FIRESIDE CHAT OCTOBER 2002
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome and Announcements
Believer's FireSide Kindling
Bidding with Bridgboy
Guido's Really Important Stuff
Just Jill
Dealing With Dann
Moogal's FireSide Log
Bob's Bits
Treble's Table Talk
And Finally Kaltica
=======================================
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hi all!
Welcome to the October, 2002 issue of FireSide
Chat, our monthly newsletter written for and about
our FireSide friends and events.
We hope you enjoy all of this month's articles and
features. Please feel free to write to us with any
comments, questions, ideas, or whatever, that you may
wish to share. This newsletter is for and about you,
and we want you to feel welcome to participate. Just
email Believer at sarastobbe@aol.com or Moogal
at Moocake@aol.com.
A special thanks to all of you who have been sending
us contributions for our "giggle breaks". We appreciate
everything you send, and use as many as we can. Keep
'em coming, please! :-)
OKbridge also offers us an email discussion opportunity,
the Discuss List. You can join that list by emailing them
at Discuss-Request@okbridge.com and put the word 'subscribe'
in the subject line. You can also participate in the
discussions via the OKbridge web site now, just go to the
members area at www.okbridge.com and you'll find the Discuss
List there at the bottom of your opening page.
You can now find our "FireSide Chat" posted at two
different web sites.
You can go to OKbridge's web site:
http://www.okbridge.com/membersclub/periodicals/fireside/
Or find it at our FireSide web site:
http://www.firesides.net/thechat.htm
If, for any reason, you do not wish to receive
these mailings, please write to Believer at
sarastobbe@aol.com to be removed from our mailing
list.
===========================================
CURRENT FIRESIDE SCHEDULE
Day Pacific Time Commentator
MON 11:00 A.M. POOKA
MON 5:30 P.M. BRIDGBOY
TUE 11:00 A.M. BRIDGBOY
TUE 8:00 P.M. CAPTAIN
WED 11:00 A.M. FREDW3
WED 5:30 P.M. DIANEW
THU 11:00 A.M. POOKA
THU 5:30 P.M. WISHTRIK
FRI 11:00 A.M. BLUEBEE
FRI 5:30 P.M. KALTICA
SAT 11:00 A.M. WINTAKA/CAPTAIN
Commentators may change without notice,
according to their availability.
*******************
Although there is no set fee for participating in
these "open to all" sessions, please note that FireSide
Bidding Practice Sessions operate with the support of
those in attendance. For information about how to
become a supporting member, please contact Kaltica at
kaltica@mts.net, Moogal at moocake@aol.com, or
Believer at sarastobbe@aol.com
Thanks to all of you for supporting the FireSide sessions
in all the many different ways you have of doing so.
*******************
All articles herein (c) 2002 by FireSide Chat.
All rights reserved.
===============================================
BELIEVER'S FIRESIDE KINDLING
============================
Hi all :-)
Well, we've been back from our wandering for about 2 weeks now,
and I'm still playing catch-up... not sure I was ready to go
home! Thirty days sounded like so much time when we started out,
but it wasn't nearly enough time to see everyone and everything
we wanted to see, and do all the things we wanted to do!
I'm not going to babble about our trip again this month -- but
I do want to thank all of you who offered to make time for us
when we came to your part of the world, and hope that those we
couldn't take up on the offers will give us a raincheck... I am
so amazed by everyone's generosity and hospitality. OKb folks
really do get to be a kind of extended family :-) I hope you
all feel free to contact me if you are ever in the Detroit
area -- we'd love to see you!
.....................
I was sitting in the lobby at OKb the other day, and Karen
(Wheels) Singer greeted me... Karen is one of our most faithful
'joke contributors' for our giggle breaks :-) She mentioned an
idea to me that she'd had, asked me if I liked the idea. I did,
and do, so my column this month stems from Karen's idea. I hope
you like it too, and will help us follow through on it :-)
Karen's idea is simply this: Ask folks to share with us what
their OKb name means... how they came to choose it. She feels
that there are many interesting stories about some pretty special
names out there, and hopefully folks will be willing to talk
about those stories. She suggested that we start with me :-)
So, here goes...
So, how did I come up with the name Believer? Well, it goes back
to my first online partner...
I started playing online bridge at AOL -- they used to have a
free bridge program there (it was terrible, but so was I). Most
of us were not great players actually :-) but we had fun, and
made a lot of friends there.
One of the friends I met at AOL's bridge site was Steve. Steve
was a very good player compared to most of the rest of us -- only
I didn't really realize that for a while. I just knew that when
he played the cards, he made magic happen :-) I'd be apologizing
for overbidding, and then he'd get overtricks! It became a
ritual for him to say to me, "ya gotta believe!" And I learned
to believe in my partner!
Steve and I became regular partners, and we played as often as we
could. I was hungry to learn, and he taught me a lot. The most
important thing that I learned from him though was to believe :-)
Once AOL started charging extra money to play bridge at their
card site, we decided that $1.99 an hour was a bit much,
especially when we seemed to average anywhere from 2 to 6 hours a
day playing bridge.... so we went looking for another bridge
site. We found OKbridge -- and the rest is history, as they say.
But it just seemed 'right' to pick the name "believer" as my OKb
login name.. nothing else woulda suited :-)
So, just remember, ya gotta believe!
Now I need more stories to share :-) Please send in your story
of how you came to choose your OKb login name... we can have
lots of fun with Karen's idea!
.......................
One last thing --
I am hoping that someone out there still has a copy of our
FireSide "welcome" letter that we send out to newcomers to
FireSide. I came home from our trip to find my computer
infected with some nasty virus -- not sure what it was, but
I had to reload the operating system, losing everything I
had on file (and YES! I will start doing regular backups!)
Anyway, if anyone has a copy of that email, I'd appreciate
it if you'd send it to me -- it would be a lot easier than
trying to recreate it.
Thanks :-)
Til next month--
Sara
*******************
You can write to Believer (Sara Stobbe) at:
sarastobbe@aol.com
============================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Mindy for this one...
Why do seagulls fly over the sea?
Because if they flew over the bay, they'd be bagels.
=============================================
BIDDING WITH BRIDGBOY
=====================
You pick up this nice collection playing on OKbridge:
S AJx
H QJxx
D Jxx
C AKQ.
It can't be bad when you are dealt 18 HCP. And surprise,
partner opens the bidding with 1D!
Slam starts to enter your mind. You bid a simple 1H, and now
partner bids 2H. OK now, how are we going to find out exactly
where we belong? Even an 18 HCP hand can have a negative side,
and the downside of this hand is it's flat shape. Any time we
hold 4-3-3-3, we should be very careful how we bid the hand.
So let us start milking partner for information, and cue bid 2S.
This bid is forcing, and says to partner "tell me more". We hear
a very discouraging but telling 3H. Not giving up quite yet,
let us try 4C next, again a forcing bid obviously trying for
slam. This will give partner one last chance to show a diamond
or spade control, or anything resembling interest in slam.
Again he signs off in 4H, leaving us to ponder what he could
have opened on, but the one thing we know is that game is all
partner is interested in. Not wanting to hang partner for
opening with minimal values we pass 4H and await dummy with
bated breath:
S Q32
H AKxx
D K10xx
C xx
If ever there was a minimal hand this is it, and we are glad to
be only in game! After making five hearts, we look at the score
and see that 35 people could not resist the lure of a slam
bonus, and all they got for their troubles was a minus score.
You happily record +450 and move on, knowing that you bid to the
best spot and earned your plus IMPs.
Keep in mind, holding 18 points as responder does not guarantee
slam opposite some minimal opening bids. You need to carefully
elicit information from partner to find out just how high your
side should climb.
********************
You can find Bridgboy (Bob Lavin) doing his FireSide
sessions on Monday evenings at 5:30 p.m., and Tuesdays
at 11:00 a.m. OKbridge time.
Anyone interested in one-on-one lessons on any topic of
the game may contact Bob at bridgboy@charter.net
===================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Finally some practical drugs .......
St. Mom's Wort -- Plant extract that treats mom's
depression by rendering preschoolers unconscious for up to
six hours.
Empty Nestrogen -- Highly effective suppository
that eliminates melancholy by enhancing the memory of how
awful they were as teenagers and how you couldn't wait till
they moved out.
Peptobimbo -- Liquid silicone for single women. Two
full cups swallowed before an evening out increases breast
size, decreases intelligence, and improves flirting.
Dumerol -- When taken with Peptobimbo, can cause
dangerously low I.Q. causing enjoyment of country western
music.
Flipitor -- Increases life expectancy of commuters by
controlling road rage and the urge to flip off other
drivers.
Antiboyotics -- When administered to teenage
girls, is highly effective in improving grades, freeing up
phone lines, and reducing money spent on make-up.
Menicillin -- Potent antiboyotic for older women.
Increases resistance to such lines as, "You make me want to
be a better person ... can we get naked now?"
Buyagra -- Injectable stimulant taken prior to
shopping. Increases potency and duration of spending spree.
Extra Strength Buy-One-all -- When combined with Buyagra, can
cause an indiscriminate buying frenzy so severe the victim
may even come home with a Donnie Osmond CD or a book by Dr.
Laura.
JackAsspirin -- Relieves the headache caused by a man who
can't remember your birthday, anniversary or phone number.
Anti-talksident -- A spray carried in a purse or wallet to
be used on anyone too eager to share their life stories
with total strangers.
Sexcedrin -- Bedroom aerosol spray for men. More effective
than Excedrin in treating the, "Not now, dear, I have
a headache," syndrome.
Ragamet -- When administered to a husband, provides
the same irritation as ragging on him all weekend, saving
the wife the time and trouble of doing it herself.
===================================================
GUIDO'S REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF
===============================
Shooting
Usually you try to get to what is likely to be the best
contract and play the hand in the way most likely to make a
whole bunch of tricks. It is important to bear in mind that
determining the "best contract" is often merely an exercise in
probability. You seldom know partner's cards exactly and even
if you do, you do not know how the opponents cards are
distributed. Shooting is taking a slightly unusual or anti-
percentage action. It is best done sparingly at match points
when you have a good, but not great score going. Please note
the important word "slightly" in the above paragraph.
Sometimes the shooting bid or play can actually be as good or
even better than the "normal" bid or play - simply different.
A few examples of shooting:
You hold KJxx-Kxx-Kxx-Kxx and your partner opens 1NT. Most
people bid Stayman. I am not at all sure that with extra
values, good holdings in all suits and a perfectly balanced
hand it is not best simply to bid 3NT. You will go against the
field most likely. They will either play 4S or even if opener
does not have four spades, their auction will influence the
opening lead and, perhaps, subsequent defense.
You hold KJxx-xxx-AQxx-Qx. Here shooting 3NT directly has more
to lose but it is still a reasonable gamble if you need a top.
You hold xx-AKQx-Axxxx-xx. Most people will open 1D. 1H is a
reasonable shot even when playing five-card majors. If the
opponents win the bidding, a heart lead from partner is most
likely better than a diamond lead. Opening 1H might get you to
a great 4-3 heart fit you will not find if you open 1D. You
might play a heart contract from your side rather than partner
playing it (this might be good or bad, but it will be
different).
You hold KQxx-KJ-KQx-Jxxx. Most of the field, playing 15-17 NT
openings and counting points rather than looking at their hand
will likely open this monstrosity 1NT. Open it 1C -- treating
the hand as a 13 or 14 hcp. I think this is more accurate, but
if I were trying for an average I would open it 1NT to try to
stay even with the field.
You hold AKJxx and partner holds T9xx in trumps. You have
entries to partner's hand and have no information (nor can
you safely gain any) on the opponents' distribution. If you
want to try to get five cards from this suit, the percentage
play is to play the Ace followed by the King (eight ever; nine
never). While this is SLIGHTLY better than finessing, the
difference is only slight. Many people don't think much here,
they just bang down the AK and pray. An excellent shot is to
play the Ace and, if the queen has not dropped, go to dummy
and lead the Ten, intending to finesse.
You hold AK32 and partner J654 on a suit in NT. Ignoring the
rest of the hand (I know, bad idea, but I am trying to keep
this straightforward), how do you play the suit for the
maximum number of tricks? Playing the Ace and then the King
wins four tricks when the Queen is doubleton in either hand;
this play wins three tricks with a singleton Queen or queen-
third in either hand, it also wins three tricks when your LHO
holds Qxxxx or Qxxx. In all other cases you are held to two
tricks.
How about playing Ace followed by a low card towards dummy?
Your LHO holding Qxx might well duck thinking his partner has
Kx. This is most likely to work when your opponents know you
have exactly four cards in this suit. I'll let you figure out
when it loses to the normal play.
********************
You can email Guido at: paulfriedman@attbi.com
==================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Obraven for this one:
A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running
as fast as she could, trying not to be late for Bible
class. As she ran she prayed, "Dear Lord, please don't
let me be late! Dear Lord, please don't let me be
late!" As she was running and praying, she tripped on
a curb and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing
her dress. She got up, brushed herself off, and
started running again. As she ran she once again began
to pray, "Dear Lord, please don't let me be late...
But please don't shove me either!"
===================================================
JUST JILL
========
Duck, Duck, Goose!
Recently, I learned a term...
Can't quite get a grasp that's firm...
It's a word I understand,
*Doing* it's uncharted land!
What's the term, you're wondering?
Here's a hint: "A quacking thing"
Now you know... The term is 'duck'
When I try it, I get stuck!
Ducking is an art, you see;
Something tough for left-brained me!
Let a trick slip past my grasp?!
"Have to grab it NOW," I gasp!
Holding aces in my hand;
We're defending; ain't that grand?
It's their contract, trump is hearts,
It's my turn, the panic starts!
"Hold on to controls," they say.
(Maybe I will learn some day?)
"Duck it once to see what flies"
(Shock and horror fill my eyes!)
When can I "afford" to duck?
Guessing wrong is my bad luck;
"Maybe it's not luck," I think.
(That's a thought that makes me shrink!)
First time 'round with clubs, to me;
I play low, then wait and see...
Next time partner leads the Jack;
With the Ace, do I attack?
I know partner's Jack is good
But I don't know if I should
Take a winner with my Ace;
If I'm wrong, I face disgrace!
Even when there are no trumps,
I have had to take some lumps
For the Ace I never played,
Because I ducked and was betrayed.
How was I supposed to know?
I lost count eight tricks ago!
How can I be so obtuse?
Sometimes I feel like a goose!
Anyway, I play to learn,
Not to see the points I earn;
Going down is not so bad
When you see the fun I've had!
(c)Copyright 2002 by Jill Wilson
********************
You can email Jill at ilovechocolate@earthlink.net
==================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to JustJill for these too:
Actually Taken From Classified Ads In Newspapers:
FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER.
8 YEARS OLD. HATEFUL LITTLE DOG.
FREE PUPPIES:
1/2 COCKER SPANIEL
1/2 SNEAKY NEIGHBOR'S DOG
FREE PUPPIES... PART GERMAN SHEPHERD
PART STUPID DOG
GERMAN SHEPHERD 85 lbs.
NEUTERED. SPEAKS GERMAN. FREE.
FOUND: DIRTY WHITE DOG.
LOOKS LIKE A RAT...
BEEN OUT AWHILE.
BETTER BE REWARD.
1 MAN, 7 WOMAN HOT TUB $850/offer
SNOW BLOWER FOR SALE...
ONLY USED ON SNOWY DAYS.
2 WIRE MESH BUTCHERING GLOVES:
1-5 finger, 1-3 finger, PAIR: $15
TICKLE ME ELMO, STILL IN BOX, COMES WITH ITS
OWN 1988 MUSTANG, 5L, AUTO,
EXCELLENT CONDITION $6800
COWS, CALVES NEVER BRED...
ALSO 1 GAY BULL FOR SALE.
NORDIC TRACK $300
HARDLY USED, CALL CHUBBY
BILL'S SEPTIC CLEANING
"WE HAUL AMERICAN MADE PRODUCTS"
HUMMELS LARGEST SELECTION EVER
"IF IT'S IN STOCK, WE HAVE IT!"
HARRISBURG POSTAL EMPLOYEES GUN CLUB
GEORGIA PEACHES
CALIFORNIA GROWN 89 cents lb.
NICE PARACHUTE:
NEVER OPENED USED ONCE
TIRED OF WORKING FOR ONLY $9.75 PER HOUR?
WE OFFER PROFIT SHARING AND FLEXIBLE HOURS.
STARTING PAY: $7 -- $9 PER HOUR.
EXERCISE EQUIPMENT:
QUEEN SIZE MATTRESS & BOX SPRINGS $175.
OUR SOFA SEATS THE WHOLE MOB
AND IT'S MADE OF 100% ITALIAN LEATHER.
JOINING NUDIST COLONY!
MUST SELL WASHER & DRYER $300.
LAWYER SAYS CLIENT IS NOT THAT GUILTY.
ALZHEIMER'S CENTER PREPARES
FOR AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER
OPEN HOUSE
BODY SHAPERS TONING SALON
FREE COFFEE & DONUTS
(AND THE BEST ONE...)
FOR SALE BY OWNER
Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica. 45
volumes. Excellent condition. $1,000.00 or
best offer. No longer needed. Got married
last weekend. Wife knows everything
===================================================
DEALING WITH DANN
==================
Opening Leads
I'm always being asked at FireSide, "What should the opening lead
be?" I thought I'd talk a little bit this month about opening
leads. Nothing is 100% right all the time, but here are some
general guidelines:
Which Suit?
===========
To Suit Contracts:
------------------
You usually want to make a "safe" opening lead that will set up
tricks for your side without giving declarer extra tricks. Your
general order of preference can be:
A suit partner has bid. Lead low if you have 3+ cards; lead high
from 2 cards.
A suit that offers a good attacking combination -- two or more
touching honors (KQ10x, QJ10, AKxx, J109).
Your longest suit. Lead low if you don't have touching honors.
A suit the opponents have not bid.
If there are no unbid suits, choose a suit that dummy has bid.
Lead trumps if you have no other safe lead OR if declarer has
shown a two-suited hand. This may prevent declarer from using
dummy's trumps separately.
And don't forget those singletons.... Benito Garozzo once said,
"God gave you a singleton for a reason."
When leading to a SUIT contract, AVOID:
---------------------------------------
Leading an unsupported ace if you have another safe lead.
Underleading an ace (don't lead a small card from a suit headed
by the ace).
Leading a suit declarer has bid (unless you're leading trumps).
To Notrump Contracts:
---------------------
You usually want to make an attacking opening lead to set up
tricks in your long suit. Lead the fourth-best card (count down
from the top) from your longest and strongest suit unless:
Partner has bid a suit. You should then lead his suit.
Your long suit is one the opponents have bid. You should choose
your longest unbid suit, or a suit dummy has bid.
Your long suit has three or more touching honors (KQJx, QJ10x,
AQJ10x, J109x, etc.). You should lead an honor to be sure you
force declarer to win with the highest card possible.
When leading to a notrump contract, AVOID:
-----------------------------------------
Leading a short suit, unless it's the suit partner has bid.
Leading aces or "unprotected" high cards, especially ones in your
short suits.
Leading a suit declarer has bid.
Which Card?
===========
From all suits with touching honors, lead the top honor:
KQ5 J109 QJ105 10983 KJ1062
From a 4-card-or-longer suit without touching honors, lead the
fourth-best card:
K8642 Q973 J96532
From a 3-card suit without touching honors, lead the lowest card:
J64 Q87 832
From a 2-card suit, lead the top card:
95 J5 Q8
In Practice
===========
The opponents have bid 1S-3S-4S. What is your opening lead?
962 875 KQJ3 A95
King of Diamonds. Lead the top card from an attacking
combination. Even if declarer has the ace, you'll set up tricks
you can take later. Don't lead the club ace - that's more likely
to set up tricks for declarer.
Q9 Q73 K85 J7943
4 of Clubs. When no other lead looks safe, lead from your
longest suit (the 4th card down). Declarer may be short in this
suit, so your lead is unlikely to help him.
Your LHO opens 1C, partner overcalls 1S, and RHO bids 2H. LHO
jumps to 4H. What is your lead?
1072 873 7642 KQ3
2 of spades. You should almost always lead the suit partner
overcalls (with 3 or more, lead low). Although a KQ is sometimes
a good attacking combination, it isn't here because you know
clubs is LHO's suit.
K4 865 AJ2 87642
King of Spades. Since partner has shown strength in spades,
leading an unprotected honor is safe. If your king holds the
trick, you'll lead the spade 4 to partner's ace and be able to
trump the third round. From your high-low leads, partner will
know you have only 2 spades.
8732 A65 4 109542
4 of Diamonds. This is an exception to the rule about leading
partner's suit. Partner will know you had a good reason for not
leading spades. If he has the diamond ace, he'll lead one back
for you to trump. If partner can't win the first diamond lead,
you'll have another chance later. When you win the ace of
trumps, you can try to get partner on lead with a spade.
The opponents have bid 1NT-3NT. What is your opening lead?
QJ1076 K64 A8 10862
Queen of Spades. You should plan to keep attacking spades
whenever you're on lead. Even if declarer has the AK, there's a
good chance you can set up and "run" your suit later.
AK3 975 86 KJ743
4 of Clubs. You have no sequence, so lead the 4th best card and
hope partner has fillers. Resist the temptation to cash the
spades. You'll need them as entries to run your club suit.
82 64 K10976 AQ97
Ten of Diamonds. Lead your longer suit, even though the clubs are
stronger. To force out an honor, lead the top of an "interior"
sequence.
Partner opens 1C, RHO bids 1H, you bid 1S. LHO bids 2H and all
pass. What is your opening lead?
KJ76 973 AJ6 763
3 of Hearts. You could lead a club (partner's suit), but a trump
is better for two reasons: (1) It's safe (partner didn't promise
great honor strength in clubs, and a spade or diamond could give
up a trick); (2) Your side has most of the high-cards, so
declarer may have to trump losers in dummy to make his contract.
A trump lead will take one of his trumps out of dummy right away.
AK962 54 J874 106
Ace of Spades. An AK is usually a good lead because it lets you
look at dummy and decide what to do next. Here, you're hoping
partner has only one or two spades (a good possibility, since he
didn't raise) and can trump the third round. Depending on dummy's
spade holding and partner's signal (he'll play a high card if he
has a doubleton, a low card if he has three), you can decide
whether to continue with the spade ace or to switch suits.
If you decide to switch to partner's suit (clubs), lead the 10
(the top card to show 2). If partner has the AK of clubs, you
may get to trump the third round of that suit.
*******************
You will find Pooka (Dann Kramer) doing his FireSide
sessions on Monday and Thursday mornings, at 11:00 a.m.
OKbridge time.
Dann is available for one-on-one lessons, group mentoring
sessions, and/or tourney play.
For more information, write Dann at: Dann-Kramer@shaw.ca
===================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Benson for this giggle:
Personnel Office
The personnel office received an email requesting a listing of
the department staff be supplied broken down by age and sex.
The personnel office sent this reply -
"Attached is a list of our staff. We currently have no one
broken down by age and sex. However, we have a few alcoholics."
===================================================
MOOGAL'S FIRESIDE LOG
======================
OKB TOURNEYS
Sat Sep 21 10:00 2002
Rank Team Score Boards
1 gentofte/ordrup 3.15 11
Our tourney friends, Gretel (GENTOFTE) and her partner/husband
Ordrup, won this tourney on their FORTY-NINTH wedding
anniversary! It's always a pleasure to play against them,
there is never any fussing at the table, and I am so tickled
they were able to celebrate this special day with a win!
Gretel tells me they are planning a repeat for their
fiftieth! I have no doubts they will do it!
Congrats on the win, and on the anniversary!
****************************************************************
NOVICE MENTOR TOURNEY
Congrats to our top finishers in the 5'th Chair Novice-
Mentor Tourney this month.
Mentors and novices, join us this month on the 10'th - email
Sandra at sandree@attbi.com if you would like to find a partner
ahead of time. We'll do our best to match you up! I promise you
a fun evening.
****************************************************************
MENTOR CUP GAME
September 8: TEAM BOBOWEN: Bobowen, Queenhrt, Pringle & Unicorn
September 22: TEAM BOBOWEN: Bobowen, RonE, Pringle & Unicorn
Congrats on the double win to team Bobowen!
Visit our website at www.firesides.net/mtc.htm for info and
lists of all our top placing stars. To get on the email reminder
list for these games, contact me moocake@aol.com - all welcome!
****************************************************************
As you read in Sara's column, she and Frank took a wonderful
month-long vacation travelling around the U.S., visiting many
OKB friends. While she was gone I discovered just what a
great job she does managing our TM's! The way it works is
this: I make sure there is a commentator scheduled for every
session, she makes sure there is a table manager. Don't tell
Sara, but I know now that I have the way easier job. Every
email I sent her started with "Hi, Sara, hope you are having
fun, come home NOW!":)
A few special thanks to the folks who made life easier. First
and foremost, Gail (GAIL37) did a zillion sessions herself,
took over coordinating while I was gone several weekends, and
trained the new TMs that started during that time. Gail gets a
gold star!
Thanks to Paul (PKV) who stepped in a did a few sessions when
his wife, Raye (COSOMO) was unavailable.
Lucy (LUC) was minding her own business, sitting at Fireside
in spec, when I begged her to step in for a missing TM, with
zero training:) Thanks Lucy, you are a champ!
The best part was gaining two new TM's: D'loye (DLOYE), who is
going to sub when we need her, and Peter (PETER_5), who is
going to do most Saturday sessions. Welcome to them both!
D'loye is a long time Firesider, and here is a what she tells
us about herself:
I started playing bridge as a refuge from the demands of
infants. The amount of time "these women" of empty nesting
age could spend playing cards was an amazement to me. "Surely
there are better ways to spend your time" I said smugly. So I
plugged along, playing a game or two a week at the duplicate
club, taking hints from overbidders and never improving much.
And I never could sort out the good advice from the not so
good advice, so I just plugged along and enjoyed the people. I
can still play really consistent bad bridge! But when I found
Fireside on OKB, I realized that there were people who knew a
bit about the game and could help me correct some of my bad
habits. So now that my nest is empty, full, empty, full,
(this changes from day to day it seems) I've found online
bridge to help me waste inordinate amounts of time. But I'm
always stimulated mentally, as well as interested in the
people. And perhaps there are better ways to spend your time,
but none that I would enjoy so much. And doing some subbing
as TM is a small way of paying back. Did I mention that I
enjoy the people?
Peter is a dedicated Mentor Cup player, and we are delighted
to have him join Fireside! You may remember the story we told
you last year: he gave us all a big scare, falling in his
home after returning from the Toronto nationals, and landing
himself in the hospital, with no memory of even having been in
Toronto! We're thrilled there was no lasting damage, and look
forward to having you all meet him at Fireside. He and wife
Irene live in mid-west Ontario, about 5 miles from where Raye
and Paul (COSOMO and PKV) used to live. He's a retired tool
and die maker, and was born in Staffordshire, England. He
lives on 10 acres in what he claims is the middle of nowhere!
They have one son and one daughter, and delight in their three
grandkids. His hobbies are woodworking, stained glass, and of
course, OKB!! A warm welcome Peter:)
*********************************************************
Yay!!! Bob (BOBOWEN) is our Angelfish for October!
Here is Tuna's write-up of the nomination that came from both
Tarsh and Caitlin:
Bob's devotion to OKbridge is obvious as well as appreciated.
He helps players improve and regularly assists newbies to get
comfortably oriented. For well over 3 years he has tirelessly
volunteered for Fifth Chair, including Table Manager for the
Saturday SAYC and 2/1 team games (check out this month's
"World of Improvement" article for more information on
participating).
Congrats Bob!!!! We also remember your many years of service
as a table manager of Fireside, and I am appreciative of your
participation as a loyal captain in our Mentor Cup Games.
Well deserved.:)))
I'd also like to note that both Andy (CAPTAIN) and Jane
(NEOPHYTE) are nominees this month!
********************************************************
Congratulations to Ed (TURTLE12) who recently attained
Life Master status! We're proud of you Ed, a wonderful
accomplishment!
********************************************************
Margie (MQ26) wanted me to pass on her thanks to Fireside:
I won first place at my country club's duplicate game today! I
am really starting to get the hang of this game and just maybe
I will be a good bridge player someday ...thanks to the
wonderful folks at Fireside who care so much about teaching
and helping newcomers like me get a better understanding of
the game.
Thanks Margie, I know our commentators love to hear that!
*********************************************************
Thanks to Alex (GAUS271) for sending us his take on
the weak NT:
Weak No Trump Opening Bids
This note is neither by nor for an advanced player. It
explains the advantages (and disadvantages) of a weak NT
opening bid to intermediate players. If you are an
intermediate player, you should of course play whatever NT
range makes you most comfortable. But many intermediate
players have never tried, and have no understanding of, weak
NT openings and so make a choice without fully considering the
alternatives.
Numerous systems use a weak NT opening: Precision, Acol, and
Kaplan/Sheinwold. It can, however, be incorporated into SAYC
with little difficulty. For a traditional SAYC player, it
works as follows: as opener, you reverse the meanings of your
opening bid of 1NT and of your non-jump rebid in NT. That's
it, in its entirety. Nothing could be easier. An opening bid
of 1NT means a balanced hand with 12-14 HCP while opening in a
suit and rebidding NT at the cheapest level means a balanced
hand with 15-17 HCP.
The primary advantage of the weak NT is that you get to use
the sequences starting with 1NT far more often. Sequences
starting with 1NT have several good properties.
The most obvious good property of sequences starting with 1NT
is that partner of the NT bidder has a very good picture of
the opener's hand. Even a fairly shaky pair of bidders is
unlikely to bid a silly game or slam after a 1NT opening so
long as the opening bidder remembers that responder is
captain. For bidders like me, getting to use these relatively
foolproof sequences more often is very important. How much
more often? Some people estimate that the weak NT comes up
almost four times as often as the regular SAYC NT. Based on my
experience in play, quadruple is an over-estimate, but any
bridge player can say with utter conviction that hands with
12-14 HCP are quite a bit more common than hands with 15-17
HCP. I make few mistakes in auctions where we start out with
1NT, and I take great comfort from any agreement that reduces
my opportunity to make mistakes.
Another good property of sequences starting with 1NT is that
they give less information to your opponents. An example might
make this clearer. Suppose you must make the initial lead
against a 3NT contract when you and your partner have been
silent throughout the auction. Your only clues for a good lead
are your hand and the opponents' bids. Ignoring your hand,
what suit or suits seem good to lead after the auction 1NT by
South and 3NT by North. You can be fairly sure that North does
not have a long major suit, but South may be well equipped in
the majors. The bidding has been very uninformative for the
defenders. Now suppose you must make the initial lead when the
auction has gone: South 1C, North 1H, South 1NT, and North
3NT. From the auction alone, you know that spades and diamonds
are the most promising suits to attack and that your side must
have at least 6 spades and is likely to have more. Again this
is an issue of frequency. Your opponents will make a mistake
on the initial lead more often when you win the auction after
a sequence that starts 1NT. A bidding agreement that helps
your opponents make more mistakes has a certain charm.
A final good property of sequences that start with 1NT is that
they are mildly preemptive. On those wimpy hands where you
have no long suit and 12 to 14 HCP, you can simultaneously
warn partner not to get too excited and force your opponents
to start their sequence at the two level. Making life easy for
partner and difficult for the opponents is most important when
you cannot afford to make many bids.
A completely different and very significant advantage to
playing weak NT openings arises when you open in a minor suit.
In SAYC, a minor suit opening can be one of four types of
hand: flat with minimal high card strength (12-14), flat with
great high card strength (18 or 19 HCP), a long minor, or a
three suited hand. Playing a weak NT, a minor suit opening can
be one of three types of hands: three suited, a long minor, or
flat with 15 to 19 HCP. Going from four hand types to three
represents a 25% simplification in your minor suit bidding.
In an auction blessed with silence from the opponents, this
simplification is usually not that important because opener's
rebid clarifies both the hand type and the strength, but
auctions that start with one of a minor invite competition.
Against competition, both responder and opener have a simpler
time if the opening bid represents fewer possibilities.
To summarize, the advantages of opening a weak NT are:
· you get use the accuracy of sequences that start 1NT more
often,
· you give away less information to the defenders more
often,
· you interfere more with your opponents' auction on
your weaker hands, and
· your minor suit bidding is substantially simplified.
What are the disadvantages of the weak NT opening? There must
be some, given the advantages listed above, or everyone would
be playing weak NT openings. Its obvious disadvantage is that
if you open a weak NT and partner is both weak and flat, you
are probably going to be set and quite possibly set doubled.
Unlike a double of one of a suit, a double of 1NT is a penalty
double. This is not a disaster if your opponents could have
made game, but perhaps partner has enough strength to prevent
that. The best insurance against too many big sets is to play
systems off over an immediate double and to play all 2 level
suit bids as sign offs over any double. (Notice that this is
compatible with Lebensohl.) Redouble for rescue by the opener
over a silent partner is also an option, inviting partner to
bid any 5 card or longer suit if weak and to pass if strong.
(A redouble by the weak NT opener for business is an absurdity
if responder has been silent; it is responder who has the good
estimate of the combined assets.)
There is risk in the weak NT. At least two temporizing
measures are available: A) avoid the weak NT in 3rd seat, or
B) use the weak NT only when not-vulnerable. My personal
recommendation is that if the risks seem high to you and your
partner, avoiding a weak NT in 3rd seat eliminates the
riskiest aspect of the bid while retaining its advantages 75%
of the time.
**********************************************************
A note from Gail (GAIL37):
What a great Labor Day weekend I had! Well, ok... maybe not
the *whole* weekend, but the Sunday part was wonderful! It
started with breakfast with Paul (EXUTE) and his wife. He is
a Utahn, went to the University of Utah (hence his OKB name
Ex-Ute, the name of the football team). He was here for a
college reunion, and get this... NOT of his graduating class,
but of his starting class. Seems all these classmates had
early entry to the U and then graduated at different times.
Kinda cute, huh? Well Paul looks just like his OKB pic, and
we had no trouble picking each other out in the lobby of his
hotel. And yes, Jane, he does resemble Paul Newman, vaguely.
Many of you may know that Paul is a CPA and recently started
his own business. But I found out that he is also an
attorney, having taken the Bar Exam just last year, and passed
on the first try... WELL DONE! "Had to", he said, "at my age
there aren't too many chances to retake it!" His wife is a
delight, and we had a lovely time, til I had to run off to
church and they had to pack up for the trip back to
California.
That afternoon, I got a call from Sara (BELIEVER). She and
Frank (GOLDWING) were in Heber visiting friends and they all
invited me to come up and have dinner at a gourmet restaurant.
Gourmet? in Heber? Heber is a little tiny town about 45
minutes away from me (if you drive the freeway at posted
speeds) most noted for the Heber Creeper, a steam engine train
that takes a short trip thru the area and is quite popular in
the fall with the gorgeous foliage. Well, yes, the restaurant
was gourmet -- I ate way too much and still took some home.
It was a treat to see the Stobbes again, after meeting them in
Toronto. They have been having such a fun trip all over the
western part of the country on a motorcycle!
I'm off to New York now and a fall foliage cruise to Halifax,
Nova Scotia and back to New York. Stops in Boston, Portland,
Sydney and Halifax.... Any OKB'rs out that way?
hugs, Gail
****************************************************************
The Lake Erie Ghost Ship by Richard Pavlicek
It's dusk, as you skim across the murky waters of Lake Erie
in your yacht... and then you see it. Out of the shadowy mist
pops the surreal image of a ghost ship. Your heart pounds, as
you doubt your senses, but your curiosity won't let you retreat.
Instinctively, you cut your engines and drift cautiously along
its port side. You listen... but hear nothing. Do you have
the courage to board?
http://www.rpbridge.net/7x01.htm
All bridge players are invited to participate in this play
contest, which opens October 1 and ends on Halloween.
Come on, take a chance! You might even live to tell about it.
Results of the September bidding poll "Island of the Dinosaurs"
(ending September 30) will be posted October 3.
Quiz: http://www.rpbridge.net/7y01.htm
Scores: http://www.rpbridge.net/7y07.htm
Analyses: http://www.rpbridge.net/7y08.htm
Richard Pavlicek, Dr. of Paranormal Research
Laboratory: http://www.rpbridge.net
********
Do you live in the South Florida area? If so, check out
Richard's schedule of classes for the fall at
http://www.rpbridge.net/psob.htm
I was the lucky winner of a door prize for his live classes,
and I can attest that you will get your money's worth!
You can also find his fall newsletter at that site, full of
puzzles, quizzes and lesson hands. Here's a sample that
I enjoyed and could relate to, a tale about two "full moogals" :)
Zero HCP
Do you like to overbid? Well, listen up! What is the most tricks
declarer could win against best defense with no HCP in either
hand?
Answer
When I first posed this puzzle almost 20 years ago, I thought
the answer was nine. That's a lot of tricks with no points,
but a recent discovery brings new hope to overbidders everywhere.
Dmitri Shabes of Walnut Creek, California came up with this neat
construction:
S 5432
H void
D 98765432
C 2
S QJ S AK
H AKQJT9 H 8765432
D QJT D AK
C QJ C AK
S T9876
H void
D void
C T9876543
Playing in spades, declarer can win 10 tricks against any
defense. Curiously, with a heart lead you can even win 11.
Imagine that. A cold game with no points! That's scary.
Thanks Richard, for entertaining us each month!
****************************************************************
Don't miss the Dear Billy Cyberlive 3!
Billy Miller, professional player, noted teacher and ACBL
Bulletin columnist is known for answering your toughest bridge
questions with expert advice and humor! Present your current
problems to him in our LIVE Forum, and receive a LIVE real-
time response that will be enjoyed by all attending. Billy's
answers are devoted towards improving the bridge game of the
aspiring player. Is that you?
Mark your calendars for Thursday, November 21st 2002 at 6:30
pm!
All OKb members are invited to attend. Bring your question
for Billy (don't be shy!) or just tune in to see what advice
Billy has for other members. Don't miss this chance to have
fun and maybe even learn something at the same time! That
Billy sure is an entertaining fellow..... drop in and see!
*************************************************************
Have a good month, my friends, send me your news, and be sure
to send Sara the story of your OKB names!
Hugs...Janice
*************************************************************
Can't remember if this is a Mentor Cup week or when the next
Fireside session is? Get the complete schedule of events at:
www.firesides.net/whatsup.htm
Bookmark this page, and check back often. You don't want to
miss anything!
For those of you who use a credit card to support Fireside,
it's easy now! Go to:
www.firesides.net/support.htm
********************************************************
Can always trust Colin to come up with a new web page to
enlighten us, even if they do have funny names! This one
deals with the IGITSAP principle, "Is Game In This Suit A
Possibility"
Check it out, and take the short quiz at the end:
www.firesides/net/IGITSAP.htm
Note that IGITSAP must be in CAPS.
And if you haven't had a chance yet, a reminder of the other
quizzes that Colin has developed to enlighten us:
www.firesides.net/staymantest.htm
www.firesides.net/sayctest.htm
www.firesides.net/sarctest.htm
www.firesides.net/spectrumtest.htm
www.firesides.net/bidstest.htm
Give them a try! They are fun and instructive.
**********************************************************
MENTORING SESSIONS
==================
Some of our commentators are offering group mentoring
sessions. This is an easy, fun, and very affordable
way to get both bidding and play instruction with your
partner, friends, or as a single participant. Email
the commentator if you want information on joining
one of the established groups with spots available,
or to discuss a session at your convenience.
Kibitzers are welcome at most sessions.
Watch this spot for future sessions from our other
commentators also!
********************
KALTICA
Colin is currently holding sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Email him for more information.
You can contact Colin at kaltica@mts.net.
********************
POOKA
Was anybody's favorite dwarf Bashful? If so...Pooka offers
a "private" group mentoring session, in a hidden table
format, for those who would prefer a closed setting for
their mentoring sessions. Contact Dann at:
dann-kramer@shaw.ca for more information.
****************************************************
October Events: (All times Pacific)
===============================
NOVICE/MENTOR TOURNEY:
Thursday, October 10, 6:00 P.M. A low-key introduction
to the tourney experience, sponsored by Fifth Chair...
see www.fifthchair.org for more info on this and
their other services, including getting a mentor.
MENTOR CUP TEAM GAME:
Sunday, 5:00 P.M. October 6, and October 20.
See www.firesides.net/mtc.htm for info and lists
of past winners. To get on the mailing list for
this game, email me at moocake@aol.com.
OKSCRIPT SEMINAR:
OKScript seminars are held as demand warrants.
Email Kaltica to schedule a session, usually available
on the same Sunday as the Mentor Cup Game, at 2:30 p.m.
OKScript is an add-on program that saves you many
keystrokes while playing on OKB by sending
prepared text to the table, opps, or lobby at the
push of a button. Try to download the program BEFORE
the seminar by going to www.firesides.net/okscript.htm.
For more information, email Colin at kaltica@mts.net.
FIFTH CHAIR INSTRUCTIONAL EVENTS:
=================================
Interested in getting a mentor to play with you periodically
in your learning of this wonderful game? Please contact
tarsh1@mindspring.com and ask for a mentor.
SAYC Novice Team Game:
Saturdays, at 8:00 a.m. PACIFIC. Newcomers very
welcome! In addition to the team game, there will be
an open table for those waiting to join the team game.
This table will also have a commentator.
2/1 Team Game for intermediate players:
Saturdays, 1:30 p.m. Pacific. Novices are welcome in
spectator mode.
Look for the words FIFTH CHAIR beside the server's name,
in the table notes, to attend either of these sessions
You can also go to the Fifth Chair Foundation webpage:
www.fifthchair.org if you have any bidding questions. After
clicking on the webpage, find the Ask Anything section. Write
an email to Lucy, and she will be most happy to answer your
questions.
********************
Moogal (Janice Kofman) stays busy collecting all sorts
of news about our FireSide family members to share with us.
Please help her out by emailing her any news or stories you
are willing to share with the group.
Janice's email address is moocake@aol.com
================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Another great one from our favorite fishie:
Funny motor insurance claims
"I started to slow down but the traffic was more stationary than
I thought."
Q: Could either driver have done anything to avoid the accident?
A: Traveled by bus?
The claimant had collided with a cow. The questions and answers
on the claim form were - Q: What warning was given by you? A:
Horn. Q: What warning was given by the other party? A: Moo.
"On approach to the traffic lights the car in front suddenly
broke."
"I was going at about 70 or 80 mph when my girlfriend on the
pillion reached over and grabbed my testicles so I lost control."
"I didn't think the speed limit applied after midnight"
"The car in front hit the pedestrian but he got up so I hit him
again"
"I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my
mother-in-law and headed over the embankment."
"The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its
intention."
"I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way"
"A truck backed through my windshield into my wife's face"
"A pedestrian hit me and went under my car"
"In an attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a telephone pole."
"I was on my way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my
universal joint gave way causing me to have an accident."
"An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and
vanished."
"I was thrown from the car as it left the road. I was later found
in a ditch by some stray cows."
"Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a
tree I don't have."
"I thought my window was down, but I found it was up when I put
my head through it."
"The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times
before I hit him."
"I had been driving for forty years when I fell asleep at the
wheel and had an accident."
"As I approached an intersection a sign suddenly appeared in a
place where no stop sign had ever appeared before."
"To avoid hitting the bumper of the car in front I struck a
pedestrian."
"I told the police that I was not injured, but on removing my hat
found that I had a fractured skull."
"I was sure the old fellow would never make it to the other side
of the road when I struck him."
"The pedestrian had no idea which way to run as I ran over him."
"I saw a slow moving, sad faced old gentleman as he bounced off
the roof of my car."
"The indirect cause of the accident was a little guy in a small
car with a big mouth."
"The telephone pole was approaching. I was attempting to swerve
out of the way when I struck the front end."
"I had been learning to drive with power steering. I turned the
wheel to what I thought was enough and found myself in a
different direction going the opposite way."
"No one was to blame for the accident but it would never have
happened if the other driver had been alert."
"The pedestrian ran for the pavement, but I got him."
"The accident occurred when I was attempting to bring my car out
of a skid by steering it into the other vehicle."
================================================
BOB'S BITS
==========
Thinking at Trick One
The bidding reaches game quickly with 1NT - 3NT, and partner
leads our best suit, Hearts.
This is the dummy we see:
S QJT
H 63
D KJT98
C AQ9
And we hold:
S K5
H T7542
D AQ7
C T53
Partner has started the Queen of Hearts, which declarer wins with
the King. It is no surprise that he now leads a Diamond to the
10. Because you are a good defender, you are going to win this
trick, and play back another Heart.
Have we counted the declarer's tricks? Have we allotted the High
Card Points to partner and declarer?
Let's see, declarer has the Ace and King of Hearts, and the Ace
of Spades, so you can bet your last $2 they also have the King
and Jack of Clubs to get up to 15. Boy are we smart, we just
about know every card in the declarers hand!
How many tricks does this give declarer? Well let's consider
that. You can see three sure Clubs, plus the Ace and King of
Hearts is 5, and if he takes the Spade finesse he has eight sure
tricks, maybe even nine should he happen to have four spades that
look like A932, (the 9 is the big card there).
So, if he has that hand he has nine tricks -- rats!-- just when
we had hopes of beating this one. Wait! Do you see a way?
It surely can't cost to win the Diamond trick with the Ace, and
create a false hope. When you return another Heart they will win
it, and there is little doubt which finesse they will take next,
is there? They'll finesse the Diamond, of course! Wouldn't you?
Now you can say, "Whoops! pulled the wrong card last time
partner," scoop up the Queen, and run the Hearts.
Now, if you win the Queen the first time, is there any doubt
which finesse the declarer will try next? None at all, because
if he plays another Diamond he is going down. So, he will play
a Club, and take the Spade hook, making nine tricks when he has
four spades that look like A932.
Well, are we ever glad we thought of this play!
********************
You can email Bob at bobmcphee@hotmail.com
=================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to JustJill for this one:
Betty, the town gossip and self-appointed supervisor of the
town's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's
business.
Most local residents were unappreciative of her activities, but
feared her enough to maintain their silence. However, she made
a mistake when she recently accused Ted, a local man, of being
an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked outside the
town's only bar one afternoon.
Ted, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and walked
away. Later that evening, he parked his pickup truck in front
of her house and left it there all night.
=================================================
TREBLE'S TABLE TALK
==================
Autopsy
One of the customs that I have with my students and partners
is to go over the hands that we've just played at a live or
online bridge game. The main value of discussion process is
to often focus in on an aspect of the hand that one of you
might have "taken a nap" (an expression of my partner Dave
Mclellan's, whereas Kaltica/Colin likes to use the
abbreviation "BD", or brain damage). It may also bring to
light a situation where you had a divergence of opinion on the
bidding, although you MIGHT have thought going in that you had
an established agreement. At any rate, a good, honest and frank
exchange of views on the hands that we've just played
generally allows us to firm up our bidding agreements, and
realize where we might have slipped up so that we DON'T make
the same errors in future sessions. We may goof up on a few
hands in the next game, but they will be new and exciting ways
instead of a repeat of an old movie. :)
A few weeks ago, Marlene Pontifex and I discussed the hands
from our last session at the World Mixed Pairs in Montreal.
After coming very close to qualifying in the first three
sessions, the wheels really came off for us in the
consolation, topped off with a 39% game on the final day.
Now, after a disaster of such monumental proportions, it's
probably not best to have your review of the hands
IMMEDIATELY, as it might just be a bit too painful. So we
waited about three weeks before having a get-together to probe
the reasons for our misfortune. Jan "Moogal" Kofman was
rather incredulous when I spoke with her online and told her
that we were just about to go over the hands. Her comment,
as I best recollect, was "Are you really that intent on
studying a corpse?", meaning that we should just treat the 39%
game as a bad dream and confine it to the dustbins of our
collective memory. I remember, on a somewhat amusing note,
seeing a guy at the Toronto regional who wore a T-Shirt with
the words "-1400 is character-building" emblazoned on the
front along with the picture of a surly-looking bulldog.
Similarly, having the fortitude to wade through the blow-by-
blow details of an absolutely miserable game can provide you
with some insights and some valuable lessons that you can take
to heart and profit from in the long run.
In the course of analyzing the hands, you'll usually find, as
we did here, that the bad results occur for one of five
different reasons:
1) Obvious, or reasonably obvious mistakes
2) More subtle mistakes. These are often a "reflex mechanism"
based on your initial "take" about a hand and making a hasty
bid or play rather than a more thoughtful one.
3) Going OUTSIDE of your agreed system and more importantly,
your normal bidding style. A lot of people have a penchant
for veering outside their usual system agreements. Since in
doing so you are essentially throwing partner a "curveball"
or even worse, the wildly fluttering "knuckleball", this
habit invariably leads to doom and gloom for the white hats.
4) System disasters. That would be a result in which your
bidding agreement prevented you from reaching the optimum
contract. You have to be really careful with these, and not
trash your method right away. Instead, start a "balance
sheet" where you record the gains AND losses achieved by your
stylistic and systemic tendencies. Then, after several
months, you get a feel for whether your methods are efficient
or counter-productive.
5) "Being in the wrong place at the wrong time" The opponents
did something really good, either through skill and good
judgment or just plain luck. Opponents ARE entitled to
play well, and fully deserve a compliment or a simple "well
done" when they get a nice result.
At any rate, in our Montreal game, we saw ALL of these
elements come into play during the session. We begin with a
couple of fairly straightforward mistakes:
Both sides vulnerable, you hold:
S A106
H 10974
D Q843
C 96
The auction goes:
RHO you LHO partner
1D pass pass dbl
2D ?
The holder of this threadbare collection bid 2H, which
normally promises about 6-8 points once your RHO has bid (8-11
if he had PASSED). This landed us in a heart game as the
takeout doublee had: S Q732 H AKQ D J C AQJ32. Granted,
while advancer DOES have six points, the Q of diamonds
opposite likely shortness in partner's hand is NOT really a
working value. For that reason, this hand should pass. That
will go around to another double by partner, still takeout,
and we'll settle in a partial rather than get overboard.
Here is another foulup, this time happening on defense. With
both sides vul again, the auction proceeds:
RHO pard LHO you
pass 1H pass 2H
pass pass 3C dbl
Your hand is:
S 853
H 9643
D KQ72
C K7
The action chosen was double, which is a bit of a gamble with
FOUR-card support for partner. However, there are also two or
three possible defensive tricks opposite a second seat opening
bid, so trying for the magic +200 on a partscore hand is
certainly not unreasonable.
Now for the defense. You lead a fourth-best heart and dummy
appears with:
S QJ9
H Q8
D 10965
C A1098
Partner wins the Jack of hearts, plays the Ace and returns
the EIGHT of diamonds. Your agreement in leading up to
weakness in dummy is to play a LOW card with an honour to
suggest a return of the suit, and to play a HIGH card from
two or more small. Declarer wins the Ace in hand and now
plays a club to dummy's ten, partner winning the Queen and
returning the 4 of diamonds as declarer plays low. You take
the Queen of diamonds, and now? What happened at the table
was an attempted cash of the K of diamonds. Declarer ruffed,
drew trumps and eventually discarded a spade on the 10 of
diamonds, making three. Two points of interest here.
First, the diamond winner is unlikely to go away since there
is no real source of tricks on dummy. So you can play a
waiting game and NOT try and cash the potential winner
immediately. The other clue is partner's play of the ACE on
the second round of hearts, when partner is known to have the
King as well. Besides hir carding in the diamond suit, partner
can also send a message in WHICH card is played of the
remaining top hearts. Given that pard could have played the
King of hearts, the Ace SHOULD imply strong interest in a
spade shift rather than a diamond continuation, despite the
imposing looking holding of QJ9 on dummy. Opener in fact had
K10xx of spades and declarer Axx, and playing back a spade
will always ensure defeating the contract since partner has
the critical 10 of spades, which hir suit-preference Ace of
hearts has implied.
Now for a missed opportunity in the bidding that seemed like
a straightforward decision at the time. You as opener hold:
S A3
H KJ1062
D Q54
C A72
The bidding proceeds:
You Partner
1H 2D
2NT 3H
?
Partner's 2D response was game-forcing. According to Fast
Arrival principles, 3H is therefore stronger than 4H and
responder should have at least mild slam interest. At the
table, our minimum opener bid 4H, ending the auction. Partner
had:
S Q
H A53
D AJ8762
C AQ5
Slam is best in the 6-3 diamond fit. LHO will show out on
the second round of diamonds, leaving us with a trump loser.
It now depends on a heart guess, but you might as well play
off the three club winners first, and you'll find out that
lefty started with only one diamond and two clubs, thus making
hir for length in hearts and making the decision of which way
to finesse a lot easier.
Opener "reflexed" a 4H bid without considering the positive
features of the hand. Yes, it's a minimum. But the hearts
are reasonably good and opener knows there is also a double
fit, something that responder cannot be certain of. On the
minus side, the K of clubs is not guaranteed to be a full
working card. There are ENOUGH plusses, however, that I think
opener should offer up a courtesy 3S bid. NOW partner will
cuebid back with 4C, and EVERY one of opener's high card
values will now be golden. As opener, I MIGHT now bid 4D,
because even though pard lacks a diamond control, how bad can
Qxx in partner's long suit be? That would now get our side to
the reasonable 6D contract on this auction:
You Partner
1H 2D
2NT 3H
3S 4C
4D 4NT
5H (two KCs) 6D (choice of slams)
pass
Now for a couple of hands in which we deviated from our
system agreements. Our style in opening a minor suit with
11-12 points is to open with seven or fewer losers, and PASS
with eight or more losers. Consider the following two hands,
then, bearing this agreement in mind:
S Q1054
H 76
D AQ5
C K964
S QJ10
H KQ95
D 764
C A92
The first hand has seven losers (using the "optimistic" count
that Kaltica so fervently dislikes). Two in spades, two in
hearts, one in diamonds, two in clubs. According to our style,
then, it's worth a 1C opening bid. Note also that we have an
easy spade rebid. The second hand is one point more, but the
loser-count situation is quite nauseating. Two in spades, one
in hearts, three in diamonds, two in clubs, eight in all. So
we'd normally pass the second hand as it has too many losers.
So what happened? The FIRST hand was passed, resulting in
+100 defending 2S by the opponents when a notrump partial or
game is on for us. The SECOND hand was opened, leading to a
4H game that had a loser in every suit for down one, as
partner forces to game with hir 12 HCP and four-card heart
support. If we had simply remained true to our requirements
for minor suit opening bid, we'd have two very good scores in
our pockets from these hands. Instead, we deviated from our
stated agreements and had another two poorish scores instead.
Now for a hand from the "system disaster" category.
Opener:
S AK1062
H 5
D AQ9
C KQ87
Responder
S 975
H J72
D J1074
C A95
The auction went:
Opener LHO Responder RHO
1S 2H pass pass
dbl pass 2S pass
pass pass
Marlene and I play that a FREE 2S raise in competition by
responder shows around 8-9 points, or 7 that you REALLY like.
We actually picked up this idea from Kaltica and Moogal (curse
them!). This led to a problem on this hand, since with
negative doubles a reopening double by opener may be simply a
courtesy with shortness in the enemy suit but no appreciable
extra values, to allow for a penalty pass of the overcall in
responder's hand. Therefore, responder couldn't do much other
than bid 2S, and it wasn't 100% clear for opener to make a
further game try and risk a minus score at the three-level.
So we languished in 2S making FIVE. Actually, game basically
only requires a 3-2 trump break, as declarer can play off two
spade winners, leave the remaining trump out and then ruff a
club if that suit fails to break evenly.
Now there is a GAIN to be had from playing sound raises in
competition, when your side is able to score pluses where the
aggressive raisers are taking minuses in the partscore hands.
So I will be keeping a record of the gains and losses from
this particular divergence in bidding style from what people
usually play and do an evaluation a few months down the road.
When you are trying something new and different, never jump
off the bandwagon TOO early without giving it a fair shake.
However, do keep a ledger of the results of your
experimentation with new methods, and when you assess the
bottom line it might then have to go in the junk heap.
However, ONE hand will not determine the ultimate soundness of
a particular convention or treatment. If a negative trend
develops over the course of 20-30 hands, THEN you should take
another look.
Finally, a couple of the "wrong place at the wrong time"
hands. On one of them, my RHO picked up:
S K
H void
D A10976
C AKJ10865
2H by RHO, so this hand just bid a direct 6C. No problem,
ace partner has three clubs AND the Kx of diamonds. Clubs
broke 2-1 and diamonds 3-3, so slam easily came home.
In a similar vein, you as opener hold:
S KJ
H 8
D A32
C KJ87653
You open 1C, LHO overcalls 1H, pard bids 1S and righty jumps
to 3H, showing a limit raise. Now both sides are vul and
partner seems to be marked for a minimum response. This hand
passed 3H, reasonably enough, as a free 4C bid is REALLY
pushing the envelope. But of course partner lets them have it
for 3H, and has just the right minimum response to allow a
club rebid to succeed:
S 97532
H 76
D KJ108
C A4
At any rate, you probably now have the flavour of how our
game plummeted to the depths as the afternoon went on. Still,
I enjoyed myself immensely in Montreal, playing against some
of the world's best, and I know it was quite a thrill for
Marlene as well. And there IS value in revisiting the scene
of the crime, where and you'll notice from the hands described
that most of the wounds were self-inflicted. From the ashes
of yesterday's defeat lay the seeds of tomorrow's victory. The
next time Marlene and I played, we had a scintillating round
at the ACBL Instant Matchpoints game on September 12.
I hope you enjoyed the tour, and we'll see you back in the
FireSide Chat in November.
********************
You can write to Wintaka (Bill Treble) at: bbtreble@mts.net
You will find Bill doing his FireSide sessions on Saturdays
at 11:00 A.M. OKbridge time.
Wintaka and Kaltica present classes on:
SAYC (Rainbow Series)
2/1 (Spectrum series)
Precision (Prism Series)
and other selected bridge topics (Kaleidoscope series).
They also offer private/group lessons and/or supervised play
sessions. Email Bill (bbtreble@mts.net) or Colin
(kaltica@mts.net) for more information.
================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to BobW for these giggles:
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear
bright until you hear them speak.
A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.
The things that come to those who wait are usually the things
left by those who got there first.
Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.
Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how it remains so
popular?
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
It is hard to understand how a cemetery raised its burial cost
and blamed it on the cost of living.
The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting
something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.
It is said that if you line up all the cars in the world end to
end, someone would be stupid enough to try and pass them.
You can't have everything ... where would you put it?
Everybody lies, but it doesn't matter since nobody listens.
===================================================
AND FINALLY KALTICA
===================
Two Fun Tourney Hands
A "phantom" sacrifice is one which is made against
a game of theirs which does not happen to make. A "bad"
sacrifice is one which happens to go for more than their
game would have been worth.
Few players make as many "bad" sacrifices as I
do at IMPs. -500 loses 2 IMPs against -420 or -450.
If they are vulnerable, -800 loses 4 or 5 IMPs against
the -620 or -650 for their game. At Matchpoints, it
is a losing proposition whenever our "bad" and our
phantom sacrifices outnumber our "good" ones. At IMPs,
though, things are not quite so simple.
Many players look at the -500 versus -420 or
-800 versus -620 and shake their heads.
"Tsk, tsk," they chide, "you shouldn't be making
such close sacrifices in the first place. No excuse
for bad sacs at IMPs!"
On the face of it, they are right. -420 vs -300
will gain us only 3 while -420 vs -500 will cost us 2
IMPs. -500 vs -620 will save us the same 3 IMPs while
going for -800 against -620 will lose 5 IMPs. This
looks like a fairly even trade until we factor in the
chance that their game might not make. Now the balance
clearly tips against such aggressive defensive bidding.
Thus ends the conventional argument.
This consensus fails to take into account these
two real life considerations:
1. OCCASIONALLY the sacrifice MAKES!
2. Sometimes the sacrifice pushes them into
something that doesn't make their way.
These possibilities act as a counterbalance to
the phantom sacrifice factor. There is also a
psychological effect, as you pressure the opponents
with more high level decisions. Many pairs have
fallen apart after one player eschewed +800 in favour
of -100 by bidding on over "bad" sacrifices.
Another advantage to such "wild" defensive
bidding is that, en route to making sacrifices,
we can often throw in a lead directing or psychic
"in-between" bid. Here is a trick that I learned
from our very own Billy "Wintaka" Treble:
IMPs North Board 1 09-05-02 11:00
Dlr: North Moogal
Vul: None S Q5 south west north east
H 7 Kaltica LHO Moogal RHO
D AQ8754
C Q1054 pass 1H
West East 2C 4C 4D! 4H
4S 5H (all pass)
S K1064 S AJ82
H K65432 H AQJ98 Opening Lead: DT
D KJ3 D 96 Result: -1
C C 96 Score: -50,
South IMPs: +7.52 for N-S
Kaltica
S 973 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
H 10 S DT 2 C8 T 7 3 9 J
D 102 W J 3 K 2 H3-S4 T H4
C AKJ8732 N Q-DA-D8 7 5 5 Q-C4
E 9 6 HJ-HA-C6 A-S2 9
4D was lead directing, showing Club support.
While it warned me NOT to sacrifice, I knew that
ANY Club support turns my hand to mush on defence.
I was about to bid 5C when I switched gears and
threw in "Wintaka inspired" 4S. East declared 5H.
After losing two Diamonds (thanks to Moogal's
excellent 4D call) Declarer drew trumps, played
S-Ace and then CONFIDENTLY finessed to the S-10.
Down one!
"Incredible," my RHO said to me privately
after the hand. "I am the only bridge player in
history to lose a MARKED finesse!" :)
Speaking of Wintaka, he and his student
partner, Sue Ann "Sam143" Moore, stung Irmgard
"Ulli3" Wagner and me for a huge number on the
first board. The auction went:
Billy Irmgard Sue Ann Colin
1H Pass 3C! Dble
4H Pass Pass 4S
Dble Pass Pass Pass
As soon as I bid 4S Sue Ann remarked:
"I guess someone must have dealt Colin a
three card Spade suit!"
LOL! Sure enough, I held:
S- A107
H- void
D- Q942
C- KJ9532
Sticks and wheels (i.e. minus 1100).
Sheesh. You'd think I had a reputation for
this kind of thing! :)
Next deal we responded with this effort:
IMPs North Board 14 09-15-02 11:00
Dlr: East Ulli3
Vul: None S KT74 West North East South
H 6 Wintaka Ulli3 Sam143 Kaltica
D JT984
C 972 pass 1D
West East 1S 3D pass 6D
Wintaka Sam143 (all pass)
S AJ98652 S Q3
H K7 H J98543 Opening Lead: CK
D D 72 Result: +6
C KQT8 C 543 Score: 920
South IMPs: 6.64
Kaltica
S 1 2 3 4
H AQT2 W CK-C8 7 K
D AKQ653 N 2 7 6 D4
C AJ6 E 3 4 4 3
S 6 J-HA-H2
3D was pre-emptive, but the odds of a rounded
suit singleton seemed good. I took a shot at 6D.
Upon seeing the C-King lead I decided that I rather
liked having Billy on lead. So I ducked it. A
full minute goes by as we wait for Billy's expected
trump exit. Without a Diamond, of course, he is
endplayed at trick two!
"Billy? You there?" I asked privately.
"Yup," he retorted. "I'm just rifling through
the last hand to see if I can borrow a Diamond." :)
**********************
You'll find Kaltica (Colin Ward) doing his FireSide
sessions on Friday evenings at 5:30 P.M. OKbridge time.
Kaltica and Wintaka present classes on:
SAYC (Rainbow Series)
2/1 (Spectrum series)
Precision (Prism Series),
and other selected bridge topics (Kaleidoscope series).
They also offer private/group lessons and/or supervised
play sessions. Email Colin (kaltica@mts.net) or
Bill (bbtreble@mts.net) for more information.
=====================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to MQ26 for this giggle:
Grandpa and Grandma were visiting the kids overnight, when
Grandpa found a bottle of Viagra in his son's medicine
cabinet. He asked the son about using one of the pills, and
the son said "I don't think you should take one; they're
very strong and very expensive." "How much?" asked Grandpa.
$10.00 a pill answered the son. "I don't care," said
Grandpa, "I'd like to try one, and I'll leave the money
under your pillow as soon as I break this $50.00 bill." The
next morning the son found $110.00 under his pillow. He
said to Grandpa, "I told you each pill was $10.00, not
$110.00." "I know," said Grandpa. "The hundred is from
Grandma."
========================================================