beginner system

[the hog]

I partly agree with you. Personally I think weak and 5 is pretty decent as well.

[Old York]

One of the advantages of a 12-14hcp notrump, which is frequently overlooked, is the effect it has on suit openings. All suit opening show a 4+ card suit and a hand which is either too strong, or too unbalanced, to open 1NT.

 

This makes all suit openings more reliable.

 

All students should be taught to consider their rebid before choosing an opening bid. :)

 

Four card openings are freely made in Hearts and the Minors, but better players tend to be reluctant to open 4 card Spade suits, so 3 card Spade raises are common and safe.

 

Acol is a very good "starter pack" because all gadgets fit well and can be added as the student progresses, and you can experiment with strong-nt and/or 5cM without straying from the basic structure of the system.

 

Quote:

"on the other hand, opening the major with 4-4 your killer sequence is 1M - 2M when you've got a strong NT. can't really move but you can be cold for game"

 

1♥-2♥-2NT(invitational and non-forcing) shows this hand type, np

 

Tony

[TimG]

I don't think you should worry too much about which system is easiest to learn. The difference in difficulty is probably minor. And, bridge is a complex game, if they are going to be turned off by a 5.8 degree of difficulty instead of a 5.4 degree of difficulty, they probably won't last long at the bridge table. Whatever system they learn is just a stepping stone into the world of bridge systems; a solid foundation can be laid with any of the choices you have offered. I think it is extremely rare for someone to learn one approach and then five years later not to have at least experimented with other approaches.

 

I think the important consideration should be what their likely partners will be playing. If they will be playing with each other and you, it doesn't really matter; if they are going to be playing with pickup partners on BBO or in the local duplicate, what is most common in those venues should be considered.

[Wackojack]

Not sure about your kids but in general I think Acol is a good system for beginners.

 

If your kids are going to play mostly on BBO, I think 2/1 is what you should be aiming at, although it may not be the very first system they will learn. Thing is, SAYC and Acol, especially Acol, are played at a very low level on BBO. It will do your kids little good to waste time playing with and against all those gozillas. Your kids are beginners now but in a couple of months they will have outgrown all the eternal beginners on BBO as well as the local club. It will be better for them to play with the juniors on BBO. And they don't play Acol.

I agree with this although put a bit harshly. "One-eye" of course already knows this. Also wrt forcing bids Acol BBO ers will always jump when in doubt. So we get jump reverses just in case, and jump rebids on little more than min again just in case.

 

Having said that Acol taught properly is a a decent system. I am sure whichever system "One-eye" decides on, he will teach it well.