Bridge Questions

[1eyedjack]

[hv=bbo=y&lin=pn|CHO,RHO,woodych,LHO|st%7C%7Cmd%7C4S2567TH9TD45JC48T%2CSQKH47KAD7TQKC25J%2CS3AH25JQD36AC39KA%2C%7Crh%7C%7Cah%7CBoard%202%7Csv%7Cn%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7C1N%7Cmb%7Cd%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cmb%7Cp%7Cpc%7CH2%7Cpc%7CH3%7Cpc%7CHT%7Cpc%7CHA%7Cpc%7CSQ%7Cpc%7CS3%7Cpc%7CS4%7Cpc%7CS2%7Cpc%7CSK%7Cpc%7CSA%7Cpc%7CS8%7Cpc%7CS5%7Cpc%7CHQ%7Cpc%7CH6%7Cpc%7CH9%7Cpc%7CHK%7Cpc%7CH4%7Cpc%7CHJ%7Cpc%7CH8%7Cpc%7CS6%7Cpc%7CD3%7Cpc%7CD2%7Cpc%7CD4%7Cpc%7CD7%7Cpc%7CH7%7Cpc%7CH5%7Cpc%7CD8%7Cpc%7CD5%7Cpc%7CDQ%7Cpc%7CD6%7Cpc%7CD9%7Cpc%7CDJ%7Cpc%7CDK%7Cpc%7CDA%7Cpc%7CC6%7Cpc%7CC4%7Cpc%7CC3%7Cpc%7CC7%7Cpc%7CC8%7Cpc%7CCJ%7Cpc%7CDT%7Cpc%7CC9%7Cpc%7CS9%7Cpc%7CCT%7Cpc%7CC2%7Cpc%7CCK%7Cpc%7CCQ%7Cpc%7CS7%7Cpc%7CCA%7Cpc%7CSJ%7Cpc%7CST%7Cpc%7CC5%7C]400|300[/hv]MP

 

I shall not embarrass your partner by naming him, although anyone keen enough could find it out.

 

Every table bar one opened the West hand 1N. Every North bar one doubled. Every South bar your partner removed 1NX to 2S.

 

You got off to a killing lead and partner erred at trick 1 by playing the Heart 10 denying holding the 9, where had he played the 9 losing to the Ace he could reliably be placed with the 10 (holding AKT, declarer would certainly win trick 1 with the ten). Had he played correctly you would have had no trouble continuing with a low Heart instead of the Queen, when in with the Spade Ace, and still been on course to defeat the contract.

 

Incidentally, you possibly do yourself down. Over the month of September (to date) you have averaged 49.29% over 1227 MP deals. Over the same period your "partner" averaged 49.63% over 635 MP deals. It would be wrong to read too much into that: It is possible that he was playing stronger opponents on a regular basis (personally I doubt it). To be fair, as of today he only claims to be "intermediate" in his profile.

[mikestar13]

I think that woodych's virtually 50% record given the stage of learning bridge indicated by his questions is very impressive--back in the days when I was at that stage, I would be flattering myself to claim a 45% average. No question that his partner was full of ....

[woodych]

Thank you 1eyedjack and mikestar13

That has made a big difference to my confidence.

I was starting to feel like I was the one in the wrong all the time, thanks to private messages from the likes of that recent player you do not name.

I can think of quite a few words to insert there mike,lol!

Thank you both again:)

[wank]

how does one look up another player's results?

[Zelandakh]

how does one look up another player's results?

Go to http://www.bridgebase.com/myhands/index.php and select the player's name after logging in. Records are usually available for the last 2 months.

[1eyedjack]

how does one look up another player's results?

As Zel mentions, most of the raw data is, for a while, available on the MyHands website, per Zel's link.

 

Some hands never get to that repository, such as Total Points hands, rubber bridge hands (Windows download client), solitaire, "Just Play Bridge", video poker style, and maybe a smattering of others (Bingo, perhaps? not sure about that)

 

Some hands that DO make it to the repository are only later available if you log into MyHands under a username that participated in the tourney. This is a security measure resulting from ACBL pressure and the cause for requiring you now to log into the MyHands site.

 

Finally, assuming that you pass those hurdles, you have to know the player's ID (which may not match forum poster's ID).

 

To get average stats of performance over time I use a 3rd party Windows program Double Dummy Solver by Bridge Captain, which will download results from MyHands (where available, see above) a month at a time. If you are a serious stats nut, Stephen Picket's BridgeBrowser is rather more powerful.

[el mister]

Worth being aware of the consequences of failing to cash an ace at matchpoints versus IMPs - if you go to bed with an ace at MPs it could mean a bottom, whereas the extra overtrick at IMPs is not a big deal.

 

Just an extra thing to consider - As the other posters have said, it's far too wide and varied a topic to condense into a few rules.

[woodych]

Yes it is as I am finding out the more tournaments I play rather than relaxed with friends.

I do have another question though if anyone has the time to reply some time?

I have always been advised it is best to lead back the suit my partner does when defending a contract with the ops.

I tend to agree becuase my partner may have a singleton, may have a good face card etc

IT doesnt always mean that, but there is a good chance it does, so i do tend to almost always lead back what my partner first did unless I have a very good reason not to do so.

I only ask because in a few hands my partner/s never lead my suit back and we lost the hand because of that.

Many thanks

[Trinidad]

There are two things to consider.

 

1. 
    
   
2. You want to lead the right suit (active).
   
3. You don't want to lead the wrong suit (passive).
   

 

1.

The opening lead is made blind. You only see your own cards and you have the information from the bidding. All other leads have the information from the dummy as well as from the previous plays. Simply put: of all the leads that defenders are going to make during a hand, the opening lead is much more likely to be wrong than any of the other leads (perhaps even than all other leads combined).

 

So, if partner -with all the extra information that he has- knows that your opening lead was wrong, it makes sense to try another suit to beat the contract.

 

2.

Once the opening lead has been made, and it turned out to be a wrong lead, quite often the damage in that suit has been done: you blew a trick, but you cannot blow a second trick there anymore. That means that often it is better to continue the suit, rather than to guess to lead a new suit... and blow a trick there too. What you see often is that a spade lead would set the contract by two, but the opening lead was a heart, blowing a trick for the defense. Now the contract should be down one. But third hand, unhappy with the fact that the heart lead blew a trick, tries his luck somewhere else. With little to guide him, he now tries a diamond and a second trick is blown and the contract suddenly makes.

 

And, obviously, there is still case number 3: The opening lead might be right.

 

Rik

[1eyedjack]

I do have another question though if anyone has the time to reply some time?

I have always been advised it is best to lead back the suit my partner does when defending a contract with the ops.

I tend to agree becuase my partner may have a singleton, may have a good face card etc

IT doesnt always mean that, but there is a good chance it does, so i do tend to almost always lead back what my partner first did unless I have a very good reason not to do so.

I only ask because in a few hands my partner/s never lead my suit back and we lost the hand because of that.

Many thanks

If I may make a suggestion, it really is better to start a new thread when you want to discuss a new topic.

 

But as to the question raised, you need to train yourself out of the "rule of thumb" mindset here. If you religiously return your partner's suit you will misdefend a lot of hands. If you religiously switch, likewise. Neither policy is necessary. You have a wealth of information at your disposal. You have all of the bidding. You can see the dummy. You can see your hand. You can usually infer a lot about partner's holding in the suit led, from the cards played at trick 1. You can make additional inferences from the fact that he chose to lead that suit. If you take all this into account and do a Brian Boitano, most of the time whether to lead the suit back should be clear without having to rely on rules of thumb. It may not even be at trick 2 that you are having to make your decision, and the later in the hand the less forgivable the error.

 

One point to bear in mind is that the opening lead is a VERY HARD part of the game. Partner may be a genius but that does not mean that he will find the best lead all of the time. But not finding the best lead does not mean that the defence is hopeless and that you should give up. Still, you have to make allowances, and build into your plan the possibility that trick 1 lead may not have been optimal.

[woodych]

Thank you for those replies, much appreciated.

[woodych]

Urgh, another private messenger moaning about my bidding. Maybe he should have asked me for aces he was the one with the big hand.

Yes I could have gone direct to 6NT but i have done that before and we lost so i just cant win!

[Zelandakh]

Urgh, another private messenger moaning about my bidding. Maybe he should have asked me for aces he was the one with the big hand.

Yes I could have gone direct to 6NT but i have done that before and we lost so i just cant win!

Having a big hand does not automatically mean that you should be the one taking control. As an example, after a 2NT opening it is much more common for the weaker responding hand to take the initiative. In general, a less described hand with extras over what they have shown for the bidding to date will be the one making some forward-going move.

[woodych]

Thank you Zelandakh

The problem with the hand today was I had 14 points and I guess i should have jumped straight to 4NT? (or maybe not?)

But we are all human and sometimes do not bid what we know afterward we should have.

I have no problem taking advice when it is made in a friendly constructive manor, but when players message unpleasant complaints it just gets ones back up and one goes on the defensive.

That player has instead of passing on what might have been good advise has just made an enemy, although he probably doesn't care about that.

Such is life!

[1eyedjack]

You will tend to get more valuable help if you post the hand. Or, if that is too much hassle, a link to the hand in MyHands site.

[woodych]

Thank you 1eyedjack

I will remember that next time if i can work out how to do that.

[Zelandakh]

The problem with the hand today was I had 14 points and I guess i should have jumped straight to 4NT? (or maybe not?)

It is unusual for an immediate 4NT to be the best approach on a hand. If you hold 14hcp opposite an normal opening you will usually describe your hand to your partner while making sure to force to game. In the meantime Opener will be describing their hand and at some point one of you will likely be in a position to make a move towards slam if it is right. If on the other hand you hold 14hcp opposite a 2NT opener than 4NT would normally be a mistake as this is not forcing and now you typically have enough to force to slam. That might involve investigating for a suit fit while making forcing calls or might mean simply jumping to 6NT.

[woodych]

Thank you Zelandakh

Obtaining advice like that is great on the forums, thank you.

I do not feel completely useless after that summary.

I will keep on trying.

[woodych]

Sighs, yet another private message from some sad player who has nothing better to do than send other players unpleasant messages. I always used to believe that experts/advanced players would be more tolerant of beginners and allow for the fact that they won't play like an expert.

Of all the online sites I use this has to be the worst for such things.

I used to believe that bridge was a game that intelligent, polite and good people played, how wrong was i!

It seems to be full of nasty, arrogant and basically very unpleasant people. People that they have never met, and yet they believe it is socially acceptable to do such things, they must lead very sad lives!

[Vampyr]

Have you tried joining the BIL?

[Trinidad]

Dear Woodych,

 

Edit: Vampyr's suggestion of joining the BIL (Beginners and Intermediates Lounge) is excellent.

 

I understand your feelings. And I know that what you are saying is true. Some of the players at BBO are outright unpleasant (and that is still an understatement).

 

There are two reasons for that:

1) Bridge, like any mind sport, is a stressful game.

2) People on BBO are anonymous. That means that their normal inhibitions can disappear like snow in the sun. After all, nobody can call them out on their poor behavior.

 

It is difficult to do something about the stress of the game. I wouldn't even want to do something about it, since that is one of the things that makes the game so exciting.

 

But there is something that you can do about anonymity. The obvious way is to start playing bridge in a real bridge club. The best way to do that is to take a bridge course first and then start playing for real. Then you know the people and they cannot misbehave without suffering the consequences (which is why they, with few exceptions, won't misbehave).

 

The second thing you can do is play on BBO but with friends. Make a list of people who are pleasant and meet with them at regular times at BBO. That way, these players are not really anonymous anymore. You may still not know their real name, but now "Bridgebeast94" has something to loose if he would misbehave: the nice BBO game every Wednesday evening.

 

Best of luck,

 

Rik

[woodych]

Thank you Vampyr and Rik for your replies and comments.

 

I do play rubber with friends most Fridays through to Sundays, but at other times I decided I needed to get some serious game play to improve my game.

 

I started with GIBS (who never complain) and then decided I needed to try some games with real people.

I have learned so much the last month or so from playing in the BBO free automated tournaments (I do not really have the money to splash out on paid tournaments)

 

I enjoy watching (polite) Experts to gain insight into how they bid and play the game and it has definately helped me.

 

On ocassions I have felt frustrated by a partner I have been with and wanted to ask them why they did or didn't do what they did, but I know that is pointless as we are all human, we all have off days, we all make mistakes.

 

The last private message which prompted my post today came from a player that I have only just checked on and realised his average match points was worse than mine. There are of course many reasons for that, who you have as partners etc, but it has made me realise that not all those who send nasty messages are necessarily good players them selves.

 

Peter

[Trinidad]

but it has made me realise that not all those who send nasty messages are necessarily good players them selves.

 

Peter

Actually, I would bet that the nasty players are not good players. That doesn't mean that there are no players that are good and nasty, but nastiness is typical for low level players.

 

Why is that?

 

To be a good bridge player, you need to have a variety of skills:

you need to know your play technique: know when to finesse and when not.

you need to know your bidding technique: Know what the bids mean, choose the right one and understand what partner is doing.

And, and this is very important if you ever want to be a good bridge player, you need to make sure that your partner plays well, because -unlike e.g. chess- bridge is a partnership game.

 

And you have a lot more influence on your partner's bridge ability than you would think. When do partners play well? When they enjoy the game and think it is fun to play with you! When you make sure that your partner likes to play with you, it is easy to play well.

 

Being nasty to your partner is not going to get him to play better. It is just as silly and childish as kicking your car when you have a flat tire... Before the kick you have a flat tire, after the kick you have a flat tire and a dent.

 

Rik

[woodych]

Thanks Rik

 

I loved that final analogy (and a very sore toe to boot!)oh so true.

 

I'm sure we have all been tempted to throw our computer out the window, but I always stop just in time when I realise I will have no computer (to pay bridge on)and however long it takes to replace it (all that extra cost) I will feel very sick indeed until I get to replace that.

 

I do have to balance all those unpleasant messages with one I did receive recently from a partner who told me bad luck on the hand going down and that I did all I could with that hand, we all went one down with 4S, so nothing to be ashamed of.

 

Best Wishes

Peter

[1eyedjack]

It is just as silly and childish as kicking your car when you have a flat tire... Before the kick you have a flat tire, after the kick you have a flat tire and a dent.

 

Rik

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=78b67l_yxUc