Trpltrbl Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Let's start a thread now about what you all think about what the best convention is out there ? Mike :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PriorKnowledge Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Little known useful conventions:Smith Echo - 100% essentialLead of Ace against NT demands partner's highest honor or count if noneDouble of splinter asks lead of higher ranked side suitDouble of 3N after both defenders have bid asks for lead of opening leader's suit, not doubler'sSlam double after previous lead-directing double, cancels the previous lead-direct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerben47 Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Double for takeout.Forcing raises to 1-level opening bids when done in a sensible way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flame Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Slam double after previous lead-directing double, cancels the previous lead-direct Why is this good (ther others were good) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chamaco Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 To name the best convention I will choose as criteria:1) high frequency2) high benefits3) no memory burden Given that, my votes are for the classics.They may be abused for sure (being played so frequently by so many people, it's more likely they get screwed up), but the benefit/cost ratio is high compared to what the bridge would be without them: 1) takeout double (any form: t/o doubles, negative dbls, responsive dbls, etc.)2) stayman (any form)3) Blackwood (any form)4) cuebidding agreements (any)5) 4th suit forcing Other conventions are - in my opinion - improvements on the overall structure, but not so fundamental. Among these, my personal vote will go still to simple but effective tools such as splinter raises and, for those who play them, fitshowing raises: they both help describing the hand fairly accurately.Drury major raise can be also a life safer if you play with wild partners :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrTodd13 Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Maybe it is too basic but attitude and count signals are carding conventions and those are among the last things that I would give up. If you want something a bit more complex then trump suit preference is also underrated. On the bidding side, "2N never natural in competition" is one of the most useful if less frequently used conventions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricK Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 The conventions I don't think I could do without are Take out and negative doublesControl showing cue bids (although I might be persuaded to change them for a full set of asking bids if partner really insisted) The conventions I could do without but only under protest are Cue bid of opponent's overcall to show a good raise along with Pre-emptive direct raisessplintersa coherent response structure to 1NT (Keri, or stayman plus transfers) The convertions I like are 2NT response to 1M as a forcing raise (I prefer INV+, but would accept GF) along with Pre-emptive raises of 1M in unopposed auctionsFit Jumps in competition (in fact, practically the whole Robson-Segal method)RKCB I have done this rather rapidly, so I have probably left some great conventions out. If you are such a convention, I apologise :P Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chamaco Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Maybe it is too basic but attitude and count signals are carding conventions and those are among the last things that I would give up. Agree with Todd. I forgot carding agreements. Add them to my list :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricK Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Maybe it is too basic but attitude and count signals are carding conventions and those are among the last things that I would give up. Agree with Todd. I forgot carding agreements. Add them to my list :P I didn't include carding conventions on purpose. Whereas playing with carding conventions is better than playing without, I am not at all sure which specific set of carding conventions is the best. Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whereagles Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 The Lightner double. When used well, it will swing a thousand points into your side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chamaco Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 The Lightner double. When used well, it will swing a thousand points into your side. How frequently do you use the Lightner double ?Once every how many boards ? I guess that on a sufficiently long time-window, you use more frequently (and score many games/slams or stay out of bad ones) Stayman (or puppet or Baron, or whatever you like) , takeout doubles and Blackwood or 4th suit forcing (to rightside NT game or show extra strength) :P But of course everyone - including myself - feels proud to defeat an unbeatable contract thanks to a lead-directing convention, even if it happens twice a year or so :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke warm Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 journalist leads (if that's allowed in the voting) are way up there on my list... and i'm partial to the various uses of leb... 2 way checkback... truscott forcing stayman... and (the more i read up on it, and if legal) encrypted bidding/leading :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twcho Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 Transfer bid (many variations) is the one I like most. It can let the strong hand declare and let the transfer bidder one more chance to show his hand. Invaluable tool in my opinion. Should adopt as much transfer sequences as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inquiry Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 hands down, no question about it.... The takeout double. Try playing without it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whereagles Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 People did play without it for many years :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tysen2k Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 People did play without it for many years :DThey also played strong 2s and "stronger" 3s. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pclayton Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 hands down, no question about it.... The takeout double. Try playing without it.... I DONT play takeout doubles (1N is takeout). I have no problems whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pclayton Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 My favorites - no particular order: 1) Jacoby Transfers. Makes game and slam investigation significantly easier. 2) Negative Doubles. Solves impossible bidding problems. 3) Woolsey over 1N. Much better use a double than Capp or DONT 4) Obvious Shift when defending. I like this even better than Smith, which I also play. 5) Overcall Structure. The best treatment in bidding devised during the last 20 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flytoox Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 1) stayman2) t/o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PriorKnowledge Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 On a plane trip to the Nationals, Steve Robinson was seated next to another bridge player. They were arguing about conventions. Finally, the guy said, "Well, at least we can agree about Stayman!" Steve agreed, but did not have the heart to tell him that he did not play Stayman, either! :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inquiry Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 hands down, no question about it.... The takeout double. Try playing without it.... I DONT play takeout doubles (1N is takeout). I have no problems whatsoever. How about if they open 2♠ or 3♦? Overcall structure has some problem there if you are not allowed a takeout double. How about your partner opens 1♦ and next hand bids 1♠, don't you play DBL as takeout (call it negative if you like, but takeout it is). Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keylime Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Bidding: The Precision System, the concept of two suited overcalls, and the mini NT Declaring: The rule of 11 versus 4th best leads Defending: Obvious Shift, UDCA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pclayton Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 hands down, no question about it.... The takeout double. Try playing without it.... I DONT play takeout doubles (1N is takeout). I have no problems whatsoever. How about if they open 2♠ or 3♦? Overcall structure has some problem there if you are not allowed a takeout double. How about your partner opens 1♦ and next hand bids 1♠, don't you play DBL as takeout (call it negative if you like, but takeout it is). BenHi Ben. Of course I can't play a 1N takeout over 2♠ and 3♦...or through 4♥ for that matter. We are saddled with standard agremeents here; although we are experimenting with power doubles over weak 2's with some artificial takeout like Weiss or Fishbein. The book is still open on this. Over 1 bids, power doubles almost nearly right-side the contract; but its not as important over weak 2's. Negative doubles are a whole different story. I don't consider them in the same category as takeout doubles, as they can show a multitude of hands, especially at higher levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarceldB Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 I think a RELAY in all it's appearancessuch as - after a multi (strong) opening- transfers- forcing-, artificial- (inviting) relays- complete (symmetric) relay systems- to create a possibility who will be the declareretc. Even in the most simple systems without any further conventions you use a relay:- Stayman relay- Blackwood etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke warm Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 i don't know of anyone who really doesn't play takeout doubles, despite several posters saying they don't... how is it possible? true, some might call the double in a certain situation something other than takeout (ie, neg doubles), but as ben said, it's still for takeout as for jacoby transfers being one of the best, or even necessary, i can't grasp this... i'd need to see some hands to determine whether or not it's true (given a 12-14 nt, of course) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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