Things to think about

"it can be dangerous opening lightish distributional hands when vulnerable"

Dont rebid 5 card minors

Dont cue shortage in suit partner has shown length ! (1st round)

A 2 over a 1 by a passed hand does not promise a rebid
or should it?I think I would like to play that it does promise a rebid. More rules to break, alter and discuss with a partner!

Simple sequences and my off shape 1nt

Before I go off too far delving into these fancy sequences, I best check my understanding of the basics.

This sequence is wide ranging 11-17 1M:1N 2m
1S:1N 2H is this minimum or the same 11-17?

So, my off shape 1nts that I have taken on without too much thought can be reined back in a little.

What SHOULD my off shape 1nt's look like?

Teams

I played my first teams match at the club last night and it was a lot of fun! After the first set we trailed by 1 imp, ater the second set the opponents had taken off and won by 20+ imps.

One memorable hand, I held 1453 16 count and Barbara opened 1C.

1C:1D
1H: ?

What is my bid, what is 3H here?
I thought 3H would be inviational but some were
saying that was the correct bid. Had we agreed to play strong Walsh then 1D would deny a 4 card major unless my hand is strong enough to force game, so here 3H would show 4hearts and have slam interest. But we dont have that agreement, so I didnt. :-)

I bid 1S then jumped to 4H after Barbara bid 1nt. Bad bid but right contract.

I'd like 1S in this sequence to be 4sf, saying nothing about Spades, I can bid spades again with a real suit gf but most people seem to play 2S as 4sf, that takes up a lot of room.

We are also having trouble the 1M:2m, I will bid 1M:2m 2M here with a 5card suit, poor hand but my partner is expecting 6 of the major and will put me to 3M holding xx when we would be better in 2M or 2nt. At the moment I dont know what to change here.

more bidding sequences

One of the sequences that I stumble over is finding a rebid after opening 1m and partner responds 2m. There has been much discussion on BBO forums about this, here is the link if you want to read more.

http://forums.bridgebase.com/index.php?showtopic=18928&st=15


This is the method I am wanting to use, it probably needs refining.

1D:2C 2D stall, minimum hand 100% forcing (weak nt 11-12)
1D:2C 2N balanced 12-14 both majors stopped (no need for this to show extras)
1D:2C 2M 4=5 or better and ‘a king more than minimum' 15(14)
1D:2C 3N 18+ balanced

1S(2D)2H (P) (a random bid thrown in, one that came up at the club)
3C 15+

1C:2D is a strong jump or criss cross

1M:2m 2M Min, waiting. No other bid avialble, will most often be 5
1S:2m 2H min 5S 4H
1H:2m 2S full reverse 16(15)
1M:2m 3x good 5/4 15+
1M:2m 2N blalanced, both majors stopped (12-14, 13-15?)

Note: the same problems do not occur over 1S:2H as there is never a reason to bid 2H on a 4 card suit.


1S:2H 4H min 11-12 54xx ideal 53xx
1S:2H 3H game forcing 54xx 53xx

Do we always want 4 card support here?

1H:1N 2D is wide ranging 11-18

1 m:1 any 3 m = 16-18 with good 6 card minor


How do you respond to partners 1m with balanced 11-12, 13-15 hands?

1m:2nt = 13-15 forcing

1C:1D 11-12 with a 3card suit if need be. 3334 2335?
1D:1nt with a 11 count and pray
1D:2nt with a 12 count and pray
or bid a 3 card major; always 1H with 3343 or 3334

I dont pretend to understand all this yet, maybe in time.

2/1 by passed hand is NF!

I played with Barbara at the VBC Centre yesterday. I thought we had a poor game due to my incredibly bad playing, I play too fast and I am not watching discards. After the dust had settled and the results posted we had earned master points, coming 3rd in B and 1st in C. Strange things these MP’s!

A couple of things I need to take away from the games is; its ok to PASS
We play short club, Barbara opened 1C and I held 3352, 4 count. Not wanting to leave her in 1C, I bid 1D

Here is the auction
N W S E
1C (P) 1D (1H)
X (P) 2D (2H)
2S (AP)

Barbara: AQxx,xx,AKQ,Axxxx
Me: xxx,QJx,Jxxxx,xx

Not a disaster but a lesson none the less.

The second hand was where I decided to pass a 3334 11 count (my openings are becoming more disciplied ;-) ) and when Barbara opened 1S I bid 2C intending to show delayed support. Needless to say I didn’t get another bid.

N W S E
- - P (P)
1S (P) 2C (AP)
N A10xxx,xxx,Ax,KQx
S QJx,Jxx,Kxx,Axxx

So my bid is 3S, not ideal with 3 card support, what is.

2/1 by a passed hand is NOT FORCING

I sat my Club Directors exam and passed, yes I can read a rule book. I’d like to become a TD and be involved in the juicy UI, MI, LA’s but I imagine I would need a lot more experience both playing and running club games first.