FIRESIDE CHAT OCTOBER 2001
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome and Announcements
Believer's FireSide Kindling
Bidding with Bridgboy
Guido's Really Important Stuff
Pomo's Pointers
This is Your Captain Speaking
Dealing With Dann
Moogal's FireSide Log
Ecofin's Forward to the Basics
Special Treats
Shep's Adventures
Treble's Table Talk
And Finally Kaltica
.....................................................
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hi all!
Welcome to the October, 2001 issue of FireSide
Chat, our monthly newsletter written for and about
our FireSide friends and events.
Happy Birthday to FireSide :-) October 31 is the
4 year anniversary of FireSide Bidding Practice.
If any of you would like to share memories again
like we did last year, we'd love to print those in
next month's newsletter. Just send your thoughts to
Sara at Sara326@mediaone.net, or to Janice at
Moocake@aol.com. And, don't worry about your writing
style -- we'll fix em up if you send em in :-)
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 Sara326@mediaone.net 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! :-)
Please remember that the Bridgementor-L mail list
is available for discussions of bridge topics,
and, more importantly, as a forum in which you can
find immediate answers to your bridge questions.
To join, go to www.bridgementor.com and click on the
link for the discussion list.
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 website 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.
This newsletter is also available online, at the
OKbridge website. They have our current edition
posted there under 'Publications' -- 'FireSide Chat'
and have provided links for all of our back issues.
Go to www.okbridge.com to find us, or to explore
the many fun and interesting areas available there.
FireSide is now providing us with a "hand of the week"
feature. Go to our new Hand of the Week site:
http://www.members.home.net/firesiders/fireside.htm
to check out the fun.
If, for any reason, you do not wish to receive these
mailings, please write to Believer at sara326@mediaone.net
to be removed from our mailing list.
...........................................................
CURRENT FIRESIDE SCHEDULE
Day Pacific Time Commentator
MONDAY 11:00 A.M. POOKA
MONDAY 5:30 P.M. BRIDGBOY
TUESDAY 11:00 A.M. SHEP
TUESDAY 5:30 P.M. CAPTAIN
WEDNESDAY 11:00 A.M. FREDW3
WEDNESDAY 5:30 P.M. LBROWN
THURSDAY 11:00 A.M. POOKA
THURSDAY 5:30 P.M. RAIJA & POMO
FRIDAY 11:00 A.M. BLUEBEE
FRIDAY 5:30 P.M. KALTICA
Commentators may change without notice,
according to their availability.
****************
Although there is no set fee for participating in
these "open to all" sessions, please note that FireSide
Bidding Practice Sessions operate with the support of
those in attendance. For information about how to
become a supporting member, please contact Kaltica at
cpw@escape.ca, or LBrown at Finesse@bestweb.net.
Thanks to all of you for supporting the FireSide sessions
in all the many different ways you have of doing so.
...........................................................
All articles herein (c) 2001 by FireSide Chat.
All rights reserved.
...........................................................
BELIEVER'S FIRESIDE KINDLING
============================
Hi :-)
I received a neat letter from a friend a couple of weeks
ago, and wanted to share it with you.
I'm not sure if it's a sign that the clean up campaign at
OKbridge is working, or if it's an affirmation that folks
really aren't as unwilling to admit when they've done
something 'wrong' as we would think they are...
Nice to get email about neat stuff though :-)
==========================================================
"I have had a couple of very strange experiences
on OKB the last couple of weeks. The first was during a
NC pick-up game when one opponent made a questionable
bid, and the other opponent won the contract only to
leave the table when the dummy hit. I noted that the
departed one was still lurking so I messaged him
privately that it was quite inappropriate to leave in
the middle of hand. As I prepared to receive some
venomous reply, I was shocked to have him apologize and
return to the table. We had already filled his spot, so
he didn't play anymore, but he left on a relatively
friendly note.
"The second episode occurred yesterday. I was watching
McPhee (a pro) play with a client. He is always very
courteous and really a true expert. At one point his
opponents were gently arguing about a defensive play, and
he interjected what his recommendation would be and why.
"But the episode that struck me was later when (xxxx) came
to the table to spec. A couple of other specs joined in
and, as you might imagine, the discussion turned to second
guessing the bidding and play. I have no quarrel with that,
but at some point (xxxx) goes into a tirade about "how
moronic a play is that!" That crossed the line for me,
so I told him privately that such comments were
inappropriate. I then left the table and assumed he would
ignore me. A few moments later he messaged with an apology,
and agreement with my sentiment.
"I am not sure how this might be incorporated into a
column, but I thought I would tell you about it. I guess
my idea is that OKB is our bridge club, and we can stand
up and tell people when we think they are harming the
environment. I have no illusions that some statements
won't prompt a retaliatory attack, but the fact that
some are willing to reconsider their ways is amazing to
me."
==========================================================
To me, too :-) I'm not advocating that we go around
telling folks how they should act, and imposing our point of
view on them about things. But I hope that when someone
really crosses the line with their actions and/or comments,
that we can and will speak up and remind them that we do not
appreciate those behaviors.
I hope we all remember when we're playing, or kibitzing
someone else's game, to always treat our partner, our opps,
our audience, the players we are watching, and fellow
kibitzers with respect and common courtesy.
********************
You can write to Believer (Sara Stobbe) at:
sara326@mediaone.net
...........................................................
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to BobW for this giggle:
What A Glorious Day
My face in the mirror
Isn't wrinkled or drawn.
My house isn't dirty.
The cobwebs are gone.
My garden looks lovely
And so does my lawn.
I think I might never
Put my glasses back on.
...........................................................
BIDDING WITH BRIDGBOY
=====================
Cue Bidding
Playing in a matchpoint contest, you pick up:
S 32
H A
D Q752
C KQ9732
The auction begins:
1D(partner) - 1S(overcall) - to you?
With a good diamond fit, certainly a 2S cue bid showing a
limit raise or better would not be criticized. I prefer
telling partner what I have, so 2C seems better, and will
allow partner to reevaluate the club fit if the auction
takes a preemptive turn. Lefty jumps to 3S, and partner
bids 4C freely. Pass from righty, back to us.
To review:
1D - 1S - 2C - 3S
4C - p - ?
What does partner have? Extra values! What should we tell
partner about next? Two things come to mind -- the diamond
fit, and the heart ace. Which will partner appreciate more
in deciding how high to bid? Nothing will help partner more
than the heart cue bid, which will make your intention
crystal clear: do you have the spade control, partner? If
yes, bid slam -- if no, stop in game. Simple! Bidding 4D
to show the fit will not get the message across that you
are staring at the heart ace!
When you are cue bidding, try and make it very easy for
partner to know what you think your sides needs! Then
partner can place the contract based on his holding. The
diamond fit is nice, and will be very appreciated, but is
not what you need to show. The ace of hearts is what you
need to advertise! Now if partner can show the spade
control, slam looks like a good bet in either minor.
Two basic precepts come up again and again. First, the
slam try should come below the game level, so you do not
find yourself overboard and can stop. Second, the use of
Blackwood is not needed in most slam auctions. It is
controls, not aces, that we need to know about. Partner on
this hand will jump to slam over your 4H cue bid, and you
will bring in 12 tricks easily.
bob lavin aka bridgboy
*************************
You can find Bridgboy (Bob Lavin) doing his FireSide
sessions on Monday evenings at 5:30 p.m. OKbridge time.
Anyone interested in one-on-one lessons on any topic of
the game may contact Bob at bridgboy@charter.net
Bob also now offers courses at OKbridge University. Go
to www.okbridge.com, or email him for more information.
...........................................................
GIGGLE BREAK
"Monica"
A man observed a woman in the grocery store with a
three year old girl in her basket. As they passed the
cookie section, the little girl asked for cookies and her
mother told her no. The little girl immediately began to
whine and fuss, and the mother said quietly, "Now Monica,
we just have half of the aisles left to go through; don't
be upset. It won't be long."
Soon they came to the candy aisle, and the little girl began
to shout for candy. And when told she couldn't have any,
began to cry. The mother said, "There, there, Monica,
don't cry -- only two more aisles to go, and then we'll be
checking out."
When they got to the check-out stand, the little girl
immediately began to clamor for gum and burst into a
terrible tantrum upon discovering there'd be no gum
purchased. The mother patiently said, "Monica, we'll be
through this check out stand in 5 minutes and then you
can go home and have a nice nap."
The man followed them out to the parking lot and stopped
the woman to compliment her. "I couldn't help noticing
how patient you were with little Monica," he began.
Whereupon the mother said, "I'm Monica -- my little girl's
name is Tammy."
.........................................................
GUIDO'S REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF
==============================
(editor's note: Guido is off on his travels yet again (!)
but this time circumstances beyond his control kept him on
the road longer than he intended. We thought we'd rerun
one of his early columns for you.)
********************
Be Prepared: Hesitations and Ethics
Just for a change, I decided to keep my promise
(threat?) made in the last issue. I finished that
article by saying that not being prepared can cause
ethical problems for your partner. Here is how that
can happen, and how to prevent it.
There is an important concept in bridge known as
Unauthorized Information (UI). This is information
you have, or might have, but are not entitled to.
For example, if your partner opens the bidding with
3NT and then says to you, "Gosh, I hope we play Gambling
NT," you have UI. The best thing to do in that case is
to shoot your partner.
Hesitations can also lead to UI. The fact that your
partner is not trying to give you UI is completely beside
the point. Intent does not count here (if he has that
intent, he is cheating -- see above for the remedy).
Perhaps the most obvious example of hesitation UI is
in slam auctions. You and your partner happily bid
strongly until he bids 4N (Blackwood of whatever version
you play). You answer with some number of aces and partner
goes out to lunch (hesitates) and finally bids 5 of the
agreed trump suit. You clearly have UI here. Unless you
have 2 voids or miscounted your aces, you simply must pass.
Why? The hesitation can only mean that partner is thinking
of greater things, but is not sure if there are enough
winners or too many losers or controls. You know this not
through bridge logic, but because of the hesitation. Even
if you would bid again if partner had bid in tempo, you
can not do so now. Without the hesitation, bidding more
would be a gamble; the hesitation has made it a sure
thing (or, at least, a better gamble).
How do you prevent putting your partner in such a situation?
By Being Prepared. The above situation is remarkably easy
to prevent. Before you bid Blackwood, simply decide what
you are going to do over the various possible responses.
Apply the same preparedness to all bidding and play
situations.
There are certain times when hesitations give away little
or no information. This not only prevents UI but does
not give the opponents any extra information (this is
usually, but not always, more of a consideration in the
play than in the bidding). By the way, varying your tempo
to mislead the opponents is much worse that UI, it is plain
and simply cheating. You can (and should) fool them by
WHAT card you play, but you are not allowed to fool them
by HOW you play that card.
Anyway, when can you take a moment to think without
giving your partner UI? Before you make your opening
call. If you always take 10 or 15 seconds to plan out
likely auctions before you make your first call, you
have given away no information to anyone. Of course,
you have to do this on EVERY hand.
When the opponents jump in the auction, wait 10 to 15
seconds before making your call. Again, do this EVERY time.
On defense, when making your first discard, take a few
seconds. Again, there is no UI if you do this on EVERY
hand.
Avoiding UI really is rather simple and will make you a
better partner. And being a better partner is the most
important bridge skill there is.
********************
You can write to Guido (Paul Friedman) at:
paulfriedman@uswest.net
............................................................
GIGGLE BREAK
This from Tuna :-)
Little Tony watched, fascinated, as his mother smoothed
cold cream on her face.
"Why do you do that, Mommy?" he asked.
"To make myself beautiful," said his mother, who then
began removing the cream with a tissue.
"What's the matter?" asked Little Tony. "Giving up?"
.....................................................
POMO'S POINTERS
===============
MINOR SUIT OPENINGS
(4D-4C AND 4D-5C)
Many people open 1D with all hands containing 4D and 4-5C.
To blindly follow any method or convention offered is not
in your best interest. You must hear the reasons and
alternatives to such bids, and then judge which makes the
most sense for ease of bidding and reaching contracts that
are most reasonable. In most bidding situations we attempt
to make bids that leave maximum space for further
exploration to finding a suitable contract. Like using the
Stayman Convention over No Trump opening (use 2C - cheapest
bid available) for finding Major suit fits, and when
responder uses New Minor Forcing in many auctions. Bidding
space evaporates quickly when we start bidding too high or
jumping when not needed. Better to start (opening) with the
lowest suit possible.
The concept of opening 1D with 4-4 (C/D) often leaves the
responder (with no 4+ card Major) in a dilemma – especially
when holding 6-11 points. We know opener could have only 3
cards in D's (only when 4-4 in Majors). Responder NEVER has
a problem over a 1C opening – the whole field is open.
Responding to opening 1D bids can be a nightmare. After
1C -- nothing is difficult. Find a good response to 1D
with these two hands. I can’t!!!
S Jxx S Kxx
H xx H x
D Ax D J9xx
C Q98xxx C AJxxx
When you open 1D - what rebid are you intending to make? If
the answer is 1N – then why not open 1C with 4-4? Makes
your partner a better player when taking pressure off every
bid (and play). The best rebids (and openings) are those
that show your general strength and shape as quickly as
possible so that responder may determine where we are
headed. When you rebid a new suit – you have done very
little in limiting your hand.
1C - P - 1H - P
1S
What is the point range here? What shape (besides 4
cards in S)? The 1S bid could be as low as a good 11
(with 4S and 5-6C) or up to 18 HCP.
1D - P - 1H - P
2C
Same problem for responder. PLUS not knowing whether
opener has 4-4 or 4-5 or 5-4 or 5-5 or 6-4... and we are
at the two level! What suit should we play in?
Personally – I try to avoid 4-2 fits. If I know the anchor
(longer) suit – my job becomes far easier. If I held:
S Axxx
H Qxxx
D Qx
C Jxx
what should I do over 2C rebid in the auction above?
From my view (if opener could have 4D/5C or even 4-4) –
there is no good answer. We may even have game opposite a
17 point hand, or be too high already and not know what the
best trump suit is.
I hear you yelling – "but what about the opener’s rebid
problems" when opening 1C. In an effort to limit our hands,
we should try to rebid 1N or raise partner’s major with
minimum range hands (rebid of 1S must be done when holding
4 cards in S).
What about when opener has a singleton in partner’s Major?
Rebid 1N! A small lie is better than setting off huge
problems later. The easiest auctions begin with 1NT opening
and 1NT rebids. You may have to raise responder’s Major
with good 3 card support at times, but that is always the
case. (Responder may need better methods to handle this
case – that problem we’ll solve at another time)
Examples:
S KJx S J S x
H x H QJxx H AJx
D Axxx D AKxx D AQxx
C AJxxx C Kxxx C Qxxxx
What opening bid do you choose? And what rebid after either
Major (by partner)?
If you selected 1D on all these – what next? Rebid 2C over
1S? What about over 1H?
For the second hand – raise Hearts... but what about the
1'st and 3'rd hand?
You should raise partner’s Major with good three card
support when you have ruffing possibilities or ugly rebids.
You are limiting your hand and allowing partner to carry the
ball. If partner responds in your singleton suit – rebid 1N
(limiting your hand). Notice that partner will learn to
never again rebid his suit at the two level with only a five
card suit. Can this cause problems? – some yes... but far
less than a 2C rebid.
Will this concept solve ALL of your problems? NO WAY – just
95% of them... and make partner feel comfortable for
continuing the auctions. Remember that your partner is the
key to success.
********************
You can find Pomo and Raija doing their FireSide sessions
on Thursday evenings at 5:30 p.m. OKbridge time.
(Except the second Thursday of the month, when the Fifth
Chair's Novice/Mentor Tourney is held.)
You can email Pomo at: reisig@oco.net
..........................................................
GIGGLE BREAK
Thank You Luc for this giggle:
At Duke University, there were four sophomores taking
Organic Chemistry. They were doing so well on all the
quizzes, midterms and labs, etc., that each had an "A"
so far for the semester. These four friends were so
confident that the weekend before finals, they decided to
go up to the University of Virginia and party with some
friends there.
They had a great time, but after all the hearty partying,
they slept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Duke
until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final
then, they decided to find their professor after the final
and explain to him why they missed it. They explained that
they had gone to UVA for the weekend with the plan to come
back in time to study, but, unfortunately, they had a flat
tire on the way back, didn't have a spare, and couldn't get
help for a long time. As a result, they missed the final.
The professor thought it over and then agreed they could
make up the final the following day. The guys were elated
and relieved. They studied that night and went in the next
day at the time the professor had told them.
He placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a
test booklet, and told them to begin. They looked at the
first problem, worth five points. It was something simple
about free radical formation. "Cool," they thought at the
same time, each one in his separate room, "this is going to
be easy."
Each finished the problem and then turned the page. On
the second page was written: (FOR 95 POINTS): "Which tire?"
......................................................
THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING
=============================
Hi folks...
I stopped for a social call at Laura Brown's FireSide
session... and a hand came up which I would like to share.
This hand hits on the question, "do I open this hand?"
Goren says open the hand if you have 13 points.
Marty Bergen gave us the rule of 20 -- adding your points to
the total of cards in your two longest suits. If the total
equals 20 or more, you can open.
Edwin Kantar has a rule that says open a hand that has 2 1/2
quick tricks. A quick trick is an ace. An AK in same suit
is 2 quick tricks. But an ace and a king in different
suits would only be 1 1/2 quick tricks. Assume that the
King is a trick about half the time when alone. Queens can
also be counted towards quick tricks when they are married
with Aces and Kings... AQx is 1 1/2 QT's, and KQx is 1 QT.
The hand here falls just short of Goren's 13, and using
Kantar's rule we see the hand below has only 1 1/2 quick
tricks, falling far short of the 2 1/2 required to open.
Further when we look at the whole hand, we can see that N/S
should not reach game -- a likely prospect if the South hand
is opened. So, we would tend to agree with Kantar and Goren
in this example.
Experience will tell you there is also value in length,
and not only in quick tricks. This is why Bergen is
suggesting that this value be factored when deciding on
opening minimum hands.
What I am suggesting is that both Kantar and Bergen are
making strong points. I will further suggest that both
rules can be incorporated with this rule:
Look at both rules, and if both are met -- or one is
exceeded -- open the hand.
This is not to say to abandon Goren entirely. Picking up
S J
H xx
D xxxxx
C AKQxx
-- 3 QT's and fits the rule of twenty, but I would
prudently pass that myself, with plans of getting back in
later possibly.
Looking at our example hand, and assuming East leads the
unbid suit, we see that 3NT has "a snowball's chance",
and 4H will meet same fate:
North
S 932
H KJT86
West D A75 East
S QT87 C K8 S AJ
H A54 H 73
D KT82 South D J964
C 64 S K654 C QT973
H Q92
D Q3
C AJ52
West North East South
1C
Pass 1H Pass 1S
Pass 3NT Pass Pass
Pass
********************
You will find Captain (Andy Anderson) doing his
FireSide sessions on Tuesday evenings, at 5:30 P.M.
OKbridge time.
Captain is a full time instructor on OKbridge,
offering group or individual lessons for anyone
ranging from novice to advanced players.
Email Andy for more information - andy@imagewireless.ca
............................................................
GIGGLE BREAK
Thank You to DavidRG for this one:
A magazine recently ran a "Dilbert Quotes" contest, asking
for people to submit quotations from their real-life
Dilbert-type managers. Following are the twelve finalists:
1. As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access
the building using individual security cards.
Pictures will be taken next Wednesday, and employees
will receive their cards in two weeks. (This was the
winning quote - from Fred Dales at Microsoft Corp. in
Redmond, WA.)
2. What I need is a specific list of the unknown problems
which we will encounter. (Lykes Lines Shipping)
3. E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data.
It should be used only for company business.
(Accounting manager, Electric Boat Company)
4. This project is so important, we can't let things that
are more important interfere with it.
(Advertising/Marketing manager, United Parcel Service)
5. Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the
schedule. No one will believe you solved this problem
in one day! We've been working on it for months. Now,
go act busy for a few weeks and I'll let you know when
it's time to tell them. (R&D supervisor, Minnesota
Mining and Manufacturing/3M Corp.)
6. My Boss spent the entire weekend retyping a 25-page
proposal that only needed corrections. She claims the
disk I gave her was damaged and she couldn't edit it.
The disk I gave her was write-protected. (CIO of Dell
Computers)
7. Quote from the Boss: "Teamwork is a lot of people doing
what I say." (Marketing executive, Citrix Corporation)
8. My sister passed away and her funeral was scheduled for
Monday, Valentine's Day. When I told my Boss, he said
she died so that I would have to miss work on the
busiest day of the year. He then asked if we could
change her burial to Friday. He said, "That would be
better for me." (Shipping executive, FTD Florists)
9. "We know that communication is a problem, but the
company is not going to discuss it with the employees."
(Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)
10. We recently received a memo from senior management
saying: "This is to inform you that a memo will be
issued today regarding the subject mentioned above."
(Microsoft, Legal Affairs Division)
11. One day my Boss asked me to submit a status report to
him concerning a project I was working on. I asked him
if tomorrow would be soon enough. He said, "If I
wanted it tomorrow, I would have waited until tomorrow
to ask for it!" (New business manager, Hallmark
Greeting Cards.)
12. As director of communications, I was asked to prepare a
memo reviewing our company's training programs and
materials. In the body of the memo I mentioned the
"pedagogical approach" used by one of the training
manuals. The day after I routed the memo to the
executive committee, I was called into the HR
director's office, and told that the executive vice
president wanted me out of the building by lunch.
When I asked why, I was told that she wouldn't stand
for "perverts" working in her company. Finally, he
showed me her copy of the memo, with her demand that
I be fired and the word "pedagogical" circled in red.
The HR manager was fairly reasonable, and once he
looked the word up in his dictionary and made a copy
of the definition to send back to EVP, he told me not
to worry. He would take care of it.
Two days later, a memo to the entire staff came out
directing us that no words which could not be found in
the local Sunday newspaper could be used in company
memos. A month later, I resigned. In accordance with
company policy, I created my resignation memo by
pasting words together from the Sunday paper.
(Taco Bell Corporation)
...........................................................
DEALING WITH DANN
=================
As Promised (a fine harness racing horse) this month we
are looking at what we tell partner when the auction
goes 1NT - P - P - double.
Again, we need some assumptions. First, it's a strong
SAYC 15-17, or 16-18 hcp NT opener. Second assumption --
we are not already playing a convention that has defined
what this call means. If it is already defined, then you
are able to skip to the next giggle break.
Ok, the first, and most important, point to be made is
that this double has a completely different meaning than
last month's. In direct seat, we discussed the BLOOD/
PENALTY double. After pard has denied this hand type,
there are still lots of hands where we want to get the
opps out of NT, and show values to pard. We still might
defend 1NT, depending on what pard wishes to do with the
information that we give.
In the pass out seat, the double shows 10-12 points and
a balanced hand. This means if pard has a suit to lead,
and he converts the double to penalty, we can lead it
back! Also if we play the double as 10-12, this lessens
the pressure to overcall their NT with a 5 card suit and
some values. We know pard will balance with a double if
s/he has the right type of hand to defend with. This also
takes away the risk of when we guess to bid and it's wrong
-- we hear DOUBLE!! and then are apologizing to pard for
the "view" we took.
The most important part of this is to have it understood
between pard and ourselves what this call means. As a
repeating theme -- CHERISH PARD!! If partner is always
happy and understands what we are doing, we will always
reap the benefits -- a happy pard plays better!
Now, some examples so you get an idea of what I'm saying:
if we hold:
S Axx
H QTx
D J9xx
C KJx
and we hear the auction go 1NT on our left, pass, pass,
this would be a typical double in balancing seat. Now as
the partner of one who re-opens the auction with double,
we have to decide what to do. We see our hand, and have
a good idea of what pard has, so we can either pass and
defend, or bid our longest suit -- or lowest 4 card suit
if we have two to choose from.
example:
S QTxxx
H Kx
D Axx
C Qxx
With this collection we know to pass and lead a spade.
Similarly,
S J9x
H KJxxx
D Kx
C Qxx
we would also tend to convert to penalty.
Usually the world isn't so perfect, but once we hear double
from pard we aren't so nervous about bidding with something
like:
S Qx
H K9xxx
D Qxx
C xxx
We can bid 2 hearts and not worry about finding a big minus.
Hopefully this will help to define this bidding sequence for
all of you.
HAPPY BRIDGING, POOKA!!
********************
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 lessons and/or tourney play.
For more information, write Dann at: Dann-Kramer@home.com
..........................................................
GIGGLE BREAK
Another good one from Luc :-)
Stopped at a friends shop the other day and found him
stalking around with a fly swatter.
When I asked if he was getting any flies, he answered,
"Yeah, 3 males and 2 females."
Curious, I inquired as to how he could tell the difference.
He answered, "3 were on a beer can and 2 were on the phone."
........................................................
MOOGAL'S FIRESIDE LOG
=====================
OKB TOURNEY NEWS
Fri Aug 31 19:00 2001
Rank Team Score
1 ecofin/jccasper 2.27
Well done to our commentator-on-leave, Dale (ECOFIN),
and his partner JCCASPER. It was a double good month
for Dale, who also attended the Tunica Regional and in
three days finished third, second, and, finally, FIRST!
Sun Sep 2 11:00 2001
Rank Team Score
1 Kaltica/tuna 2.52
Next time you will believe me when I tell you not to miss
something! Last month I mentioned that Colin and Tuna
would be playing together in this tourney, and I was
right when I said it would be a good show! What a giggle
for 26 boards! For the details, be sure to read Colin's
article at the end of this issue!
Wed Sep 12 19:00 2001
Rank Team Score
1 Kaltica/Moogal 1.91
Colin and I may have set a new record on this one. Question
for Tuna: Has any pair ever kicked 18 IMPs in the last 6
boards and still won?:)
=====================================================
NOVICE/MENTOR TOURNEY
Congratulations to SVET and PALA on their win in the Novice
Mentor Tourney, leading the pack with 65.8%!
Well done to all our participants! The top finishers are:
Thu Sep 13 18:00 2001
Rank Team Score
1 pala/Svet 65.80
2 AndyEdw/sue1 63.00
3 AJF/bigdug3 59.86
4 Peter777/whippoor 59.84
5 knife/peggyb 58.57
6 kenmarc/queenhrt 57.71
7 coochie/woot 56.57
8 raven99/Tom-V 54.24
9 Kaltica/Tara 53.86
10 jhemmer/ybbwh 53.31
11 bagel27/neophyte 52.35
12 amber/Moogal 52.18
13 leonardo/Patricia 51.39
14 Caitlin/gail37 50.83
15 believer/Frodo 50.55
Mentors and novices, join us this month on the 11th!
Email me at moocake@aol.com or Laurie (BAGEL27) at
bagelbroad@fscv.net 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 GAMES
Sept 2: Team BAGEL27: Bagel27, BBWolf, Etsand, Paul_2,
and Ana
Well done! Their win with 86 Victory points was our
highest this year and the second highest ever!
The biggest win to date: On October 25, 2000 Team Gordon
(Gordon, Oliebell, ZZE and MFries) won with 88 Victory
Points.
Sept 16: Team LYNKOS: Lynkos, Dotdal, Snaga, and CDhill
Well done to all of you and to our other top
finishers -- see who they are on our webpage at:
www.escape.ca/~cpw/mtc.htm.
Email me at Moocake@aol.com to get on the reminder
list for these games. All welcome!
=====================================================
Fireside condolences to Olivia (BAOL) who recently lost her
brother. Here is her note to us:
"Today my brother (78) was killed in a tragic accident by a
runaway tractor. Bud and I had been partners in the radio
business until our retirement in 1980 and we were very close
to each other.
"Please pray in particular for his wife who has Parkinsons
Disease and is presently experiencing much pain from a
broken sacrum.
"Bud suffered for more than 40 years with orthopedic
problems and was in constant pain. His pain is ended now.
He was an excellent radio engineer and could fix almost
anything. He generously gave of his talents to help his
many friends when they had a problem. As a tribute to him
you may want to help someone in need."
Olivia
Our deepest sympathy to you and your family, Olivia.
=====================================================
Congratulations to Jonathan (JHARRISH) on achieving his
Life Master status! Jonathan is the OKB and F2F partner
of Eric (ETSAND). Well done, Jonathan!
=====================================================
Wedding bells were ringing this month in Minnesota,
as our very own Sara (BELIEVER) became a mother-in-law!
Her son Mark wed his love Amy with both families happily
in attendance.
Sara, congratulations to you and Frank, and to Mark
and Amy!
=====================================================
Bridge expert, author, and real nice guy Richard Pavlicek
(RICHARD) has consistently resisted all my best efforts to
get him involved in Fireside and this newsletter. For those
who think I can be relentless, I guess I need to go back to
pain-in-the-neck school! :)
However, he has kindly agreed to let us reprint whatever we
wish from his web site, www.rpbridge.net
We will be doing just that from time to time, so, in no
particular order, here is installment one, an article I
found interesting:
Disclosure Vs. Concealment
In recent years several articles have appeared concerning
the advantages of disclosing a secondary suit after a trump
fit has been established. For example, with neither side
vulnerable, suppose the bidding goes:
West North East South
1S
2H 2S 3H ?
And you, South, hold:
S AQJ82
H 4
D AKJ54
C 43
Many experts recommend a bid of 4D, not for the purpose of
trying for slam (which is relatively obscure), but to
enlighten partner as to the nature of South's hand. The
contention is that partner will be in a better position to
judge whether to double or bid 5S in the event that East
-West persist to 5H.
I disagree. While the argument of disclosure may have merit,
there are arguments in favor of concealment that are more
important in my view. The debate is complex and will
probably not be solved in this or any other article.
Nonetheless, I am a "concealer" and wish to make some
points on that behalf.
In the above bidding sequence I recommend a direct bid of
4S. Should South become declarer (certainly likely), this
will be to his advantage in the play. The defenders will
have no clue as to South's side-suit lengths and the chances
of a defensive error are thus increased. Disclosing the
diamond suit would tip off the defense.
Another point is that concealing the diamond suit will make
it more difficult for the opponents to decide whether or not
to sacrifice. The enemy will have less information on which
to determine the degree of fit of their hands. Keeping
partner in the dark also keeps both opponents in the dark.
A third advantage is that a 4D bid (or any other new suit
bid beyond three of the agreed major) can be recognized as a
legitimate slam try. Knowing that your basic strategy is
"concealment" makes partner aware you are trying for more
than just game.
Of course, the above just touches on the subject. With the
myriad of possible auctions, and varying vulnerabilities,
the better strategy (disclosure vs. concealment) might vary
from situation to situation. In general, though, I believe
that concealment is the proper course. I could introduce
example deals to illustrate my point, but any such deals
would be biased because of the fact I chose them. Indeed,
one could make almost any point convincing by choosing the
right hands.
Advantages of Disclosure
1. Aids partner in the decision whether to bid further or
double if the opponents sacrifice.
2. Aids partner in the defense (sometimes, the opening lead)
should your side end up defending.
3. On rare occasions might lead to a slam based on the
discovery of a tremendous double fit.
Advantages of Concealment
1. Aids declarer in the play of the hand by giving the
enemy no clue as to his side-suit distribution.
2. Avoids aiding the opponents in their decision whether
or not to sacrifice.
3. Should you and partner be defenders, avoids aiding the
opposing declarer in his play of the hand.
4. Allows the use of a bid in a side suit as a legitimate
slam try.
Conclusion
The reader must weigh the considerations and make his own
choice which course to follow - and the way you choose
should be discussed with your partners to avoid misunder-
standings.
********************
Thanks, Richard. So folks, if you have some free time,
go poke around over there. He has given me the direct
links to a few pages that would be of particular interest
to the novice/intermediate crowd:
Learn To Play Bridge (for complete beginners)
http://www.rpbridge.net/1a00.htm
Bridge Basics (beginner textbook)
http://www.rpbridge.net/bbtc.htm
Basic Quizzes
http://www.rpbridge.net/rpbr.htm#01
Finessing Technique (intermediate lesson)
http://www.rpbridge.net/2p00.htm
Bidding Guide (standard bidding reference)
http://www.rpbridge.net/bgtc.htm
Bidding For 'em All (article)
http://www.rpbridge.net/7a13.htm
And don't forget to check out his bidding polls, a fun
way to pit your skills against the experts. A hint for
novices: if you wait until the poll closes for the month,
you'll get immediate feedback. A link to the bidding
contest is at the top of the home page.
Enjoy.:)
=====================================================
Congrats to Barbara (TODD) on the birth of her first
grandchild!
It's a GIRL!
KATHERINE REGAN FRANKLIN
6 LBS 1 OZ
17 1/2" LONG
MAMA & PAPPA OVER THE MOOOON
GRANDPARENTS BEAMING FROM EAR TO EAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Barbara, you really should learn to show a little
enthusiasm. :)
=====================================================
Seems it is becoming a habit for 'one of our own'
to be Angelfish of the month! This month it is
one of our Mentor Cuppers, MaryR!
Here is what Tuna had to say in the Spectator:
Mary Rodriguez (Maryr) of Nevada receives her overdue
Angelfish diploma.
Through the years we have continually strived to improve
our service to add to your enjoyment. Our success has
been measured by how many of you have stayed true to us.
No matter the quality of a service, a club is only as
strong as its members. Our numbers have grown, but it's
members like Maryr that have made us feel like a closely
knit little family.
She has many friends, a few of whom are troubled individuals
who apparently count on her for much needed moral support.
Despite health issues herself, she remains upbeat and often
consoles others or asks me to consider health or personal
strife to excuse errant behavior.
"I love the people here and they keep me from dwelling on
my own problems. My actions are not entirely selfless -
the love I receive in return is quite a reward."
Here is what some of her admirers have said about her in
their nominations over the years:
"delightful, fun, enthusiastic"
"the world has way too many great players and not enough
nice partners"
"never an angry word"
"always takes a moment to message me with a greeting"
"jovial and unfailingly polite to all, she adds a little
spice to your evening!"
"she brightens my day"
"a protective friend"
"a super nice person who is always making newcomers feel
welcome"
********************
I took the liberty of asking Mary's Mentor Cup partner Paul
(GoBlue7) to add a few words for us:
"Mary is one of my oldest (no, I don't mean that she is
OLD...:) OKB friends, and is certainly my best friend
there. She always makes me smile, even when we don't win.
Sometimes I watch her play, usually in a pick-up game. She
never complains about her pard. Oftentimes, she has to play
with or against "considerably less-than-perfect" players,
and she is always gracious.
"Mary surely would be excused if she said "woe is me" and
complained some or even all of the time, but you'll never
hear it!"
********************
Thanks, Paul, and our heartiest congrats to our Angelfishie!
============================================================
A giggle from Janice (SHELO):
"It was one evening in about the second week of being away
at school where we were attending immersion classes in the
Spanish language. My husband and I had just returned to our
hotel room from a long day in class.
"We were surprised to learn that his mother had phoned.
She lives alone, a little elderly lady hard of hearing,
an immigrant from Ukraine, who had difficulty dialing long
distance phone numbers.
"I took the first turn to freshen up, and my husband
promptly returned his mom's call. It was a double
relief to hear him laugh as he yelled into the phone,
"No, no, Mamu, no 'keilbasa'... 'Que pasa?!'"
Thanks, Janice! You made us smile, and we sure could use
a lot more of that these days.
=====================================================
Judy (JKH) and Jim (JBOT) have developed a charming
partnership, filled with giggles, friendship, and good
bridge. Listen to Judy's story of playing with the BIG
fish! :)
"Jim and I attended the Ft. Wayne, IN Regional last week.
We found two fellows at the partnership desk and we were
off for the KO's. We were told we were in a round-robin
for the first sessions. As I was seated, I noticed a rather
famous pair seated at the same table with our teammates --
Eric Rodwell and Jeff Meckstroth!!
"Oh well, off to the races. At the half, we were down six
to the Rodwell team, and leading the other. In the second
half, the Rodwell team beat us handily, and we won the other
match, giving us a seat in the evening session. Again, we
played a formidable team, since we were in the top bracket
and we lost by 22. Although many would say we were losers,
believe it or not, I felt good about our bridge! We played
with the big boys and held our own! So many of Colin's
lessons came home that day. Thanks Colin!
"As we were leaving the playing site, the two men asked us
to play the next day in Swiss. I took that as a real
compliment since they were a very solid partnership. We
gladly accepted, and we were 2'nd in the Senior Swiss of 32
teams. Our last day, we played Board-a-Match with two
ladies from my club, and we won Flight B.
"Now, for those of you who saw my imitation of Jim at the
table (while we were in Toronto), I am pleased to report he
was the epitome of what a partner should be! Even when I
played my ace on his king! No squirming from Jimmy Boy!
It was a fun three days!"
Judy Harris
"P.S. Once Jim overcalled 2D and I held six of them with
few HCP. But I kept hearing Colin and Billy's voices and
I promptly bid 5D, thinking it would be a sacrifice. Guess
what? IT MADE!"
===========================================================
News from Fifth Chair:
First some very good news -- the Saturday morning SAYC
team game has re-started, at 8:00 AM OKB time. The
format is slightly different; there are two tables
with commentators (generally Kaltica and Shep) with
another table set up for free play for the folks waiting
their turn at the commentated tables. No reservations
taken, just show up and ask to play. Stats under 50%
please. Questions? Email CAITLIN at:
caitlin@bridge-forum.com
There is another service from Fifth Chair that you may not
be aware of: you can email ask_anything@fifthchair.org,
with your bridge questions, and receive a reply from
Connie DeLisle (LUCY).
She receives lots of letters each day from students all
over the world with their bridge problems, and has answered
them for over 5 years! It is a good service for students
who, after a session of bridge, have unanswered questions
to a bidding problem. You can drop her a quick line and
move forward.
You can visit Fifth Chair's "ask anything" web site by
going to: http://www.fifthchair.org/ask.html
Thanks, Lucy! I hope you are prepared for large increase
in your mail! :)
============================================================
We've all been affected by the horrific events this month.
For two weeks I could barely get myself to work on this
newsletter. One comfort has been the love and sympathy
expressed to us from our friends on OKB from around the
globe.
From the son of a Firesider in England:
"Dear all,
"It's 11:30 AM in the UK, about 5:30 AM in Houston, Friday,
Sept 14. Here in Aberdeen the day is beautiful with partly
sunny skies, a refreshing brisk wind, and the typical
morning sounds of the harbour: seagulls, ships, trucks,
equipment and the like, coming in through the open window.
Inside the office, the usual hubbub of office work: phones
ringing, conversations, meetings, fax machines and such.
"Thirty minutes ago, at 11:00 AM, the fire alarm sounded
briefly, and a hush fell over the offices. Outside, the
sounds of shipping activity slowed to a minimum, and only
the seagulls could be heard screeching from the harbour.
For three minutes, Aberdonians and the entire UK citizens
showed their heart-felt sadness over the events of Tuesday
in the US. In downtown Aberdeen, street lights were all
set to red, and the traffic was stopped for three minutes.
"Three minutes of silence to honor the dead, lift up those
bereaved, and support those who face difficult and
life-changing decisions in the days & weeks ahead. The fire
alarm sounded a second time, and gradually the sounds of
people at work returned.
"Three minutes of silence to show honor and respect to those
who will now carry a lifetime of sadness. Thanks to our
brothers and sisters here in the UK, and all over the world,
for reaching out in this historic time of painful adjustment
in the US."
********************
From a Firesider who lives in Germany:
"I am shocked. Even in my language I can't find words to
express my feelings at the evil act that struck your nation.
I want to offer my deepest condolences to you, the families
of the victims, and all American people."
********************
Many OKBers are expressing their feelings in their icons.
You may have noticed one particularly moving image on many
cards: a picture of the NY skyline, with the two towers
still gleaming, and a background of our flag. It was
designed by Laura (LBROWN), who had no idea when she put it
up that so many would admire and copy it! Her inspiration
is a comfort to many of us. Also, check out the picture on
Max's (MVAIGHT) card -- he adapted it for the Canadians!
If you would like to copy that picture (or any other) to
your own card, it is easy:
type: /st LBROWN
when her card is open, click Edit...Copy Photo
now open your own stats, click Edit...Paste Photo...Upload
Photo
Ta Da!
I'd also like to thank Karen (MACAW) for designing my Rosh
Hashana logo, combining the image of the ram's horn with a
flag background.
To our Jewish friends, L'shanah tovah, Wishing you a Happy
and Sweet New Year. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life
and may next year be a year filled with friendship, caring,
love, hope and peace.
Love, and an especially big hug to all,
Janice
=========================================================
MENTORING SESSIONS
Some of our commentators are offering group mentoring
sessions. This is an easy, fun, and very affordable
way to get both bidding and play instruction with your
partner, friends, or as a single participant. Email
the commentator if you want information on joining
one of the established groups with spots available,
or to discuss a session at your convenience.
Kibitzers are welcome at most sessions.
Watch this spot for future sessions from our other
commentators also!
********************
KALTICA
Colin is currently holding sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Email him for more information.
You can contact Colin at cpw@escape.ca.
........................................................
LBROWN
New groups starting this month on Mondays, Tuesdays, and
Thursdays at 10:00 A.M. OKb time. See Laura's website:
www.bridgeisfun.com for complete schedule information.
Contact Laura at finesse@bestweb.net for more
information.
........................................................
POOKA
Was anybody's favorite dwarf Bashful? If so...Pooka offers
a "private" group mentoring session, in a hidden table
format, for those who would prefer a closed setting for
their mentoring sessions.
Contact Dann at dann-kramer@home.com for more
information.
=======================================================
FIRESIDE MEMORIAL FUND
The next time you need to make a donation in honor of,
or in memory of, a friend or loved one, consider
Fireside! We'll notify the recipient of your donation
(minus the amount of course) and note your kind thoughts
here, in my column.
Send it to Laura (LBROWN) or Colin (KALTICA) just as with
your regular donations, but be sure to include an email
address for the recipient, and, if the honoree is an OKB
member, their username. Also, please note if you do NOT
want it publicized here. Would appreciate also that you
email me the same info that you put in your note to Colin
or Laura. Honor someone, and help FireSide at the same
time!
========================================================
October Events: (All times Pacific)
NOVICE/MENTOR TOURNEY: Thursday, October 11,
6:00 P.M. A low-key introduction to the tourney
experience, sponsored by Fifth Chair.....see
www.fifthchair.org for more info on this and
their other services, including getting a mentor.
MENTOR CUP TEAM GAME: Sunday, 5:00 P.M. October 14,
and 28. See www.escape.ca/~cpw/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.escape.ca/~cpw/okscript.htm.
For more information, email Colin at cpw@escape.ca.
FIFTH CHAIR INSTRUCTIONAL EVENTS:
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 5th CHAIR beside the server's name,
in the table notes, to attend either of these sessions.
********************
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
"Pray For Me!"
One Sunday a young child was "acting up" during the
morning worship hour. The parents did their best to
maintain some sense of order in the pew but were
losing the battle. Finally, the father picked the little
fellow up and walked sternly up the aisle on his way
out.
Just before reaching the safety of the foyer, the little
one called loudly to the congregation, "Pray for me!
Pray for me!"
.......................................................
ECOFIN'S FORWARD TO THE BASICS
==============================
Principle of Fast Arrival
One of the most difficult concepts for beginning
bridge players to master is an understanding of
how to bid with good hands versus how to bid with
bad hands. The principle of fast arrival is one
tool that should assist most of you in addressing
this issue.
In short, the principle of fast arrival implies that
the faster you bid, the less you have. Conversely,
the slower you bid, the more that you have. The
corollary to the principle of fast arrival is:
bid fast with nothing and slow with good hands.
(A bit later we will look at this corollary.)
Before proceeding, as a general rule, the principle
of fast arrival applies most often when you are the
opening bidder, or are responding to the opening bidder.
For example, assuming that opponents in both seats pass,
your partner opens with 1C, you bid 1H, and partner bids
4H. This IS NOT the principle of fast arrival. Since
you have promised as little as 5 HCP with your one heart
bid, partner has a good hand.
The principle of fast arrival is the general premise
underlying pre-emptive bids, weak jump shifts (I must
admit, I am not a fan of weak jump shifts), inverted
minors, Texas transfers over opening no-trump bids,
and gambling 3 no-trump bids. The importance of the
principle of fast arrival can perhaps best be seen by
looking at how good partnerships distinguish between a
Texas transfer and a Jacoby transfer over no-trump opening
bids. Texas transfers are bids of 4D and 4H over opening
no-trump bids. Jacoby transfers are bids of 2D and 2H
over opening no-trump bids. Applying the principle of
fast arrival, the auction (again assuming that opponents
pass) 1NT followed by 4D is a transfer to 4H and shows no
interest in going any further. Conversely, the auction
1NT - 2D, 2H - 4H, shows a much better hand and in some
partnerships is a mild slam try. Another example, the
majority of 2/1 players use inverted minors whereby 1C/1D
followed by 3C/3D is pre-emptive, while 1C/1D followed
by 2C/2D tends to be game forcing.
The corollary to the principle of fast arrival is: bid
fast with nothing and slow with good hands.
Suppose you hold the following:
S K975
H 10
D Q108632
C K4
Your LHO opens with 1C, your partner bids 1S, your RHO
makes a negative double. With this hand, bids of 2C and
2D all show good hands and are forcing. With this hand,
my bid was 4S, it might make and they will have a hard
time doubling without trump tricks and you certainly don't
want partner thinking you have a good hand. If you bid
slowly with this hand, one of several bad things will
likely happen. First, your partner will assume that
you have something and might very well double them in a
makeable contract, thinking you have some defensive tricks.
Second, you allow the opponents to exchange information
at low levels thereby making it easier for them to decide
what to do later in the auction.
********************
You can email Ecofin (Dale Bails) at: Ecofin2@aol.com
...........................................................
GIGGLE BREAK
Thank You to Baddi and Mindy for this giggle:
HILARIOUS SIGNS
On a plumber's truck:
"We repair what your husband fixed."
On the trucks of a local plumbing company:
"Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber."
Pizza shop slogan:
"7 days without pizza makes one weak."
Outside a muffler shop:
"No appointment necessary. We hear you coming."
In a veterinarian's waiting room:
"Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!"
Door of a plastic surgeon's office:
"We can help you pick your nose!"
On an electrician's truck:
"Let us remove your shorts."
In a non-smoking area:
"If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire
and take appropriate action."
On a maternity room door:
"Push. Push. Push."
At an optometrist's office:
"If you don't see what you're looking for,
you've come to the right place."
In the front yard of a funeral home:
"Drive carefully. We'll wait."
...........................................................
SPECIAL TREATS
==============
(Editor's note: We've had several names for our
extra column that we use to present special treats
from time to time. We've called it "From Our Readers",
and "Just for Fun" most recently... We decided to give
it a permanent name -- Special Treats seemed to suit!)
This month we have a very Special Treat from Bob McPhee.
Thanks, Bob! :-) (Yes, the same McPhee that we mentioned
earlier in Believer's FireSide Kindling.)
********************
"De Whip"
It's your first, ever, live, organized bridge experience.
You hear about how to operate the bidding boxes, what the
stop card means, and how it should be used, the possible
ways of passing unauthorized information, how the scoring
works, make the hands up, greet the opponents, my turn to
bid? The opponents reach 3NT and somehow go down. You
proudly mark the convention card, "#9, 3NT by Them,"
hmmmmm, oh, "goes down" I think they need more room on
these score cards.
I'm wondering why the lady on my left is glaring at my
partner, and feeling more confidant having mastered the
bidding boxes on the very first round, "your bid sir".
Eventually we reach 4H. I used a club in that ruffing
finesse position, instead of H. "Stop! Sorry, that was not
intentional, please undo!" It was then I realized I was a
bit dazed, the opponents laughed, but still played to the
trick. "No undo's?" I ask. When they look at me I begin
to appreciate what a deer in headlights must think.
The next hand poses no real problem, because when my RHO
passes, I can easily tell pass is best with:
S 10874
H 10653
D 64
C 1072
One club, double says partner, one diamond, and anxious to
inform my partner about my vast knowledge, I double, clearly
responsive I figure. Two clubs on my left and I begin to
feel relieved. However, whatever comfort I was feeling
vanishes, when I see partner bid 4NT!!! Oh my, what have I
done?
Well at least I have no problem telling my partner I have
nothing, and bid 5D, another of those conventional calls
I've quickly come to master. I'm a bit shocked when all
pass my partner's 5S bid. Admittedly, I was a bit
embarrassed when I had to display my dummy, I mean, who
would ever have thought my hand would be dummy?
The opening lead was a club, and I think I heard partner
mutter something like, "oh, no 10 of D partner?" Partner
sensibly had the right sort of companion hand,
S KQJ92
H AK
D KQJ73
C A
and managed to catch an opponent napping to make it. I
jotted down "5S by part", and in the plus column, "makes".
We have a short time before the new folks arrive. Partner
explains delicately, "while all of your early learning has
been at imp scoring, at pairs play we need to be more
conservative in the bidding".
Naturally I'm just thrilled as partner opens the bidding one
heart, pass and I have;
S 6
H J7
D 1083
C KQ108654
and reach over to take my bid from the box, only to
discover, after much fumbling, my bid had completely
disappeared! My opponent helps me sort things out, and I
place the 3 club call on the table. Indeed very pleased
with myself, I've had the chance to show my weak jump
shift. Partner smartly alerts with that blue one. When
asked to explain what the 3 club means, I collect my next
shock, "reverse Bergen showing 4 trumps and limit raise
values"!
Fortunately I'm able to think in different languages, so
when partner bids 4NT, I choose profane, "*&%#, what about
weak jump shifts, aren't we playing those?" Now of course
I have to bid 5C showing a key card, geesh. After they
double 6H partner re-alerts when I bid 7C, "he forgot, and
thought 3 clubs was pre-emptive". Annoying how accurate
my partner can be. My opponent asks, "new"? "My first
time" I reply. Smiling, she doubles, showing no mercy.
Although disappointed, I have to laugh as well, especially
when partner says "just do your best, it won't really be
so bad".
The trump lead brings;
S AQ10
H A10985
D AJ7
C A9
and my partner congratulates me for playing well after the
mishap, when after the S finesse worked, I end up going only
down 1. Astute, I notice partner staring into space. "Sorry
pard" I remark. "Oh I just wondering if anyone will be
going down in 6 or 7 NT" he says. Later he told me 6 was
likely bid and should be made, but may go down so I
shouldn't feel too sad. The opponents look disappointed
to be leaving.
The lady on my right now opens 1H, and remembering partner's
advice about being more conservative, I bid 2NT with this
collection;
S 4
H 973
D AQ873
C AKQ6
I know my partner will be pleased with the extra high card
values. 3H from my LHO, and partner's bid appears next, 5C.
I groan inwardly when the next hand doubles "how come he
never bids my 5 card suit, and why game?" All pass now,
and the lady leads a high heart. On the second H partner
trumps, now he plays a D to my queen, which wins, and
trumps another H. Now comes J and another C, where my LHO
shows out. But partner now plays the A of D, and when the
suit breaks 2-2 says, "drawing trumps claiming 6!" I get
a peek at his hand:
S A752
H 8
D 10964
C J542
Sure fit well. I mark my card "5C doubled by part, makes
extra trick."
The next couple slip on the defense, and allow me an extra
trick playing 3NT. I can see these folks are new to the
game just like me. But none the less, I'm proud of that
extra trick and mark my card "3NT by ME, makes extra trick."
The next hand the opponents open 2C, and through some
misunderstanding reach 4H. The dummy brought a slight shock
to declarer and she bolstered my confidence going down one.
As we enter the final round partner takes me aside, "You
have done remarkably well for the first time. In fact, if
we keep our noses clean we have a shot to come in the
money," I break into slight sweat. "1D," I say, "oops,
sorry" and I place the 1D card on the table. Pass, 2D
(and I even remember I must alert this, I forgot most of
the others) Alert. When asked what it means , "That shows
an opening hand with diamonds." 2H so I call 3D, now 3H
from the next player, and 3NT from partner. They lead a H
and I display:
S AQ73
H 4
D AJ10872
C Q4
Partner, I learned later, was not pleased with his hand,
but, as he explained, he felt forced to call 2D game
forcing.
S 96
H KJ
D KQ963
C K986
was what he held. Winning the J of H, he ran 5 rounds of
D, ending in his hand, and took the S finesse of course.
When it lost. they played a H, naturally. But on the run
of the D the lady had tossed some H's, to protect the S she
said. Because she did not have the A of C, her partner was
forced to concede the game going trick to partner's high
club.
"Had I known you had the K of spades Betty, I would have led
those". This time the opponents have the bidding to
themselves, almost that is.
1D P 1S P
2D P 3C P
3NT P
and the lady begins to sweep up the bidding cards. "Pardon
me ma'am, I believe we all must pass before the bidding
cards are removed," remarks my partner. She places pass
down, but partner comes to life with double. I can't really
tell, but I think she looked right through my partner when
she placed the final pass card on the table. I search my
memory banks, something about leads... was it "lead low from
our suit"? What is our suit though, hmmm I wonder? Just as
I'm about to lead I snap back my wrist. I remembered, lead
4'th best was what this means. Quickly I replace my safe S
lead with an aggressive H. The dummy appears:
S AQ1072
H J53
D 54
C A93
and the declarer thanks her partner, and looks very pleased
when the J of H holds in the dummy. She plays a D from
dummy now, playing the 10 from her hand, and I win my stiff
K.
Time for some thought, I could see that. I have the 93 of
S's but with all those nice S's on dummy I can't imagine
leading that suit. He must have doubled for C's I guess, so
I lead a C. Low from dummy, jack from partner and Q from
declarer, looking very pleased now. She plays a S to
dummy's A, and leads another D, playing the J. When I show
out, she is visibly shocked and glares at my partner. She
tries a couple of high hearts, and now, in a desperate
attempt, endplays my partner with a D. Except he is not
endplayed, he exits with a C. I cash my winners and he
saves his good S, one down! "Remarkable defense partner"
I smile. "Generally, this sort of double asks for you to
lead the first bid suit by dummy," he explains. This helps
remove a lot of pressure from my hand.
S KJ864
H 9
D Q9873
C J8
was partners holding, and I quickly see the wisdom of his
words.
"How do we find out just how badly we did?" I ask, feeling
a bit whipped and beaten. My partner guides me to a distant
wall and explains, "These are the scores up to the last
round. We have 52% or so, and I think we scored well on the
last round. That round should help to bring that % a bit
higher. If we hit 56% or so we should place in our
section."
Curious and anxious, we wait until the final scores are
posted. Third, 1.48 red points, move on over Paul Soloway!
********************
You can email Bob at: bobmcphee@hotmail.com
.........................................................
GIGGLE BREAK
Another giggle from our favorite fish -- Tuna :-)
MS Tech at Bootcamp
One of Microsoft's finest techs was drafted and sent
to boot camp. At the rifle range, he was given some
instruction, a rifle, and bullets. He fired several
shots at the target. The report came from the target
area that all attempts had completely missed the target.
The Microsoft tech looked at his rifle and then at the
target again. He looked at the rifle again, and then
at the target again. He put his finger over the end
of the rifle barrel and squeezed the trigger with his
other hand. The end of his finger was blown off,
whereupon he yelled toward the target area: "It's
leaving here just fine. The trouble must be at your
end!"
....................................................
SHEP'S ADVENTURES
=================
The Bridge Magicians
by Mark Horton and Radoslaw Kielbasinski
published by Master Point Press, Toronto, 2001
This book is subtitled "Spellbinding plays from the Polish
stars", and on the jacket it tells you it is the "finest
collection of deals since Pietro Forquet's 'Bridge With The
Blue Team'". I agree on both counts.
This is a collection of hands from one of Bridge's
relatively new communities of experts. Through the hands we
get to meet the players and get a sense of the history of
Polish players as they exploded into the International
bridge scene during the 1980's.
The publisher puts this book in the Advanced category.
Many of the hands would be difficult for a Novice or low
Intermediate player to make, but certainly not impossible
for them to understand. There's a big difference between
being able to find the play at the table, and being able to
understand it when you are shown how it happens. If this
book is hard for you to read at first, you'll have learned
a lot by the time you finish it.
So, I encourage you to read this book. If you don't think
you're up to it, give it as a present to a more advanced
friend who lives nearby. That way, you'll be able to borrow
it in a little while!
********************
You can find Shelagh doing her FireSide sessions
on Tuesdays, at 11:00 A.M. OKbridge time.
SHEP (Shelagh Paulsson) is available for private
lessons at OKbridge tourneys. After the tourney the
student gets lessons arising from the hands by e-mail.
She also does regular weekday group mentoring sessions.
If you are interested in attending, or for more
information, you can reach Shelagh by email at:
shep@bridgementor.com
...........................................................
GIGGLE BREAK
Blame Mindy for this groaner:
A FROG STORY
A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can
see from her nameplate that the teller's name is Patricia
Whack. So he says, "Mrs. Whack, I'd like to get a loan to
buy a boat and go on a long vacation."
Patti looks at the frog in disbelief and asks how much he
wants to borrow. The frog says $30,000. The teller asks his
name and the frog says that his name is Kermit Jagger, his
dad is Mick Jagger, and that it's OK, he knows the bank
manager.
Patti explains that $30,000 is a substantial amount of
money and that he will need to secure some collateral
against the loan. She asks if he has anything he can use
as collateral.
The frog says, "Sure. I have this," and produces a tiny pink
porcelain elephant, about half an inch tall. Bright pink
and perfectly formed.
Very confused, Patti explains that she'll have to consult
with the manager and disappears into a back office. She
finds the manager and says:
"There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims
to know you. He wants to borrow $30,000 and use this as
collateral." She holds up the tiny pink elephant. "I mean,
what the heck is this?"
The bank manager looks back at her and says: "It's a knick
knack, Patti Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a
Rolling Stone"!
.........................................................
TREBLE'S TABLE TALK
====================
Mayhem vs Sobriety
I played a vastly entertaining game of bridge with one
of our editors, Jan "Moogal" Kofman the other night on OKB,
that was chock full of interesting and thought-provoking
hands. Since I hadn't really settled on a topic for my
musings, it furnished the lion's share of the content for
this month's article.
No one vulnerable, I picked up:
S Qxx
H x
D A108xx
C 9xxx
and heard my RHO open a 15-17 point 1NT. Since my buddy
Colin "Kaltica" Ward gets away with bidding on this junk
all the time, I ventured forth into this auction with
double, a conventional bid showing 3+ spades, with another
lower-ranked suit. Redouble on my left, pass, pass, 2D by
me. LHO again doubled, and partner retreated to 2S, which
opener now branded with the Mark of Zorro. Of course, Jan
was dealt the real useful hand of:
S 9xxx
H AQ10x
D Jx
C J10x
enough to go for -500 in 2S doubled, but JUST enough to
prevent 4H their way from making.
Later on in the evening, I was dealt:
S xx
H J9xxx
D A10xx
C xx
LHO beginning with 1S and partner overcalling 2H. My first
inclination was to bid 4H, but I wasn't sure what to do if
opener now ventured on in either black suit, as my hand was
NOT well suited to defense and partner could have anywhere
from 6 to 15 HCP for her overcall. I chose to merge two of
Colin's favourite tactics, the "No Tricks Notrump" and the
"Kenny Coup", bidding a somewhat offbeat 2NT.
If you consider how the auction might unfold from here,
most of the possible results will be GOOD for your side. If
everyone passes, they will inflict a two- or three-trick set
on you in 2NT, but will certainly be cold for a partscore
and maybe even game their way. If LHO competes, your bid
may still deter them from a making game. If PARTNER bids
on, 4H will have a fair play and you will, of course,
correct any notrump raise back to hearts.
It turned out Jan raised to 3NT and I mosied back to
4H. Now opener with 6-1-3-3, who might have bid 4S over a
DIRECT jump to game by me, thought about it for awhile and
finally passed. We scored up +420 when their game would
have failed but with -100 for down one being a profitable
sacrifice.
So we had two "operations" by me during the game, one
being a moderate success and the other being ruthlessly
punished. The aspiring bridge player will eagerly devour
the write-ups about a spectacular triumph by the inimitable
Zia Mahmood, or the partnership of Meckstroth and Rodwell,
and think "I want to be able to do things like that".
Even at the clubs and tournaments, you'll see a local
personage that has a natural flair and the ability to jostle
his adversaries out of reaching the par contract, and seek
to emulate that person's bold and forthright style in the
way YOU play the game. However, in striking down this path,
rather than achieve the instant success you crave, it's
quite possible that you MAY get irretrievably lost by
straying from the attributes that got you this far. In
seeking to remake yourself in a new image, you might get
detached from your true essence and be caught in a "no-man's
land" that leaves you in a state of bewilderment, groping
for answers.
Now, I'm not suggesting by any means that you refrain
from trying new conventions or bidding approaches. You NEED
to explore what's out there to develop an effective system
that you feel comfortable with, and to identify what style
feels most natural for you. What I'm cautioning against is
persisting in trying to mimic other players when it JUST
ISN'T WORKING FOR YOU. Sometimes you have to retreat back
to a "halfway approach", or you may just feel most at ease
going back to your roots and play your original style as
that may be what just seems to be what functions the best.
Over the course of my bridge experience, I've
identified three kinds of players. There are the naturally
imaginative types, which here in Winnipeg include Drew
Cannell, Kenny Sired, Bill Gamble, and to a certain extent
Colin Ward, Sekhar and Dave Sired. They are, in the words
of my musical hero Bruce Springsteen, "born to run".
There are others who can never get into the spirit of a
devil-may-care approach and don't even feel comfortable
making use of the occasional tactical bid or red herring.
It just feels unnatural and even when they try, the red face
or the squirming will be a dead giveaway for the opponents.
These individuals feel most comfortable operating within a
framework of established precepts, and wandering off on a
tangent is just not in their nature. They are "born to
plod".
In the middle, we have those that over the years are
sufficiently attracted by the efforts of the "naturals" and
can effectively use those tactics occasionally as a
supplement to their game. But they never develop the feel
or sense of timing to do that sort of thing consistently,
and so prefer to operate on the fringes of the new territory
rather than leave home for good with no thought of ever
coming back. That group would likely include me. We are
"born to jog".
Once I spoke with a friend of mine, who was a plodder
by nature but TRYING to be daring and imaginative. I said,
in a choice of words that he found to be insulting, that he
should stop trying to be a hero and just return to the
foot-soldier basics that had always served him well in the
past. There's no shame in being a plodder if that is what
works for you the best. Many players are extremely
successful with a fundamental, no-nonsense approach to the
game. And the "naturals", despite all their glittering
triumphs and legendary exploits, often malfunction and
implode at the pivotal stage of a critical match. Even
some of the most awesome talents in the game have yet to
add a world championship to their resumes.
So the moral is that we should to try new things to
discover ourselves, but when we have a pretty fair handle on
what our "comfort zone" is, then we should settle in to our
nice warm bed. Instead, all too many players continue to
indulge in a fruitless search for the miracle cure, when the
remedy was always there right in front of their eyes.
Anyway, enough of the sermonizing, let's get back to
some actual hands. At last week's sectional in Minot, I
picked up:
S Q8xx
H 10x
D Qxx
C A9xx
in a pairs game with no one vulnerable. Partner opened 1H
and RHO doubled for takeout. Every other pair in the field
bid 1S or 1NT with this hand. But think about it this way:
it's quite likely that your side has the majority of high-
card points AND that the neither you nor your opponents
have an eight-card fit to play in. So when your adversaries
are caught in a situation that is fraught with danger for
them, why allow them to wriggle out of it by bidding? Your
best result in doing so is a partscore, and that's IF you
make your contract.
I passed, with the intention of doubling, when LHO made
his response to the double. My hand would be limited to a
maximum of 9 points given the failure to redouble, and
partner would now defend unless she had an unbalanced hand
with extreme shortness in their suit.
Sure enough, LHO bid 1NT and I pulled out the red card
when it came back around to me. We got +300 as a result,
ten other pairs were +90 and there was a +110 and +120 in
our direction as well. So even a ONE-trick set would have
been good for a near-top.
Now if partner opens a MINOR suit and the opponents
double, you might want to use 1NT as a natural response
since it has some value as a moderately pre-emptive action.
Also, the opponents can play a major suit at the one-level
and it would be more difficult to extract a penalty
sufficient to compensate for your partscore.
But when partner opens a MAJOR suit and RHO doubles for
takeout, they may have to play 1NT or a two-level contract
with less than half the deck, and possibly no decent fit.
So HERE it's much better to quietly pass with your 8-9
points, and let them founder about, and THEN express your
doubts about their chances of success at your next turn.
And with a bare 6-7 points, just pass and don't get into the
auction unless opener can take further action.
So, if 1NT is non-existent as a natural bid, what
should we use it for? In my humble opinion, 1S-dbl-1NT
should be artificial, with responder promising a
constructive raise in opener's major. That allows 1S-dbl-2S
to be a weak raise of 5-7 points that is mildly obstructive,
and warns opener not to compete at a higher level unless
he's got substantial extra values.
Finally, a "could have been" opening lead problem from
my OKB tourney with Jan. You hold:
S 109
H J9
D KJ10
C A86542
and with both sides vulnerable, the auction unfolds thusly:
You LHO Partner RHO
pass 1H
pass 2D pass 2S
pass 2NT pass 3H
pass 4H pass 4NT
pass 5H pass 6H
pass pass pass
4NT was keycard in hearts, the 5H response showing two
without the trump queen.
So what do we know based on the auction? Opener has at
least ten major suit cards, and responder seems to have
two-card support for hearts. From the 2NT bid on your left,
there appear to be club values behind you. Is anything BAD
happening for declarer on this hand? Not really. Trumps
will be dividing evenly, and if he needs a finesse in spades
it will be onside. So is there ANY chance of defeating the
slam? A very slight one. If opener's shape is 4-6-2-1 and
partner has the diamond queen, you might be entitled to a
diamond and a club. However, to get both you will have to
attack with a diamond right away, since with dummy rating to
have the club king, declarer will have time to play up to
it and get a pitch if you lead something else. Can a
diamond lead give away the contract? Very unlikely. If
dummy has AQ of diamonds nothing is lost, nor does the lead
cost if the K of clubs is on table as you would expect.
I've given the hand as a lead problem to about half a
dozen players, and some have found the diamond lead. Since
you are hoping partner has the Q of diamonds anyway, you
might as well lead the KING rather than the Jack or Ten.
Most of the time it won't matter which diamond you lead, but
on THIS hand it did:
North
S 5
H K2
D A976432
West C KQ3 East
S 109 S Q87642
H J9 H 1064
D KJ10 D 8
C A86542 South C J109
S AKJ3
H AQ8753
D Q5
C 7
The K of diamonds lead has an amusing effect here.
Even the double-dummy line of winning on table and finessing
the J of spades fails. If declarer postpones the drawing
of trump and leads a club early, West flies on the ace and
gives partner a diamond ruff.
But drawing trumps is no better, even if he plays two
rounds of spades and unblocks his Q of diamonds before
leading a club. West just goes up on the first round of
clubs and exits a diamond, so the defense gets at least one
spade in the end, as dummy's club winners are stranded.
A club lead makes it easy, a spade lead pickles East's
Queen, and a trump forces declarer to play up to the clubs
in dummy and take a spade finesse later on. The J or 10 of
diamonds fails as declarer has no real choice but to run it
to his queen, pull trumps and ruff out your king of diamonds
to establish the suit while the Ace of clubs is still an
entry.
Indeed, the King of diamonds WAS the killing lead as
the auction might suggest, but not in EXACTLY the way you
expected it. The intention was to develop a trick in the
suit for your side, and you failed in that objective.
Instead, the motif turned out to be severing the
communications between the two hands, and giving declarer
a Hobson's choice of either stranding dummy's winners, or
allowing partner a diamond ruff.
Such is the perpetual fascination of bridge, that
keeps drawing us back to it like a bee to honey.
*************************
You can write to Wintaka (Bill Treble) at:
btreble@escape.ca
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 (btreble@escape.ca) or
Colin (cpw@escape.ca) for more information.
...........................................................
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks to MVaight for this giggle:
After discussing the gender of other words in French
class, one puzzled student asked, "What gender is computer?"
The teacher did not know, and the word wasn't in her French
dictionary. So for fun she split the class into two groups,
appropriately enough by gender, and asked them to decide
whether "computer" should be a masculine or feminine noun.
Both groups were required to give four reasons for their
recommendation.
The men's group decided that computers should definitely
be of the feminine gender ("la computer"), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal
logic.
2. The native language they use to communicate with other
computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term
memory for possible later retrieval.
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find
yourself spending half your pay check on accessories
for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should
be masculine ("le computer"), because:
1. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them
on.
2. They have a lot of data but they are still clueless.
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half
the time they ARE the problem.
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you'd
waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better
model.
The women won.
.........................................................
AND FINALLY KALTICA
===================
Star Kissed
At the 2001 Summer Nationals in Toronto I had
asked Tony "Tuna" Reus if he'd like to play with me
in one of the regionally rated events. He reacted
like I had suggested cannibalism. So imagine my
surprise when, out of the blue, OKBridge's illustrious
manager asked me to play with him in a tourney! Of
course, I accepted! I felt, well, StarKist.
At 10:30 A.M. PST, Sunday, September 2'nd, 2001,
just before game time, Tony phones me to go over a
few system agreements and style issues. I could tell
from the tone of his voice that Tony was a little
apprehensive about our upcoming game. It seems someone
has been spreading scurrilous rumours that I am a wildman.
Me, no less!
As a brilliant precaution, Tuna accessed the
system before game time, and disabled the opponents'
double button. :)
As I was soon to discover, Tony makes free calls
(especially free raises) on air and plays an "Alberta"
style, with "all invitations forcing". I play a
"get-in-early" "Manitoba" style, with a lot of pre-empts
and light overcalling. Witness this, the fourth hand
out of the chute:
Tuna: Kaltica:
S Q74 S 1062
H A6 H QJ7
D Q63 D K8
C A10963 C KQ874
1C by Tuna. Pass to me. Hmm. Normally, I'd
bid 1S to "Ward off" a spade lead en route to 3NT,
of course. Knowing that my partner was concerned
about a "bumpy ride", though, I went with the prosaic,
unimaginative 2NT, showing 10-12 HCPs and inviting
3NT in our 2/1-GF system. Tony raised to 3NT on a
hand that I might not have opened. 3NT goes down.
Tuna's fault, right?
Nope. Mine for two reasons:
1. I should know better than to invite an "Albertan".
2. I should remain "true to my school" and bid 1S.
After 1C:1S:1NT I can pass in comfort. +2.14
IMPs instead of -4.69.
We were still doing well, though, due largely to
some fine bidding by Tony on this one:
Tuna Kaltica Tuna Kaltica
S 98 S AKJ52 pass 1D 2H 2S
H 106 H void 3H pass pass 4C
D AKQ6 D 943 pass 4S pass 5D
C AJ752 C 10863 pass 6C pass pass
dble pass pass pass
I had Spades, Clubs and Diamonds so I just bid,
well, Spades, Clubs then Diamonds. Tuna found a nice
6C slam and earned us a quick +1730 and 13.73 IMPs
when it was doubled. Only 10 of 49 pairs found 6C,
and no one found 7C. The double? Well, having seen
what he bids game on, what opponent WOULDN'T double
Tuna in SLAM? :)
With Tuna and I playing together, the possibility
of a psyche or two certainly exists. But how about
FOUR in a row? Yup, one by each player! Check it out:
S 1086
H K43 Tuna North Kaltica South
D K6
C KQJ103 pass pass 2C
North 2H 3C 3S pass
Tuna Kaltica pass 4C pass pass
S K942 S void pass
H 976 H J10852
D J842 D Q95 Lead: S2, Result: +4
C 76 C A9542 Score: 130, IMPs: -2.96
South
S AQJ753 Vulnerable: N-S
H AQ Dealer: North
D A1073
C 8
South started things off with 2C on a 5 "Born" loser
hand, thereby guaranteeing a minus score opposite any
yarborough (e.g. S xx H xxxx D xxx C xxxx). I think
that we Firesiders should have a contest for the one who
opens the weakest hand 2C. The prize? 10 free tourneys
with Moogal! :)
I had told Tuna on the phone that, at favourable
vulnerability, 2C is virtually forcing on EVERYONE at the
table. 2H was an interesting choice, though. North then
bid 3C which, according to their system, was apparently a
second negative: 0-3 HCPs. My 3S was natural, but served
to command a Spade lead before I was to retreat to 4H.
North made the first real bid, 4C, but South passed,
expecting nothing from North after the 3C second negative.
We won only 2.96 IMPs because 24 of 52 pairs were in 6S,
down one.
Not all of our operations turned out successfully.
Consider this hand:
Kaltica:
S 8
H J963
D J8732
C K85
Pard opens 1D with our side vul. RHO pre-empts 2H
so I passed. Pass, Double by Partner. Pass. I bid 3D.
But when my LHO now bid 3H and this came around to me I
figured that Partner must be void in Hearts. If so, he
might be able to ruff the opening lead and either pitch
Club values on Opener's good Spades or, if Tuna's values
are in Clubs, ruff a bunch of Spade losers. So I bid
not 4D but 5D. Yes, 5D. Sadly, I caught Partner with:
Tuna:
S AKQ7
H 8
D A1096
C 9764
Ugh. After the H-Ace lead, Tuna's LHO switched to
the killer C-Queen. Tuna played it well, but when the
smoke cleared we were down 3 for -300 and -5.9 IMPs.
We were doing very well when this crucial decision
came up on Board #24 against the leaders:
Kaltica:
S 9864
H J104
D A74
C J76
Partner opens 1H, with no one vulnerable. RHO
overcalls 1S. Your call? Yes, whether you win or
lose the event may well rest on this one decision.
But no pressure here! :)
Tuna Kaltica Tuna Kaltica
S J S 9864 pass 1H 1S pass
H AQ9632 H J104 2S 4C 4S 5H
D 7 D A74 pass 4S pass 5D
C AKQ53 K J76 5S pass pass dble
pass pass pass
5S was down 3 doubled, for +500 and +2.28 IMPs
our way. 6H is slightly against the odds, going down
if the Heart King is offside -- which it was -- OR if
there is a Club ruff. Of the pairs that did get to 6H,
down one, ALL of the Responders bid 2H with this ratty
6-count. Once we pass 1S, though, 6H was never "in the
picture" for Opener -- even if Responder bids a bold 5H
later.
Leading as we went into the last round we needed
to stay on track and hoped for two flat boards. Fat
chance. #25 was a grand slam hand which our opponents
graciously missed after some noise from us. #26 was
another tough bidding decision:
Kaltica:
S J654
H J5
D AKJ96
C J2
With both sides vulnerable and the opponents silent,
what do we do after:
1C 1D
1H 1S
2D ?
2NT and 3D both look attractive at IMPs. I passed
for two reasons:
1. 2D is limited to about 16 and I have a poorish fit
for Opener's Clubs. Even if Opener has 4 goodies
for me I might STILL have no more than 8 tricks.
2. I learned my lesson on Hand #4. Opposite any
"Alberta" bidder, 3D and 2NT are nothing but a
waste of one round of bidding. Given the choice
between 3NT and Pass, then, I took a plus.
Sure enough, on a likely Spade lead from S Q10987,
3NT goes down FOUR, vulnerable. 3D, making 4 for +130,
won us +1.98 IMPs. Whew! :)
I'd like to thank Tuna for his generosity in
playing with me and dragging us to a first place
finish despite some major missteps by me. He
certainly seems to draw spectators! We had more
specs than Table #1! And, oddly enough, NONE of
them asked for their money back. :)
Hmm, I wonder if I get DOUBLE Pond Points for
winning with Tuna? :)
*************************
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 (cpw@escape.ca) or
Bill (btreble@escape.ca) for more information.
..........................................................
GIGGLE BREAK
Thanks again to BobW for these:
There Oughta Be A Law
O'Reilly's law of the kitchen:
Cleanliness is next to impossible.
Lieberman's law:
Everybody lies, but it doesn't matter since nobody listens.
Denniston's law:
Virtue is its own punishment.
Gold's law:
If the shoe fits, its ugly.
Conway's law:
In any organization, there will always be one person who
knows what is going on. This person should be fired.
Finster's law:
A closed mouth gathers no feet.
Lynch's law:
When the going gets tough, everyone leaves.
Muir's law:
When we try to separate anything out by itself, we find it
hitched to everything else in the universe.
Glyme's formula for success:
The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can
fake that, you've got it made.
Mason's first law of synergism:
The one day you'd sell your birthright for something,
birthrights are a glut.
Hanlon's razor:
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately
explained by stupidity.
Handy guide to modern science:
If it's green or wriggles, it's biology.
If it stinks, it's chemistry.
If it doesn't work, it's physics.
Green's law of debate:
Anything is possible if you don't know what
you're talking about.
Stewart's law of retroaction:
It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.
First rule of history:
History doesn't repeat itself, historians merely
repeat each other.
Oliver's law of location:
No matter where you go, there you are.
Harrison's postulate:
For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism.
..........................................................