grizz: Hi all, and welcome grizz: Chat logs and hand records are stored in your computer for later review. grizz: For information on how to retrieve them, go the BIL homepage or email me. grizz: I teach private individual, pair, and small group lessons. If you would like to know more please email me at Grizz@GrizzBridge.com. grizz: And archives of old sessions are available at GrizzBridge.com, on the Lessons and Archives page located at: http://www.grizzbridge.com/Lessons_and_Archives.php grizz: There will be lots of questions. I want to address them all, but in a manner helpful to all, so please ask them in open chat. grizz: I encourage participation by all kibs grizz: So jump right in with a comment, question, or bid at any time, but please do it in open chat grizz: ...since I can't always respond to private chat grizz: We usually do random hands, and all areas of bidding, defense and declarer play are open for comment. wyoming33: guess we have no announcer today Dianne0516: I have a question, Grizz grizz: fire away Dianne0516: In BIL you talked about systems on after x or 2!c bid interference (nt) grizz: right grizz: the 2!c bid takes up hardly any bidding space, so there is still room for all transfers Dianne0516: If your responder x over 2 !c for stayman, and his ptnr says 2 !d, is x by opener no M? grizz: so the auction is 1NT-2!c-X(Stayman)-2!d-? Dianne0516: y Dianne0516: and nt opener x (is that no M) wyoming33: opener could pass grizz: since responder doubled, the overcaller will get to bid again grizz: so there is no reason for 3rd seat to bid, just to keep the auction open grizz: so 2!d must show a real suit Dianne0516: ok, thanks grizz: and X would tend to show !ds stopped, and be penalty oriented grizz: pass would deny a major Dianne0516: thanks Dianne0516: makes sense now grizz: i will bid against the bots today grizz: GIB plays 2/1, and you can click on any GIB bid for an explanation grizz: beware though, they take some liberties with their own system :) grizz: S can make a lead-directing X here, but should he do that? Dianne0516: n wyoming33: suit not good enough - grizz: right, X is very dangerous here on just AT86 grizz: what do you all think about 2NT here? wyoming33: west is 4333 so decided not to go to 3 I guess grizz: i would blast straight to 3NT now after W denies a !s suit, with a good 9 meshmeshaa: 9 points enough for 2nt only grizz: could be wrong on any given hand, but will make more often than not wyoming33: good intermediates in east grizz: i would think twice without a 5 card suit, but only once with a 5 bagger grizz: y, E has a stellar 9 hcp, good middle cards, nice !s sequence bmr65: should yu subtract 1 from E for a balanced hand? grizz: no, i would not subtract for a 4432 grizz: only for 4333, with soft values grizz: the soft values in this hand are supported - !ss are nice, and the !CQ952 isn't that bad either grizz: now we have a little tip grizz: S expects N to cash some !hs grizz: but then what? grizz: S knows what to do next, and does not need to rely on signals grizz: so there is one of the secrets to good defense grizz: if you know what to do next, but pard may not, then go ahead - do it, and take pard off the guess grizz: this not only makes defense easier, but will keep you sharp longer grizz: you see, in the average session of bridge we make about 230 decisions grizz: what to bid, what to play, what signal to give, etc wyoming33: no wonder I get so tired grizz: so if you can prevent pard from having to make a decision, it keeps you both fresher :) grizz: y, it takes a lot of mental work to play good bridge grizz: and the 230 decisions does not even include counting! grizz: but counting is a factor in all those decisions grizz: counting points, based on the auction, your hand, dummy, and signals as play proceeds grizz: counting distribution around the table grizz: and counting tricks, but likely declarer tricks and where defensive tricks can come from grizz: any questions on this one? grizz: here is a good situation for a Michaels bid grizz: 2!d shows both majors, 5-5 or better grizz: might be only 4-5 if white vs red, but rarely pays to fudge when red vs. white grizz: one other thing about both unusual bids, Michaels and Unusual NT grizz: the bid should be made with either less than 12, or 15+ grizz: but not on a 12-14 opening-type hand bbo_iac (Lobby): => Club: Grizz table now open in club all welcome to join discussion on the bidding and play of hands grizz: in that case, just bid both the suits and pard will know grizz: so how does pard know whether you have a mini or a maxi? grizz: easy - grizz: with a mini, you pass next grizz: with a maxi you bid on grizz: tough decision here for S, or is it? grizz: the !SK is a working value, opposite pard's known !s suit grizz: but the !DK may not be wyoming33: though only 8 - so prob pass grizz: the !HQJ2 is golden grizz: and it looks from the S point of view that this is a cross ruff hand, whether on defense or if they declare grizz: one other factor here, the Law of Total Tricks grizz: which says that you are usually safe bidding to the level of the number of combined trumps in both hands grizz: so assuming that N has 5!hs, S thinks that with 8 trumps their last safe level was 2!h grizz: and the vul is unfavorable, so it would not pay to compete to 3!h grizz: especially knowing that pard is under 12 grizz: so see how valuable that point information is? grizz: easy pass for S grizz: on a distributional hand like this one, all signals point to Active Defense grizz: if NS are entitled to any !h tricks, they should grab them right away before they go away grizz: and here is a chance for S to give a signal grizz: N knows what his count is, or will after W plays grizz: and it is obviously wrong to continue !hs, so Attitude is known grizz: so when Attitude is known, that is a chance for a Suit Preference signal between the 2 side suits grizz: so small card means stuff in the lower suit grizz: or big card to show interest in the higher suit wyoming33: why not !S so maybe can get ruff - oh well I can see all hands grizz: so S must decide whether he wants a !d or !s next grizz: i vote for !S :) grizz: it is pointless now to return either red suit, so what's left? grizz: if N had another entry, he could signal now - grizz: low card, low suit - high card, high suit grizz: or medium card, no entry grizz: a modest plus 50, but it is a plus grizz: so how do they do in !hs? grizz: lose 1!s, 1!h, 1!d grizz: making 4!!! wyoming33: maybe !C depends on how dec plays the hand grizz: y grizz: is there any way for S to know during the auction? grizz: not really grizz: although, it is good to remember what the LOTT assumes - vybdt: should lose 2 spades - to ruff spades you set up heart trick in E grizz: 1. ops are playing in their best fit, and grizz: 2. 50% of finesses are onside grizz: the only factoid that might affect the LOTT decision might be the !DK offside grizz: since the !DA is more likely to be in the !d bidder's hand grizz: any questions on this one? grizz: is S a hand that should open? dae: y vybdt: yes wyoming33: yes - 5/5 dae: rule of 20 grizz: light bidders will have no problem with it, but what about disciplined bidders? dae: 2 1/2 QT grizz: y, it satisfies the Rule of 20 grizz: and the Goren quick trick requirement wyoming33: and stretch to open a 5/5 hand grizz: and only 6 losers, assuming a fit in either !s or !d, so LTC is ok too grizz: vul is favorable too grizz: the only downside to opening this is slowing down the auction if pard has a good hand grizz: but i suspect that most players would open this one and worry about the details later grizz: so how does N show this hand? grizz: let's make some assumptions about the NS system grizz: they play 2/1, Jordan and Reverse Bergen raises vybdt: 3S grizz: so XX would show 10+ and tend to deny a fit grizz: 2NT would be a good !s raise grizz: 2!s would be constructive, 7-9 or so grizz: and 3!s is preemptive wyoming33: eithere 2 or 3 - how about 3 grizz: LOTT says we are safe at the 3 level, and ops have a tough time bidding over 3!s grizz: since we are safe to bid that high anyway, let's do it now and make life as tough as possible for ops grizz: now S has an easy pass vybdt: I bid 4S knowing partner is weak - making it more difficult for E/W to find their game grizz: also a legit bid, as an advance sacrifice meshmeshaa: why the second dble?? why not meshmeshaa: hearts grizz: click on the doubles to get GIB's explanation sharon J: questions public or private? dae: doesn't say grizz: please ask questions in public wyoming33: think good hand to bid 4 in south - with singleton !H and doubleton !C grizz: first X says 12+, takeout grizz: second says 16+ sharon J: why west not bid 3 H? grizz: GIB does not always make the best bid dae: too strong to preempt? grizz: y, W is way too strong to preempt grizz: so S must decide whether to pass, X or sacrifice grizz: knowing that pard is preemptive helps with the decision wyoming33: not vul and pard weak - so no X - sac shd be good bid grizz: NS don't have a lot of defensive values grizz: S is subminimum value-wise, and N is known to be weak grizz: so if S dind't bid 4!s before, must do so now grizz: and E has the tough decision grizz: sounds as though 4!s goes down, but does 5!h make? if so that is worth 650 dae: n grizz: so they would have to set 4!s 4 tricks to score better grizz: the problem with that line of thinking is that 5!h may not make grizz: N is weak but S did open in 1st chair grizz: so the X looks to be a plus, but 5!h may be very wrong grizz: should W take action over 4!s? wyoming33: 4!S doubled? grizz: no, before the X grizz: shoud W take action here? anegada: no grizz: only if he knows what the action should be grizz: remember, E could be dead broke grizz: W held a gun to his head with 2 takeout doubles grizz: ok, that is E's vote on the matter wyoming33: LOL - what should it be - pass and let east act dae: but then he bid, so E must be the one to decide/ grizz: the point is, neither W nor E should make that decision without being pretty certain which way it should go grizz: W has bid very strongly, and has told his whole story vybdt: more why I would bid 4S over 4C - west has more difficulty determining the strength of E - he doesn't know S has opened light and W does not have a surplus of defensive tricks so ... vybdt: more than likely to bid 5H if he takes any action over 4S grizz: in 4!hs, EW lose a !s, !d and 1 or 2!cs grizz: so 5!h would have been awful, a phantom sacrifice vybdt: probably can take a ruffing finesse in diamonds to pitch one club loser grizz: y, so makes 4 only grizz: or maybe not, depending on the line of play wyoming33: with good play can prob make 4 - but not 5 grizz: nope, 5 has no prayer grizz: but see something here grizz: NS have a !s fit grizz: and favorable vul grizz: so a good rule to remember for these high-level decisions is that it is almost always right to bid 4!s over ops' 4!hs grizz: either 4!s makes, or goes down less than the value of a game, even if doubled grizz: let's look at this one more time, from upper left vybdt: question I have what will W do looking at a 4S bid over 4C grizz: totally different auction now vybdt: over 3S grizz: W did not get a chance for the second X vybdt: sorry grizz: so E does not know that W is that big grizz: and E does not have the values to X in his own hand grizz: so 4!s plays undoubled, down only 1 for -50 vybdt: what about W bidding 4H over 1S? grizz: good question grizz: wouldn't W bid 4!h on a lot less than this? grizz: let me ask the question another way maysie: yes of course, suit quality would permit W bidding 4H's straight away! vybdt: vulnurable - should show a solid suit with no more than one A or K outside of hearts grizz: if pard would bid 4!h on either this hand or one 7 points less, how does pard know what to do? fhill: West is too strong to overcall and too strong to preempt, so only choice is double grizz: that is the dilemma in a nutshell grizz: and shows the value of !s preemption grizz: OK then, our time is up now, thanks for coming and I'll see you next week. Dianne0516: Thanks so much Grizz grizz: If anybody needs help retrieving the hand records or chat log, please email me at Grizz@GrizzBridge.com. anegada: thx pete wyoming33: thank you :) kcgal: !H grizz: I teach private individual, pair, and small group lessons. If you would like to know more please email me at Grizz@GrizzBridge.com. bbo_iac: thanks Pete maysie: TY sharon J: ty Pete wyoming33: good discussions lenia1: thx pete:) grizz: I am planning three different one-day courses on Defense (July 13), Declarer Play (Aug. 24) and Balancing (TBA), so it you are interested in any or all of these topics, ... grizz: please drop me a line at Grizz@GrizzBridge.com grizz: Thanks for your interest and participation, and I hope to see you next week. bbo_iac: sorry for being late, I had been in bed with a migraine and slept over the time ->bbo_iac: oh nooooooo! JohnnyHiLo: thanks ->bbo_iac: my son has those, missed almost 3 whole years of middle school grizz: Grizz out.