Hello Convention

[Shugart23]

Can I get some feedback from those who are familiar with it ? Thinking on incorporating it. (I live in an environment where ACBL controls my moves). I like the concept that it can be extended to defending against 1C (precision), 2C (standard) and 1NT overcalls......Thanks

[Mbodell]

Pretty much every defense to 1nt can be extended to strong club and strong two club openings. I play hello with one partnership. My partner loves it. I don't like it that much, but it is certainly playable.

[MrAce]

It is not as good as "Goodbye" convention.

[Shugart23]

I guess i should have been more clear I am wondering if it is better to go down this path than Meckwell or capilletti. I dont think i can use Landy in ACBL

[PrecisionL]

I guess i should have been more clear I am wondering if it is better to go down this path than Meckwell or capilletti. I dont think i can use Landy in ACBL

Multi Landy is now legal in ACBL effective May 1. http://web2.acbl.org...ntion-Chart.pdf7.

DEFENSE TO:

a) conventional calls (except see #10 RESPONSES and REBIDSabove and #7 under DISALLOWED below),

b) natural no trump opening bids and overcalls, except that direct calls,other than the following, must have at least one known suit. - Double - Two Clubs - Two Diamonds showing a one suited hand in hearts or spades,

c) opening bids of two clubs or higher.

[blackshoe]

HELLO is an improvement on Cappelletti. I'd choose the former over the latter. I haven't looked at how it compares to Meckwell.

[phoenix214]

Having played Mutli-Landy, Hello and Meckwell I can tell you this:

I prefer Hello over Multi landy, because you can show your majors dircetly, atleast that was the reason we shifted to play that in my partnership at the time, also we kept the penalty doubles(maybe Woosley style double with 4m-5M is better, we used 2C for 5M-4m). The generic problem with Hello although is the 2 club call, and you should discuss what do other bids beside 2D mean over it, and what do you do when opponents bid.

At the moment I am playing Meckwell(although we have made a simplification on it - for us double is only majors) I am actually pretty happy with the convention - you can show your majors in one bid - 2M directly or with the double, and you can enter the acution pretty well with the 2m overcalls as well, where with Multi Landy you might have problems.

Over 1 club, we played Hello as well, but i really dislike the 2C overcall there, because you cant make any preemptive jumps, and because of that you might end up better not using the call.

So my suggestion would be - play Meckwell, but if you have to choose between Hello or Multi-Landy, go with Hello

[lycier]

Hello is an effective defense to 1nt written by Jerry Helms,published in 1996 and 2006 respectively.

'My search for the best defense against the opponents' notrump opening and overcall came to a successful conclusion when I was introduced to HELLO, which I now use and teach to all of my students.'

– Max Hardy, 1996.

Actually Jerry Hekms has explained clearly in his book,I summarize several main points:

1- Always remember that guidelines will never replace judgment, and judgment in bridge comes only with experience.

2- After any HELLO action," Heavy 2NT" by the Advancer is always "fit-showing" and the strongest possible invitation to game.

3- Recognition that being in the auction is generally better than being out of the auction.Look for reasons to bid before finding excuses to pass.

How to look for reasons to bid? How to find excuses to pass? I suggest that Mel's rule of 8 is a good idea. I know only so much.

Enjoy yourself as you explore HELLO.

 

As a Jerryist,a quote from Jerry Helms in Ask Jerry articles （ACBL Bridge Bulletin）:

 

Holding game values going down rather than resting comfortably in partscore with overtricks.

[Shugart23]

ok, thanks...Since I pretty much play with one partner, we can devote the time and energy into developing it. So 'Hello' it will be...I appreciate the comments

[Zelandakh]

The problem with Hello is the inability to distinguish between major suit lengths. In this respect Multi-Landy is better. One reasonable option is to play M-L against a weak NT and Woolsey against a strong NT - the only difference between these is that M-L uses a penalty double whereas in Woolsey double shows a 4 card major and longer minor. There are plenty of other reasonable defences around too - all have certain advantages and disadvantages. The one popular method I would definitely not recommend is Capp - for me this is definitely inferior to M-L and (arguably) only as popular as it is for historical reasons.

[Zelandakh]

While I am on a roll I will also post my own defence to a strong NT. I do not really recommend this as it is both fairly complicated and not widely played (to say the least) but it might inspire you somehow:-

 

X shows hearts; either 4 hearts and a longer minor; or both majors with longer/better spades; or hearts and both minors (advances are basically pass/correct)

2♣ shows spades; either 4 spades and a longer minor; or both majors with longer/better hearts; or spades and both red suits (advances are basically pass/correct)

2♦ and above are as per Multi-Landy (2♦ one major; 2M that major + a minor)

 

It is essentially a mix of Multi-Landy, Asptro and French, all of which are good defences in their own right.

[perko90]

The problem with Hello is the inability to distinguish between major suit lengths. In this respect Multi-Landy is better. One reasonable option is to play M-L against a weak NT and Woolsey against a strong NT - the only difference between these is that M-L uses a penalty double whereas in Woolsey double shows a 4 card major and longer minor. There are plenty of other reasonable defences around too - all have certain advantages and disadvantages. The one popular method I would definitely not recommend is Capp - for me this is definitely inferior to M-L and (arguably) only as popular as it is for historical reasons.

 

Wow! Even before I read this reply, I was going to give almost the same advice. So, I'll go into some detail.

I don't recommend Hello. And for me, Cappelletti is about the worst defense against NT you can find!

 

Here's some things to consider when looking for a NT defense (I'll assume a strong NT)

1) Safety

2) Flexibility

3) Preemption

4) Usefulness

 

Out of these principles, a few themes come to light:

1) Finding a major fit is a secondary concern

2) Penalty doubles are a waste over strong NT: you won't get rich; they can escape into contracts they couldn't without the double like 2m; they have Rdbl and the option of forcing pass, your side doesn't

3) A bid showing the majors should be low level - it's already preemptive just by owning the suits and if it's below 2♦, ptr can ask for a preference

4) Assuming you want to "get in there" with 5-4 2-suiters, keeping these as much as possible on the 2 level (starting low) is highly preferred

5) Save the higher bids (2♥,2♠) for the safer, less flexible hands (usually natural 1-suiters fit well here)

6) Mystery 1-suiters aren't preemptive and sometimes you can miss a really good fit

7) "2 1/2 level overcalls" 2M = suit + mystery minor and 5-4 either way are unsound and just playing with fire; to tame it you have to promise which is the 5-card suit and/or specify which minor you hold (either way, it cuts down on the flexibility/usefulness and still isn't overly safe

8) Overcalling 3m is safer than you think (opps usually give up the direct penalty double) and rather preemptive (for ex., they can't confidently determine who has the stopper)

 

Now you can see why I dislike Capp so much! (and not crazy about Hello)

 

On the good side, I recommend Meckwell (w/ X being only majors) or Woolsey. Now that Woolsey's GCC friendly, I give it the nod. It gets bonus pts because, as mentioned above, you can switch to multi-Landy by just changing the meaning of Double against weak NT (where a double is reluctantly kinda necessary) and you can "cheat" against str NT with Dbl when you only have a long minor, but are afraid of taking the 3 level plunge.

 

And in the spirit of Zel, I'll offer my own Str NT defense : )

 

DBL = H's + another suit (5-4 either way) - 2♣ and 2♦ are both pass or correct bids (BTW, overcaller corrects to 2♠ w/ 5+ S's and only 4 H's)

2♣ = C's + S's

2♦ = D's + S's

2♥/2♠/3♣/3♦ = nat'l 6+ card suit

 

It has a nice balance between safety and preemption and has a mild tendency to find the majors more than some of the safer alternatives (DONT, Meckwell, etc.)