craziest convention

[gwnn]

hey that's pretty sweet jdonn, I'll use it in my SR partnership if we ever restart it!

[mycroft]

I played 5-rule club one midnight:

1) 1C Precision

2) 1D only NGF response, all else natural

3) 1NT 13-15 BAL

4) 1D 13-15 UNBAL

5) 1M 8-12, 4+

That was the total of our agreement. Didn't do too badly.

Took it to the club one night, TD insisted on "5 and 5" for weak 2s (which were 1-7 before). "Okay", we said, and switched 2bids to be "11-15, 6-card suit". Significantly improved the system...

 

For single convention, I think the one out of my "mutilate the GCC" system applies (everything's (barely) GCC legal, but still More Twisted Than Thou): 2C Minor Suit Flannery. Actually had it come up once, for a good score (we avoided the auto-lose 3NT).

[MFA]

2NT = exactly 15 balanced hcp.

 

What else can you do, if you play 12-14 NTs and precision 1♣?

 

Played that in a fairly serious event once. It came up twice, and responder had 2 & 1 hcp those times, but we were above average anyway, since the opponents got preempted out of game one of the times.

[dkharty]

The ABCA (Atlanta Beer Card Ask).

 

Many years ago I was playing with a pickup partner in a zip KO in Atlanta, and we played that certain double jump shifts at responder's second turn, and most jumps to 5NT, asked partner if he had the ♦7.

 

The really embarassing thing is that we spent at least fifteen minutes discussing rules for when it applied.

 

Partner proceeded to use the ABCA four or five times during the event, at the slightest excuse, scoring the beer card once.

[cloa513]

Stolen bid doubles, but in my defense, I had a student who insisted.

What's wrong with stolen bid doubles in response to a double?

How else to pick a psyche or even get into a suit where opponent is only 4 card.

[jdonn]

The other craziest thing which I have done many times with several partners is to play no conventions at all. No stayman, jump overcalls to 2NT are like opening 2NT, no doubles are takeout, jumps are always natural and always stronger than if you didn't jump.

 

I don't recall getting worse than about 64% playing this system. My favorite result ever using this system was I had a 16 count with 6 hearts. My RHO opened 1♥ so I made the obvious penalty double. LHO bid 1♠ which my partner doubled, and we got them there for 1100 and a clear top.

[TimG]

So the atmosphere was pretty relaxed...and the average age of the players was probably in the 40's whereas now it's in the late 60's at best.

But, it's the same players, right?

[lmilne]

This probably wouldn't go down well in ACBL land...

 

Along the lines of the "multi" 2♦, we played a multi 3♣. 6 options:

 

Weak "4-suited" (ideally 4333, 4432 or 5332 at a pinch);

Strong "4-suited";

Weak 2 in spades;

Normal preempt in clubs (otherwise you can't open them!);

8.5+ playing tricks in diamonds;

or 9+ playing tricks in clubs.

 

Responder normally responded 3♦, and things took off from there. Very illegal convention.

 

One of the funniest auctions was (us vul) 3♣ - (X) - 3♦ - (X) - pass -...

 

after some thought the little old lady emerged with 4♣, where they played, for +150 to us.

[Fluffy]

opponents have game strenght at least.

 

I played a kind of very strong openings in 1st second wich evoluted to ultra weak openings in third/4th, kind of forcing pass.

 

 

we also opened 5 card minor, best major, and we had this convention:

 

pass-pass-1♠!-X

2♠!

 

 

1♠!= 3+ spades, 0-8

2♠!= opponents have game strenght at least.

 

Sadly partner forgot the convention, and kept rebiding his 6 card spades while I kept rebidding m 6 card hearts for -1400.

[Vampyr]

My regular partner and I have agreed, over a strong 1♣, to pass with any constructive hand (at pairs). Unfortunately, strong club systems are very much in the minority around here, so we have not yet had the chance to see how it works out. We also have not really bothered to think up continuations -- any ideas?

 

Once I tried out an intermediate pass system at the local club. It turned out that we had not given enough prior notice and had to exchange our 1♦ fert with our pass. Unplayable.

[MFA]

My regular partner and I have agreed, over a strong 1♣, to pass with any constructive hand (at pairs). Unfortunately, strong club systems are very much in the minority around here, so we have not yet had the chance to see how it works out. We also have not really bothered to think up continuations -- any ideas?

 

Once I tried out an intermediate pass system at the local club. It turned out that we had not given enough prior notice and had to exchange our 1♦ fert with our pass. Unplayable.

Reminds me of my favourite convention. I play strong club, and I like a 1♠ overcall showing "13 cards". That is when the opponents play the convention, of course. Suicidal.

[ggwhiz]

With a new partner, rookie at the time but really good now, as we arrived for the tournament, he said "by the way, I like to play a cuebid of the opps opener as showing total control of the suit."

 

Could be void, stiff ace, double ace king etc. but no point range or shape at all. I nodded sagely and said sure (this will never come up).

 

It happened 3 times in 2 sessions and luckily the opps blew up every time because nobody had a clue.

[Free]

Against Polish Club I've played 1♠ overcalls as 0-3♠s, was nice and came up frequently. No negative Dbls, opener can't just bid 1NT with the weak NT,...

 

Crazy openings are Lorenzo two's: 2X = 0-7HCP, 4+X (MAFIA style), no good hand. One of the funiest moments was on a national tournament where I opened 2♠ and partner raised to 4♠ with something like Jxxxx-J-Axxxxx-x. I had Kxxx-xxx-QJ-xxxx. RHO had a pretty balanced 19HCP but they were Red, so he passed. I made 4♠. Afterwards my RHO said "c'est un système terroriste" (I guess everyone understands), hilarious moment ofcourse.

 

The craziest opening I've played is still random 2♣, showing 0-5HCP with any distribution. A pure destructive BSC. In a certain club, they were proud to announce ALL systems were allowed, so one day me and my partner decided to give this a try. The TD was called 5 times (yes, it was very frequent that evening), and all he could do was say that everything was allowed. The next week they were a little less proud to announce that HUM and BSC were no longer allowed...

[jvage]

This weekend I went over to Sweden (Østersund) to play a tournament. We were 12 Norwegian pairs who all played something very boring and similar-looking (something close to 5443-openings and strong 2♣). Our Swedish opponents on the other hand played all kinds of strange systems (this was a 2-days semi-serious pairs tournament with 3 board rounds).

 

I was quite impressed that all our opponents had a CC and while the 2 most common systems probably were 4+ majors, 8-14 (with a strong club) and the supernatural 4+ openings in all suits (like the rest both are practically unheard of in Norway), our 25 Swedish opponents played at least 10 totally different systems. We did not meet any strong pass (as i know some Swedes play), but we did meet all of these:

- Fantunes-like with unlimited openings and transfer responses to 1♣

- Transfer openings (a 1♥ opening showed 4+ spades)

- Two-way club (strong or balanced)

- 1 major promising exactly 4 (denying 5 or more)

 

2 pairs actually played that 1♥/♠ was 3+ with 8-14 hp. Against us one of them bid:

1♠ (3+spades, 8-14) - 2♠ (alerted and explained as 14-17 balanced!)

3NT - pass

 

I led my only fourcard-suit (clubs) and of course hit declarers fivecarder...

 

John

 

PS: It was great fun playing against all these strange systems, but in the end the boring Norwegian style came out on top. We got the top 2 and 2/3 of the prizes ;)

[hanp]

The other day I played both puppet stayman and support doubles! Watching vugraph last week I learned that these are two of the three worst conventions.

[Walddk]

Pass in 1st seat denies ♦7. It makes partner much more relaxed when he knows there is no risk of having to buy a beer. I think this convention was devised in Scotland.

 

Roland

[jvage]

I felt the recent and true story above fitted this thread well. However, in response to the original question I have vague memories of one time having played strong pass and openings in the shortest suit (with relays, possibly based on the Polish "Regress") in the students club. This was based on reading a pamplet provided by partner before the game.

 

While it may not fit the strict definition of "Bridge" in a social game we once played that you could only bid suits by showing the equivalent card (♣A=1♣ etc) from your hand. A typical sequence would be 2 spades raised to 5 spades, indicating that opener had some values and some spades (including the 2 but without the four!) and his partner had some support with the 5 of spades also without the 4 :)

 

John

[Furlan]

In the lines of the Totti thing that Hanoi5 mentioned, there was a pair of an expert and a beginner who played the 2♣ and 3♣ openings as Stayman with a 1NT/2NT hand. Thus when the expert held a NT hand he opened a standard NT and eventually became declarer, but when the beginner held a similar hand she opened 2/3♣ and her partner got to declare anyway!

[awm]

1NT opening = 8-10 or 15-17, balanced

 

We were not allowed to play "systems" over this, so we agreed that two-level suit bids were to play, and that 2NT and 3-level suit bids were game forcing (and natural). We managed to produce the auction:

 

1NT(1) - 2NT(2)

4NT(3) - 7NT(4)

 

(1) 8-10 or 15-17

(2) Game forcing

(3) Hey, I have 15-17

(4) To play

[JoAnneM]

Since you only have a 25% chance of being dealt the D7 do you ask for it to be passed to you so you can lead it? :D

[Gerben42]

We played that 1NT opening shows a weak hand in ♣ or 15 - 17. Overcall also, although that is I guess more common.

 

Also the mini 2NT is fun (13 - 14 NT). We only play that 1st 2nd white vs red (chicken, huh!). Actually the corresponding 1NT opener (9 - 12) seems to be the more dangerous part!

[Free]

Reverse Fishbein

 

Seriously, random 2♣ opening (0-5HCP any distribution). At the time the club allowed every bidding system (this is BSC). After playing this opening 1 session, having it occur 4 times out of 28 boards, we had so many TD calls at our table that the club decided to ban HUM and BSC in the future. :lol:

[mgoetze]

Or the 2-way 1NT opening (15-17 or weak with ♣).

 

Oh, you've played Blue Club? ;)

[mycroft]

Before we started playing Crazy Bridge in the bar for our last bridge night of term, we had one pair come in for the "last game" with "whatever they could think of that was fun or sane or whatever".

 

Their pride was rule 44 (which I realize now should have been rule 34 (warning, tvTropes link), but hey, I didn't write it, and it was years ago.)

"4C opening is a request to spend the aftergame with LHO."

 

They were hoping for 4C (?)-X (No!)-p-p; 4D (RHO?)-p-p-X (Not me!); 4H (partner?). Of course, as partner can't double... (well he could, but it would be inadmissible, and bar his partner (which I guess is "No!", so it should have worked).

No, it never came up.

 

No, I won't tell you whether I think it's a better use for that call than Gerber.

[Gerben42]

Update: This weekend the weak 2NT struck again. One hand was normal (2NT - transfer - accepted - game), but the other one was...

 

[hv=d=s&v=e&b=3&a=2n(13%20-%2014)p3d(Transfer)p3hppdp3sppp]133|100[/hv]

 

in a 3 - 3 fit... Unfortunately we tossed out two undertricks.

 

I wanted to quit this when we were getting some bad results, but they don't seem to materialize. Oh well.