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Fireside Chat
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FIRESIDE CHAT MARCH 2003
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome and Announcements
Believer's FireSide Kindling
Bidding with Bridgboy
Guido's Really Important Stuff
Hand of the Month
Mezzie Lends a Hand
Dealing With Dann
Special Treats
Moogal's FireSide Log
Treble's Table Talk
And Finally Kaltica
=======================================
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hi all!
Welcome to the March, 2003 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 5:00 P.M.* BRIDGBOY
TUE 11:00 A.M. BRIDGBOY
TUE 5:30 P.M. MEZZIE
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/FREDW3
Commentators may change without notice,
according to their availability.
(*starts 1/2 hour earlier on Monday night)
*******************
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) 2003 by FireSide Chat.
All rights reserved.
===============================================
BELIEVER'S FIRESIDE KINDLING
============================
Hi :-)
Happy March! Spring is just around the corner, and I
am SO ready for it this year. I need some sunshine, to
hear the birds chirping, and the wonderful smells of
rain, flowers blooming, and grass growing. I am looking
forward to that feeling of renewal this year more than
ever -- it's been a tough few months here for my family.
Thanks to all of you for your good wishes, your prayers,
and your support while my son was so very ill. After a
major operation, he's doing better now -- it'll be a
while before he's back to 'normal', but it's good to
watch him heal and get stronger.
I also want to thank all of the volunteers who emailed
me in response to my plea for more table managers, and
subs. I will be in touch with all of you -- and hopefully
most of you will want to join our group. My apologies
for not communicating sooner or better, but I just ran
out of steam.
Some neat stuff in this month's newsletter (as always!) --
be sure to check out our "Special Treats" column, as Alex
(Gaus271) has written another wonderful article for our
enjoyment.
Also -- it's that time again! Our second annual FireSide
Gator Tournament is just around the corner -- be sure to
check it out in Moogal's FireSide Log this month. Also
a couple of new, neat features from Kaltica -- try the
links to the newest useful and fun toys Colin has provided
for us, also found in Moogal's column.
A couple of reminders about the FireSide sessions.
When the FireSide table is first served, seating is
first come, first seated. It's ok for the first round
to join the table and "grab" a seat. After that, please
join the table and go right to spec mode, where the
table manager will be happy to schedule you to bid in
the first availble spot. Just be aware that the spots
do tend to fill up fast, and we seat you in the order that
we receive your requests (usually privately, most of our
conversations are carried out "in red"). I know that in
some of the sessions that I work, I sometimes have
4 or 5 rounds filled within the first 10 minutes or so.
Please be patient with the table manager -- we do our
best to respond to everyone, seat those who wish to bid,
and help the commentator however we can. Some days we
might not be as "on the ball" as other days -- please
bear with us as we do our best to seat bidders in the
order of their requests.
Lastly, I want to thank our commentators for their dedication
and caring. The show up week after week, gently prodding at
us -- reminding us of basics we should surely remember by now!
-- guiding us toward a time where we can apply those basics
with knowledge and confidence. Please, let them know how
special we think they are. Remember that they like to be
told they done good, too, just like we do! Remember also,
when you are thinking of taking private lessons, paying a
professional to play tourneys with you, getting involved in
a group session mentoring program... most, if not all, of
our commentators and contributors to this newsletter are
available for those services. Show them how much you
appreciate their efforts by continuing to learn from them...
and how pleasant to take lessons from someone who's already
a friend thru the FireSide Bidding Practice sessions!
Take care everybody -- hope to see you soon at FireSide!
Sara
********************
You can write to Believer (Sara Stobbe) at:
sarastobbe@aol.com
============================================
GIGGLE BREAK
We've gotten this one from several of you already,
including BRinker, Curls, and MaxJ! Thanks, to all
of you who shared it.
ABOUT BRIDGE IN ONE POEM
With 14 or more points, I'm required to speak
and mention a suit that is not very weak.
With 5 card or longer, I need not be cute,
I will merely open with one of that suit.
But with a four-card major, ah, there's a rub
I know I must open, so I'll say "one club."
With 16 - 18, one No Trump will do,
and with 21 or more, I'll open with two.
When the opponents have opened, now I have trouble
I have an opening bid, and I say so by "double."
If the opponents have opened my back's to the wall,
I have good points and length so I must overcall.
My partner has opened, and I'm in a fix
Because I must pass with less points than six.
But if my count is six points to ten,
I must respond once, but need not again.
Now 11 to 12 points is pretty nice,
I will plan to respond not once, but twice.
With 13 or more points, I would be to blame
If I let the bid end before we reach game.
=================================================
BIDDING WITH BRIDGBOY
=====================
Love That Fit!
Finding a fit should be of the utmost priority when
we bid!
There is nothing more frustrating than each partner
fighting to declare the contract in his own suit, raising the
level higher and higher until your side is way overboard and
the bidding has spiraled out of control! Misfits can be
diagnosed early if handled gently. Someone has to
end the craziness and pass!
Likewise when a good fit exists, we can upgrade and seem to
overbid to a successful final contract. Let us look at that
concept now.
We pick up this collection:
S KJx
H Jxxxxx
D KQx
C x
and hear partner start with 1S-p-? .
Fortunately we are not playing 2/1 Game Forcing or SAYC
so we can comfortably bid 2H planning on a spade preference next.
(Assume you and your partner have an agreement that
a limit raise requires four trumps, so that a two over one
response and then a raise of spades to the three level shows
10-12 and three spades in your particular system.)
When we go to the two level as responder we should have both
that bid and our next bid that we promise ready. Partner now
bids 3D, showing extra values and game forcing . We take
our preference and bid 3S. Next we hear partner bid 4C. Now
it is time to reevaluate!
Partner has not only made a strong bid but has now made a
slam try! How much do we like our hand now? As the poem
goes: "How do I love thee, let me count the ways!" First, I have
great fitting honors in both of partner's long suits, namely
spades and diamonds! Second I have the stiff club so we have no
further club losers. And, lastly, the more partner has denied
any heart support the better I love my hand. Partner has heart
shortness and that suits me fine! Stop and picture any hand you
want partner to have, and give him at least 17 HCP and you will
see how nicely our two hands fit. We do not have terrible
duplication of values in the heart suit and I have perfect fit
in both his suits. If he can make a slam try with 4C clubs and I
hold the perfect fillers for his suits in diamonds and spades, I
must make sure we get to slam. Over 4C, I would jump to 5S
and leave the rest up to him.
By the way, his hand was:
S A10982
H void
D A1082
C AK3
7S is on a spade guess. Nicely bid partner! Love that fit!
********************
You can find Bridgboy (Bob Lavin) doing his FireSide
sessions on Monday evenings at 5:00 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
Thanks to PKV for this giggle:
THE ULTIMATE RESPONSE TO A DEAR JOHN LETTER:
An Army Ranger was deployed to Afghanistan. While he
was stationed there he received a letter from his
girlfriend. In the letter she wrote that she had slept
with two guys while he has been gone, she wanted to
break up and requested that he send back her picture.
The soldier did what any squared away soldier would do.
He went around to all his buddies and collected all the
unwanted photographs of women. He then mailed about
twenty five of the pictures to his girlfriend with the
following note: "I'm sorry I can't remember which one
you are, but please take the one that belongs to you
and send the rest back."
=====================================================
GUIDO'S REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF
==============================
When Fashions Change
Bridge is very fashion conscious. No, certainly not the way
the average bridge player dresses, but bidding styles,
conventions, and treatments. Throughout much of the world, but
particularly in North America and France (united on bidding
systems if little else), the use of five-card majors,
unlimited openings, and strong No Trump openings predominate.
The Poles use a similar approach except for their multi-
meaning One Club opening (a very interesting technique, but
I'm saving Polish Club for another month). Saner parts of the
world (not that I have any preconceived notions) use a Weak No
Trump opening, while the truly enlightened combine a Weak No
Trump with four-card majors. But, fashions do change. In North
America, many strong One No Trump openings look more like 14
to 16 than 15-17. This is because of another trend: opening
light. If you routinely open moth-eaten balanced eleven
counts, your No Trump ladder gets ugly with 15-17 1NT openings
(11 to 14 is too wide for comfort if it includes ugly 11's and
excellent 14's).
The earliest system of bridge bidding was the Vanderbilt Club
(1C strong, artificial, and forcing, four-card majors, strong
1NT). The Schenken Club, popular awhile back, is almost
exactly the same as Vanderbilt's (Vanderbilt is credited with
inventing Contract Bridge, by the way). The most famous of the
Blue Team's systems was also based on a strong, forcing 1C
opening. The biggest boost to a strong club came with C.C.
Wei's Precision Club. It combined a strong, forcing club (16+
hcp) with five-card majors and a weakish (13-15) 1NT opening.
Strong club systems have fallen out of favor. Many of the best
players in the world still use them and, as the title
suggests, sooner or later they will come back into style.
So, let's take a look at strong club systems in general and
see if we can determine their strong and weak points.
1. Limit other openings. Strong club systems are often best
when 1C is NOT opened. If 1C starts with 16 hcp, then all
other (perhaps all others except 2N or all but 2D) show less
than 16 hcp. This tight range (11-15 hcp) makes responder's
life much easier. Also opener can jump to show a good playing
hand without overstating his high card values. All of this
amounts to a big plus for strong club systems.
2. Club suit. Since 1C is not available for normal 1C
openings, other ways must be found to handle minimum hands
with clubs. Usually 2C is used, but that requires a decent
club suit. Often this means that 1D becomes rather nebulous
since it often has to cover diamond hands, all balanced hands
not suitable for 1NT and some or many of the club hands. This
is a major negative.
3. Very strong hands. Really, there is not much to choose
here. If one opens 1C planning to jump (forcing) in standard
strong club system it is just about the same as opening a SAYC
2C and rebidding a suit. If one strengthens the handling of
very strong hands by treating 1C-1D(negative), with 1H as a
strong relay, you gain lots of extra room, but make handling
vanilla strong heart hands more difficult. A slight advantage
to strong clubbers.
4. NT ladder. Strong club systems can make the NT ladder
tighter and that is a good thing. Let's say your partnership
opens moth-eaten eleven counts. Your NT ladder probably
looks something like:
1m-1Z;1N: 11-14
1N: 15-17
1m-1Z;2N: 18-19
2N: 20-21
2C-2D;2N: 22-24
One possible ladder for strong clubbers:
1D-1M;1N: 11-13
1N: 14-16
1C-1D;1N: 17-19
1C-1D;2N: 20-21
2N: 22-23
The ladder is a bit tighter and the bidding often stays
lower. A slight advantage to strong clubbers.
5. Normal strong unbalanced hands (something like 16 to 19
HCP). If the opponents stay out, the strong clubbers will have
an advantage over time. However, the opponents are quite free
to jam things up when you open a strong club. Game their way
is quite unlikely, so they can dedicate most of their calls to
eating up room and confusing the issue. I am not sure who
comes out ahead here. Probably the strong club wins when the
opponents are vulnerable (so that they can't go too wild) and
loses when the opponents are not vulnerable. This means,
however, that when you play against a strong club pair and
they open 1C, get in there and mess about. If you do not, you
are giving the opponents a major advantage.
All this leads me by a serpentine route (as usual) to several
points. First, know your opponents' methods. Know the weak
spots and exploit them. As a more detailed example, the Ian-
Guido show uses a strong club, so normally you want to get in
there and disrupt us. However, a double helps us quite a bit,
a 1D overcall helps us a little and a 1H overcall is neutral.
Unless fourth hand (your partner) can jam us with a jump
raise, you are more likely to help us rather than your side by
making such low level overcalls. Overcalls of 1S and higher
do, indeed, hurt us.
Know your opponents. How prepared are your opponents for
various forms of attack? Some are obviously better prepared
than others. Some are more aggressive than others. Some are
willing to double on speculation, others want a sure thing. If
you suspect your opponents are ill-prepared for oddball stuff,
try a little oddball stuff. If they are strong clubbers, use
one of the mystery overcall schemes over their big bid. CRaSH
is popular (several flavors, one is: X: two suits, same Color;
1D: two suits, same Rank; 1NT: two suits, same Shape (hence
CRaSH); other bids are natural. Another interesting approach
and a great name for a convention is Wonder Bids: any non-jump
suit shows either the suit bid or the other three suits
(everyone wonders what he has). For the truly insane there are
things like Amsbury (overcall shows one of THREE different
hands) and Ian Crash (don't ask).
If your opponents know what they are doing, however, you are
probably better off simply trying to get the bidding up to the
three level as quickly as possible. So, against these players,
it is probably best to use an approach in which overcaller's
suit(s) are known immediately.
Of course, all this also means that it helps to know what YOU
are doing. Many pairs use Bergen Raises (1M-3C: limit raise
with 4 card support; 1M-3D: single raise strength with 4 card
support -- some reverse the meaning of 3C and 3D). Do you know
what your partner means if the bidding goes (you are second
hand): (1S)-P-(3D)-X? Is partner making a take-out bid of
hearts? Is he showing a diamond overcall? Is it a lead
directing call only? Similarly, assume the opponents are
playing Fit-Drury (2C in response by a passed hand to one of a
major opening shows a good raise). Is your partner's double of
2C a take-out of the opened major or does it show clubs? I
have my own preferences, of course, but more important (here
we go again; I say this every month) than the exact nature of
your agreement is that you HAVE an agreement.
********************
You can email Guido at: paulfriedman@attbi.com
================================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to BobW for this one:
More Imponderables
When an agnostic dies, does he go to the "great perhaps"?
Do you think Houdini ever locked his keys in his car?
If procrastinators had a club, would they ever have a meeting?
If the No. 2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still No. 2?
Have you ever wondered why just one letter makes all the
difference between here and there?
When you go into a hotel, you always see reception. Why do
you never just see ception?
If time heals all wounds, how come the belly button stays the
same?
If a lawyer and an IRS agent were both drowning, and you could
only save one of them, would you go to lunch or read the
paper?
Isn't it strange that the same people who laugh at gypsy
fortune tellers take economists seriously?
If genetic scientists crossed a chicken with a zebra, would
they get a four-legged chicken with its own bar code?
If practice makes perfect, and nobody's perfect, why practice?
Why is there always one in every crowd?
Who decided "Hotpoint" would be a good name for a company that
sells refrigerators?
How do you know when it's time to tune your bagpipes?
================================================================
HAND OF THE MONTH
=================
(A huge 'thank you' to Gail Wix for all her hard work putting
this together for us! We couldn't do this without her help!)
From The 2003 Daily Bridge Calendar. For more information
call 1-888-453-1976, or email: calendar@interlog.com
********************
Vul: N/S North
Dlr: S S 64
H 7652
D 96
C KQ754
South
S AK5
H AKJ
D AT53
C A63
West North East South
2NT*
P 3NT All Pass
*22-24
Opening Lead... SQ
Most of us would be happy to accept a 90% chance at every
contract we declare. Suppose you're South and win the first
spade. You lead a Club to dummy's CQ and return a heart to
finesse with the HJ.
Your chances for nine tricks are about 90%: you'll succeed
when clubs break 3-2, when East has the HQ or when the hearts
break 3-3.
Are you satisfied with your 90% play?
S 64
H 7652
D 96
C KQ754
S QJT9 S 8732
H QT83 H 94
D K872 D QJ4
C 8 C JT92
S AK5
H AKJ
D AT53
C A63
Contract 3NT Lead: SQ
********************
West took South's HJ with the HQ and led another spade.
South won and cashed the HA and HK, but East showed out.
South then tried the CA and found it was the tenth time:
West showed out, and South could get only eight tricks.
South had about a 99% play. At the second trick he cashes the
CA. If both defenders follow, South plays low from dummy on
the next club to make sure of four club tricks.
If East has all five missing clubs, South wins the second club in
dummy and finesses with the HJ. If the finesse loses, he can
still try for a 3-3 heart break. (If West follows to the CA,
South's chances are really near 100% since West might have led a
club if he had five clubs.)
You may think a 9% difference isn't worth worrying about, but
wouldn't it be nice if we could earn an extra 9% interest on our
bank accounts?
********************
Hand and analysis by Frank Stewart, courtesy of the
Daily Bridge Calendar, published by Ashlar House Inc.,
Brampton, ON, Canada. Reprinted with permission.
(Special thanks to Lee Daugherty and Dann Kramer.)
===================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
This giggle from Luc:
Pressure
This older man was on the operating table
awaiting surgery and he insisted that his
son, a renowned surgeon, perform the operation.
As he was about to receive the anesthesia he
asked to speak to his son.
"Yes Dad, what is it?"
"Don't be nervous, son, do your best and just
remember, if it doesn't go well, if something
happens to me ... your mother is going to come
and live with you and your wife...."
====================================================
DEALING WITH DANN
==================
Two Suited Hands, Part II
Last month we talked about bidding two-suited hands, and some
basic responses and rebids.
On the other side of the coin are REVERSES! Here our first bid
suit is lower ranking, AND longer than our second suit!
Here are some examples:
S AKTx
H Kxx
D AQJxx
C x
With less distribution (say 5422) I'd be nervous reversing, but
this does fit most folks reverse picture.
S KT9xx
H AQJ9xx
D Ax
C void
This is as about as light as it gets. 1H followed by 2S and 3S.
This gets the 5-6 across to partner and suggests pick a major
suit game.
Note: without good spots and a control rich hand we won't
reverse. Instead, treat the hand as 5-5 For example:
S QJxxx
H AQxxxx
D K
C Q
I'd open 1s and rebid a quiet 2h here. We want a fit before we
get too goofy, even though the HCP's are "the same" as the last
example.
Also, with good hands but not good suits we don't want to
reverse. This will help responder immensely in placing the
contract.
S KQ
H KTxx
D Ax
C AJxxx
Here I'd open 1H to allow a 2c call after either 1NT or 1S and
avoid exciting partner till we get a better idea of where the
partnership belongs.
For a reverse, there are no restrictions on suit length as long
as the opening suit is longer than the second suit.
S AQT9
H x
D Kx
C AKJTxx
This is a nice playing hand and if the auction went 1C-1NT then
we have a happy 2S call!
The reason for good suits for the reverse is so that partner will
know that low honors are good cards in either of your bid suits.
Queens/jack's/tens are usually a nice filler, and only Ace/King's
are of any value in the other suits. If partner has points but
no Aces/Kings in the side suits then we can stop in 3NT, without
worrying about missing slam.
Both the jump bid and the reverse take up our space in an
auction -- preempting ourselves if you will -- so its important
that we pass along a lot of good info to partner when we are
taking away our own auction space!
Next month -- an advanced toy for you to try!
As usual, Happy Bridging All!
*******************
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
Who is this Somebody?
Somebody said a mother is an unskilled laborer....
Somebody never gave a squirmy infant a bath.
Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal
after you've had a baby....
Somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, "normal"
is history.
Somebody said being a mother is boring....
Somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a
driver's permit.
Somebody said if you're a "good" mother, your child will "turn
out ok"....
Somebody thinks a child is like a bag of plaster of Paris
that comes with directions, a mold and a guarantee.
Somebody said "good" mothers never raise their voices...
Somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her
child wind up and hit a golf ball through the neighbor's
kitchen window.
Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother...
Somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math
Somebody said you can't love the fifth child as much as you
love the first...
Somebody doesn't have five children.
Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-
rearing questions in the books....
Somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose.
Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and
delivery....
Somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus for the
first day of kindergarten.
Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets
married....
Somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-
in-law to a mother's heartstrings.
Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child
leaves home....
Somebody never had grandchildren.
Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't
need to tell her....
Somebody isn't a mother.
===================================================
SPECIAL TREATS
==============
We are lucky again this month to feature an article by Alex
(Gaus271) on hand evaluation. I think at this rate, we'll
need to change the name of this column to "The Perils of Alex"!
Thank you, Alex. Great stuff!
********************
HAND EVALUATION
IV.) LOSING TRICK COUNT
Although some experts disagree, the losing trick method of
evaluation works best when the opponents have been silent and it
is clear that you should play in a suit contract. When you have a
minor suit fit, however, your best chance for game may be in no
trump, and losing trick count does not work well for no trump. In
short, 95% of the time that losing trick count is useful is when
you and partner have a KNOWN fit in a MAJOR suit AND the
opponents have NOT bid.
Of all the standardized methods of hand evaluation, losing trick
count is probably least well known among intermediate players.
Consequently, we shall approach it in stages.
A.) How to Do It (The Basics)
The basic process of using the losing trick count is simple: in
fact, it is very similar to the process you use with points. The
first step is to count your losing tricks (just as you do with
points.) Counting losing tricks is even easier than counting
points. There are two basic rules:
Rule #1: If a suit has more than 3 cards, the fourth highest and
any lower are NOT losers.
Rule #2: Aces, kings, and queens are NOT losers.
Let's try a few examples; count the losers in the suits below:
a) 52
b) J109
c) 5432
d) A2
e) KQ732
The answers are:
a.) 2,
b.) 3,
c.) 3,
d.) 1, and
e.) 1.
There are some refinements that are useful, adjustments, just as
there are in the point count, but even the adjustments are
simpler for losing trick count than for point count.
The second step is again similar to what you are used to with the
point count. You estimate your partner's losing tricks based on
the bidding so far. This too is very easy. It is summarized in
the table below.
Range of Losing Tricks Hand is Worth
0 to 4 Opening 2C
5 to 7 Opening at Level of 1
8 to 10 Able to Respond But NOT to Open
And now for the final step. You combine your known loser count
with partner's estimated loser count. A combined count of 14
justifies a major suit game; a combined count of 13 justifies a
minor suit game; a combined count of 12 means you may have a
small slam, and a combined count of 11 means you may have a grand
slam. This is simple to remember: winners = 24 minus combined
losers.
Given that the method is so similar to the point count method
that we all know, why bother with it?
One reason is that the point count method has ambiguities. If you
have a 10-point hand and support for partner's opening major, you
can make a limit raise to 3, or you can make a weak raise to 2.
How do you decide? The losing trick count will give you a
different perspective, thereby allowing you to make a richer
decision. So one way to use loser count is whenever the point
count method indicates a close decision.
Another reason is that the point count was originally designed to
help bid no trump. You need to make numerous adjustments to the
point count when considering a suit contract. You are to adjust
for honors in suits that partner has bid, for any absence of
aces, for length, for shortness, and for extra length in the
trump suit. After all those adjustments, you are then supposed to
assess the quality of your points. Most of us forget at least one
of the adjustments, and most of us are uncertain how to assess
quality. There are adjustments in the losing trick method as
well, but they are fewer and far more commonsensical. If this
argument appeals to you, you can use losing trick count for all
non-competitive major suit contracts and to diagnose minor suit
slams.
B.) How to Use It
Once you know that you and partner have a fit in a major suit,
you still have to decide how high to play: partial, game, or
slam.
Note that the normal losing trick count for an opening hand spans
3 tricks and that the hands that are worth a response but not an
opening also span 3 tricks. This makes it very simple to classify
hands as being minimum, intermediate, or maximum. You bid
accordingly.
The two most common situations when it is known that a major suit
fit exists are when responder can support opener's initial major
suit and when opener can support responder's initial major suit.
We shall look at a small sample of the examples possible in each
situation.
C.) Opener's Initial Major
In SAYC, there are various bids available when responder can
support opener's initial major suit, but if we ignore the weak
leap to game and the difficulties of responding with a good hand
and three card support, SAYC has a very simple structure of
responses, two for hands that cannot force to game and one for
hands that can force to game.
Responder's Losing Trick Count Responder's Proper Bid
More than 8 but no more Raise to 2 (ignoring
than 10 preemptive to 4)
More than 7 but no more Raise to 3
than 8
7 or fewer Jacoby 2NT (with 4+ cards)
Example I: Partner opens 1H, which is passed to you who hold:
S xxx
H AKxx
D QTx
C Jxx.
What do you bid?
Example II: Partner opens 1H, which is passed to you who hold:
S xxx
H AKxx
D QTxx
C Jx
What do you bid?
Both these hands count to 10 hcp, and the ten of diamonds looks
like a plus. Losing trick count for I is 9, but for II is 8. So
losing trick count indicates that you should bid 2h on example I,
but 3H on example II.
Example III: You deal and hold:
S AQx
H QJxxx
D Kx
C xxx
You open 1H.
What is your call if partner bids 2H? How about if partner bids
3H?
Example IV: You deal and hold:
S AQ
H QJxxxx
D Kx
C xxx
You open 1H.
What is your call if partner bids 2H? How about if partner bids
3H?
Both these hands have only 12 hcp. And example III has 7 losers.
Over a single raise, indicating that partner has more than 8
losers, the combined loser count exceeds 15; game is out of the
question, and you should pass. In fact, even over a limit raise
to 3, you should pass because partner has more than 7 losers so
the combined loser count exceeds 14, and game is unlikely. But
example IV, with the same hcp, has only 6 losers. Over a single
raise, the combined loser count exceeds 14 so you should pass,
but you should bid game over a limit raise.
If you put example I together with example III, you will see that
there are four losers off the top and potentially two more losers
in spades: a game bid would lead to disaster, and you will have
to have a bit of luck to make two hearts. Putting example II
together with example III, you now have three immediate losers in
the minor suits, and two possible spade losers so three hearts
will be no picnic but it has at least a 50% chance even though
the opening and the limit raise are both minimum.
Now put examples I and IV together. There are at best four
losers and at worst five losers so a partial at the two level
is comfortable, but game is the wrong place to be. On the
other hand, examples II and IV combined give you a 50% chance
of game, perhaps a shade better than 50%, and game is where
you ought to be.
Notice in each case that losing trick count led you to a good
contract, some of which would be hard to find using point count
alone.
Suppose you open 1S, your LHO passes, and your partner bids 2NT
(Jacoby.) If you have no void or singleton and no five card or
longer suit on the side, you are supposed to evaluate your hand
and respond 4S if minimum, 3NT if intermediate, and 3S if
maximum. My view is that, whatever the point count, a six loser
hand is worth 3NT.
Example V:
S AQxxx
H Axx
D Ax
C xxx
Example VI:
S AQxxxx
H Axx
D Ax
C xx
Examples V and VI both have 14 hcp's, but have respectively 7 and
6 losers so the losing trick count suggests bidding 3NT over a
Jacoby 2NT on Example VI despite the meager point count. Example
V deserves only a 4S bid.
Example VII:
S AQxxx
H Axx
D Ax
C Kxx
Example VIII:
S AQxxxx
H Axx
D Ax
C Kx
Examples VII and VIII both have 17 hcp's, but have respectively 6
and 5 losers so losing trick count suggests bidding only 3NT over
a Jacoby 2NT on Example VII despite the rich point count.
Example VIII fully deserves a 3S bid.
I concede that careful use of the point count, adjusting for
length and shortness after a fit is found, might lead you to
identical results, but notice how much less prone to error the
losing trick count is.
(Tune into this station next month for more of the Perils of
Alex)
=====================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Benson for these:
Cops and Kids
While taking a routine vandalism report an elementary school,
I was interrupted by a little girl about six years old.
Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, "Are you a cop?"
"Yes," I answered and continued writing the report. "My mother
said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that
right?" "Yes, that's right," I told her. "Well, then," she
said as she extended her foot toward me, "would you please tie
my shoe?"
********************
It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in
front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9
partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in
at me. "Is that a dog you got back there?" he asked. "It sure
is," I replied. Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards
the back of the van. Finally he said, "What'd he do?"
===========================================================
MEZZIE LENDS A HAND
===================
Blaming partner isn't always the answer!
(or: how to lose a partner you don't need anyway)
Sitting west, playing matchpoints, you hear your
partner open 1H and RHO overcalls 2C. You hold:
KT976
K7
Q9742
9
What do you bid? 2S is possible, but with only 8 HCP
we don't want to get too high if pd can't support
either of our suits, and we also want to leave hearts
in the picture, so we try a negative double.
LHO bids 3C, upping the ante, and it goes p - p - ? We
don't want to sell out at matchpoints with our values
and shape, so we try another aggressive double, asking
pd to bid a suit or pass with club length, trusting
the LAW and our combined values to take care of us.
Partner passes. We lead the king of hearts, dummy
comes down, and we see:
54
Q952
AT65
A65
This doesn't look good! And it gets worse when
declarer wins in hand with the ace, plays the ace of
clubs, finesses pd out of his queen, and makes 3
bang-on. We get a big fat zero and then the fur starts
to fly. "With 5-5 shape, bid your suits!" "Why do you
lead from king-doubleton?" "Why do you double again
with only 8 points?" We sigh, hold in our true
thoughts, put on a smiley face (very easy to do
on-line! :) ), and try to concentrate on the next
hand. But our pd doesn't stop! "Why do you teach
on-line? Do you actually have any students?" "You are
too weak for me, sorry opps, last for me!" Now our pd
has gotten downright rude, and the opps are
apologizing to me with private messages.
This behavior is obviously not why we joined OKbridge.
The majority of players are friendly, fun, and looking
to play good bridge, but also willing to accept bad
results as part of the game. Is it justified? Perhaps
to the person perpetrating it, but looking into many
of these hands more deeply, an argument can be made
that the guilty party is actually the complainer
himself.
Take a look at the full hand from above:
North
54
Q952
AT65
A65
West(us) East
KT976 AJ
K7 JT864
Q9742 KJ8
9 Q87
South
Q832
A3
3
KJT432
North East South West(us)
1H 2C X
3C P P X
P P P
East knows several things when the 2'nd double comes
back around to him. Despite his opening looking like a
weak-NT opener rather than a solid 1-of-a-major, we
can grant him being an aggressive opener.
A few things stick out. The first negative double showed
spades and probably diamonds, though not guaranteed.
The 2'nd double was very enlightening, though. Why
wouldn't I bid a suit? Clearly, unless the opps are
crazy, I should hold at most 2 clubs, probably only 1.
I have short hearts (no more than 2) or else I would have
raised hearts. How many cards in the other suits does
that leave me? At least 9, probably 10.
In other words, trusting me to bid reasonably, I should
be 5-5 in the unbid suits. Since my pd could visualize
a singleton club and a likely unhelpful heart lead on
defense, and since he had a clear preference between
spades and diamonds, he should bid 3D in a heartbeat!
He would have made it, barring disaster, or at worst
gone down 1. Down 1 would have netted us 51% while
making 3 diamonds would have been 86%. Not bad! I'd
take either score any day of the week. And our
partnership wouldn't have died before it had a chance
to grow.
Wait a minute? Who am I kidding? Would I really want to
continue playing with a partner like that? In retrospect,
I'm glad the 0% came at the beginning of the game, rather
than after several hands of growing dissent (sure to arise
playing opposite me!) coming from across the table. :)
Good luck and good bridge!
********************
You will find Mezzie doing his FireSide sessions on Tuesday
evenings at 5:30 p.m. Pacific time.
James is available for on-line instruction, and is also
available to play in OKb tourneys. You can email him at:
james_mesbur@yahoo.com for more information.
=============================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Benson for these giggles:
"The two best times to keep your mouth shut are when you're
swimming and when you're angry."
"I'm walking to work today and I see a bunch of kids cooling
off [in New York] by creating their own breeze..... by
puncturing the tires on a Toyota." --David Letterman
A question on the patient's form at the doctor's office asked
who to call in case of an emergency. I wrote: "call a better
doctor".
Nanosecond: Mork's stunt man.
In the land of the witless, the halfwit is king.
"Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies."
If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all
right?
===================================================
MOOGAL'S FIRESIDE LOG
======================
OKB Tourneys
Well done to all our Fireside friends who excelled in
the tourneys this past month!!
Tue Feb 4 11:00 2003
Rank Team Score Boards
1 lucinha/wheels 2.54 22
Sun Feb 9 16:00 2003
Rank Team Score Boards
1 mabel/rachel 3.51 12
(Mabel is the wife of our contributor, Richard Pavlicek)
****************************************************************
NOVICE MENTOR TOURNEYS
Congrats to Sandra (QUEENHRT) and her partner AndyEdw,
and to Norrie (CHINITO) and Jeri (JFLOW50) for winning
the two Novice Mentor tourneys in February.
Thu Feb 13 18:00 2003
Rank Team Score Boards
1 AndyEdw/queenhrt 61.33 20
2 curls/gladys 60.33 20
3 Anda/kling 60.03 20
4 biswas/bs3nt 53.89 20
5 CamilleH/joebacon 53.75 20
6 greta123/spednic 52.59 18
7 hester/pascha 52.34 19
8 adafre/Kaltica 51.97 20
9 iains/sandraf 51.50 20
10 camster3/taxlady 50.83 18
11 polle/sevans 50.58 20
Sat Feb 15 13:00 2003
Rank Team Score Boards
1 chinito/jflow50 62.82 13
2 Kaltica/Tara 58.51 14
3 suzii/takeout 58.20 13
4 eprim/simba-L 57.05 13
5 nOOsance/Ring 54.83 10
6 otao/valeriem 50.45 11
So, mentors and novices, join us this month on the 13th and on
the 15th - 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
February 2: Team TODD: Todd, Lynkos, Peter_5 and PKv
February 16: Team GAUS271: Gaus271, Judydee, Toddy and Haldon
Well done Teams Todd and Gaus271!
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!
****************************************************************
It is with deep sadness that we send our condolences to
Dorothy (SHWET) on the death of her son, Duncan Tellell
Porter. He leaves behind three grieving daughters. She asked
me to let you all know how much your love and support has
meant to her during this time.
Several of Dorothy's friends who wish to remain anonymous have
made donations to the Fireside Fund in Duncan's memory.
May his memory be a blessing and comfort to you, Dorothy.
****************************************************************
Get well wishes to Sara's (BELIEVER) son Mark who recently had
major surgery. He's recuperating now under the watchful eye of
both Sara and his wife Amy, and we wish him a speedy return to
good health. Sara gets a gold star for her balancing act: trips
to the hospital with keeping Fireside sessions staffed with TMs.
Hope things get easier soon for both Sara and Mark!
****************************************************************
Fireside introduces a new table manager this month! Please
give a warm welcome to Frank (ElGringo), who will be a regular
at Fred's session, Wednesdays at 11:00 AM.
Frank has many interests (besides bridge, of course!). He
loves non-competitive athletics, home computers, photography,
music, movies, and politics, just to name a few! A widower,
he has four children and TEN grandchildren to spoil.
Here's a bit of his story in his own words:
I played party bridge for several years with only two rules: 2
1/2 to open, 1 1/2 to answer. Then someone gave me Goren's
"Contract Bridge Complete". I thought I had really arrived.
Even after my wife and I joined a small local bridge club, it
took me a while to realize that there were certain bidding
procedures that most people followed. It was only after we
moved to a much larger bridge club that I was introduced to
the "Yellow Card", and I found that their other players used
certain "conventions" that seemed contrary to Goren. In 1996 I
joined OKBridge as Gringo. I found a partner, Torra, and we
gradually adopted most of the more common bidding conventions.
Would you believe that Matt asked me to join a table as his
partner? That says a lot for him. About three years ago I
dropped out of OKB and bridge due to family obligations.
I recently re-joined OKBridge as Gringo1 and later changed my
name to ElGringo. One of my fantasies is to learn to speak
Spanish and travel to Spain and Mexico. My Spanish is like my
bridge: I have a lot of books on the subject, but little skill
:). I am having to re-learn all I knew about bridge, so I'm
playing only tournaments and NC to protect my partners'
Lehmans until I get educated.
We are so glad to have you as part of our Fireside family,
Frank!
****************************************************************
I had the pleasure of traveling to Houston last month to play
some live bridge with my buddy, Eric (ETSAND). Here is his
report:
Fireside bridge goes F2F in Houston, again.
Last spring the whole world came to Houston for the NABC. This
year we had to settle for only part of the world at the
February Houston regional. Happily Jan (MOOGAL) agreed to
reprise her role as my partner in the sequel this year. Since
last year Jan has managed to squeeze in several hundred OKB
tourneys, but her F2F appearances remain rare. At her last F2F
outing in Montreal she was introduced to screens. This was a
profitable transition for her as she is something of a hand-
waver. This reflects her overall friendliness, but it sure
makes it easy for the opponents to see her cards. At least
with screens in place, only one opponent has that advantage.
Although smaller than the NABC the Houston regional is a
fairly big show in its own right. There are plenty of local
bridge players that come out of the corners for this week of
bridge. In addition, a number of the famous bridge
personalities from around the country come to play. Jan and I
tried to touch base with as many of the OKB faces that we
knew. I also tried to point out some of the local
personalities. I thought the presence of a local professor
that had recently won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry would
impress her. However, she was more excited by the Meckstroth,
Rodwell and Soloway sightings.
Before Jan arrived, I got a head start on the play with a
Swiss team event on Thursday. I put together a team with
Jonathan Holmes (JHARRISH), John Monroe (JMH) and his
partner. We played steadily and were only nicked for a
couple of ties, managing to avoid a loss and placed third.
Jan and I got warmed up in the open Swiss on Friday evening.
Ken Brantferger (KEN_B) and a coworker rounded out our team.
We stayed on the plus side for the first three rounds and sat
down at the last table for 6 boards against the leading player
from the Phoenix Nationals and the current ACBL president. Jan
may know everyone's icon on OKB, but fortunately many of the
bridge faces look the same to her and she had no idea what
were up against. I knew better than to break the news before
we played, so we kept quiet and focused. Our teammates hung
tough at the other table and Jan had a chance to shine. She
found the killer lead against a routine 3NT for a nice swing
and then played a 4S contract perfectly for another plus. When
we totaled up the scores, we had notched another win and
finished the session undefeated, ending in second place.
The next day we teamed up with a law student and a CPA for a
couple of sessions in the flighted Swiss teams. There was
considerably less drama as we had a comfortable lead going
into a pleasant dinner break and then clinched the win before
the last round started. Our only disagreement was after the
last card had been played. I tried to steer our team to the
bar but Jan insisted on the interminable line for webpage
photos. Of course, she won that auction as well.
Thanks Eric (I think:))
It was a lot of fun....a special thanks to Eric's wife Ann for
her hospitality and to his daughter for giving up her bed!
Our teammates were delightful and carried us when we faltered.
Also, I got to meet RAJ (the OKB Raj, who was not our teammate
of the same name)
Take a look at some pics at:
http://www.attcanada.net/~andre55.msn/Houston.htm
[That is a bridge doll I am holding. Eric found it at a yard
sale some time back, and we brought it for good luck! It was
in my purse during the sessions, but *we* knew it was there.:)]
****************************************************************
I may not get out much, as Eric pointed out, but Andre (ANDRE55)
thought this invitation he received via email might pique
anyone's
interest!
1) "First International Bridge Festival of Tahiti Nui" will
be held from
5 to 11 May, 2003.
http://www.bridge.pf/contenu-actu-festival.html
2) 22nd CACBF ZONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Central American and
Caribbean
Bridge Federation
Fort de France, Martinique - May 24th to 31st, 2003
http://www.cacbf.com/MART2003.htm
3) XVI TOURNAMENT INTERNATIONAL DE BRIDGE
ESPAŅA - MURCIA - LA MANGA DEL MAR MENOR 2003
http: //bridgecc.com/
4) BIARRITZ INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE FESTIVAL from 1st to 13 July
2003
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/biarritz-bridge/A_indexa.htm
OK Andre, take your pick and we'll go! :)
****************************************************************
Hamman Crewmen at Finis by Richard Pavlicek
Did the world's #1 player win again?
Find out in the new March bidding poll, which consists of
six problems from a past tournament. All bridge players
are invited to participate. Simply click a checkbox next
to the call you prefer. As a side challenge, you may wish
to guess where the tourney was held. Try it! It's fun.
http://www.rpbridge.net/7y25.htm
Results of the February contest "Have Cards, Will Double"
(ending February 28) will be posted March 3.
Quiz: http://www.rpbridge.net/7x17.htm
Analyses: http://www.rpbridge.net/7x24.htm
Scores: http://www.rpbridge.net/7x23.htm
Overall: http://www.rpbridge.net/7v97.htm
Bot Results: http://www.rpbridge.net/7x97.htm
I was poking around Richard's website as I love to do,
and found the following article, on two subjects close
to home....squeezes (because I hope to do one before I
die) and the Florida election connection!
The Florida Squeeze
by Richard Pavlicek
The fiasco of our last presidential election has impacted many
things, so it might as well enter the bridge world, too.
Therefore, I am proposing a new bridge term: the Florida
squeeze. Up until now, this technique has been called a
"squeeze without the count," but my new name is shorter and --
ahem -- just as descriptive. Consider this deal from a
knockout team event.
The same 6 NT contract was reached at both tables. (A slam in
clubs would be far better but is difficult to reach.) Both
Wests led the SK, and both Souths faced the improbable task of
winning 12 tricks.
6 NT by South
None Vul
S 863
H AK9543
D K
C Q93
S KQJ7 S 94
H QJ87 H T6
D 543 D T8762
C 42 C 8765
S AT52
H 2
D AQJ9
C AKJT
Lead SK
West North East South
1H Pass 1S
Pass 2H Pass 3C
Pass 3S Pass 4NT
Pass 5D Pass 6NT
At one table declarer ducked the SK to rectify the count for a
squeeze. West continued with the SQ and South won the ace. The
DK was unblocked, then the run of the minor suits forced West
to crumble -- he could not protect both majors. Very nice. Or
was it?
Not really. West could beat the contract by shifting to a
heart at trick two. This would break declarer's communication,
and the squeeze would fail. Try it.
Enter the Florida squeeze. At the other table, declarer won
the first spade and proceeded to run his minor suits. When
South led his last winner, West held S Q-J H Q-J-8, and North
held S 8-6 H A-K-9. There was no defense. If West let go a
heart, North's H9 would be good; so West pitched the SJ.
Seeing this, declarer threw the H9 from dummy, then led a
spade to establish his 12th trick in spades.
Curiously, it takes an original heart lead to defeat the slam
against any play. Even the Florida squeeze and 500 lawyers
couldn't overcome that.
****************************************************************
Fireside GATOR TOURNEY
A year has passed since the Fireside's first Gator tourney
on OKBridge. Last year the fun, the excitement and the crowd
of spectators exceeded even our expectations!
We are still getting commitments from 16 "celebrity"
players (and their student partners if they wish) to anchor
the teams. For those unfamiliar with how a Gator works the
rules are simple: 16 "celebrity" players and their owners
face off in a 4-round knockout. The victorious team "swallows
up" the loser (hence the term "Gator"), incorporating their
players into the fold. In this way the Gator starts out as
a participation event in which owners get to play with and
against many of the better known OKBridge personalities.
It culminates in a tremendous clash between two teams that
comprise many of the best players around. Lots of fun! :)
The date for this year's event will be the weekend of
March 29-30, 2003. Please contact us at moocake@aol.com
if you know anyone who would be willing to captain a team in
which our supporters will purchase shares. Basically, all these
captains would need to do is show up and play -- our Gator Aids
will handle all of the logistics. All proceeds will go towards
furthering on-line bridge education through the Fireside Group.
More information (rules, match times, etc) and the link
to purchase shares can be found at:
http://www.firesides.net/gator.htm
If you would like to see the line-ups and results from last
year, check out the fun at:
http://www.firesides.net/gator-02.htm
See you at the Gator!
*********************************************************
That's it for this month!
Several of our commentators are off the Nationals in
Philidelphia next week. (Watch your e-mail for some Fireside
schedule changes March 6-13). We wish them well as they do
battle against the best! For anyone who is going, please
remember to send me a report, we love to read your stories!
Sigh, wish I were going.:)
And don't forget to visit our Gator website. We don't want
anyone to miss out on the fun!
www.firesides.net/gator.htm
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
**********************
FIRESIDE UTILITY SITES
The Fireside Group has two new utility sites
that might interest you. The first is our "checker"
site, which checks any deal that you are creating
or recreating to see that you have included all 52
cards without duplicating or forgetting any. This
site will email you a formatted version of your
board in simple text which you can then simple copy
(via CONTROL-C) and paste (via CONTROL-V) into your
text editor or word processor for any article or
question that you are putting together. The URL for
this useful site is:
http://www.firesides.net/checker.htm
Our second ulility site is even more interesting.
We have an online board generator for producing
randomly dealt hands. You can cycle through the
deals until you see one that interests you and then
have it emailed to you. You can have a group of
boards emailed to you. Also, you can have a bunch
of South hands emailed to you and the corresponding
North hands sent to your partner. Subsequently you
can practice bidding these with your partner via
ICQ, Internet Messenger, phone or at a hidden table
on OKBridge. The complete boards are sent to both
you and your partner so that you can check to see
how you fared later. The URL for this site is:
http://www.firesides.net/dealhand.htm
Enjoy!
********************
And if you haven't had a chance to check them out yet,
here are some links to some of the 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
www.firesides/net/IGITSAP.htm
(Note that IGITSAP must be in CAPS.)
Give them a try! They are fun and instructive.
**********************************************************
March Events: (All times Pacific)
===============================
SPECTRUM SERIES CLASSES:
This coming week we will have our popular Spectrum
Two-Over-One Series again. Here is our class schedule:
--- Morning Classes ---
Mon Mar 3 8AM Spectrum #1: System Overview
Tue Mar 4 8AM Spectrum #2: No Trump and Minor Suit Bidding
Wed Mar 5 8AM Spectrum #3: The FORCING 1NT Response
Thu Mar 6 8AM Spectrum #4: The 2/1-GF Response
Fri Mar 7 8AM Spectrum #5: 2/1-GF Spectrum System Notes
ALL TIMES are PACIFIC !
All you have to do is come to the Spectrum table
as soon as it opens. Hope to see you there!
NOVICE/MENTOR TOURNEY:
Thursday, March 13, 6:00 P.M. and Saturday,
March 15, at 12:00 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:
Sundays, 5:00 P.M. March 2, 16, and 30.
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
Thanks to Luc for this giggle:
The famous Olympic skier Picabo Street is not just an
athlete, she is a nurse.
She currently works at the Intensive Care Unit of a large
metropolitan hospital.
She is not permitted to answer the telephone, however, as
it caused simply too much confusion when she would answer
the phone and say, "Picabo, ICU."
========================================================
TREBLE'S TABLE TALK
===================
Nuances
Bridge is invariably a game that requires a lot of "thinking
on your feet". Some bids or plays may APPEAR to be obvious
and clear cut, but in fact have a completely different answer
laying at the core, and you have to peel away the layers to be
able to distinguish between truth and fiction. On top of that,
you must be able to do this in a fairly rhythmic tempo so as
not to leave partner with an ethical dilemma or enable the
opponents to clue in that you have a problem. In the last
few months, I ran into three hands where getting the optimum
result needed more than a "knee- jerk" reaction, but were
attainable through a logical thought process IF you take more
than just a cursory glance at the situation.
The first hand is in matchpoints, where your collection
of trinkets is:
S 9xx
H AK108xx
D Jxx
C Q
Your right-hand opponent bids 1NT, 15-17, and here we are with
some distribution and a pretty fair suit. Jumping in with a
heart bid seems to be quite tempting, but let's consider a few
things before we get our feet wet. What are our prospects,
assuming partner has at least a doubleton in our suit? Our
hand will likely produce five tricks on offense, and on a
fourth-best lead of our suit, the same five tricks on defense.
So to make eight tricks in hearts, we need THREE tricks from
partner. Now we'll look at the effect of bidding vs passing,
depending on the vulnerability and the number of tricks
partner has for you. We'll assume that you can play 2H
undisturbed as RHO is unlikely to have the trumps to double
your contract.
` 1 "goodie" 2 "goodies" 3 "goodies"
not vul vs vul -100 in 2H -50 in 2H +110 in 2H
-90 vs 1NT +100 vs 1NT +200 vs 1NT
nobody vul -100 in 2H -50 in 2H +110 in 2H
-90 vs 1NT +50 vs 1NT +100 vs 1NT
both vul -200 in 2H -100 in 2H +110 in 2H
-90 vs 1NT +100 vs 1NT +200 vs 1NT
vul against not -200 in 2H -100 in 2H +110 in 2H
-90 vs 1NT +50 vs 1NT +100 vs 1NT
So the only "gain" positions from bidding is when the
opponents are nonvul and partner puts down the three-trick
dummy for you in 2H. In TEN of the twelve situations, passing
is right and bidding is wrong.
Now let's change your hand slightly to:
S xxx
H AK108xx
D QJ10
C x
Here your expectation is SIX tricks on offense, and probably
the same five on defense, as you may not get your slow diamond
trick unless that is one of declarer's long suits.
1 "goodie" 2 "goodies" 3 "goodies
not vul vs vul -50 in 2H +110 in 2H +140 in 2H
-90 vs 1NT +100 vs 1NT +200 vs 1NT
nobody vul -50 in 2H +110 in 2H +140 in 2H
-90 vs 1NT +50 vs 1NT +100 vs 1N
both vul -100 in 2H +110 in 2H +140 in 2H
-90 vs 1NT +100 vs 1NT +200 vs 1NT
vul against not -100 in 2H +110 in 2H +140 in 2H
-90 vs 1NT +100 vs 1NT +200 vs 1NT
So here, when you only need TWO tricks from partner, it's
usually right to bid. Before we finish this topic, let's
assess one more hand:
S J109
H KQ9xx
D AQx
C xx
Unlike the previous two hands, it's difficult to gauge either
the defensive or offensive potential on a hand like this.
However, even if partner doesn't have much, a smattering of
values in the right places can be extremely useful. For
example, the J of hearts and either the spade Ace or diamond
King, a mere 4-5 points from partner, will allow 2H to make in
comfort. Besides that, there is another reason to be bidding
on this hand. There is an expression, "If you don't know who
can make what, bid one more for luck." On THIS hand, you
really can't predict what you are going to do on defense and
the hand has some upward potential depending on the location
of partner's values, so I would be inclined to enter the fray.
The next hand produces a different challenge, and one where
partnerships often fail to reach the optimum contract. You are
North and are dealt the following collection of pasteboards:
S KQ9x
H void
D AK10xxx
C Qxx
The auction proceeds:
North South
1D 1H
1S 2C*
2D 3D
3NT 4C
?
* 4th suit artificial and game forcing
On this hand, a 4H cuebid by opener is best, but you would be
surprised how many people are reluctant to do that for fear
that responder will pass and end the auction in an inglorious
contract. This is where partnership trust and logic comes in.
When you think about it, opener CANNOT have 16 or 17 cards.
He's shown 5-6 diamonds, 4 spades and at least a half-stopper
in clubs. That doesn't leave much room for heart support.
Moreover, how many chances did opener have to show ANY
interest in responder's suit? Lots of them. He could have bid
2H over 2C with three of them. Having denied three-card
support, North could then have taken a preference to 3H over
3D with a doubleton honour if he were not certain about
notrump.
Partner's hand is:
S A
H xxxx
D Q10xx
C AKxx
Thirteen tricks are frigid in diamonds, yet it's quite
possible to languish in 5D or even worse, 3NT. You might
wonder if responder should just leap to 6D since opener MUST
be short in hearts. Well, this hand is from a duplicate game
last week and that's exactly what I did, but you see I lied
about opener's hand, which COULD have been the one I gave you
but actually was:
S K10xx
H Jx
D AK10xx
C Qx
On THIS hand, there is nothing wrong with opener's bidding.
With the clubs not being adequate to suggest notrump, he
pretty much has to rebid 2D after responder's 2C. When
partner raises, opener now shows a half-stopper with 3NT,
again a sensible choice. 6D has chances on a non-heart lead
as opener can ditch a loser on the clubs, but unfortunately
the opening leader had the AK of hearts and thought it was
a good idea to lead them. :( So it IS incumbent on opener
to bid 4H, which must be a cuebid based on the numerous
failures to support hearts earlier in the auction. And look
at this way, you can have a lively and spirited postmortem on
the hand if responder IS misguided enough to pass. As I say
to one of my internet bridge partners, "Trust the force, Pam".
Finally, a real treat of a hand. But first a prelude. Let's
suppose that the opponents are playing in hearts and this is
the layout:
partner
?
dummy declarer
xx you ?
AJx
Declarer leads a trump to hir queen, and it certainly looks as
if he has the KQ in the suit. A novice or low intermediate
player would take the ace willy-nilly. A more experienced
player would realize he is guaranteed two trump tricks and
DUCK the Q of hearts, so as to give declarer the illusion that
the Ace is onside. Now RHO might voluntarily burn an entry to
dummy and expose hirself to danger in order to repeat the
trump play.
Now for the actual hand, from a matchpoint event, which
featured a great defense for an absolute top:
North
S Axxx
H Jx
D 10xx
West C AQxx East
S xx S KQ109x
H AKxx H 9xx
D xxxx D AKQ
C Jxx C xx
South
S Jx
H Q108x
D Jxx
C K109x
The auction was:
North East South West
pass 1S pass 1NT*
pass 2D pass 2S
pass pass pass
* -- forcing
This is the kind of auction where in 2/1 with forcing notrump
responses, West often takes a preference to a 5-2 spade fit
instead of passing opener's 2D, which could be and in fact
was a three-card suit.
South led the 10 of clubs, holding, and continued the suit.
Declarer ruffed the third round, travelled to the Ace of
hearts and led a spade to the 9, losing to the Jack. A club
would yield a ruff-sluff, so back Back came a heart, won on
table and the Ace of spades was driven out. North forced
declarer with another club, but East was still able to make
eight tricks when three rounds of diamonds lived.
Our hero in the South chair thought a little deeper, however,
and knew partner had to have a spade honour for declarer to be
taking a finesse. So he casually DUCKED! Poor East had no
idea what was afoot and went to dummy again with the King of
hearts and repeated the "proven" finesse. He blinked when
South now took the Jack and played off the Q of hearts,
allowing North to divest hirself of a third diamond. Declarer
now played a third round of trumps, hoping for a 3-3 split,
but RHO took the Ace and continued the club tap. Since North
had been able to pitch one of hir diamonds, declarer was
unable to come to an eighth trick as the third round was
ruffed and 2S went down. Even though East, who was a well-
known player, had been the victim of a brilliancy, he still
found a way to be the star of the hand. When he saw South
show out on the third round of spades, he realized that he'd
been thoroughly snookered and started to grin. Then, slowly and
in his best Yoesemite Sam voice, he intoned:
" Ahhh hates that rabbit!"
Needless to say, with everyone rolling on the floor laughing,
it took awhile to get on to the next hand.
See you next month.
********************
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
GROANER OF THE DAY:
The woman said to her butcher, "Those sausages you sold
me yesterday were meat at one end and nothing but
cornmeal at the other end."
The butcher replied, "Well, you know how it is - it's
difficult these days to make both ends meat."
===================================================
AND FINALLY KALTICA
===================
Hello
*****
"What is the secret of OKBridge's success?"
"Why, the people, of course!"
Hard to argue with this. Without customers,
no business can survive. And, of course, we bear in
mind that success breeds success; many join OKBridge
simply because it already has the greatest number of
members. No fear of finding a game, even at 4:00 A.M.!
And let us not forget that the calibre of competition
is highest on OKBridge. Two public relations coups
certainly helped: hiring Tony Reus and Wendy Baze
may have been two of the brightest moves Matt Clegg
ever made. But it was a THIRD master stroke by Matt
that is most integral to the success of his company.
Other playing sites have great people, too.
They also have some very fine teachers--although
nowhere near as many as OKBridge. What these other
sites lack is the huge contingent of organizers
that we see on OKBridge. Among others, these
facilitators include those supporting Riko ladder
games, the Mentor Team Games, Gators, Celebrity
events, lesson series and, of course, our own
indispensible Fireside Table Managers.
But what did OKBridge--and only OKBridge--do
that resulted in its unique success? Tourneys?
Good Tourney Directors? World class expert matches?
Other sites have these as well. Competitive pricing?
Crash-free servers? Hands-on ownership? Onsite help?
Er, no. User-friendly software? This gap has all but
disappeared. So what is it? What is the secret to
OKBridge's success as compared to that of other servers?
What is it that OKBridge did which resulted in these
organizers operating here and nowhere else? I can
almost guarantee that you won't believe the answer.
Pretend that you are a site owner for a moment.
Your objective is to attract new members and to keep
your existing ones. You accept these three facts:
1. Most players are novice-intermediates.
In other words, Fireside attendees reflect the
skill level of the majority of current and potential
OKBridge members. The success or failure of your
playing site will depend almost exclusively on your
ability to make this group happy with your service.
2. Online play is very intimidating to newcomers.
One or two bad experiences can convince any
trial member that online play is NOT for them. They
will tell their friends and this effect can snowball.
Combine this with Fact #1 and we can see that showing
up at a table and being told to go elsewhere--which
can and does happen to many new, novice players--can
have a disastrous effect on membership growth. Gee,
if only there were a place for them to go where they
would actually be WELCOMED, eh? :)
3. Players prefer organized events.
Exit polls of those who fail to renew their
memberships would show that many members--especially
non-tourney ones--report that they have not been
using their membership lately. Why not? One common
reason for this is the vicissitudes of and difficulty
in finding new partners and opponents all of the time.
This is where the organized events enter the picture,
explaining the unique and sustained success of OKBridge.
Even for those who don't partake of these functions, the
knowledge that they COULD may be a drawing feature. It
is like the millions of New Yorkers who take comfort in
being able to order a corned beef sandwich at any time
of day or night. There is "always something to do"--maybe
even something to LOOK FORWARD TO DOING--on OKBridge. How
often do we OKBridgers mark an upcoming event down on our
calendar? For members of other sites the answer might be
"never".
All of this returns us to that original question:
What is it that OKBridge did that caused all of these
organizers to operate here and nowhere else? Aside from
hiring Tony and Wendy, what was Matt's third brilliancy?
In order to fully appreciate this we have to
appreciate the issue from the point of view of the
organizers. Success will be measured in large part
by NUMBERS. The more people there are at the event,
the better. Just as a sit-down restaurant with only
two seats is unlikely to succeed, these organizers
have to be able to ACCOMMODATE these hordes of new
people coming to the table. Tables on any bridge
server can handle a virtually unlimited number of
visitors. So what do we mean by "accommodate" here?
We consider the problem from the point of view
of that new attendee arriving at the table. Having
been greeted coldly--if at all--at some Club Mode
tables, what the newcomer really wants to hear is
very simple:
"Hello."
What a lovely word to hear after stumbling from
table to table looking for a game! This mere greeting
tells the arrivee that they are welcome and have "come
to the right place". I would wager that many of our
Fireside Chat readers can empathize with the relief
that such a new member might feel upon hearing this
word!
In addition to this, the new player would also
like to know what is going on at this particular table.
Hence, some orientation should also be provided. Those
chancing upon a Fireside table, for instance, are told:
"Glad you could make it to our FireSide! If you'd
like to join one of the next foursomes, just tell our
Table Manager, so-and-so, in spec."
The problem is that this has to be done quickly
to handle the vast numbers of people arriving at the
table--especially at startup. It also has to be done
privately; otherwise the first person to arrive would
be bored stiff watching the 100th person being greeted
and oriented publicly.
Ready for the key to OKBridge's success?
The next time you log onto OKBridge and see a buddy
online, hit your hyphen key. Type in your friend's
username. Then hit your TAB key, type a quick message
(e.g. "Hi, Jane!") and hit ENTER. In this way a touch
typist can greet people without hir fingers ever leaving
the keyboard.
Now hold down your CONTROL key and hit "r". This
will direct your subsequent message (e.g. "How ya doing?")
to that same individual. This is called "keyboard driven
text direction". In essence, this is how organizers can
welcome newcomers and explain what is going on at their
table. Other sites don't have this faculty. Worse yet,
the owners of these other sites cannot be convinced of its
importance. Until they do, this simple but brilliant
feature of Matt's design (easily automated by MikeZZZ's
OKScript, as used by all Fireside Commentators and Table
Managers) will ensure OKBridge's continued success over
its rivals.
Hey, I told you that you wouldn't believe the
answer, didn't I? :)
**********************
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 Pringle for these funnies:
What My Mother Taught Me:
TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside -
I just finished cleaning!"
RELIGION
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
TIME TRAVEL
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock
you into the middle of next week!"
LOGIC
"Because I said so, that's why."
FORESIGHT
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're
in an accident."
IRONY
"Keep crying, and I'll *give* you something to cry about."
OSMOSIS
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"
STAMINA
"You'll sit there 'til all that spinach is finished."
WEATHER
"It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."
PHYSICS PROBLEMS
"If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you;
would you listen then?"
HYPOCRISY
"If I've told you once, I've told you a million times -
Don't Exaggerate!!!"
THE CIRCLE OF LIFE
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION
"Stop acting like your father!"
ENVY
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this
world who don't have wonderful parents like you do!"
THANKS, MOM!
=====================================================
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