What to agree with regular partner?

[kgr]

I play with my regular partner every week in the club.

We have good agreements about normal biddings. (we play kind of SAYC).

But we don't really have fixed agreements on

- when DBL is penalty

- 4NT is RKC, but what is trump

- conventions over weak openings; eg what is (2H)-4S

...

=> I look for: sites or docs with partnership bidding tests or with general bidding agreements not really linked to additional conventions, but rather to agreements (like eg when DBL is penalty).

[the hog]

Re doubles - why don't you play Trappers? Easy mnemonic as well:

Double is for penalty in the following situations

 

T = Third double after two doubles by one or either of us

R = Raise by us, overcall by them

A = Artificial bid

P = Previous penalty pass

P = Preempt by partner

E = Expose a psyche. Applies if they open, we double and third player bids 1H or 1S. X of that is penalty

R = After a redouble

S = Subsequent X after previous pass of same suit, other than balancing

[inquiry]

Go now to Dan Neill's page and download the PDF version of "Partnership Bidding at Bridge, The contested auction." Definitive work on the subject of competitive bidding... have your partner read it too.

 

Look down page for Robson/Segal Notes <<-- click this link

 

Ben

[kgr]

Ben,

 

I go to the url indeicated by you and search for 'contested' and 'partner', but don't find "Partnership Bidding at Bridge, The contested auction.".

Can you indicate me where it is on that page and what the title is.

 

Thanks,

Koen

[kgr]

Ben,

 

I found it (I shouldn't post in the morning :D

The tip was already in your url link (thought it was only to click and didn't read it :unsure:

 

Koen

[Chamaco]

Thee is much more to it.

Cerrtainly when double is penalty is a major issue, and defining precisely all sequences when a bid is forcing or not, is a must, otherwise you cannot even talk of partnership.

But there are also other frequent issues:

 

1- quality and length of preempts in different seats

2- suit quality, length, and hcp content of all 2-suited bids, in all cases

3- policy for simple overcalls (quuality, strength etc) and how to respond to them (which advances are forcing and which are rescue- if any);

4- reopening obligations/expectations (e.g. frequent case of misunderstanding is hcp range for balancing 1 of a suit and balancing 1NT)

5- how light can an opening be ? how strong should an invitation be ?

6- phylosophy: solid vs aggressive bidding (perhaps implicit in the previous points)

7- specific competitive sequences: e.g. lately (in Italy) I always have to check if pard plays negative free bids after opps overcall.

8- other little things: do you reverse bidding 3 card suits ? do you bypass longer minors ?

9- developments after 2C strong opening: do you have oprecise agreements when 2C opener is unbalanced ? What do 2nd round bidding mean if ytou have not found a fit ? What do you do if opps interfere?

 

I am sure I miss much, but the abovementioned cases usually raise lots of other points.

You'll need more than one session (probably more than 3 or 4) to fix them all: so much for those who think to have agreed a sistem just by saying "2/1, 15-17 notrump, 1430, inverted minors, bergen and jacoby 2NT, dont/capp vs NT, Michaels, Unusual 2NT, 4sf, nmf".