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Fireside Chat
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FIRESIDE CHAT JUNE 2004
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome and Announcements
Believer's FireSide Kindling
Question and Answer
Bidding with Bridgboy
Hand of the Month
Special Treats
Moogal's FireSide Log
Treble's Table Talk
And Finally Kaltica
=======================================
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hi all!
Welcome to the June, 2004 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@bellsouth.net.
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! :-)
You can find current and past issues of this "FireSide
Chat" newsletter posted 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/FIFEE
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@bellsouth.net,
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) 2004 by FireSide Chat.
All rights reserved.
===============================================
BELIEVER'S FIRESIDE KINDLING
============================
Hi :-) Happy June! Sorry about the late mailing, but as I
told you last month I was traveling and didn't get back in
time to get the newsletter out on our normal day. Hope you
enjoy it now that we did get it out to you!
We have a couple of new fun columns to read this month -- a
"Question and Answer" that we hope you'll like, and a "Special
Treat" that's really special! Hope we can feature both
columns again really soon.
We held our first drawing for the book prize for our supporting
attendees this month! And our winner is: PRINGLE! She
wins the book "Points Schmoints!" by Marty Bergen, donated
by Moogal.
Congratulations, Jenna! We hope you'll enjoy the book :)
Everyone be sure to get your check in the mail for next
month's drawing -- our book next month is a 1967 edition of
"Card Play Technique", by Mollo and Gardener, in good
condition - donated by a special FireSide friend. It's a great
book, one we all need in our bridge library! We'll keep your
name in the bowl for the next month's drawing if you didn't
win this month, so the more often you send a check, the more
chances you have to win :-)
Hope to see you at FireSide, or the Mentor Cup Team Games!
Sara
********************
You can write to Believer (Sara Stobbe) at:
sarastobbe@aol.com
===============================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Luc for this giggle:
A Bunny Story
Once upon a time there was a man who was peacefully driving
down a winding road. Suddenly, a bunny skipped across the road
and the man couldn't stop. He hit the bunny head on. The man
quickly jumped out of his car to check the scene.
There, lying lifeless in the middle of the road, was the
Easter Bunny.
The man cried out, "Oh no! I have committed a terrible crime!
I have run over the Easter Bunny!"
The man started sobbing quite hard and then he heard another
car approaching. It was a woman in a red convertible. The
woman stopped and asked what the problem was.
The man explained, "I have done something horribly sad. I
have run over the Easter Bunny. Now there will be no one to
deliver eggs on Easter, and it's all my fault."
The woman ran back to her car. A moment later, she came back
carrying a spray bottle. She ran over to the motionless bunny
and sprayed it. The bunny immediately sprang up, ran into the
woods, stopped, and waved back at the man and woman. Then it
ran another 10 feet, stopped, and waved. It then ran another
10 feet, stopped, and waved again. It did this over and over
and over again until the man and the woman could no longer see
the bunny.
Once out of sight, the man exclaimed, "What is that stuff in
that bottle?"
The woman replied, "It's harespray. It revitalizes hare and
adds permanent wave."
===============================================================
QUESTION AND ANSWER
===================
We got a couple of questions last month that we asked our
writing staff to answer if they wanted to -- the following is
their answers. If you have a question for the staff, send it
in and we might use it here in the future!
********************
Hi Believer and Moogal:
What do you think about Montreal Relay (all hands that do
not have a 5-card suit are opened 1club and responder bids
1diamond if he/she has no 5card suit but at least one 4card
major -- otherwise responder bids some level NT depending on
HCP or passes (if broke)?
What do you think of Negative Free Bids?
What is the advantage or disadvantage of these two
conventions?
Thanks and Happy Bridge,
Carol
--------------------------------
From Ian:
I've heard (1) called various things .. "Nottingham Club" in
the UK if I remember correctly. I think that the lack of
definition far outweighs the advantages (all those sequences
that must mean something, but have never been discussed,
because it's a "simple system". If you add all the definition
then you'd be better off playing something better-defined,
like Precision for example.
Negative free bids seem OK to me except that they add even
more strain to the hands that you have to start with a
negative double. But then, a negative double is so nebulous
that it probably doesn't do much harm to make it even less
well-defined :)
Hope this helps,
-----------------------------
from guido:
Montreal relay is a great convention -- as long as responder
always has a 5+ card major.
1C-1D (ALERT!) doe NOT show a 4-card major. It shows either a
4-card major or any hand which would normally respond 1D.
After 1D, opener bids naturally -- NEVER bypassing a 4-card
major and remembering that the 1D response did not promise a
diamond suit. This means that opener's 2D rebid is a true
reverse, not merely a raise and that his opener's 3D shows a
serious minor two-suiter.
Bear in mind some of the consequences of playing Montreal
Relay. These include: When responder bids 1D, he has shown 5
or more cards in the minors and denied a 5+ card major
(ignoring 5M-6m hands). If responder does not hold a 4-card
major, he does not have a natural club raise. (What is
"natural" depends on the rest of the system). He does not have
a hand suitable for 1N, 2N or 3N. If he has a 4-card major and
no 5-card major, he has enough to respond and that is ALL that
you know.
Negatives: It can be difficult to sort out the minors.
You need to think through and decide what second round doubles
mean. For example: 1C-(p)-1D!-(1S or 2S) is opener's double
here showing spades or is it responsive showing hearts. If
opener and the passing opponent both pass, is responder's
double showing spades or hearts or merely extra high cards and
nothing obvious to say?
If opener raises 1H or 1S with any 3-card support, how do you
later determine if he has 3 or 4 card support (if you are a
believer in Total Tricks, this becomes important -- well, it
is often important even if are not a accolade of The Law).
Does 1C-1H;1S-2D; 2H show mere preference or does it show 4-3
in the majors?
Positives: If the opponents are kind enough to shut up, it
helps quickly distinguish between 4 and 5 card majors.
Incidentally, some people play what is basically the opposite
of Montreal Relay. This alternative glories in the wonderful
name of MAFIA. That stands for MAjors FIrst Always. In
response to 1C, opener would respond 1H with x-5432-AKJTxx-AQ.
The Polish systems usually play this way (don't knock the
Poles or their systems.. on a per capita basis they are 1st in
success in International competition (some people would say
second -- prizes for guessing which country others would put
first). Either approach works. As does Western Scientific's
approach which is simply that you bid a 4-card major ahead of
a longer diamond suit if the hand is not strong enough to
force to game. Any approach requires thinking about
consequences .. there is MUCH MORE to each approach than the
mere first response.
One final comment. The original publication of Montréal Relay
is still one of the best "system books" ever written. It is a
medium length pamphlet which covers not just the Relay but
some other troublesome bidding situations.
Negative Free Bids were quite popular in the 80s and 90s. They
are still quite popular in England from what I hear. Basically
they work like this: Partner opens one of a suit, the next
player makes a simple (non-jump) overcall, you , dear reader
and responder, make a negative double with EITHER a normal
negative double OR with a Game forcing hand. A bid of a new
suit on the next round shows the Game forcing hand. If you bid
a suit rather than make a negative double, it is invitational,
but not forcing (and therefore shows length -- at least 5
often 6). The exact range is usually 2C through 2 of partner's
suit, but this is subject to quite a bit of variation.
My opinion of Negative Free bids? I think they work reasonably
well in a limit system -- translation: not a bad idea if you
play Precision Club. I think they cause more problems than
they solve in a Standard American system (that includes SAYC
and 2/1). For one thing, since opener has NO IDEA of the shape
or strength of responder's hand, it makes passing responder's
negative double for penalty extremely dangerous and rare. For
another, the range of opener's hand is so great that inviting
and accepting said invitation are wide range actions. Finally,
it makes it difficult to bid certain hands. These are limited
hands with 4 in an unbid major and length in an unbid minor.
In normal style, you can negative double and if partner is too
stupid to hold your 4-card major, you can run with relative
safety to your long minor. In Negative Free bids you have set
up a Game Forcing auction. There are other problem hands, but
you get the beginnings of the trade-offs involved.
-----------------------------------
from bridgboy:
The Montreal Relay is not mainstream, and is just a regional
fad. As to negative free bids, it has merits but not for
anyone who does not have a firm knowledge of all of
constructive bidding. I would not recommend it to our novice
readers, as it is too hard to use effectively.
------------------------------------------------
from fifee:
I have not studied Montreal Relay but it sounds interesting.
Montreal Relay would probably work well with no competition,
but if you open 1C and opponents interfere (especially pre-
empting) then you are at a high level and have no idea if you
have a fit and where it might lie. (What is the point range
on a 1C opening? Do you bid 1C with balanced NT openers, too?)
Would like to study this more before I pass judgment on
Montreal Relay.
I have used Negative Freebids. In fact I wrote a column for
Fireside last year on Negative Freebids. I like Negative
Freebids, but prefer Negative Doubles since they cover more
territory.
----------------------------------------------------------------
from wintaka:
I don't have much experience playing with or against Montreal
Relay. I think the advantage is minimal (knowing about a
five-card suit) for the price you give up in return. With the
1C and 1D bids being fraught with ambiguity, it's difficult
for the partnership to find a minor suit contract when it's
the right spot.
Negative free bids are much the same thing. It's nice to be
able to jump in and compete with a long suit and marginal
values, but....suppose you have:
S--AQ10xx H--xx D--Axx C--Kxx
You LHO Pard RHO You LHO Pard RHO
1D 1H Dbl 4H 1D 1H 1S 4H
pass pass ? pass pass ?
On the first auction, where you are playing negative freebids
the enemy pre-empt has your side in a quandary as you haven't
been able to show the extra values for the negative double OR
the fifth spade yet. On the second auction, where you are
playing forcing free bids, you can double 4H and expect
partner to make an intelligent decision, having shown long
spades at your first turn.
------------------------------------
from kaltica:
>> What do you think about Montreal Relay (all hands that do
not have a 5-card suit are opened 1club and responder
bids 1diamond if he/she has no 5card suit but at least
one 4card major -- otherwise responder bids some level NT
depending on HCP or passes (if broke)?
This is an interesting question. Responding 1D on MOST hands
that lack a 5-card major is a reasonable idea in and of itself.
We need to make exceptions only for those hands better
described by natural 1NT, 2C and higher responses. The
"bogus" 1D reply to 1C is most effective when we have a weak
hand and no intention to rebid once Opener shows a major.
The problem comes in two places:
1. Finding other bids when 1D promises a major. Do we really
want to respond 1NT with, say, 3=3=6=1 rather than promise a
major with 1C:1D?
2. Shoving too many hands, including 4=4=3=2 hands, into the
"short" 1C opening. Now Responder needs SIX or more Clubs to
support that suit. This all but derails your competitive
bidding if you do have a fit for Clubs.
>> What do you think of Negative Free Bids?
I, personally, think they are a tremendous improvement and
play them with all regular partners.
>> What is the advantage or disadvantage of these two
conventions?
The disadvantage of the full Montreal relay is detailed above.
The only disadvantage of non-forcing free bids comes when we
have a strong hand; we often "waste" a level of bidding to
jump with strong 1-suiters to establish a game force. I
consider this a small price to pay, since it establishes a
GAME force rather than a ONE round force...but that is just
my taste.
I hope this helps.
--------------------------
from pooka:
Montreal Relay - 5card suits or nothing.
Personally, I feel this is a system to allow no judgment.
There seems no advantage to playing it - yes we find 5-3 fits
at low levels, but most other systems allow that - sometimes
we use judgment and raise partners response to our opening
with 3 card support.
Going back in time to when I was a new player, a world Calibre
player (played in Bermuda bowl for Canada and India both) told
me you have to play a few 4-2's to improve your play; then you
have no fear of any moysian (4-3 fit). Besides improving your
declarer play, we also have lots of tools that will discover
5-3 fits, if we choose to do so. There are quite a few hands
where its correct to play in 3NT, not the 5-3 fit. Once we
have played bridge for a while we can attempt to determine when
this is occurring, and when we belong in a suit.
My feeling on Montréal Relay is it stifles any possible
development of your logic/table feel/judgment.
My advice - avoid it - preempt over it!
-----------------
A special thanks to all of our writers who responded!
========================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Luc for this profound thought:
"Life isn't like a box of chocolates. It's like eating
jalapenos. What you do today may burn your butt tomorrow!" :-)
=================================================
BIDDING WITH BRIDGBOY
=====================
Keep Them Guessing
One of the basic tenets of declaring is to try and keep them
guessing on defense. If you keep them in the dark as long as
possible you give them a chance to misguess the proper
defense.
Let us look at a simple hand from the fall nationals that
shows this all-important point:
S Qxx
H K1043
D J54
C A63
S AKJxx
H A92
D 32
C J42
You are in 2 spades, with LHO having overcalled 2 diamonds.
The opening lead is the king of clubs. Plan your play!
What do you know about this hand? First, LHO has AQ of
diamonds and the king is to your right. That bit of
information is crucial because it is something that LHO does
not know! He is afraid to shift to a diamond away from his
holding for fear that declarer has the king. So let us give
him something to think about -- duck the first trick and leave
the player who does not know all about the hand on lead. We
certainly have a club loser so we have lost nothing and might
gain something with the duck. Lo and behold after much thought
LHO shifts to a low heart. We now play for split heart honors
and take 5 spades, 4 hearts, and 1 club for 10 winners and a
near top score.
What we did was give LHO a guess and he misguessed for our
benefit. And, by the way, the top flight declarer who played
this hand was my partner and table manager Gail Hyland (FRODO)
who scored a near top for us while we did well in the morning
pair game. Well played, Gail!
********************
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 Pooka for this giggle:
A man owned a small farm in West Texas. The Wage and Hour
Department of Texas claimed he was not paying proper wages to his
help and sent an agent to interview him.
"I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them,"
demanded the agent.
"Well, there's my hired hand who's been with me for 3 years. I
pay him $600 a week plus free room and board. The cook has been
here for 18 months, and I pay her $500 a month plus free room and
board. Then there's the half-wit that works about 18 hours a
day. He makes $10 a week and I buy him chewing tobacco,"
replied the farmer.
"That's the guy I want to talk to; the half-wit," says the
agent.
The farmer says, "That would be me."
===========================================================
HAND OF THE MONTH
=================
This month we are thrilled to present our 'Hand of the Month'
feature, with a big "thank you" to Gail Wix for formatting it
for us.
From The 2004 Daily Bridge Calendar. For more information
call 1-888-453-1976, or email: calendar@interlog.com
********************
Vul: none North
Dlr: N S K93
H AK42
D A763
C AJ
South
S AT
H 753
D T42
C Q9853
West North East South
1D P 1NT
p 3NT all pass
Opening Lead S8
Fortune may favor the brave, but not every declarer would be
brave enough to make today's 3NT. Most of us would have to
adopt the philosopher's advice: "If you aren't brave, pretend
you are and act accordingly."
When West leads the S8, what is South's best chance?
********************
S K93
H AK42
D A763
C AJ
S 876 S QJ542
H QT86 H J9
D KJ98 D Q5
C T4 C K762
S AT
H 753
D T42
C Q9853
Contract: 3NT Lead: S8
*******************
South took the SK, saving the ace as an entry to his hand, and
led the CA and the CJ. East played low and the CJ won. South
then ducked a heart, won the spade return and tried the HA and
HK. When East showed out, South took only seven tricks.
"You could make it," North muttered.
"I'm not that brave," said South.
South can get home by pretending to be brave. When East
follows low on the CJ, South must fearlessly overtake with
the CQ. He'll win only one club trick if West has the king,
but South needs four club tricks, not two.
South must hope East's clubs are CKxx or CKxxx. When West's
CT falls, South leads the C9 to force out the king and takes
four clubs, two spades two hearts, and one diamond.
********************
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
Thanks to Gail37 for this groaner:
Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's
mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic
was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for
delivery early in May in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be
the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New
York. This would have been the largest single shipment of
mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know . . . the
great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an
iceberg and sank . . . and the cargo was forever lost.
The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and
were eagerly awaiting its delivery . .. were disconsolate at
the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a
National Day of Mourning which they still observe to this day.
The National Day of Mourning occurs each year in early May and
is known . . of course as . .
"Sinko de Mayo"
Yeah... I know... GROAN!!
============================================================
SPECIAL TREATS
==============
Janice read a version of the following article in her May 2004
Florida Bridge News. She was so sure our readers would enjoy
it, and learn from it, that she received permission from them
to reprint a longer version here, for which we sincerely thank
the author, Jack Brawner (NIGHTOWL on OKB) and editor Peggy
Higgenbotham!
Look for Jack's book, in the future, "Bridge for the Club
Player". We hope he will send us future installments to print
here!
********************
BRIDGE FOR THE CLUB PLAYER
COUNTING
It is the DIFFERENCE
Most players get by pretty well without counting the entire
hand. Indeed, counting is a lot of work, and can hamper your
enjoyment of the game while you are developing the habit of
doing it. So why bother? The answer, and the ONLY answer, is
that those who count will make plays, especially on defense,
that would not even occur to the people who do not. I used to
talk about something I jokingly call "Brawner's First Rule:
You can't make a play that does not occur to you." Think
about it. There are many many books and programs on declarer
play that include counting. One of my favorites is Mike
Lawrence's "Counting at Bridge" computer program. (The 49th
Street Bridge Club that Jacquie and I own and operate [in St.
Pete, Fla] is very excited to have Mike Lawrence coming for a
seminar in March! ) The BIGGEST edge to the player who counts
comes on defense. And, theoretically, you should defend two
hands out of every four, and declare only one! (Once you will
be dummy, where it is better to rest -- unless you are
practicing your counting) OK, so you're convinced. Grin. But
the one thing nobody ever taught me was HOW to count... and
there truly are ways to make it easier! So allow me to
help...
Step One: MEMORIZE THESE PATTERNS!
5-card suit patterns 6-card suit patterns
5-3-3-2 6-3-2-2
5-4-3-1 6-4-2-1
5-4-2-2 6-3-3-1
5-5-2-1 6-4-3-0
5-5-3-0 6-5-1-1
5-4-4-0 6-5-2-0
4-card suit patterns Other useful patterns
4-4-3-2 7-3-2-1
4-3-3-3 7-2-2-2
4-4-4-1
This is not a complete list, but will take care of the vast
majority 13-card distribution patterns - the ones that
actually come up! In addition, you will find that when someone
shows up with an 8+ card suit, counting is EASY once you gain
experience with the more common patterns. (Voids also make
counting easier!)
This is step one. Get to know these patterns well.
It is important to develop good habits!
EVERY TIME you pick up your hand and sort it out, say mentally
to yourself "5-3-3-2", "4-4-3-2", etc.
EVERY TIME, when you are drawing trumps, say to yourself that
"trumps were distributed "4-4-3-2", or "5-4-3-1", etc.
(The more you do this, the more the same patterns repeat
-- and get easier!)
EVERY TIME, when you are setting up that key side suit in a
trump contract, say to yourself that "this suit was
distributed..."
EVERY TIME, when you are setting up your long suit in a
notrump contract, say to yourself that "this suit was
distributed..."
Most players do not use "pattern-style" counting, but rather
the "running count". I am defining the "running count" as what
I believe we ALL did at first. ("OK, I drew two rounds of
spades and everybody followed. That makes 8. I have 3 more,
and the board has 1. That makes 12. There is 1 spade out.")
Change this thought pattern! "I have 8 spades. The remaining
5 are either 5-0, 4-1, or 3-2." Then, after you play two
rounds, you will know which it is. So what's the big deal?
Well, firstly, it's easier. Truly. Also, if you now tell
yourself that "Spades were 3-2, with LHO having 2", then you
are one-quarter of the way toward counting out their hands!
Now, for example, you attack a side suit, using a similar
process. Guess what? You are now half-way to counting their
hands! Will it help you play the hand? Not always. But it
WILL be a good habit. Extend this counting pattern to all
situations -- when they are running their long suit against
you, etc., etc.
It helps me to divide the suits into pairs, as well.
Majors/minors, blacks/reds, rounders/pointers. ("Rounders"
are hearts and clubs, the ones with round tops -- "pointers"
are spades and diamonds...) I say to myself things like "She
had 7 pointers, so she had 6 rounders. Her rounders are 4-2,
3-3, 5-1, or 6-0." As I gain information throughout the hand
(beginning with the BIDDING, right? Right???), the hand
picture becomes more and more complete.
Here are two promises:
1) You do not EVER need to learn to count out an entire hand.
Many times it will not help you. And it is tough, at first,
to do.
2) If/when you DO learn to count "properly", this game
actually gets EASIER. (Brawner's First Law: You cannot make
a play that does not occur to you. Brawner's counting
corollary: If you count, plays will occur to you that will
NOT occur to others!)
So now that we have practiced counting out the suits in
patterns, what comes next? Eventually but inevitably
(hooray!), and not as quickly as you'd like, you will start
putting the unknown hands into the same patterns. For
example, these are some thought processes that a good declarer
should have: "LHO followed to three spades (trump), and
started with four diamonds. She overcalled 2 clubs, and her
partner had a stiff, so she had 6. She was 3-0-4-6. I think
I can figure out how to play the hearts now..."
Situation: With spades trump, late in the hand, you have AJx
opposing KTx of hearts (and no throw-in is available):
"RHO had 2 spades (trump), and 4 clubs. ( Key point: I
remember that because I am now counting in PATTERNS!). He has
7 red cards. He overcalled 2 diamonds, showing at least 5 and
likely 6 or more. So he has at most 2 hearts, and probably
just one (or zero). LHO then has at least 5, probably more.
I am going to play LHO for the heart queen, even though RHO
bid. In addition to the straightforward odds (five to two!),
I can even make this "jibe" with the bidding --RHO is more
likely to be excited about his singleton heart than he is an
unprotected queen."
These, of course, are just examples. But similar examples
come up all the time. Every hand -- grin. Here is a defender
example: "Dummy, on my left, has good clubs for declarer to
pitch on. Am I desperate enough to lead the ace from AQxx of
diamonds now, even though I think declarer likely has the
king? Hmmm -- declarer had 5 spades and 2 hearts, so he has
seven minor cards. Dummy had 5 clubs. No matter how many
pitches declarer can get on the clubs, he will still have two
diamonds left. I'll wait. He has to lead them eventually,
and I will score my ace and queen." (This is a very common
defensive situation, by the way.)
Here is another: "Declarer had 6 spades (trump) and trumped
the third round of diamonds, so he had 2 of those. That
leaves 5 round cards. OK, now declarer has led a club and
partner showed an odd number, leaving declarer with either 2
or 4. He has either 3 or 1 hearts. Can I tell? Well, if he
has 1 heart, partner would have seven, and he passed
originally. No way. So declarer started with 3 hearts and 2
clubs..."
Have courage and resolve! At first, this seems like magic.
After a while, it seems less like magic and more like work.
Eventually, it seems less like work and more like simple
arithmetic. Then, as the good results start to come in, it
seems more like FUN!
Happy Counting!
Jack Brawner
TrojanOwl@aol.com
============================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to BobW for this one:
The following are being passed along without verification.)
Did you know that .
A sick pig rarely curls its tail.
A woodpeckers tongue is long enough to wrap it around his head
2 times.
Ants prefer not to walk through baby powder.
Snakes can't blink.
A rat can tread water for 3 days.
A snail takes 33 hours to crawl 1 mile.
The bigger the navel, the sweeter the orange.
The dot over the lower case "i" is called a Tittle.
In an average lifetime, the human heart circulates 55 million
gallons of blood.
Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.
It is illegal in the state of Kentucky to marry your wife's
grandmother.
If a frog's mouth is held open too long, the frog will
suffocate.
Kokomo, Indiana is the home of canned tomato juice.
Peanuts are used in the manufacture of dynamite.
In an average lifetime, the average American receives 31 prank
phone calls.
Most American car horns honk in the key of F.
At the first Thanksgiving dinner, Lobster was one of the main
entrees.
No word in the English Language rhymes with month (or orange
or silver).
Worcestershire Sauce is basically an anchovy Ketchup.
A duck's quack does not echo.
The ashes of an average cremated person weigh 9 lbs.
The signs around HTML tags are called Angle Braces.
Roosters cannot crow if they cannot extend their necks.
Oak trees do not have acorns until they are 50 years or older.
Shirley Temple always had 56 curls in her hair.
Corduroy comes from the French, meaning cloth of the king.
The dial tone of a normal phone is in the key of F.
Easter Sunday is always the first Sunday after the first full
moon after March 21.
An office chair with wheels travels an average of 8 miles a
year.
Howdy Doody has exactly 48 freckles on his face.
Bubble gum contains rubber.
33 million Hershey kisses are made each day.
Every time you sneeze, some of your brain cells die.
An animal epidemic is called an epizootic.
If you stretch a standard slinky out flat it measures 87 feet
long.
A camel's milk does not curdle.
A cat has 4 rows of whiskers.
In Disney's Fantasia, the Sorcerer name is Yensid, which is
Disney, spelled backwards.
Maine is the toothpick capital of the world.
The space between the 2 front teeth is called a diastima.
Alexander the Great was an epileptic.
A group of owls is called a parliament.
The geographical center of North America is Rugby, North
Dakota.
Dirty Harry's badge number is 2211.
The ball on top of a flagpole is called the truck.
Giraffes have no vocal chords.
The dragonfly has a lifespan of 24 hours.
Mr. Rogers was an ordained minister.
Professional ballerinas use about 12 pairs of toe shoes per
week.
Race car is a palindrone.
The two lines that connect your top lip to the bottom of your
nose are known as philtrums.
Ralph Kramden made $62.00 a week.
===============================================================
MOOGAL'S FIRESIDE LOG
=====================
OKB Tourneys
Well done to all our Fireside friends who excelled in
the tourneys this past month!!
Sat May 1 07:00 PM Combo
Rank Team Score Boards
1 alchmist/thebman 61.01 24
Tue May 11 11:00 AM Combo
Rank Team Score Boards
1 kaltica/ulrika 57.54 24
Sat May 15 11:00 AM
Rank Team Score Boards
1 Kaltica/moogal 69.17 12
Sun May 16 08:00 AM
Rank Team Score Boards
1 fifee/moogal 3.03 8
There are now 13 tourneys a day, plus combo results, it's just
not possible for me to check each one....so if you win a
tourney, let me know! We want everyone's name up in lights!
****************************************************************
NOVICE MENTOR TOURNEYS
Congrats to our winners of the Novice-Mentor tourney this
month.
And well done to all our top finishers:
Rank Team Score Boards
1 de/hec1 59.03 12
2 sha/wandaw 55.55 12
3 Birdie/PollyE 54.17 10
4 Brennar/marlys/TournNov 50.83 10
5 believer/sfogel 50.00 12
NOTE: The second Novice-Mentor tourney, which had been held
on the third Saturday each month has been cancelled. So be
sure to show up on the second Thursday each month (June 10th
this month) for your chance to play!
****************************************************************
FIRESIDE'S MENTOR CUP GAME
Our May winners are:
05-02-2004
Team JFLOW50: Jflow50, Believer, Desiree & Baol
A tie on 05-16-2004!
Team JANETE: JanetE, Hec1, Jundith and Hawes
Team BOBOWEN: Bobowen, Queenhrt, Pringle & Unicorn
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 us at firesider@aol.com
- all welcome!
****************************************************************
Tourney NEWS:
Mini's too long for you?:)
Try the 8-board IMP Micro-mini on Sunday mornings at 8AM OKB
time! It's in test mode now to see how many folks seem to like
it, so the way to vote is with your presence! You'll be out in
time for the 9 AM Mini if you have a date for that one, so
come give it a try!
Flights -- all the tourneys are now stratified, you can change
your designation from the default "A", to "B" or "C". If you
are the top B or C pairs, you will get pond points according
to the revised formula at:
http://www.okbridge.com/membersclub/tourneys/pondpoints.php3
Note: there is still a small glitch in the results -- in
order to see the B and C places, you must look at the web page
results under "text hand records". It does not appear on the
java pages, or in the emailed results. They are working on
that!
So change your flight to a realistic level, and start earning
some pond points! The minis are FUN!
****************************************************************
Seen on an OKB stats card:
It is not necessary to understand things to argue about them.
Do you sometimes feel a few OKBers have learned this lesson
well?:)
****************************************************************
Congratulations to Ed (ED4) who finished first overall in a
pairs game at the Raleigh, NC regional on Saturday, 29 May
2004. Well done, Ed!
****************************************************************
The Falcon Is Found! by Richard Pavlicek
Sculpted by crusaders in 16th century Malta, the solid-gold,
jewel-encrusted statuette was stolen by pirates and lost for
hundreds of years. Sam Spade couldn't find it, but finally,
in the year 2004, the priceless "Black Bird" has been found!
Come celebrate the occasion with this new play contest -- all
spade contracts, of course. As declarer, simply choose your
play from the choices offered. Try it! It's fun.
http://www.rpbridge.net/7x81.htm
Results of the May bidding poll "On Top of the World" (ending
May 31) are out now. For these, and everything else about the
monthly polls and contests, go to:
http://www.rpbridge.net/rppc.htm
Ready for some fun from Richard's web site? He has a page of
puzzles, and here is what he says about them:
"These are double-dummy puzzles which means you are privileged
to see all four hands. But this does not mean they are easy.
In fact, they are usually very difficult.
Bridge puzzles are not for everyone. If you are trying to
improve your game, the time spent solving bridge puzzles is
less productive than working on bridge problems -- note the
difference. The solution of a bridge "problem" gives you
lasting practical benefit, while a bridge "puzzle" is more of
a novelty or fantasy -- the play is sometimes so bizarre that
it would never occur in real life."
But if you do like puzzles, you should enjoy this....Take a
look at this selection, one of his original creations:
Optimum Contract
In bridge articles one occasionally comes across the phrase
"optimum contract," which refers to the highest scoring
contract a side can make on a particular deal against best
defense. Note that in some cases this contract must be
declared from a specific direction to prevent a damaging
opening lead. Consider the following deal:
S 9
H J109
D AQ432
C AKQ2
S -- S AKQ8
H -- H AKQ87
D J1098765 D K
C 876543 C J109
S J10765432
H 65432
D --
C --
A. What is the optimum contract for North-South?
B. What is the optimum contract for East-West?
Solution
A. The optimum contract for North-South is three spades,
played by South. Note that West has no hearts, so whatever he
leads is won in dummy and declarer gets four discards as East
follows suit. Then the D Q is led and if East ruffs low, South
can either discard his last heart or overruff and win nine
tricks. (East must not ruff high, else South wins 10 tricks.)
B. The optimum contract for East-West is less obvious. It is
easy to see that East (or West for that matter) can make two
notrump -- East has eight winners and North has five, so the
play is straightforward. But can they do better? Can East make
three hearts? No, only the same eight tricks are available.
What about in diamonds? Only eight tricks are available by
West, although East can make three diamonds -- four of West's
clubs go away because South must lead a major suit. Alas,
making three diamonds is still an inferior score to two
notrump, so we're back to square one.
Enter the bizarre. The optimum contract for East-West is also
three spades, played by East. Regardless of the lead, East
wins one top trump and five hearts. Note that South must now
ruff all plain-suit leads and repeatedly lead trumps, allowing
East to score the eight spot as his ninth trick.
As Victor Mollo's Hideous Hog would describe it, "Curious
hand; makes three spades both ways."
Copyright (c) 2000 Richard Pavlicek. All rights reserved.
**************************************************************
We've been encouraging you to take Colin's SAYC test in
this column. This month the Spectator featured his work!
#### TECHNICAL TIPS #### By Wendy Baze
*** SAYC Bidding ***
You've been a member of OKbridge for some time now. You login,
look around at the list of tables in play, check the messages
to the lobby, find a table that looks promising, and join.
There is a pair sitting N/S, so you ask, "May I?" They say,
"Sure, have a seat".
In just a minute, here comes another player. The server
invites him to sit and your hand is dealt. You double click on
his photo to check out his stat sheet and it says, "SAYC". You
say, "SAYC stats fine, pard."
Your partner opens the bidding with 1S, your RHO passes, and
you bid 2NT (of course remembering to self-Alert and explain
to the opponents that it is Jacoby 2NT, showing spade support
and game forcing). Now your LHO, partner and RHO all pass.
Hmmm.... here you are again. You know that Jacoby 2NT is part
of SAYC but apparently your newly acquired partner does not.
Not much fun, is it?
How well do YOU know SAYC? Standard American Yellow Card is a
specific system designed by and for the American Contract
Bridge League (ACBL) in 1985. It is a standardized convention
card created for special ACBL events that require all
participants to use it. SAYC has enjoyed a revival as a result
of its usage as a standard natural system in Internet play.
SAYC is the most commonly played bidding system in the world.
Routinely, two players sit down and agree to play "SAYC"
without realizing what they've gotten themselves into. Many
assume that SAYC is synonymous with Standard American. In
fact, Standard American is a family of systems that includes,
among other variants, Goren, SARC (Standard American Rainbow
Card), and SAYC.
Colin Ward (kaltica on OKbridge) has an SAYC test on this page
of his website:
http://www.firesides.net/sayctest.htm
I advise you to take the test. I'll bet you will be surprised.
You can find SAYC notes on the OKbridge
website:www.okbridge.com Click on "System" on the left side of
the page under "Bridge Reference".
------
So go ahead, take the test....your name is optional but your
email address is required to receive the results. I'll bet our
Firesiders have an edge on this one!
**************************************************************
Fireside birthday wishes go out to everyone's favorite Angel
Imo (IMOGENE), who is 79 *again* this week! Happy Birthday,
Sugah! :)
**************************************************************
I don't know this person, Tuna's choice for Angelfish this
month, but my heart was warmed by this story and I wanted to
reprint here so you all could see it. There are some real
fine folks on OKB!
#### ANGELFISH OF THE MONTH ####
Glenn Eisenstein "Glenne" of New York is our Angelfish for
June.
In this game one does not have to aspire to be a man-eating
shark. Glenn was playing in a Tourney when the Director filled
in for a player who had crashed. Due to a mix-up in the
defense. Glenn ended up with a good score. He emailed me after
the game to say that he did not deserve the result and asked
me to adjust the score... and this after he had just won the
tourney! A good example of quality bridge and excellent
sportsmanship hand-in-hand.
**************************************************************
Best wishes in June to all our Dads and Grads. Until next
month....
Hugs....Janice
*************************************************************
While we list the lessons offered by the commentators who
write for The Chat, we want to note that our other
commentators also give lessons in most shapes and
sizes....mentoring games, tourney play, partnership coaching,
just about whatever type of lesson you could envision.
Please feel free to contact any of them for lessons:
Colin/Kaltica kaltica@mts.net
Bill/Wintaka btreble@shaw.ca
Lynn/Wishtrik lynn@lynndeas.com
Dann/Pooka pspeard@telusplanet.net
Bob/Bridgboy bridgboy@charter.net
Diane/DianeW diane@walkersweb.org
Bernard/Bluebee Bernardh@btinternet.com
Fred/FredW3 Please msg on OKB
Patricia/Fifee AndersonsCorner@charter.net
The lessons can be more affordable than you might
think, especially mentoring games. We think our
commentators give you your money's worth when you
choose private lessons, and they really value your
business. Maybe you can hint to a loved one what
you would like for your next birthday!
***********************************************************
Rainbow and Spectrum Series Online!
The popular Rainbow (SAYC and play) and Spectrum (2/1-GF)
series have been automated for your convenience. You can take
any of the lessons at your leisure simply by clicking on
either of these links:
http://www.firesides.net/rainbows.htm
http://www.firesides.net/spectrums.htm
Enjoy!
**************************************************************
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.
*****************************************************
June Events: (All times Pacific)
===============================
NOVICE/MENTOR TOURNEY:
Thursday, June 10, at 6:00 PM, OKb time. 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.
FIRESIDE MENTOR CUP TEAM GAME:
Sundays, 5:00 P.M. June 6 and 20.
See www.firesides.net/mtc.htm for info and lists
of past winners. To get on the mailing list for
this game, email me at firesider@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.
OKbridge 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.
********************
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@bellsouth.net
=====================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Benson for this giggle:
I was commuting from the Borough of Queens to my job in
Manhattan. I'd finished reading the morning paper and was saving
it to bring to friends on the job. How do you save a newspaper on
the subway? You sit on it.
A new commuter came in, saw the newspaper under my rear end and
asked the second most stupid question I've ever heard, "Are you
reading that paper?" I stood up, turned the page, sat right back
down on the paper and answered, "Yes."
========================================================
TREBLE'S TABLE TALK
===================
Forks in the Road
We are often faced with a difficult bidding decision at some
juncture during the auction. Many of them are a coin-flip
between two reasonable choices. Occasionally, it gets even
more complicated, with a fork in the road leading down three
or more pathways, and we have to decide which is most likely
to guide us into the promised land. In the last month or so,
I've been faced with several challenges of this type.
One of them arose in a club game a few weeks ago, with me
holding:
S-- AQxx H-- x D-- AQ10xx C-- Qxx
Partner opened 1S and my first decision was on my initial
response. There are three prospective candidates:
a) 2NT Jacoby, a forcing raise in spades. Over this response,
opener would reveal a good second suit or shortness if he had
one. Without shortness, partner will bid 3S with extra
values, 4S with a dead minimum, or 3NT with an "in-between"
hand.
b) 4H, a splinter promising heart shortness and at least four-
card support with enough values for game.
c) 2D, natural and game-forcing, intending to raise spades as
our next turn.
I finally decided on c), the 2D response. I rejected the
Jacoby 2NT because it will be difficult to evaluate the minor
suit queens or gauge the slam potential regardless of what
opener does next. The 4H splinter doesn't show the decent
five-card diamond suit. There is also a school of thought
that advocates a splinter bidder having first or second round
control in both of the side suits. At any rate, 4H consumes a
lot of bidding space, so I would only consider it if the hand
were devoid of reasonable alternatives, which definitely is
not the case here.
The 2D response proved to work out fairly well, as the
combined hands were:
Partner: S-- KJ10xx H-- Qxxx D-- Kx C-- AJ
Me: S-- AQxx H-- x D-- AQ10xx C-- Qxx
And the auction continued:
Opener Responder
1S 2D
2H 2S
2NT 4H*
5S 6S
Partner rebid hearts, then made a good 2NT bid at his third
turn, conserving bidding space in case I had extras. Now I
jumped to 4H, which has to be a delayed splinter. The reason
is that I could have bid a simple 3H instead, as a cuebid
and/or a semi-fit. Now opener's hand is quite promising, with
the King of responder's long suit and first-round club
control. Partner jumped to 5S, asking for trump quality in out
methods. With the AQ and a fourth trump, raising to six was
automatic. Slam is a pretty fair proposition, and in fact
made. We were the only pair to reach 6S, and it's fairly easy
to see why. Over a Jacoby 2NT, opener bids 4S and that was all
she wrote. The same thing happened after responder made the 4H
splinter. In a splinter auction, perhaps opener should NOT
sign off, as the hand is minimum but without a lot of wastage
in hearts.
Next up was another decision for responder at a team game last
Saturday:
S-- 9xxxx H-- KJxx D-- A10x C-- x
The auction began with:
Opener Responder
1D 1S
3C ?
Here again, responder has three options at his disposal:
a) 3D, supporting partner's original suit. The fly in the
ointment is that unless opener bids a "last-train" 3H, our
side may bypass a makeable 3NT contract.
b) 3NT, good on the heart stopper but failing to show the
diamond support. We can't really delude ourselves that we can
support diamonds later as opener will pass our bid 90% of the
time.
c) 3H. Keeps a possible 5-3 fit spade fit alive. However,
it's ambiguous as to whether responder is promising heart
length or just has no standout bid and is keeping a notrump
game in the picture. Moreover, if opener now bids 3NT,
responder will have to pass since 3H followed by a removal of
3NT to 4D promises at least a king more than what we actually
have.
I eliminated c) from my list of choices right away. With two
heart stoppers, I wasn't in the least interested in getting to
a 5-3 spade fit even if we had one. After prolonged thought,
I settled on 3NT with a fair degree of uncertainty, mildly
guilty at not supporting partner's diamonds. When dummy
appeared my distress increased noticeably, as the combined
holdings were:
Partner: S-- Akx H-- A D-- KQxxx C-- AJ109
Me: S-- 9xxxx H-- KJxx D-- A10x C-- x
While no slam is a for sure, there is play for either 6D or
6S. My bid was vindicated only by the distribution, with
spades 4-1 and diamonds 5-0. However, since our opponents at
the other table failed to bid either of the reasonable slams
and instead landed in an ugly 6NT from my side, I wasn't too
inclined to give back the 13 IMPs we gained on the board.
Some forks in the road are clearly marked, while others are
barely recognizable. Take, for example, this seemingly
routine hand.
S-- 10xxxx H-- 9x D-- AKxx C-- Jx
The bidding unfolds thusly:
Partner You
1H 1S
3C 3NT
4H ?
It seems completely natural to pass here, but let's consider
what opener is showing. With the removal of 3NT to 4H, you'd
expect partner to have 11 rounded cards. Moreover, he should
have at least two more hearts than clubs. With a fifth club,
you'd be seeing him bid 4C rather than 4H. What's uncertain
here is opener's precise holdings in diamonds and spades.
Could we be missing a slam by passing? That's actually quite
possible. If opener has 0=7=2=4 distribution, your 1S response
would not have been a turn-on and he wouldn't have been
inclined to push overly hard. We have one and maybe two
useful cards in the AK of diamonds, and the doubleton Jack of
clubs has some value as well, since partner has jump shifted
in the suit. In deciding to bid on, though, there a couple of
more questions that require an answer. Could we be
jeopardizing a plus score? I'd say there's only a faint
chance of that, and we'd be safe at the five-level. Is
partner likely to assume a better hand than our meager values?
No, since we have already bid 3NT, a rather discouraging parry
to the jump shift. For our actions thus far, we probably have
a hand in the 6-9 points range, and in view of that, we have a
pretty useful hand.
At any rate, I bid 5D, which pretty much has to be a cuebid
since I didn't show diamonds naturally on my previous turn.
Partner jumped to 6H, which was a very good contract since he
had:
S-- void H-- AKJ10xxx D-- Qx C-- AKJx
Since there is a pitch available, the slam is pretty much
frigid. Draw a round of trumps, AK of clubs and then ruff a
club with dummy's nine of hearts. If RHO overruffs with the
Queen, you should have the rest of the tricks.
Anyway, that's our troika of hands for this month, so we'll
see you next issue as the Moogal days of summer are upon us.
:)
********************
You will find Bill doing his FireSide sessions on Tuesdays
at 5:30 P.M. OKbridge time.
Bill is available for private/group lessons and/or
supervised play sessions. Email Bill at (btreble@shaw.ca)
for more information.
================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to Caphotel for this thought:
"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention
of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but
rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn
out, and loudly proclaiming '*WOW*! What A Ride!'"
===================================================
AND FINALLY KALTICA
===================
A Beginner's Guide to Bridge Theory
Someone with a good ear for music can hear a song
once and replicate it note-for-note. They can often hear
a few notes and predict the remainder of the melody.
Similarly, a bridge theoretician can often see the
superstructure of a bidding system and detail how the
remainder of the approach works. How do they do this?
The answer is found in the word "system". Methods
all have a common goal and observe recognized principles in
order to attain results.
The first rule of bridge theory is that of Redundancy.
We only have 35 bids, Pass, Double and Redouble (38 calls)
in order to describe our myriad possible hands. Hence, we
cannot afford to have two bids to describe the same hand
type. For example, assuming that a Standard American pair
plays 1S:2NT as Jacoby with 13+ points and FOUR or more
trumps:
i) 1S 3S
ii) 1S 2C
2S 3S
...only ONE of these can be a limit raise. The other
has to be a GAME FORCE with 3-card support for Spades. In
SAYC, for example, once we hear that 1S:2NT is Jacoby and
that 1S:3S is a limit raise we KNOW that 1S:2C:any:3S is a
GAME FORCE. Similarly, once we hear that 1S:1NT is not
forcing we know that SAYC uses 3+card limit raises.
The second rule is what we might call either the
"Frequency Of Impact Law" ("FOIL") or the "Frequency And
Impact Law" ("FAIL"), depending on our point of view.
In essence, this Law asks how each alternative treatment
will serve us in the long run. It revolves around two
questions:
1. Impact: How USEFUL is this at IMPs?
"IMPs?" Why just IMPs?
Because the game started out as rubber bridge. IMPs is the
closest approximation to that. While many (natural) systems
are, indeed, superior to others at MPs, this comes as mere
byproduct. Not one of the common approaches has been designed
specifically for Matchpoints.
Systems that produce slam swings in our favour are likely
to be viewed as more "useful" than those that generate "small
potato" part scores. We often need a variety of forcing initial
bids (especially responses to natural openings) in order to find
out all the information necessary for good slam bidding. In
close decisions, then, system designers tend to make bids FORCING
rather than NON-FORCING. Thus, the next time you don't know
whether such-and-such a bid is forcing, the odds say "BID ON!"
2. Frequency: How OFTEN will it come up?
With only 38 calls at our disposal it would be foolish
to reserve a bid or sequence for a hand type that we are not
likely to see twice in our lifetime. We have to accept that
freak hands will likely remain indescribable. Sure, if we
reserve a 1S opening for hands with 6-6 or better in the
majors it may work brilliantly the one time it comes up.
But, in the meantime, how will we handle the more common
hands with 5+ Spades and 0+ Hearts?
Thus, we reserve our common bids and sequences for
"bread and butter" holdings.
"But wait a minute," you say, "don't these two aims
conflict? Frequency versus Impact?"
Yes, they do. Part score hands outnumber slam hands
by a huge margin. Sure, a slam may gain you 17 IMPs, but
won't the 5 and 6 IMP gains on the far more common part
scores soon add up to more? Probably. But this argument
holds little sway with theoreticians. All common systems
(yes, even the most basic SAYC or Acol) are still geared
towards big numbers (i.e. IMPs). Impact is still considered
more important than frequency. The problem cannot be boiled
down to simple arithmetic:
Frequency x Impact
For example, if one treatment will result in four part
score swings in our favour while costing us a slam swing we
look at the mathematics: 4 part score swings multiplied by
the 5 or 6 IMPs we win each time is worth far more than the
14 or 17 IMPs we lose on the one slam. There is a fly in the
ointment, though. Even if we go down one in 2NT while 3C
makes (or vice versa) we might be compensated by the fact
that some pairs are making a part score in Diamonds, Hearts
or Spades. Indeed, we may even GAIN IMPs by going -50 in 2NT
if they can make +140 in 3H. If we misbid a slam hand, though,
it is far less likely that the opponents can make a plus
anywhere.
Of course, at Matchpoints, frequency IS impact. It
doesn't matter BY HOW MUCH your scores beat those of others;
it only matters HOW OFTEN your scores are above those of
the others in the field. Hence, if one were to design a
system for Matchpoints it might have a lot more non-forcing
sequences--yes, even if this compromises our slam bidding.
One problem for theoreticians and students is that
systems evolve with experience. Consider this auction:
i) 1H 2D
2NT 3D
In SAYC, is 3D forcing? In William Root's "Common
Sense Bidding" it was explicitly NON-forcing. Given that
SAYC was founded largely on this treatise, one might infer
that 3D is non-forcing.
To determine whether this is the case, though, we
consider the Impact/Frequency ratio. Passing 3D in SA MIGHT
work out well, but only if BOTH bidders have dead minimums.
Playing 3D as forcing helps whenever Responder has a very
strong hand that includes Diamonds too weak for a jump shift
(1H:3D). Such hands are only slightly less common than the
"both minimum" stop-on-a-dime non-forcing treatment. The
ability to establish a Diamond fit before committing past 3NT
can result in a lot of IMPs coming our way. Thus, the Impact
consideration far outweighs the slight Frequency difference.
Now let's change this example sequence to:
ii) 1D 2C
2NT 3C
Virtually every Standard American treatise written
before the 1980s agreed that 3C was NOT forcing (10-12
points, 6+ Clubs). Has this changed? Again, we return
to our criterion: the Frequency/Impact ratio.
1H:2D:2NT shows 15-16 to most SAYC pairs merely because
it is forcing (i.e. Responder has not rebid). But 1D:2C:2NT
is NOT, itself, forcing because the "2-over-1 Responder must
rebid" dictum applies only after MAJOR suit openings. What
is more, the lower requirements for the 2NT rebid (i.e. 13-14
points) means that there are far more hands where the pair
might wish to stop in 3C. Thus, there is a greater Frequency
of hands where playing 3C as NON-forcing will benefit us.
Responder now needs a stronger one-suited hand to consider
slam. Meanwhile, the Impact remains the same: a minor suit
slam is at stake in either event.
So the question arises: has the Frequency consideration
increased to the point where it outweighs the Impact one? Is
3C still non-forcing? For some, yes. But a growing number
of Standard American players will say "No". Why?
In the case of a flat Opener opposite a long minor it is not
clear that we want to play in the minor. Thus, about half of
the "Frequency benefits" of playing 1D:2C:2NT:3C as non-forcing
are removed from consideration. Also, if 1D:2C:2NT:3C is NOT
forcing, how can a 1-suited Responder force? Sure, 3H and 3S
would force game as reverses, but Opener hasn't denied a 4-card
major. Opener might RAISE that bogus major suit rebid! After
1D:2C:2NT:3H:4H we are at the FOUR level in the WRONG suit and
STILL have not found out if we should have stopped in 3NT. Worse
yet, Responder can't reliably jump in Clubs to force naturally;
1D:2C:2NT:4C might be seen as Gerber. Ugh!
Thus we come full circle to the idea of Redundancy. Without
a forcing 3C rebid available, a strong 1-suited Responder is
completely "endplayed" in the bidding. With the 10-12 point
single-suiter Responder DOES have an option over 1D:2C:2NT.
Pass!
This explains how theoreticians resolve (or, at least,
present) arguments over what is forcing in standard methods.
By understanding these fundamentals a student can go a long
way towards resolving bidding issues.
**********************
You'll find Kaltica (Colin Ward) doing his FireSide
sessions on Friday evenings at 5:30 P.M. OKbridge time.
Colin is available for private/group lessons and/or
supervised play sessions. Email him at (kaltica@mts.net)
for more information.
Rainbow and Spectrum Series Online!
The popular Rainbow (SAYC and play) and Spectrum (2/1-GF)
series have been automated for your convenience. You can take
any of the lessons at your leisure simply by clicking on
either of these links:
http://www.firesides.net/rainbows.htm
http://www.firesides.net/spectrums.htm
Enjoy!
=====================================================
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to BobW for this giggle:
The Rules Of Chocolate!
1. If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're
eating it too slowly.
2. Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices, &
strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.
3. The problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from
the store in hot car. The solution: Eat it in the parking
lot.
4. Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll
take the edge off your appetite and you'll eat less.
5. A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily
intake of calories in one place. Isn't that handy?
6. If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the
freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's
wrong with you?
7. If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of
the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will
jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves.
8. If I eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white
chocolate, is that a balanced diet? Don't they actually
counteract each other?
9. Money talks. Chocolate sings.
10. Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you
look younger.
11. Q. Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics
Anonymous? A. Because no one wants to quit.
12. If not for chocolate, there would be no need for control
top pantyhose. An entire garment industry would be
devastated.
13. Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to
do today; that way, at least you'll get one thing done.
=============================================================
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