chasetb

It is *IMPOSSIBLE to find a good partner online. * The asterisk is there because it is not in fact impossible. It's just hit-and-miss for most. Some have the ability to sync up very well with people, others just have to keep playing and persevering. Only if you are chasetb will you not be able to find a partner, because your life is such that you are on at odd times, take weeks off of bridge at a time, but have enormous potential and an NAP Flight C title to his name, so really no one person fits well. EDIT - Cthulhu D, it sounds like maybe you and I should try to play together. After all, my best partners both moved away, one to Toronto and the other to Philadelphia, both for school. You live in Australia, apparently get on at varying times as well, and play against robots for practice. This is sounding too good to be true. EDIT 2 - I forgot to mention the other big thing - I am ignored pretty often on these forums, so don't worry about skipping this post and other future posts by me. It happens.

Well, in the case of doubling a 2♣ overcall of 1NT, it is a Competitive Double (though it is a Stolen Bid in this case), and generally those don't have to be alerted. What clarifies it for me is on the ACBL Alert Page, the second and third sentences say: "This procedure uses the admittedly 'fuzzy' terminology of 'highly unusual and unexpected' as the best practical solution to simplifying the Alert Procedure. The 'highly unusual and unexpected' should be determined in light of historical usage rather than local geographical usage." That along with the definition of "Conventional", which is what the double of 2♣ is (as Stayman), says you don't have to Alert it. After all, Stayman hasn't been Alertable for years in the ACBL, so why would a double of 2♣ showing the same thing be?

That is awful. Not because it's Flannery, but because the maximum amount of HCP a single hand can have is 37 HCP. With 4522 shape, it goes down to 34 HCP, and 4513 shape is 33 HCP. With any hand with all 4 Aces and 13 tricks, you bid 7NT, so the range should have been 0-32 (though all 22+ HCP hands with that shape will bid 2♣ in standard systems or the strong bid in any other).

2.5♠ would be perfect for this hand - you have the 'dummy points' for 3♠ but only the HCP for 2♠. I follow the rule that generally responder should be the aggressive one at teams, so I will go low and bid 2♠. Over any excuse by partner, I will bid the game.

Something that might help in this situation is called the Rule of 9. Basically, it says to add up the level (3) + the # of trump (5) + the # of honors in the trump suit (2). If they add up to 9 or more, you should pass, and in this case you have 10. What makes this a little different is this is mainly applied over pre-emptive opening bids. This was a 4th seat overcall, and we know partner is making a game try. However, there is NO WAY you can bid game, so pass that sucker and collect your 300.

Is this a joke? Pass, and if you get fixed, send that board to bridge hell.

And that is why I would want to PASS. Partner can't have a maximum hand, because then (s)he would either have shape and made more noise over 2♥, or be balanced and have opened 1NT. And not even all maximums are good for us, we need a near perfect max to cover all of our losers. This doesn't even include if/when partner decided to lie with 3 cards hoping to crack them in 3♥, or because (s)he thought you showed 5+ with 1♠.

[hv=pc=n&s=s2hkt84djt5432ck5&w=sj986ha973dq976c2&n=sakqt754hjdakcaq9&e=s3hq652d8cjt87643&d=s&v=0&b=11&a=2dp6sppp]399|300[/hv] I don't know how to take a hand and just directly post it on here, so I recreated it from searching. You made a BAD 2♦ bid, partner bids to a 67.8% slam (+ extras if you happen to have the ♦Q or if an opponent has Qx and they don't lead a ♥ immediately), and you are complaining??? If you don't have ♣K, then you will have QJ of Diamonds, and GIB WILL make 6.

Oh no, Bob Hamman is already having a negative influence on JLall - he has him following laws now! :rolleyes: Seriously, bid 3NT and it's not even close. I bet we can make 9 tricks before they can make 5, and if we can't, I highly doubt we can make 11 anyway.

I don't like upgrading two-suited hands if Spades isn't one of the suits, unless the intermediates and shape tell me otherwise. Here, I am opening 1♥, because I can easily jump to 3♦ and I have limited my hand and gotten my suits across. In my developing simple Transfer Precision, the auction would go 1♥-2♥; 4♥. The only difference is that 2♥ shows a great 8-12 HCP and 3+ trump, basically a Limit Raise.

I love the idea of a Junior Midnight Zip KO, but I think it should be expanded to U-28, for the simple reasons that it allows a few more people to play (like Justin), and that the WBF has a U-28 tourney, so it isn't unheard of. If I could make another suggestion, I would also allow any star to play, provided they were the only WC player on a team. After all, I'm sure any Junior would love to play with or against one; I know I would love to defend a contract Pepsi was playing, just as an example. I know I'll be there, and I am looking for teammates and possibly a partner. Justin, congrats on hitting 5k posts, and I look forward to meeting you. I did get to talk to you back in Memphis on the final Sunday night, but that was just a passing comment.

http://tinyurl.com/cw4s78o Ind. Express tourney - partner timed out and GIB took over after the 1♥ bid. As you can see, there was no description of 3♠, but I think with game in your own hand, 3♠ is NOT proper in my opinion. I think cuebidding followed by 4♠ would show this hand much better. As for a hand that would X and then bid 3♠, I would think that it would would be a similar hand, but not having a side suit Ace (as in 8-9 tricks).

Yeah, I admit they don't usually skip 5 Hearts, but this suit is REALLY ragged, and they do like to limit their hands when possible. I can't really do a confident auction if it goes 1♣-1♠, so that was one reason I went with balanced 8-10. The other reason is that they still can find a 5-3 Heart fit after the 2♦ bid. In that case, the auction goes 1♣-2♦ ; 2NT (Stayman-ish) - 3♠ (5 Hearts). The other possible responses after 2NT are 3♣ (4 Hearts, could have 4 Spades), 3♦ (4 Spades, denies 4 Hearts), and 3♥ (5 Spades) for those who are remotely interested. EDIT - Forgot to list that 3NT denies a Major obv.

This is a little late, but I'm sure that R-M Precision (the actual name of Meckwell's Precision system) would get to 4♠ as well. Ironically, it's the shortest auction of the bunch. 1♣-2♦ (8-10 balanced) 4♠

By my book, that hand is worth 11 dummy points-> 10 HCP + 2 points (singleton and three trump) - 1 point (only 3 trump, and no top honor). As long as partner isn't too poor a declarer, I will use a 3-card Limit Raise. If I can't differentiate between 3 and 4-card LRs, or if partner doesn't/isn't currently playing the dummy well, I go with a constructive raise.

I would not have doubled for 2 simple reasons - I don't have at least 10 HCP (not only that, but it must be 10 useful HCP in my book), and I have a long suit with one entry if I am lucky. I would bid 2♣ easily, and then correct to 2♥ and not feel bad on this misfit.

1♥ - 2♠ s.j.s 3♣ (5+ HCP in ♣, not always a suit) - 4♠ (at least AKQTxxx or better, 13-16 HCP, outside A or KQ) All Pass It might be better on this hand for 4♦ to show North's kind of hand, where it's an intermediate GF that has a chance for slam if partner has a few controls and a side suit (usually the minor) to set up. Then, you might have a chance of finding 6♠.

I have a feeling the economy will still come crashing to the ground, since Joe Biden had something to do with this. Mind you, I doubt anyone else in Washington could do better, but why did it even have to come down to this??? I say we all should vote out every incumbent, and then we'll actually have a decent working national gov't!

Apparently there is. And the Mayan calendar might not be wrong for 3 reasons: 1.) Hostess went bankrupt, which does mean the world will end soon. 2.) Old Spice actually carved a Mayan calendar into stone, adding some time to the hourglass. This might have actually worked. 3.) They finally got lazy and just didn't carve another calendar. It was the end of an era, regardless.

I think you are giving short shift to Nightmare. Most of the hands you open 1♣ are in fact natural, they just start at (14)15+ HCP instead of (10)11+. The hands that would normally open 2♣ are exceedingly rare, and a fourth of those are hands with primary Clubs, and you are right-siding them. Even if it isn't Clubs, you still have plenty a chance of finding the right fit, and there isn't any assurance that opening it 2♣ or 2♦ would have done a better job.

I go RKC, but I use 4♣ as the ask. I know JLall did this with Joe Grue, that 4♣ over any of their pre-empts at the 2 or 3 level was RKC (except 4♦ is RKC over 3♣). I use a modified version (I don't know if they do), where the responses are: 4♦ = 0 / 4♥ = 1, no Queen / 4♠ = 1 with Queen / 4NT = 2, no Queen / 5♣ = 2 with Queen. So, my auction would go 3♠ - 4♣; 5♣ - 6♠.

I am using the basic GIB, and with BALANCED hands you want 33 HCP. A 5-card suit helps a little bit, but a toothless 5-card suit isn't worth anything unless you can find out partner has the top honors and/or a nice 5-card suit as well. And with GIB playing the hand, you bet I want at least 33 HCP. I know from experience that you can make 6NT on far less than 33 HCP, but you need well fitting hands, and sometimes a little luck. I've made 6NT on 29 HCP before, and 7NT on 31 HCP. I just think it's terrible that even with a 2NT opener (which I implied in my post was the correct bid), GIB is inviting in NT without a proper hand. I also think the 3NT rebid is wrong - I should be limited to 23 HCP and/or 23 total points, as with any other hand I will be making a different bid. I am also surprised that you called me a caveman. Being both a Junior (for a few more days anyway) and playing a modern Precision, I don't think that term applies to me in the slightest.

And GIB loves to bid 6NT when you might not even have 33 HCP. Sure I might have overbid a HCP, but why can't I use Stayman, and why could I still have 5 Hearts, or 5 Spades, or more than 23 points in this link? I think I would have bid on if I had that, or if I had distribution I would have bid natrually.

I was thinking Spade at first, but after seeing Justin's post, I think a top Heart is better. For all we know, partner is something like 6214, and we need to get that ruff to set the contract.

I have heard that down in Florida, most of the newbies are being taught straight 2/1. 2/1 is easier than Standard American in the senses that a Game Force can easily be set, there is more literature out today about it, and by default it utilizes more useful conventions. However, a large majority of 2/1 is in fact Standard American, so learn that first and get comfortable with it, and then progress to 2/1. My personal preference between the two is Standard American. I like to be able to show my suit immediately if I have (8)9-11 HCP, there are easy ways to Game Force after a 2/1 first round response if you trust partner, and you can play in 1NT after partner opens 1♥ or 1♠. Also, I would venture to say that most people on BBO who play in the Main Bridge Club play 2/1 as only forcing for 1 round, which is akin to S.A. If you can find a good teacher and a steady partner, Precision is the easiest system to play. For the little more time invested, it pays off huge dividends, that while can be achieved in 2/1, takes an enormous amount of time to match. The reason behind this is that bidding judgment isn't generally needed, so less mistakes are made. Things are also more defined - you must cover bidding over interference in lots of cases, so there's no problem there. If you want to progress as fast as you can, stick to Standard American and master it. Then, move on to 2/1, and after getting the hang of it, get a partner and play Precision. While doing all of that, play as much as you can, and read bridge books. Points Schmoints by Marty Bergen, The Drawing of Trump and its Postponement by Fred Karpin, How to Read Your Opponents Cards by Mike Lawrence, The Art of Card Reading (also by Karpin), Why You Lose at Bridge by S.J. Simon, Killing Defence by Hugh Kelsey, Master Play by Terence Reese, and The Rodwell Files by Eric Rodwell are all great books. I listed them roughly in the order they should be covered, and except the Bergen book, I have read or am reading all of them.