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Fireside Chat
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FIRESIDE CHAT MAY 2003
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome and Announcements
Believer's FireSide Kindling
Bidding with Bridgboy
Guido's Really Important Stuff
Fifee's SolidGold
Hand of the Month
Dealing With Dann
Special Treats
Moogal's FireSide Log
Treble's Table Talk
And Finally Kaltica
=======================================
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hi all!
Welcome to the May, 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. WINTAKA
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
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.
We want to thank our commentators for their dedication
and caring. Please, think of them 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. Just think how much easier it is to learn
from someone who's already a friend!
*******************
All articles herein (c) 2003 by FireSide Chat.
All rights reserved.
===============================================
BELIEVER'S FIRESIDE KINDLING
============================
Hi :-)
May 1 -- happy May Day! Visions in my head of children
dressed up and dancing around a maypole. Must be spring!
Never saw a maypole though, so dunno why I'm imagining one!
Things at home have settled down, and if not all resolved,
at least we're in a rut now with no substantial emotional
ups or downs. I'm hoping to find some time to contact all
you wonderful patient folks who emailed me about being
table managers a couple months ago, and set up some kind
of meeting to take care of that piece of business. Anyone
else who is interested in working with us as a table manager,
please drop me a note in the next few days. I'll be in
touch with everyone soon.
Sitting here at my computer, listening to the rain falling
outside, and the thunder rolling off in the distance... neat
sounds :) I have spring fever -- am ready to get on the road
and do some traveling! Can't wait for July -- if all goes
well, I hope to see lots of you in Long Beach! Drop us a line
if you plan to be there, ok? Then in August, hoping to make
it to Calgary for their Regional Aug. 11-17. I'm expecting to
run into a few familiar faces there, too!
I had some great fun at OKbridge this past weekend. OKbridge,
and the Fifth Chair organization, held their 7'th Annual
Junior Bridge Championships Saturday and Sunday -- and what fun
it was to watch these young adults play bridge! A little bit
discouraging in a way -- when you are sitting in spec and
can't see a way to make a hand, then you watch in awe as
this young person manipulates his/her opps into playing
their cards so that the hand makes... well, one can only hope
that little by little we keep improving our own game until
we can at least hope to be able to play half as well as these
college students!
The semi-finals winners were Stanford University, of Stanford
California, and Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Republic
of Georgia, who are defending their title from last year.
The final match will be held on Saturday, May 10, at 10:00 A.M.
OKbridge time. Come and join us in spec for a real treat!
Well, it's time to do the mailing -- I hope you enjoy this
month's issue of the FireSide Chat. Our writers have outdone
themselves AGAIN this month -- some great columns in this
issue. Please, feel free to write any of us with any comments,
questions, suggestions, or ideas... We love hearing from you!
--Sara
********************
You can write to Believer (Sara Stobbe) at:
sarastobbe@aol.com
============================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to BobW for this one:
Our five-year-old son Mark couldn't wait to tell his father
about the movie we had watched on television, "20,000 Leagues
Under the Sea." The scenes with the submarine and the giant
octopus had kept him wide-eyed.
In the middle of the telling, my husband interrupted Mark,
"What caused the submarine to sink?" With a look of
incredulity Mark replied, "Dad, it was the 20,000 leaks!"
=================================================
BIDDING WITH BRIDGBOY
=====================
When to Lead Trump
We do not spend much time in these articles on opening
leads. It is a neglected area of the game that we tend to
teach with a bunch of charts listing some order of best to
worst leads. Memorize it and good luck!
While it is usually easier to discuss the rules of bidding,
there are some basic "laws" covering specific lead situations
that should rarely be violated. One such auction occurred at a
local tournament recently. So, let's look at it and see if we
could have done better.
You hold:
S Q96
H A865
D K9654
C A
The auction goes as follows:
You hear 1C by RHO and decide to make a take out double. Now it
goes all pass and you are on lead. What should we lead and why?
When partner passes any take out double and converts
it into a penalty double he must have trumps! He wants to
draw trumps and stop any small ruffs by declarer. Our honor
cards will then also win tricks and not be ruffed. It is
automatic that we lead trumps! So, without thought, we must
lead the ace of clubs to get that card out of our hand and
out of the way of partner. That way when he does get in,
partner will be free to continue drawing the trumps.
If we do not do this, our ace will block the suit badly and
make it harder for partner to stop any small ruffs by declarer.
So anytime partner makes a low level penalty conversion
pass, lead a trump and stop any cross ruffs by declarer.
Here is a second hand that should show this point even more
clearly.
We hold:
S KQJx
H AK10
D A109
C Q84
The auction goes as follows:
RHO YOU LHO PARTNER
2H X 4H 4S
5H X
Are you drooling over the prospects of a big penalty? Well,
if you learned anything so far, the only way they can come
close to making this contract is by cross ruffing. So to stop
that we lead trumps! Three rounds of trumps will protect your
outside tricks from being ruffed. If you did not lead the trump
you would watch them cross ruff this hand and make 11 winners --
minus 850! If you did lead a trump you defeat this contract
three tricks and are plus 800!
A 1650 point swing was riding on one card -- your lead!
********************
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 Pringle for this giggle:
NEW BRIDE'S COOKBOOK
MONDAY:
It's fun to cook for Bob. Today I made angel food cake. The
recipe said beat 12 eggs separately. The neighbors were nice
enough to loan me some extra bowls.
TUESDAY:
Bob wanted fruit salad for supper. The recipe said serve without
dressing. So I didn't dress. What a surprise when Bob brought a
friend home for supper.
WEDNESDAY:
A good day for rice. The recipe said wash thoroughly before
steaming the rice. It seemed kinda of silly but I took a bath.
I can't say it improved the rice any.
THURSDAY:
Today Bob asked for salad again. I tried a new recipe. It said
prepare ingredients, then toss on a bed of Lettuce one hour
before serving. Which is what led up to Bob asking me why I was
rolling around in the garden.
FRIDAY:
I found an easy recipe for cookies. It said put all ingredients
in bowl and beat it. There must have been something wrong with
this recipe. When I got back, everything was the same as when I
left.
SATURDAY:
Bob did the shopping today and brought home a chicken. He asked
me to dress it for Sunday (oh boy). For some reason Bob keeps
counting to ten.
SUNDAY:
Bob's folks came to dinner. I wanted to serve roast. All we could
afford was hamburger. Suddenly I had a flash of genius. I put the
hamburger in the oven and set the controls for roast. It still
came out hamburger, much to my disappointment.
GOOD NIGHT DEAR DIARY.
This has been a very exciting week. I am eager for tomorrow to
come so I can try out a new recipe on Bob. If we could just get a
bigger oven, I would like to surprise him with Chocolate Moose.
=====================================================
GUIDO'S REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF
==============================
Cruise Bridge
I spent the greater part of March traveling. After spending a
few days with Ian (my regular OKBridge partner) and Justjill
(Pass? I don't need no steekin' Pass card!), my wife and I
boarded a ship heading from Los Angeles to Yokohama -- a long
trip with mostly sea days. Now, I've cruised before, and try
hard to avoid cruise bridge. "Why?" you ask (or I'll pretend
you ask). Well, the few times I have done it in the past, it
has reminded me of everything that is wrong with face-to-face
bridge. All sorts of "meaningful" hesitations; slamming down
of double cards ("Just in case you thought that was for take-
out, partner") and similar maneuvers. National tournaments in
North America have greatly improved in controlling this
unethical behavior, but cruise bridge remains unreconstructed.
Never the less, one of our dining companions, Michael, found
out I played bridge and asked me to partner him. Normally I
would have invented an excuse -- perhaps: "Gosh, Michael, I'd
love to, but I have an appointment at the spa to have my navel
delinted." Michael, however, is a great guy and fun to be
around (he and I were on the same trivia team, so he knew how
quiet and shy I become in a crowd). Besides, he is an ex-cop
from Leeds (England, guys, England) who lives in Oz and is a
part-time disc jockey. He said he used to play fairly
regularly but hadn't played in twenty years. A perfect fit as
I haven't correctly guessed a two-way finesse for a queen in
twenty years.
I showed up at the game, grabbed a convention card and said:
"Acol, I presume?" Michael said "er, um, I play 5-card
majors." "Oh," said I, looking crestfallen. "I can play weak
NTs, though," he offered, attempting to cheer me up. After a
few more questions from me, I found out he wanted negative
doubles through some level or other, no transfers, natural
over the evil ones' No Trump, and that jump overcalls were...
well, we never did sort that out. With these firm
understandings in place, away we went.
At the first table, the male member of a husband and wife team
opened 2S. Wife bid 2NT. Husband went out to lunch for 90
seconds, then bid 3S -- showing a minimum. Ya, right, after
90 seconds, I figured the minimum was a solid suit with no Ace
or King on the side. His wife figured this out also (gosh,
what a surprise!) and bid 3NT with something like Q-Axxx-Axxx-
Axxx. Of course, opener shows up with AKJTxx-xx-xx-xxx.
Cruise bridge was exactly as I remembered it.
Aside (pretending there is a reason for this article): Before
you make your first call, you should plan your rebids for
normal auctions. 2S-2N is hardly an unexpected auction, and
there is no ethical excuse not to rebid in a timely fashion.
Similarly, if your partner does hesitate, you are ethically
barred from using the information gained by the hesitation in
either the bidding or the play.
A few boards later, you pick up something like: xx-AJ9xx-Kxx-
Qxx in fourth seat. The bidding goes: (2S)-X-(3S), and you
bid 4H. The spade Ace is lead, and partner puts down Kx-xx-
Axxx-AKxxx, saying he was too strong to overcall. This does
not work out well, but it reminds you that your partner's bids
are likely to be old-fashioned and that he is out of practice.
Five or six strange bidding disasters later the session is
over. I do not think we have won, but I am thinking we might
be close. It turns out that we placed second. How can this be
possible? Several reasons, including:
Michael's declarer play is simply excellent (or, as he would
say EXXXXcellent). No fancy coups or non-simultaneous
squeezes. He just counted the suits, counted the points,
thought out a reasonable line of play and executed it.
Michael's defense was also quite good. No fancy false cards;
he just counted the suits, counted the points, thought out a
reasonable line of play and executed it. (Sound familiar?) He
didn't pay a lot of attention to my signals but, then, it took
Ian years to learn to ignore my stupidities, so this was all
for the best.
I was forced into simple quantitative bidding. I seldom had
any idea what Michael would take as forcing, what as
invitational and what as a sign-off. Therefore, our sequences
were short and direct. We often ended up in an inferior
contract that made because we told the opponents so little.
Try defending: 1N-6N as opposed to 1C-1H;1S-2D*;3S-4D;4S-5S;6S
(2D is fourth suit forcing). Blasting will not win bidding
contests, but in the rough and tumble of real bridge, it often
works remarkably well.
We both laughed at our disasters. This is extremely important
if you want to win. Discuss the hands after the session, but
never during a session. Do not lecture partner. As hard as it
might be to believe at times, the ox is doing his best. I had
one complete blackout (In counting a suit, I found that 8+5=
12). This did not work out well for us. Michael said nothing
other than "well bid" (which it was by the way) and, "Paul, I
think it is my turn to buy wine at dinner, isn't it?"
More next month.
Guido
********************
You can email Guido at: paulfriedman@attbi.com
================================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Some things to make us go 'hmmmm' from O_Bones:
Every morning is the dawn of a new error...
A conclusion is simply the place where you got tired of
thinking.
If at first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished!
Old Age Ain't For Sissies.
If You Obey All The Rules You Miss All The Fun.
Never take life seriously -- nobody gets out alive anyway.
Life is sexually transmitted.
================================================================
FIFEE'S SOLIDGOLD
=================
More Troubles with Doubles
By Patricia Anderson
Negative Doubles are a wonderful tool in our bridge bidding
arsenal when our opponents interfere. We use Negative Doubles
when partner has opened and the next opponent overcalls. Negative
Doubles are used to show 4 cards in any unbid major. You must
have 6 HCP to make a Negative Double at the 1 level or a little
less if you have a great fit with partner's suit (and can run
there if you are in trouble). Add 2 points for each bidding level
for a minimum Negative Double.
OKB SAYC uses Negative Doubles through 2S and OKB 2/1 uses
Negative Doubles through 3S. Be disciplined with your point
ranges so your partner can count on you to have your bids.
Negative Double at the:
1 Level: 6+ points
2 Level: 8+ points
3 Level: 10+ points
Here are some examples of Negative Doubles in Action:
Pard Opp You
1C (1H) X
In this sequence a double by you (Negative Double) would say
to partner, "I have at least 6 points and exactly 4 Spades."
Pard Opp You
1C (1H) 1S
This sequence guarantees 5 Spades or more since we
would make a Negative Double with 4 card Spade suit.
Pard Opp You
1C (1S) X
This sequence shows a 4 card Heart suit and 6 points or
better, but you could also make a Negative Double in this
sequence with this hand:
S 7
H KJ9642
D KT42
C 43
Pard Opp You
1C (1S) X
You don't have enough points to bid 2H, but you have enough
points to make a Negative Double at the 1 level. This
allows you to convey some information to partner about your hand,
even though it is not the entire story. If Partner bids 1NT or
2C, your bid of 2H will tell him that you have longer Hearts and
not enough points to bid 2H directly over the 1S overcall.
Another example of Negative Double is:
S 73
H KJ964
D KT4
C J43
Pard Opp You
1C (1S) X
Again you don't have enough points to bid 2H, but you have
enough to make a Negative Double.
If no majors have been bid, your Negative Double at the 1 Level
shows 4-4 in the majors.
Pard Opp You
1C (1D) X
Negative Double here shows 4 cards in both of the unbid
majors. With only one 4 card major, you would bid that major
instead of double.
Example:
S KQ2
H KJ96
D T764
C 43
Pard Opp You
1C (1D) 1H
Your 1H bid guarantees 4 card H suit only.
When both majors have been bid, a Negative Double shows the Minor
Suits.
Pard Opp You
1H (1S) X
guarantees support for the unbid minors and 6+ points.
A good example hand of this Negative Double is:
S 92
H 73
D AJ643
C KT92
* Note that a Negative Double after 1H (1S) denies 3 card support
for partner's Heart suit.
When we use Negative Doubles at higher levels of competition,
definitions begin to blur around the edges. We become a little
more flexible so that we can show "cards" or "values" so that the
Opponents don't steal your hand. Good opponents are likely to
"pre-empt your auction" to make it harder for you to find the
best contract whenever they can. For example, the bidding goes:
Pard Opp
1D (3C)
With the following hand, you have values and want to tell partner
about them. You could raise partner but you might be missing a
major suit fit, so we recommend making a Negative Double with
this hand. You have a tolerance for either major and a fit with
partner if he does not have a 4 card major to bid.
S KQ3
H KJ96
D QT84
C 43
Here's another exception to having 4 card support for all unbid
majors and making a Negative Double. How about this hand over the
same auction:
Pard Opp You
1D (3C) ?
S Q4
H KJ96
D AJT84
C 42
Would you make a Negative Double with this hand? You do have a 4
card Heart suit but only 2 Spades. We recommend a Negative Double
with this hand because if your partner bids 3S, you have good
Diamond support for partner and can scurry back to 4D. If you
make a Negative Double and partner bids 3H, then you will have
found a double fit and 4H will be a great contract.
Here are some bidding problems for you. All partnerships will use
Negative Doubles through 3S. Please send your answers to bidding
problems to bandersn@moutain.net and we will email right back!
Please include questions or comments, too!
Bidding Problems
1. Pard Opp You
1C (1S) ?
You hold:
S 4
H KJ96
D AJT84
C Q42
1. What is your bid?
2. Pard Opp You
1H (1S) ?
You hold:
S 4
H KQT8
D QT76
C Q742
2. What is your bid?
3.Pard Opp You
1S (2C) ?
You hold:
S T4
H KJT3
D T984
C Q42
3. What is your bid?
4. Pard Opp You
1H (3C) ?
You hold:
S KQT853
H 96
D KQ
C JT4
4. What is your bid?
5. Pard Opp You
1H (2S) ?
You hold:
S 4
H KJ
D AJT84
C Q9842
5. What is your bid?
6. Pard Opp You
1D (2C) ?
You hold:
S A4
H QJT8
D QJT53
C 942
6. What is your bid?
7. Pard Opp You
1H (1S) ?
You hold:
S KQ9
H 76
D AJT8
C QT42
7. What is your bid?
8. Pard Opp You
1S (2D) ?
You hold:
S J
H AT84
D K4
C QJT654
8. What is your bid?
Waiting to hear your answers @ bandersn@mountain.net. Hope you
are enjoying Troubles with Doubles. Thanks for taking the time to
respond to the bidding problems and good luck at the tables!
Just remember that your partner is your best friend at the table!
Wait til post mortem to discuss problems unless it is a
systemic question which could give you more problems during your
set.
Please send your bids and comments or questions to
bandersn@mountain.net. Looking forward to hearing from you !
================================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Tara for this giggle:
The Weird & The Pregnant
A lady about eight months pregnant got on a bus, and she
noticed the man opposite her was smiling at her. She immediately
moved to another seat. This time the smile turned into a grin, so
she moved again. The man seemed more amused. When on the fourth
move, the man burst out laughing, she complained to the driver
and he had the man arrested.
The case came up in court. The judge asked the man what he had to
say for himself.
The man replied, "Well your Honor, it was like this: When the
lady got on the bus, I couldn't help but notice her condition.
She sat under a sign that said, 'The Double Mint Twins Are
Coming' and I grinned. Then she moved and sat under a sign that
said, 'Slogan's Liniment Will Reduce The Swelling' and I had to
smile. Then she placed herself under a sign that said, 'William's
Big Stick Did The Trick' and I could hardly contain myself. BUT
your Honor, when she moved the fourth time and sat under a sign
that said, 'Goodyear Rubber Could Have Prevented This Accident...
I just lost it."
"CASE DISMISSED"
================================================================
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 it 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: W S QJ32
H AK7
D Q843
C T7
South
S 9
H JT98432
D 7
C AK85
West North East South
1C DBL P 4H
All pass
Opening Lead SK
As South, your jump to 4H promises a hand with distributional
values and not an abundance of high cards. Your hand is really
too good for this action, but it's the sort of bid everyone
makes.
On the lead of the SK, East plays the S4, discouraging a
spade continuation. West switches to the C4, C7, CQ, CA.
Take it from there.
Count your losers -- one spade, one diamond and either a club
(if hearts are breaking and you draw trumps) or possibly a heart
(if the suit is not breaking). Is there any danger of a fourth
loser?
*****************************************
S QJ32
H AK7
D Q843
C T7
S AKT7 S 8654
H -- H Q65
D AJ5 D KT962
C J96432 C Q
S 9
H JT98432
D 7
C AK85
Contract: 4H Lead: SK
********************
Certainly, there is. Imagine if East held two clubs
and the three outstanding trumps. If you drew one round
of trumps (West showing out), led a club to the king
(East would follow), and ruffed the third club low,
East would overruff the H7 with the HQ and play his last
trump. You would be left with a club loser. You would
succeed in such an instance if you played no trumps at all
before ruffing clubs. Or (better, since East couldn't ruff
your CK) if you played to a high trump and led a club toward
your king, remembering to take your first club ruff with the
other high trump. The second club you would ruff with that
H7. You would lose one spade, one heart, and a diamond.
However, there is one further trap to consider. Look at
today's diagram. When East holds only one club, if you cross
to a high heart and lead a club, East might ruff (as here),
put his partner in with a diamond, and a third club will promote
the HQ. To avoid this embarrassing possibility, go the extra
mile to cater to the doomsday scenario; simply play a diamond
yourself at trick three. If East gets an immediate club ruff,
he ruffs a loser and you can then draw trumps and take the one
club ruff that you would require.
East should have bid something over North's double -- either
1D or 1S (best in analysts' view). In the modern competitive
world it is common practice to treat a one-level free bid in a
new suit as forcing, ignoring the double.
********************
Hand and analysis by Eric Kokish & Beverly Kraft, 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
Thanks to PKV for this thought provoker:
You Think A Gallon Of Gas Is Expensive?
Makes one think, and puts things in perspective.
Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 ......... $10.32 per gallon
Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 ....... $ 9.52 per gallon
Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 ............. $10.17 per gallon
Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 ......... .$10.00 per gallon
Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 ...........$33.60 per gallon
Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35 ......... $178.13 per gallon
Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 .......... $123.20 per gallon
Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 ...............$25.42 per gallon
Scope 1.5 oz $0.99 ................$84.48 per gallon
And this is the REAL KICKER......
Evian water 9 oz for $1.49 ....$21.19 per gallon.
So, the next time you're at the pump, be glad your car
doesn't run on water, Scope, or Whiteout, or heaven forbid,
PEPTO BISMOL or NYQUIL!!!!
Just a little humor to help ease the pain of your
next trip to the pump...
====================================================
DEALING WITH DANN
==================
Keep Working!
Hi Folks! It's that time again -- to come up with some
wonderful, amazing tip/insight that will make the game
so much clearer/easier for everyone!
What do you mean -- there is no super tip?
Yup -- that's what I have to tell you this month --
there really is no substitute for working hard at
our game, and that's a good tip right there.
ALWAYS WORK! When we get lazy, we make errors. It
doesn't matter who is playing, from novice to pro,
the less we work the worse the results!
Now, just to show you an "ALWAYS WORK" example,
my favorite hand from our Zone qualifying games
for the national finals!
After a very optimistic auction we are in 7 Spades:
dummy
S JT95
H AKQ3
D A98
C 53
declarer
S AK7642
H J9
D QT
C A96
We don't want to know the auction! After the club
queen lead, our prospects look as bad as our bidding!
Well 12 tricks should be easy, but 13 is insane!
But -- don't give up?
Keep working -- do we see our chances?
Stiff Diamond King -- in either opp's hand
Stiff Diamond Jack -- on right of declarer; also there's
the added chance of an error by one of the opps if we
plunk down diamond queen and run it if not covered -- no
one said the opps were perfect!
So, our best prospect probably is plunking down the diamond
queen after two trump -- away we go!
Oh no! Opp plays diamond king! Again, keep working -- don't
panic!
We win the diamond ace, then we are going to try make the
spots that excited pard in the auction work for us.
We play the hearts -- pitching our diamond 10 and a club.
Next, we power finesse the diamond jack with righty --
if he covers, ruff. Cross back in trump -- pitch your
last Club on the good diamond 8, and if there is no cover
pitch your last club. Close your eyes. If lefty wonders
why you haven't played to the next trick yet -- we have rolled
home with +1510, and will have to listen to pard's "good
bidding is it's own reward" schtick.
If lefty wins the diamond jack, we certainly gave it
our best try.
The important thing to remember here is -- keep working!
Do not give up!
(From both sides of the table I was minus 1510 on this
hand, but it was a 16 board match. Pard and I kept
working and won -- despite losing 14 IMPs here. Our
teammates didn't even get to a small slam.)
As always -- good bridging all!
Dann POOKA Kramer
*******************
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:
At one time in my life, I thought I had a handle on the meaning
of the word "service". The act of doing things for other
people.Then I heard
the terms:
Internal Revenue Service,
Postal Service,
Civil Service,
Telephone Service,
Service Stations,
Customer Service,
City/County Public Service.
And I became confused about the word "service. This is not what
I thought "service" meant.
Then one day, I overheard two farmers talking, and one of them
mentioned that he was having a bull service a few of his cows.
SHAZAM!! It all came into perspective. Now I understand what
all those "service" agencies are doing to us...
=====================================================
SPECIAL TREATS
==============
More of the Continuing Perils of Alex :-)
HAND EVALUATION
IV.) LOSING TRICK COUNT (continued)
To review, when the losing trick method works best is when your
partner has bid, the opponents have not, and it is clear that you
are going to play in a trump contract.
You count losers in your hand suit by suit, the number of losers
that you have in a suit being equal to a.) the lesser of three or
the number of cards in the suit, b.) minus the number of top
three cards held. So Kx represents one loser (two cards minus one
top card) as does KQxx (maximum of three minus two top cards.)
You estimate the number of losers in partner's hand as follows:
If partner has opened with an artificial 2C, partner has fewer
than 5 losers.
If partner has shown values to open at the level of one, partner
has approximately 5 to 7 losers.
If partner has shown values to respond, but not to open, partner
has more than 7, but no more than 10, losers.
Finally, you estimate the PROBABLE number of WINNERS in the
combined hands by adding your loser count to partner's estimated
loser count and then subtracting the sum from 24. Now that you
know the range of the number of winners you likely have, you bid
accordingly.
D.) Critique
There are three fundamental weaknesses in the losing trick count.
First, it focuses exclusively on the offensive strength of your
hand. Unlike point count or quick tricks, it does not help you
estimate what the opponents may make. So, for example, losing
trick count will not help you decide when to double. Second, it
overrates the value of weak long suits. Effectively, the losing
trick count says that a suit like 875432 will take as many tricks
as a suit like AKQ. Weak long suits have value if partner also
has length there or if partner can ruff sufficient times, but not
otherwise. Third, the losing trick count treats a singleton king
or an unsupported queen as worth as much as an ace while treating
a jack as worth as little as a 2.
These weaknesses have been addressed by various sets of
adjustments to the basic method of counting losing tricks.
E.) Digressions about a Personal Preference and Quick Tricks
Virtually every bridge player today evaluates a hand by counting
points, a method which works very well on the huge majority of
hands. I also count quick tricks, which is the oldest formal
method of hand evaluation. This gives me two points of view about
every hand before the bidding even starts. Once I know that we
are going to be playing a suit contract, I then count losers,
according to the adjustment system below. This gives me a third
point of view. Usually all three suggest the same bid. But when
they suggest different bids, that difference is a red flag,
saying not to bid automatically but to pause for thought. (My
partners wish I would pause for thought much far more
frequently.)
For a review of quick tricks, you count:
AK as 2,
AQ as 1½,
A as 1,
KQ as 1, and
Kx as ½.
A hand with:
1 QT is worth a response to an opening bid;
2 QTs is worth two responses or a limit raise;
2½ QTs is worth an opening bid at the one level; and
5½ QTs is worth a 2C opening.
F.) Adjustments to Losing Trick Count
The list of adjustments below is not definitive. Various people
have different ways to adjust the losing trick count. If you have
a better method, please use it. The charm of the list below is
that the rationale for each adjustment is obvious (so obvious
indeed that I shall usually not bother to give it.) That makes
this list easy to remember.
Adjustment #1: Add 1 loser for a 5 card or longer suit without a
face card (weak suit downgrade.) Notice that downgrades ADD
LOSERS.
Adjustment #2: Add ½ a loser for any queen not supported by
another honor in hand (unsupported queen downgrade.)
Adjustment #3: Add ½ a loser for any singleton king or queen in a
suit not bid naturally by partner (unsupported honor downgrade.)
Note that adjustments #2 and 3 are cumulative so that a singleton
queen in a suit not bid naturally by partner ends up being
counted as a full loser, which is the right result unless partner
has AKx, AJx, or KJx or better in an unbid suit.
Adjustment #4: Subtract ½ a loser for a suit headed by AKJ, AJT,
or KJT (supported jack upgrade.) Note that this correctly offsets
partner's unsupported queen downgrade if that was made.
Adjustment #5: Subtract 1 loser for a hand with 5 or more aces
and kings (power upgrade.) The reason for this adjustment is that
we are assuming partner has bid. Probably partner's bid was
based, at least in part, on queens (since you have so many aces
and kings.) If so, partner almost certainly downgraded his or her
hand for unsupported queens, but you have the support partner
needs so you offset partner's adjustment.
Adjustment #6: Subtract 1 loser if your trump suit has at least
10 cards between both hands or there is a double fit between both
hands (good fit upgrade.) If you and your partner have at least
10 cards in a suit, the probabilities greatly favor that suit
being established after only two leads so your third card in the
suit is almost certainly a winner rather than a loser (78%
probability with 10 cards and 100% with 11.)
G.) Supporting Opener's Major (Again)
In this section, we are going to use the adjusted losing trick
count on the assumption that, at equal vulnerability, your
partner has dealt and opened 1H, that your RHO has passed, that
you and your partner are playing SAYC with Jacoby 2NT and
splinters. For each of the examples below, answer the questions
immediately below on a piece of scratch paper before reading the
analysis.
What is the point count?
What is the quick trick count?
What is the unadjusted losing trick count?
What adjustments, if any, are necessary to losing trick count?
What is the adjusted losing trick count?
What calls are reasonable under the circumstances?
G1.) S: xxx H: KQxx D: xxx C: xxx
G2.) S: Txx H: Kxxxx D: xx C: Kxx
G3.) S: QTx H: Kxxx D: x C: Kxxxx
G4.) S: xxx H: AKJx D: xxx C: Axx
G5.) S: Qxx H: Kxxx D: Q C: Qxxxx
G6.) S: Axx H: Kxxx D: x C: xxxxx
G1.) S: xxx H: KQxx D: xxx C: xxx. This hand has 5 hcp, but
should be downgraded for its flat shape so it counts as 4. The
quick trick count is 1. No adjustments are needed to losing trick
count, which is 10. Point count says to pass. Quick tricks and
adjusted losing tricks suggest 2H. Personally, in the absence of
some other consideration, I go with any bid suggested by most
methods of evaluation, and I always like to support my partner's
major suit so I would bid 2H despite the inadequate point count.
My personal preference, however, is not the point. The point is
that the different evaluation methods allow anyone to see that
this is a borderline situation. (Note that the law of total
tricks also says to bid.)
G2.) S: Txx H: Kxxxx D: xx C: Kxx. This hand has 6 hcp plus 1
point for the 5th heart plus another point (after partner opens
in hearts) for the doubleton, giving a total of 8 points, and it
totals 1 QT. Losing trick count is 9, but an adjustment is
needed, namely the good fit upgrade for having at least 10
trumps. So the adjusted losing trick count is 8. Points and quick
tricks call for a weak bid, but adjusted losing tricks call for a
limit bid. So the obvious choices are 2H and 3H. Personally, I do
not particularly like either. 3H is horrible: it may encourage a
partner with a strong hand to go exploring for a slam and turn a
plus score into a minus. But the adjusted losing trick count is
pointing out that the shape of this hand is very attractive once
partner has opened 1H. 2H is not bad, but it has the weakness
that it may let those obnoxious opponents compete cheaply. When
different methods suggest different bids, none of which are
attractive, it is time to think of whether there are alternatives
bids. Is there one here? Yes, there is one that I like once it
occurs to me, namely 4H. If partner is strong, 4H may well make,
but partner will not race past game in search of a non-existent
slam. If partner is weak, our opponents are likely to have at
least a partial somewhere, and 4H may turn out to be successful
grand larceny. Or it may panic the opponents into a phantom
sacrifice. Note that 4H would be the indicated bid under the law
of total tricks as well.
G3.) S: QTx H: Kxxx D: x C: Kxxxx. Point count is 11, 8 in high
cards, 1 for the fifth club, and 2 for the singleton. Quick
tricks total only 1. Loser count is 7, and no adjustments are
necessary. (The spade queen is supported by an honor, namely the
ten.) Quick tricks suggest 2H, point count suggests a 3H limit
bid, and loser count suggests a game forcing sequence. When the
three evaluation methods give a weak, moderate, and strong
answer, I tend to view that as confirming the middle of the road
so I would bid 3H.
G4.) S: xxx H: AKJx D: xxx C: Axx. Point count is 11 after
downgrading for flatness. Quick tricks are 3. Loser count is 9,
but a supported jack adjustment is necessary so the adjusted
loser count is 8½. Again, we have three different answers: loser
count suggests 2H, point count suggests 3H, and quick tricks
suggest 2NT (Jacoby.) If those were the only three alternatives I
could think of, I would bid 3H for the reason given in the
previous analysis. Here, however, I do have an alternative,
namely 2C, which is forcing for one round (in sayc.) If partner
bids 2NT showing a minimal flat hand, I shall pass. If partner
bids 2D or 2H, I can then bid hearts below game and let partner,
who will now know that my 10 points or more are concentrated in
clubs and hearts, decide whether to go to 4. If partner reverses
into spades or supports clubs, we either have the strength or the
fit to warrant 4H directly from me. You may hate 2C, but my usual
problem in bidding is to overlook a possible bid. If different
methods of evaluation bring additional possibilities to mind,
that is good.
G5.) S: Qxx H: Kxxx D: Q C: Qxxxx. I count this as 10 points,
nothing for the stiff queen so 7 working hcp, 1 for the 5th club,
and 2 for the diamond singleton. Quick tricks are just ½. Losing
trick count is 6, but we have adjustments to make. Three
unsupported queens total 1½ additional losers, and the stiff
queen in an unbid suit adds another ½ loser so the adjusted loser
count is 8. Quick tricks say to pass; point count says that this
is a borderline 2H or 3H, and losing trick count says 3H. As I
said, with three answers, I like the middle of the road so I
would go with 2H. Compare this with G3, where I voted for 3H. G3
actually has exactly the same shape but with FEWER high card
points (8 compared to 9.) But in G3, the spade queen is supported
by the ten; no high card points are wasted in a short suit, and
the club king is far more likely to win a trick than the club
queen unless partner has help in clubs, which is unknown.
G6.) S: Axx H: Kxxx D: x C: xxxxx. This hand has 7 hcp, 1 point
for the 5th club, and 2 points for the stiff diamond for a total
of 10 points. It has 1½ quick tricks. The loser count is 8, but
the weak suit adjustment is need for that sickly club suit so the
adjusted loser count is 9. With 10 points, 2H and 3H are both
permissible. But both the quick trick and losing trick count say
this is not worth a limit raise so bid 2H. The alternative
evaluation methods have warned you that this is a BAD ten points.
H.) Supporting Responder's Major
Losing trick count can be used in any situation where you have
decided on a trump contract. In this section, we shall take a few
examples of its use by opener in supporting responder's major. In
this section, suppose that you opened as dealer at equal
vulnerability with 1C, LHO passed, partner bid 1S, RHO passed,
and you must make a rebid. Again, you and your partner are
playing SAYC with splinters. And, just as before, try answering
the questions below before reading the analysis.
What is the point count?
What is the quick trick count?
What is the unadjusted losing trick count?
What adjustments, if any, are necessary to losing trick count?
What is the adjusted losing trick count?
What calls are reasonable under the circumstances?
H1.) S: xxxxx H: x D: Ax C: AKJxx
H2.) S: KQxxx H: x D: xx C: AKQxx
H3.) S: AKxx H: Ax D: Kxx C: Axxx
H1.) S: xxxxx H: x D: Ax C: AKJxx. I'd count this as 17 points
once partner shows at least 4 spades. It has only 2½ quick
tricks. The losing trick count is 6, but a downgrade is needed
for the weak spades as well as an upgrade for the supported jack.
So the adjusted losing trick count is 6½. Thus, both the quick
trick and the losing trick counts suggest a minimal bid of 2S
even though the point count suggests a more aggressive 3S. I'd go
with the majority and bid 2S.
H2.) S: KQxxx H: x D: xx C: AKQxx. I'd count this as 19 points in
support of spades. It has only 3 quick tricks (just above minimum
for an opener) but 4 SURE tricks once trumps are drawn. Losing
trick count is 4, and no adjustments are called for. With a
losing trick count of 4 and an estimated maximum of 10 losers for
partner, that totals 14 losers at worst, or 10 winners at worst,
which warrants a game bid. The point count warrants a game bid
too. So 4S is certainly an option. The only downside to 4S is
that partner may get overly excited and get us to a failing 5S on
a good hand based on red kings and queens. Quick (and sure)
tricks suggest a cautious 3S, but that may very well cause us to
miss an easy game: game looks very likely if partner has as
little as the jack of spades and a red ace. Is there any other
alternative? There is: a 4H splinter. That will get us to game
even if partner is minimal, but will prevent a search for slam
when partner's values are in red kings and queens. It will also
encourage a search for slam if partner has good spades and a red
ace or two.
H3.) S: AKxx H: Ax D: Kxx C: Axxx. Point count in support of
spades is 19. Quick tricks are 4½. Losing tricks are 6, but a
power upgrade is necessary so the adjusted loser count is reduced
to 5. Points suggest a leap to 4S, but quick tricks and losing
tricks suggest caution with 3S. The problem is that the hand is
quite flat. If partner bid 1S on the basis on a QJxx of spades
and the A of diamonds (or something minimal like that), you may
have only 9 tricks to cash unless partner has helpful shape. I'd
go with the majority of the evaluations and bid a wimpy 3S.
(Tune into this station next month for more of the Perils of
Alex)
=====================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Pringle for these pointers on wedded bliss:
Whether a man winds up with the nest egg or a goose
egg depends a lot on the kind of chick he marries.
Trouble in marriage often starts when a man gets so
busy earnin' his salt that he forgets his sugar.
Too many couples marry for better or for worse, but
not for good.
When a man marries a woman, they become one, but the
trouble starts when they try to decide which one.
If a man has enough "horse sense" to treat his wife
like a thoroughbred, she will never be an old nag.
Judgin' from the specimens they pick for husbands,
it's no wonder that brides often blush.
On anniversaries the wise husband always forgets the
past...but never the present.
A foolish husband remarks to his wife: "Honey, you
stick to the washin', ironin', cookin', and scrubbin'.
No wife of mine is gonna work."
The bonds of matrimony are a good investment only when
the interest is kept up.
***************
Many girls like to marry a military man--he can cook,
sew, make the bed, and is in good health...and he's
already used to taking orders.
===========================================================
MOOGAL'S FIRESIDE LOG
======================
OKB Tourneys
Well done to all our Fireside friends who excelled in
the tourneys this past month!!
Tue Apr 1 16:00 2003
Rank Team Score Boards
1 mcphee/miccia 2.59 26
Fri Apr 4 11:00 2003
Rank Team Score Boards
1 blaker/tuna 1.93 26
Thu Apr 17 11:00 2003
Rank Team Score Boards
1 Kaltica/moogal 2.36 25
Tue Apr 22 11:00 2003
Rank Team Score Boards
1 lucinha/wheels 2.51 25
Sat Apr 26 13:00 2003
Rank Team Score Boards
1 ElGringo/jobrown 2.67 12
Sun Apr 27 11:00 2003
Rank Team Score Boards
1 Kaltica/moogal 2.03 26
****************************************************************
NOVICE MENTOR TOURNEYS
Congrats to our winners of the two Novice-Mentor tourneys in
April.
And well done to all our top finishers:
Thu Apr 10 18:00 2003
Rank Team Score Boards
1 jaycee/Shade 60.91 20
2 Kaltica/taxlady 60.57 20
3 sha/wandaw 57.73 20
4 k/mercan 56.82 20
5 AndyEdw/queenhrt 53.18 20
6 docent99/poller1 52.81 16
7 eZe/jerryb 52.73 20
8 dloye/gunne 52.05 20
9 raven99/tom-v 51.77 20
10 golddog/PollyE 51.41 20
11 drsuzie/luc 51.36 20
12 hannahM/meerkat 50.00 20
Sat Apr 19 12:00 2003
Rank Team Score Boards
1 mat69/sport 66.01 19
2 Alroy/CamilleH 64.45 19
3 eddieb/richardg 62.92 20
4 guido/wendy1 61.77 18
5 Cookie2/surfinag 55.56 20
6 ron1/topsi 54.56 20
7 bnyborg/pdigi 50.25 20
8 bonniea/gcros 50.23 20
So, mentors and novices, join us this month on the 8th and on
the 17th - 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
April 6th: Team TODD: Todd, Peter_5, PKv and Chinito
April 20th: Team TODD: Todd, Peter_5, PKV and Skillick
A rare double win for team TODD! Well done!
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!
****************************************************************
FIRESIDE NEWS
Get well wishes to Lynn (WISHTRIK) who is recovering from
surgery. We miss her and hope she will soon be well enough
to return to Fireside. You may see her pop into OKB,
when she can plug in her 'illegal' laptop when the hospital
staff isn't looking! Biggg hug from everyone at Fireside, Lynn.
********
A change to our schedule:
We have canceled the Saturday Fireside session. (One suggestion:
take part in the Novice-Mentor tourney on the third Saturday
of the month.) We thank Bill (WINTAKA) and Fred (FREDW3) for
their wonderful lessons on Saturdays and Peter (PETER_5) for his
table managing.
You can still learn from Fred at his regular Wednesday afternoon
session, and Bill will be taking over the Tuesday evening
session from James (MEZZIE), who is heading off to Japan
to get married! And we won't let Peter be idle for too long.:)
We hate to say goodbye (again!) to James, but he'll be a busy
boy this summer: not one, but TWO weddings -- one in Japan
and one in Canada. He doesn't think he'll have computer access
this summer, but he promises to get in touch with us when
he starts back to school in Philadelphia in the fall. We
haven't seen the last of him at Fireside! Congratulations
on your marriage, James -- we wish you all the best.
****************************************************************
Congrats to David (DAVIDRG) on passing the Director's test!
He was tickled when his gang at the local game threw a surprise
party for him to celebrate! They presented him a huge bouquet of
red, black and white balloons, and a beautiful cake dedicated to
Director David. As a bonus, he played that day with his friend
Patty, and they came in first with a 68% game!
Nice day David!
****************************************************************
SEEN ON A CARD
"Some days it's hardly worth chewing thru the restraints" :)
(Please share your favorite OKb profile card 'sayings' with
us when you see one that 'tickles your fancy')
****************************************************************
Martha (RCOOP) outdid herself at her first regional ever, playing
in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin with her teacher Bob Lavin (BRIDGBOY).
She won the open pairs, came in second overall the next day, was
high overall on a third day, and made the finals a fourth day.
Imagine winning all your gold points toward your life master in
one outing, during a four day stretch! Well done, Martha! Very
impressive for a first regional!
There seems to be a theme here -- if you remember, Bob played
with Patricia last month at the NABC's in Philly when she
passed the mark to receive her Life Master status. We know
you have happy students, Bob.:))
****************************************************************
Did you receive your May Bridge Bulletin yet? If so take a
look at page PB-7. Those of you who play in the Mentor Cup
game will find interesting the picture and story about Sue
Moore, owner of the People's Bridge Club in Colorado Springs
-- our own SAM143. She is featured for her winning formula of
running a successful club -- good directing, and great food!
She is clearly onto something as her table count has increased
from 2-3 to 18-21 since she took over the club! We aren't
surprised, as we know her to be a friendly, caring person who
will play with any and all at our Mentor Cup games whenever
her time allows. Be sure to stop by her club if you are in the
area!
****************************************************************
Let the Good Times Roll by Richard Pavlicek
Are you ready to party?
Then don't miss this new bidding poll for May, consisting
of six problems from a past tournament. All bridge players
are invited to enter. 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/7y33.htm
Results of the April play contest "Delusions of Grandeur"
(ending April 30) will be posted May 3, 21:00 GMT.
Contest/Quiz: http://www.rpbridge.net/7x25.htm
Analyses: http://www.rpbridge.net/7x32.htm
Scores: http://www.rpbridge.net/7x31.htm
Overall: http://www.rpbridge.net/7v97.htm
Bot Results: http://www.rpbridge.net/7x97.htm
****************************************************************
Last month we gave you all the details of our Fireside Gator
Tourney...and what a blast it was. I'm happy to note that
all our celebrity players are Angelfish nominees this month --
be sure to check out the Spectator to see their names in
lights:
Harmon , DCorn, IraC, DaffyDoc, Mugwump, Seligman, Pef
DBetter, JackL, PamA, HalSimon, Tuna
Here are two more hands to illustrate how exciting and close
the contest was:
First one is from Hal (HALSIMON):
The Gator Bowl is a team event and scored as total point
differences per deal, converted with an arbitrary scale, to
reduce excessively large swings. Thus, a critical concern is
making or defeating the contract reached. Yes, overtricks and
extra undertricks are nice, but the overriding goal is to be
plus. This deal from the Gator Bowl on Saturday, March 29, is
full of this concern and a number of bridge principles.
West was Ira Chorush, (IraC on OKB) a killer strong true expert.
South was me (HalSimon on OKB) a mild, straight-shooting, clean
thinking ex-expert but now, just another bozo. :-)
North
x
KQJxx
1098x
Q9x
Ira East
AQJ10xx xx
Axx 10xx
x Axx
108x AKxxx
Bozo
K9xx
43
KQJxx
Jx
The bidding:
S W N E
P 1S Dbl* Redbl
P** 2S P 3C
3D*** 3S 4D# 4S
Dbl## all pass
* lead discovery double
** BRIDGE RULE #1-Over a redouble, the only way to show strength
is to pass and bid later. Minimum suit bids are weak and longish;
jumps are longer suits and pre-emptive.
*** Now showing some stuff
# furthering the psyche
## Hungry for extra-good result because of so many poor earlier
deals.
The opening lead of the heart K was ducked and Ira won the
heart Q at trick two. He noticed my echo (high, then low) to
show encouragement and/or an even number of hearts. He then
played a diamond to the Ace and finessed the spade Q. He
played to the club Ace and finessed the spade J, North showing
out.
TIME OUT HERE: If you look at just the EW hands, how would you
make 4S? You have four losers; one spade, 2 hearts, and one
club. You would like to throw your losing heart on a long club
but opponent will have to get in and, then, you are down. Do
you see how to do it?
He did it when he played a club to the Ace because Bozo
(that's me) had to make a terrific defensive play -- but I
didn't. This is how I should have been thinking. Pard must
have a cashing heart trick (the Jack) to beat the hand and I
have to find someway to get him in. Those Aces and King in the
dummy should have, in part, been in pard's hand - but they
weren't. So, the only way is to create an entry to the North
hand. The only possibility is if he had a club trick, such as
Q10x or his actual holding, Q9x with Ira having 108x. So, the
way to beat this contract was for me to play the club Jack
under the Ace! A sensational defensive play as a desperate
measure. You see, Ira gave me my spade trick, ruffed my
diamond play, and then led a club and ducked it, forcing me to
win my now singleton Jack. Making 4SX on terrific
visualization by declarer and a defender who didn't stop to
think. Ira's play is called "an avoidance," losing a trick to
the non- dangerous hand. He played that the cards were located
in such a way as to lead to success-and they were (given my
error).
It is true that declarer might have held 109x of clubs and my
dropping the Jack would allow him to avoid losing any clubs by
finessing the next time. However, that holding would allow the
same play.
In my view, this is a fine example of going all out as
declarer to make an "impossible " contract and that a defender
could have made a desperate, killer play, to foil him.
Harold Simon
*****
Thanks Hal! And now we have a hand submitted by Eric (ETSAND)
also extolling IraC's fine play.
IMPs north
Vul: None S 532
H J86532
D J62
C 5
west east
etsand irac
S KT9876 S
H AQ H K97
D A874 D K95
C K C QJT8742
south
S AQJ4
H T4
D QT3
C A963
TN.IMP Board 8
Dlr: West
west north east south
etsand irac
1S pass 1NT pass
2D pass 3C pass
3NT (all pass)
Opening Lead: SQ
Result: +6
Score: -490, IMPs: -1.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
W K-CK-D4 D7 S6 A-HQ S7 S8 S9 ST
N 2 5 2 H2 S3 3 5 H6 H8 S5 HJ
E D5 2 K-CQ-CJ 7 K-CT-C8-C7-C4-H9
S SQ 3 3 6 A-H4 T 9 S4 SJ DT SA
On the run of the clubs, South guards spades and diamonds.
North guards diamonds and hearts. (Heart threat, H7; Spade
threat, ST; Diamond threat, D8.) Ira keeps the DA as entry
into the suit that both opponents guard. As Colin would say,
'rather simple really, a double squeeze thingy' :)
Would have been tough to bid and make 6, as South might find
the killer lead, but an overtrick is an overtrick. Well done,
Ira :)
Eric
*****
Thanks to you both, Hal and Eric!
*********************************************************
In closing, I'd like to remind you to email me any info you
even think might be of interest to our readers. Don't be shy,
chances are, it is perfect for the Log! But I can't print it
if you don't send it to me. Despite my high chat-lehmans I do
miss some items.:)
Hugs to all, Janice
**********************************************************
We know that it isn't always easy to find a 'friendly' game.
We hope this new site will be a plus in your OKB experience
by helping our friends schedule games with each other.
Visit:
http://www.firesides.net/playdate.htm
and follow the directions to set up a table others can join,
or to join a game someone else has scheduled. You'll receive
emails notifying you as others join the same games.
If you wish to reserve a seat in one of the listed mentoring
games, which are supported by the people attending, we
suggest you do so, and also contact the mentoring commentator
for info.
We have tested this site, but we won't be surprised to hear
of a bug or two. Please let us know at kaltica@mts.net if
you encounter any problems serving, joining, or canceling a
game, or if you have any suggestions.
Have fun!
********************
Have a comment you'd like to make about the FireSide program?
An event or announcement you'd like to share with the rest of
us? A question you'd like answered? Here's a great place for
us to visit every day and keep up with each other:
http://www.firesides.net/chatline.htm
********************
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
http://www.firesides.net/checker.htm
http://www.firesides.net/dealhand.htm
********************
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.
**********************************************************
May Events: (All times Pacific)
===============================
NOVICE/MENTOR TOURNEY:
Thursday, May 8, 6:00 P.M. and Saturday,
May 17, 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. May 4 and 18.
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
Neophyte sent us this giggle:
In a recent Harris On-line poll 38,562 men across
Canada were asked to identify woman's ultimate fantasy.
97.8% of the respondents said that a woman's ultimate
fantasy is to have two men at once.
While this has been verified by a recent sociological
study, it appears that most men do not realize that, in
this fantasy, one man is cooking and the other is cleaning.
========================================================
TREBLE'S TABLE TALK
===================
Search Mission
In the past month, I've taken a five-week leave from work to
do a "bridge jaunt", touching down in Victoria, Gatlinburg and
Toronto for regionals, before coming back to my home digs of
Winnipeg for a tournament here. There was an absolute
treasure trove of entrancing hands, which I will be sharing
with you in the next two or three months. In this article,
I'll pose three declarer play challenges to test your mettle
and card-reading ability.
With no one vul, you pick up the follwing eye-popper of a
hand:
S KQJx
H J8
D AQ
C AK109x
LHO opens an 11-13 1NT and partner doubles for penalty, rather
strange in itself when you are sitting on this rock-crusher.
RHO bids 2D, showing diamonds and spades with a weak hand.
The only logical way for your guy to have a penalty double of
1NT is with solid hearts, so you delicately bash your way to
6NT. LHO puts out a low spade, and before partner lays down
the dummy he sheepishly confesses that he pulled out the wrong
bidding card. Oh, joy. At any rate, he treats you to:
East
S 6
H AQ97543
D J7
C J52
West (you)
S KQJ5
H J8
D AQ
C AK1094
Auction:
North East South West
1NT* dbl 2D** 6NT
pass pass pass
* 11-13
** diamonds and spades, weak runout
Partner meant to bid a Cappelletti 2C, showing a one-suited
hand. Well, them's the breaks. The GOOD news is that the
King of hearts is marked to be onside because of the 1NT
opening. The sticky wicket is that without the ten in either
hand, you are going to have to make a decision on the second
round of the suit. Decide how you are going to proceed before
reading on.
Okay, time's up. Our declarer won the spade and played the
Jack of hearts at the second trick, covered by the King and
Ace. Now he came back with a club and forced out the Ace of
Spades. Next, LHO shot back a heart and our hero made the wrong
guess in hearts.
Since the fate of the contract is going to revolve around
whether you can bring in the hearts for seven tricks,
it makes sense to gather some information about the
hand first. The location of the King of hearts, King of
diamonds, Ace of spades and Queen of clubs are known to be
with LHO, because without ALL of those cards he does not have
sufficient points for hir 1NT opening. So first, you should
play back a spade honour to force out the Ace. Now a third
spade is returned and you gather in the trick.
Your next move should be to play off the AK of clubs. This
will give you the count in THAT suit, since LHO is marked
for the Queen. Both opponents follow small to two rounds
of clubs. Now you play the Jack of hearts, covered by the
King and Ace. You get back to your hand with the diamond
Ace and play a second heart, and LHO plays low.
Now consider what you KNOW so far. RHO has shown a weak
hand with diamonds and spades. Probably five or more
diamonds, we'll say. The lead from LHO was the deuce,
which could have been from three or four, since the opponents
are playing fourth best leads. Your playing off the two club
winners has eliminated the scenario of RHO holding 4-1-5-3
distribution, since LHO was known to have the Queen for hir
1NT opening, and it has not fallen doubleton. So RHO has TWO
clubs, that you know. So he could still be 4=2=5=2, 4=1=6=2
or 5=1=5=2.
That's three possibilities. Except... by agreement, RHO
could have redoubled conventionally to escape from 1NT
with a single-suited hand. With six diamonds and only
four spades, he would surely have opted for the known 6-2
or better fit in diamonds since showing a two-suiter might
risk landing in a 4-3 spade fit. We can therefore chuck out
the 4=1=6=2, so that now leaves RHO with either 5=1=5=2 or
4=2=5=2. If it's 5=1=5=2, that means the 1NT opener has led
spades with Axx in spades and Kxxx in diamonds. Granted, a
diamond lead is risky and might be presenting declarer with a
trick, but on the other hand, a spade from the Ace might well
do the same thing, and a diamond lead MIGHT be needed to beat
the contract.
This hand has been an interesting progression. Since the
hand can't be made on a 4-0 heart break, you had to find
out as much as possible about RHO's two-suiter. The
bidding kind of eliminates 4-6 in spades and diamonds, the
play of the club suit ensures that he cannot be 4=1=5=3,
and the lead conveys a slight inference that spades are 4-4
rather than 3-5. When you add that up, the best guess is that
RHO is 4=2=5=2, and that on a second round of hearts with LHO
playing low the winning play is to go up with the Queen,
dropping 10x in RHO's hand, garnering in a huge plus in an IMP
pair event.
Now you move on to the final day Swiss teams, and in the
South chair you pick up:
S KJxxx
H KQxx
D Jxx
C x
The auction proceeds:
North East South West
1D pass 1S 2H
3S pass 4S pass
pass pass
LHO, a good player leads a trump and you are presented with:
North
S AQ104
H 5
D A9863
C KJ10
South
S KJ975
H KQ72
D J54
C 4
Four possible losers, unless there is a miracle in the diamond
suit. If you can establish a club winner, that allows a
diamond pitch from hand and now one ruff will establish
dummy's long suit for discards if they go 3-2. So you play
off the trumps, LHO discarding a heart and a club, and now you
play a club up. So now do you play overcaller for the Ace and
go up with dummy's King, or finesse with the 10 or J, playing
RHO for the Ace? No twitch or hesitation on your left, so it
appears to be a guess.
Actually, it's not. It's almost a certainty that LHO has the
Ace and that it's right to go up with the King. Why? You
might assume the bidding, but that doesn't necessarily mark
the overcaller with the club Ace. There would be nothing
wrong with a nonvul 2H overcall with:
S x
H AJ10xxx
D K10x
C Qxx
What IS the dead giveaway is the LEAD. Experts will almost
never lead a singleton trump since it may easily boot a
potential trick partner might have. So why the trump lead?
Certainly LHO isn't going to lead an unsupported Ace of
hearts, nor would a lead of dummy's first bid suit be
especially appealing. If LHO had Qxx or Qxxx of clubs, that
suit would definitely be a viable and attractive lead. But
with Axx or Axxx of clubs, leading either the Ace or a low
club would be somewhat of a gamble. The lead of a singleton
trump is a strong indicator that LHO did not really have a
standout lead and that is a very revealing clue that allows
you to surmise who is clutching the Ace of clubs.
At the table, Declarer did not have the luxury, since West
led a daring club from hir Axxx. Now it WAS more of a guess,
and South chose to play the opening leader for the Queen,
putting in the 10 from dummy. RHO won the Queen and the
contract was no longer makeable.
Finally, a decision that has 13 IMPs riding on the outcome of
how to play a suit combination for no losers. Playing 2/1,
you as North pick up:
S Jxx
H Ax
D Ax
C AKxxxx
Partner opens 1S and the auction goes:
South North
1S 2C
3D* 4C
4D 4H
4S 5S
6C 7C
The bidding requires some explanation. In 2/1, jumps by
opener in new suits to show good hands are no longer as
necessary as they would be in SAYC, so 3D by partner was a
splinter bid, agreeing clubs as trump. 4C by you was a 1430
keycard enquiry and opener showed you one keycard. 4H asked
for the Queen of trumps, and 4S by partner confirmed the club
Queen AND the spade King. 5S asked for third round control in
spades, and 6C by partner showed the Queen of spades. You now
sail into what rates to be virtually cold grand slam,
preferring the 10 card club fit rather than 7S, which might
possibly fail on a 4-1 trump split. You provide a translation
of the bidding to the opponents before the opening lead, and
partner blinks and turns pale at your explanation of the 5S
and 6C bids. NOT a good sign. A trump is led and partner
tables:
South
S AK854
H K107
D 7
C QJ87
North
S J76
H A4
D A3
C AK9654
So you draw trumps in two rounds and it looks as if the Q of
spades will have to come tumbling down for the contract to
make. On the first round of spades, however, the NINE appears
on your right. Interesting card. Now you have an unexpected
second option in the play of the suit. RHO could have the Q9
doubleton, in which case it's right to still lay down the Ace
on the second round. However, it's equally as likely that
righty could have 109 doubleton in spades. In THAT case, the
play of the remaining top spade would leave you with a loser
against Qxx in LHO's hand, but the contract could be made by
running the Jack through LHO to force the cover of the Queen
and smothering the 10 on your right.
It's your move, then. What doubleton do you play RHO for, Q9
or 109? Email your answers to btreble@shaw.ca, and I will
have the poll results and the answer to the puzzle at the
beginning of next month's article.
********************
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
A big 'thanks' to DelB for this one:
Pearl and Nancy, who had been away from the bridge club
for several years, decided one day to participate in an
open game of social bridge. Arriving at the hall, they
looked around in the hope of teaming up with someone they
knew. Pearl said to Nancy, "I think I recognize that lady
over there," and walked over to inquire.
"Excuse me," she said, "but you look like Helen Brown."
Eyeing her up and down, the lady replied, "Well, you aren't
looking so
good in blue."
===================================================
AND FINALLY KALTICA
===================
Confidences
***********
"Time it was, it was,
and what a time it was
A time of innocence,
a time of confidences"
- "Old Friends" from "Bookends"
by Paul Simon & Art Garfunkle
Do you have confidence in your favourite partner?
Do you have confidence in your partnership?
The difference between these two questions is very
significant. Consider this scenario: You are sitting
at a table and one opponent asks the other:
"Do we play Drury, Pard?"
This would be a very reasonable question for any
new partnership. Hence, it is a question which we might
expect to hear often in the "promiscuous" partnership
environment of OKBridge, where pairs find themselves
slapped together at the last minute without setting aside
time to fill out a convention card. Indeed, in a 13 round
OKBridge tournament we should count ourselves lucky if we
see two convention cards in total!
But what if you were playing in the World Bridge
Federation's Mixed Pairs Championship in Montreal last
summer? Amazingly, Moogal and I heard this question and
others like it from many of our opponents. Bear in mind
that pairs had to register for this event more than a
month in advance. That they had not even taken the time
to settle on such basics was astounding. Question: How
much confidence would such a pair have in their agreements?
How effective were such pairings in relation to the skills
of their two players? Was their some synergy at work making
the partnership BETTER than its components? Or were the
two players isolated from each other by an inability to
communicate in the bidding or play? As we discovered,
the latter was usually the case.
In sharp contrast, Jan and I did not have a single
misunderstanding--or even system discussion--during
the entire event. In short, we had confidence in our
partnership. This stemmed from the time that we had
played together, the many discussions we had had before
the event and the exhaustive process of filling out a
WBF convention card.
Perhaps the quickest and best way to develop
partnership confidence is to produce system notes for
all of your understandings--including your carding
methods. A daunting task? Yes, unless you cheat by
taking a short cut! To wit, if you are an SA pair,
bring the SAYC notes into your text editor and rewrite
those parts that you don't like. Save them under some
new name and then email them to your partner to read
and revise. You can download the SAYC notes from:
http://www.firesides.net/sayc-ok.txt
If you are a 2/1-GF pair, consider doing the same
thing using either the 2/1-GF-OK notes from OKBridge
or the more comprehensive Spectrum notes at:
http://www.firesides.net/spectrum.htm
Once you have defined your agreements in this
manner you will find yourself beginning far fewer
sentences with "Pard, do we play..." Your confidence
in your partnership's foundation will improve both
your performance and your enjoyment of the game.
While in Montreal we encountered most of the
greats of the game. Did Moogal or I expect the other
to stroke a dummy as well as Garozzo, Meckstroth
or Lynn Deas? Er, no. In this narrow sense, then,
our confidence in partner could not compare to that
of our opponents. But there were other, far more
important aspects to partner confidence in which
we enjoyed a tremendous advantage. First and foremost,
we knew that we could "take a flyer" without fear of
being second guessed or "resulted" by Partner later.
Opponents who expected us to fall apart after a
disaster could only be surprised by our ability to
rebound on the very next board.
What if you and your partner encounter a situation
that is not covered in any of your prior discussions or
experience? Will your partner be on the same wavelength
as you? This will depend on the two aspects that will
inspire faith in a partner: logic and sophistication.
Logic is the ability to figure out the meaning of
a call or play at the table. Suppose you and your
partner encounter this undiscussed auction:
1NT 2C
2H 2S - What is 2S here?
A good partner will follow a chain of logic to
discern the meaning of 2S here. Assuming 2NT handles
the invitational hands with 4 Spades and 0-3 Hearts,
we can eliminate that as a possibility. 5-4 in the
majors? Unlikely. We wouldn't mess around with 2S if
we had a superior 4-4 Heart fit--especially if 2S were
not forcing. 5 Spades and 0-3 Hearts, invitational?
Unlikely. We would transfer into Spades and rebid
2NT. A game hand? No. If only interested in
game we'd bid 4H or, with 4 Spades, 3NT, allowing
Opener to remove to 4S with four Spades. Having
eliminated all of these candidates Opener should infer
by logic that 2S is some kind of slam try in one of
the majors. Similar logic will dictate what Opener
should bid next:
2NT = Denies 4 Spades, leaving Responder room
to show a minor suit or support Hearts.
3C = Any bid higher than 2NT must show 4 Spades
since it denies Responder a chance to show
a minor (Clubs here). As long as we are
still bidding naturally we must be showing
our third longest suit. Hence, 4=4=2=3.
3D = 4=4=3=2, similar to above.
3H = This gets in the way of Responder bidding
3H to settle that suit as trump and try
for slam. Why would Opener do this? Because
Opener is warning of a minimum! Hence, 3C
and 3D (above) must deny such a minimum.
Thus, if we have confidence in our partner we
can expect them to figure all of this out at the table
*without* prior discussion. Compare this to another
auction:
1NT 2D
2H 2S = 5-5 majors, but is 2S forcing?
Here, logic dictates that 2S must be 5-5 in the
majors or better since we would use Stayman with 5-4
in the majors. But logic may lead us to differing
conclusions as to whether 2S should be forcing. Which
is more important? To use this sequence as a signoff
in 2S or 3H? Or should it be at least invitational,
forcing for one round? If the latter, this approach
allows you to make a slam try with 5 Spades and 5+
superior Hearts. Opinions may differ on which is
better. Here is where sophistication comes into the
picture. If your partner is aware that most experts
treat 2S as a one round force you will be home free.
Otherwise, you cannot use this sequence with, say, 5-6
in the majors and a slam try--lest you wind up in 2S!
As students, how do we enhance these traits that
will make us more reliable partners? The logic of
the game is a matter of basic system analysis. One
bid for each hand type. Thus, if 1NT:2C:2H:2NT
handles the invitational hands with 4 Spades the
sequence 1NT:2C:2H:2S must show something else.
Frequency is a secondary consideration. We may not
have a way to handle 6-6 2-suiters but we must have
a way to reveal 5-5's. Forcing sequences take
precedence over invitational ones which, in turn,
are more vital than sign-offs. After 1C:1S:1NT in
SAYC we can force with 3H but 1C:1S:1NT:2H will have
to perform double duty for signoffs AND invitational
responding hands. Hence, Opener should raise the
2H rebid to 3H with a fit and a maximum.
The word "sophisticated" stems from the Greek
word "sophists", referring to lecturers who traveled
from town to town and, thus, were exposed to various
philosophies and methods. This afforded them a degree
of relativism and a more panoramic perspective. Far
more valuable than playing in our local club is the
opportunity to play with and against players from
all over the world. While the average OKBridger
might understand what McGuinty, SARC, KATARACT and
LOTUS are, the typical Face-to-Face bridgeplayer
may not. The latter may rely principally on books and
articles to broaden their horizons. But if we read
only one source (i.e. magazine, author or book) we
become like the ancient Athenian who never ventured
beyond the city limits. Onliners have the benefit not
only of various mentors (including the various Fireside
Commentators, for instance) but of public forums such as
Discuss, the Bridgementor newslists and the newsgroups.
These are interactive, allowing the student to ask questions
in order to understand the logic behind any approach
being espoused. In bridge, at least, the "why's" can
be far more important the "what's". Ideally, as
we explore the reasons why others prefer their methods,
sophistication leads to better logic skills. In turn,
those skills feed an interest in bidding theory such
that sophistication and logic become interdependent.
And here you thought bridge was "just a game". :)
**********************
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 Gail37 for this one:
A musical director was having a lot of trouble with one
drummer. He talked and talked and talked with the drummer,
but his performance simply didn't improve.
Finally, before the whole orchestra, he said, "When a
musician just can't handle his instrument and doesn't
improve when given help, they take away the instrument,
and give him two sticks, and make him a drummer."
A stage whisper was heard from the percussion section:
"And if he can't handle even that, they take away one of
his sticks and make him a conductor."
=====================================================
Fireside Chat Issues
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Ocbober, 2001
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November, 2001
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January, 2002
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February, 2002
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