gurgistan

I play 2/1 without Bergen raises but many 2/1 users employ Bergen. To my uneducated eye 2/1 appears to be system with great precision and subtlety. Bergen raises just seem to add a whole load of extras to remember and of course as with any conventional responses: If you are gaining something then you are losing something as well. The gain is usually greater than the loss for a convention to become well accepted. Can someone explain simply just what Bergen users are getting for their use of the system? Much obliged.

Let us say I open 1♣. LHO intervenes with 1N. Partner Doubles. What does partner's double mean? I never was sure whilst playing standard American nor am I any the wiser now that I play 2/1. I think it is a takeout double. Partner can support all suits and wants me to pick one. I am not sure what point count he would have though. Is my understanding correct or not? Any and all help appreciated.

A random partner gave me a rule for responding to his weak two. If my points plus my support add up to 15 then I should put him in game! This seems to work for the majors. Is there any rule for bidding small slam opposite partner's weak 2? Moreover, what would a rule for bidding game over 2♦ look like? Any and all help appreciated.

Fashion has nothing to do with it. Statistically, weak 2s occur much more often than strong 2s. So, you can either wait a long time to be dealt a strong 2 or regular disrupt opponents' bidding with your weak 2s.

and you see a problem with the ♠K? Does that mean he is switching to a ♥? :) IF we had been playing UDCA then holding the hand I do I preserve the very small chance of winning 3 tricks in spades whilst guaranteeing the return of a spade by playing the 2♠. Also, whilst playing UDCA, if I discard the K♠ because I don't hold the 2♠ then Partner should read me for a spade void and so also return a spade.

Thanks for so clearly pointing out the cost/reward ratio of my play. My understanding of the scoring nuances of duplicate is poor.

[hv=d=n&v=n&w=sajt4h54dak5cq652&e=sk63haq3dj7cak987]266|100|Scoring: IMP Is this a perfectly bid small slam in the minors after a 1N opener? One table out of the sixteen reached 6♣. They bid it, in an uncontested auction thus: East bid 1N: West bid 2♣. East bid 2♦. West bid 3♣. East bid 4N. West bid 5♠. East bid 6♣. Summary: West makes a slam enquiry via Stayman and East gets to slam via Roman Keycard Blackwood. [/hv]

A consensus seems to have emerged on the play so I will post the result: Partner won the first trick and lead a small spade. I won the second trick. Game over, as they say. However. looking at the hand afterwards it is clear that I gave up a trick in spades. So, instead of setting them by two we only set by one. And yes, there were no winners in hearts as South was void in hearts. For me the question is, did I give up a trick needlessly or is it just hindsight making me think so?

I play 1430 so I can get the Queen Ask in. It was Partner who played Ordinary Blackwood.

This as it turns out is exactly how partner saw it. My bad. 3♥ is not a control bid because we have not explicitly agreed a suit. So, how do I proceed to slam? Minor correction: you talk about Partner bidding 2N over my 2♣ but he actually rebid his suit. Many thanks for your excellent post.

I don't see how I could have done any different. kenrexford pointed out what should have occurred.

[hv=d=s&v=b&s=sa2hak95dt54cak52]133|100|Scoring: IMP Partner only plays ordinary Blackwood. This is my second hand with him. The auction is uncontested and goes: Partner is West and bids 1♠. I bid 2♣. Partner bids 2♠. I bid 3♥. Partner bids 3N. I bid 4N. Partner bids 5♦. I bid 5N. Partner bids 6♥. I bid 6♠. All pass. I have nowhere to go have I after he shows 2 kings. I know we have 4 Aces and 4 Kings but there is nowhere to go but 6♠ is there? Anyone disagree? I am also dissuaded from put us in 7♠ by his 3N? What on earth could that be? I think he did not understand my 3♥ control bid and that is why I instigated Blackwood. I relied on him being bad enough to think any 4N as Blackwood. And he did. This hand exemplifies why we use 1430/3014. [/hv]

As a rule, I show count except where it conflicts with attitude (or might benefit declarer more - though I will be damned if I know when that is).

[hv=d=e&v=b&s=st87h65d53caqj432]133|100|Scoring: IMP This is Dummy (North).[/hv]

[hv=d=e&v=b&s=skq42ht97432d94c8]133|100|Scoring: IMP The auction is contested. It goes: I am dealer (East) and I pass. South bids 1♦. Partner bids 1♥. North bids 2♣. I bid 4♥. South bids 5♦. Partner bids 5♥. North passes. I pass. South bids 6♣. Partner Doubles. North bids 6♦. I pass. South passes. Partner Doubles. All pass. Partner leads the A♠. North plays 7♠. I intend to throw K♠. I want partner to lead another spade. I want to kill this slam on trick 2. Time is everything in a slam. Is my intention to throw the K♠ correct or incorrect?[/hv]

This is a meta question about discards. I play Roman discards, ie, if I discard odd then I want that suit and if I discard even I do not want that suit. Whatever discards someone plays, Lavinthal, etc there are occasions when it seems to me that it should be right to not follow the rule. For example, if partner and I have supported one another in hearts during the bidding but opponents end up in game in spades, after we cash our AK (if we hold them) there is not going to be a third round winner. We should just dump hearts as we deem it appropriate. It seems to me that some other kind of meaning could be given to these discards. Does anyone play anything much more advanced than the usual Lavinthal, Roman and Standard discarding?

The weakest part of my game is defensive cardplay. What do I do when having to make the opening lead and holding a singleton King? I tend to lead something else and hope that declarer finesses against my King at some point. Is there anything else to consider? Any and all help much appreciated.

[hv=d=n&v=n&s=saqjt53h87d53cj32]133|100|Scoring: IMP Dealer opens 1♦. Partner overcalls 1N. South passes. I invite game with 3♠. What I know: Partner is 4432. He may or may not have a stopper in diamonds. He has at least 2 spades. Was my invite mistaken as I should count 1+1 pts for the shortages in hearts and diamonds and put us in game? I am looking for some kind of guidelines for this spot. [/hv]

[hv=d=e&v=n&s=st85hkqt864dqj64c]133|100|Scoring: IMP I wish to open 2♥. We are not vulnerable. I have no four-card major outside the suit I wish to pre-empt in. I am first to act and therefore twice as likely to interfere with the bidding intentions of my opponents than partner. I open 2♥. The auction is uncontested. Partner responds 3♥ and it suddenly occurs to me that I should upgrade to 4♥ and I do. Partner is much suprised. As he should be. I thought my rebid a case of thinking outside the box. What do people make of the rebid? Also, more importantly, I am aware that a weak two should not be bid with a void but I am not aware of the reason for this. What is the reason?[/hv]

[hv=s=skqt532hj3d72cq84]133|100|Scoring: IMP The hand conditions are kind of hazy. It is an uncontested auction. We are playing 2/1. Partner is a random and has already made a bidding error in the few hands we have played. His profile says Advanced which usually means he can play even if he can't bid. Partner opens 1♦. I bid 1♠. He rebids 2N. His rebid tells me that he has 18-19HCP with a balanced hand. I rebid 4♠. We have game and I want to be in it. He instigates Blackwood with 4N. I pass as we cannot have a slam. Please evaluate my rebid and pass. [/hv]

I am thinking that Gambling 3N type hands should be opened as pre-emptive 3♣/3♦ as appropriate (no doubt as they once were) and that responder should be allowed to decide if 3N is on. I guess this negates the greater pre-emptive value of the 3N opener but it does right side the contract for 3N. Also, it prevents the responder from having to play in a bad 3N or bad 4♣/4♦.

Hi folks I need a partner. I describe myself as Advanced on BBO and I player better than most who describe themselves so and better than a small number of "Experts". My bidding is better than my play. I am playing 2/1 and need someone who plays just that. I am UK based and wish to play UK evenings. I study the game and I am on an improvement curve. If you are a serious about getting better or are a good player in need of a 2/1 partner then please post here or message me via BBO itself. Many thanks.

Here's a Meckwell treatment for a slammish hand: from BBO forums 8/29/09 Why didnt we bid the slam? .... by Wackojack Dealer: West Vul: E/W Scoring: IMP ♠ A7 ♥ QJ96 ♦ K62 ♣ AQ97 ♠ KQ10985 ♥ AK5 ♦ 98 ♣ K4 1nt-2♥ 2♠- 3♣ 3NT- 4♠ Meckwell treatment: 1NT - 2H! 2S - 5S! = 2 + sQ w/ 6+cd suit, slammish Responder makes a TURBO-like bid as if Opener had asked for key cards ! ! I really like this Meckwell treatment. However, I think there are issues when the suit is anything other than spades. There is a real danger of de facto forcing a small slam whether opener likes it or not.

I started off my bridge "career" playing ACOL being UK based. I then learnt Standard American to play online. I am now playing 2/1. It is clear to me that is beneficial to know more than one system. It enlarges the pool of potential partners and it helps in defence. Eg, recently someone butted in our 2/1 auction at the two level. We doubled and he went down for many IMPs. He clearly did not know what our bids meant and he thought he could safely compete at the two-level. However, I cannot go and learn every system. I think there is only one more system that I need to learn: Precision. Any thoughts?

Thank you kenrexford. I chose not to quote your excellent outline as I wish to ask another question and keep the post some what short so the question is focused upon. As it stands, if my partner invites a slam then I would take it up. But such a blanket policy cannot be right. What factors should I take into count when I am 1NT opener deciding to go for the slam? Length of fit? Whether I am maximum or minimum point count for my bid? No wasted values? Again, much indebted.