given the UI. But I am wearing my tinfoil hat atm.

Not being a precision buff, why bid 2N if you're not going to move over a max? Isn't part of the beauty of precision that you can just bid 4S on hands like this and opps have no idea whether you're strong or weak.

Interesting, so how do you show a hand with 4 hearts and 6 diamonds? (edit: btw I hardly think that you can call a hand with 5KC a minimum, regardless of its HCP) edit2: You can show that you are slammish by bidding 4H now. I would not, though.

Some would still play 4-level transfers, so that's one reason that a cuebid would not be Michaels. Also if the overcall is in a major, you might not want a cuebid to be Michaels. I'm not claiming anything about the merits of any of these treatments, only that some play them, and I wouldn't assume a cue is Michaels here without agreement with an unknown partner. We've chatted offline about the other questions, so I'll let others offer their opinions.

How do you guys (with serious agreements) play the sequence 2N (3D) X (P) 3H (P) 4C I was kind of thinking this seems weak, but then we don't know that opener's gonna bid hearts and 2N (3D) X (P) 3S (P) 4C sure sounds like responder is 4-5/6 or something.

I think I play worse online, but I tend to play better when I set aside a quiet place and play there rather than in the living room while my SO is watching tv. The pace of online play is so much faster that I lose track of things and/or get incredibly lazy very fast. The volume of hands and the ability to post-mortem card-by-card, as well as the ability to play with friends halfway around the world, make it worth it though.

imo

As others have said, 1S in first seat. You have an opening hand, so open it. In 3rd seat, I have more of an "anything goes" type philosophy and if you switched the majors, I might open 4H. But here you can outcompete them as high as you like since you have spades, and especially at MPs, where -50 v -100 is a big deal, I'm likely to just bid and keep on bidding spades, buying it as cheaply as I can. It can work, but it sucks to open this hand 4S and go down 2 when they don't make 4H.