paulg: hi everyone .... paulg: tonight I've prepared a few hands for Wayne & Val to bid to look at their 2NT sequences BILmanager (Lobby): => Club: !d!D Beg/Int Lounge Members- paulg's session starts in 2 min---- All Members Welcome! !D!D paulg: i've pinched some of the hands from the Spingold that was played in New York earlier this month ... paulg: which you may have seen broadcast on BBO mr_mistake: hi paulg: the purpose of the session is not to teach Wayne and Val any specific method .... paulg: it is to help them examine their own methods and practise using them paulg: And, like most of my sessions, judgement is probably more important than system paulg: so wayne is now counting his tricks .... 1Valeria: we make 6!C :-( but I don't know how to bid paulg: but it is better to do that before playing the singleton from dummy ->1Valeria: don't worry - i'll comment on that at the end sceptic: 1!S 3!!D prob 5!C can make hearts but may lose to spades if not careful 1Valeria: wd paulg: so the defence erred there - they should hold you to 9 tricks when you fail to cash diamonds before clubs :) paulg: Anyhow, as you can see 6!c is an excellent contract ... paulg: but it is very difficult to bid paulg: In the Spingold semi-final, both Versace-Lauria and Hamman-Soloway played in 3NT .... paulg: so Wayne and Val are in good company :) 1Valeria: phew Mikael_FI: is there a way to find 6!c ? paulg: those pairs both bid 3!s .. which was not explained but probably minor-suit stayman .... sceptic: hehe they must have been spying on us in the main lounge and picked up a few tips :) paulg: I would not be concerned about missing 6!c here - absolutely every card is working well paulg: remove the !hJ or !d10 and the slam gets worse paulg: experts do not tend to look for "perfect hands" for a slam .... paulg: here you may get too high looking paulg: so well bid 1Valeria: :-) sceptic: :) sceptic: amnesia kyno40: lol ->sceptic: try 4!h 1Valeria: superaccept the suit without control 1Valeria: ty p 1Valeria: glp paulg: so the squeeze chance here is a Vienna Coup paulg: cash the other top club paulg: and return to your hand with hearts paulg: and this would squeeze a hand who held the !cQ and !sQJT9 !! paulg: so I presume the plan was to transfer to hearts and then simply bid 4!h sceptic->Club: yes paulg: so you can do this with a minimum hand with no slam interest? juve: hi!! What does 4 !ds mean? ->juve: shows good heart support and no diamond control juve: ty 1Valeria: I think 4!D with his hand ? paulg: some people play texas transfers ... like 4!d to show a hand that wants to play 4!h paulg: and then play 3!d followed by 4!h to show a mild slam try 1Valeria: we too :-) paulg: ok, then 4!d would have been a better bid :) sceptic: y paulg: however you did uncover the diamond weakness in case Wayne had a stronger hand ... 1Valeria: glp paulg: well done 1Valeria: wd sceptic->Club: ty paulg: interestingly both pairs in the Spingold final opened a 20-21 2NT with Val's hand :) paulg: I'd missed that it didn't actually have the points :) paulg: I should have given it the !sK for excitement 1Valeria: :-) ->sceptic: i make that a 5 loser hand :) sceptic: yes but I open 2!C with 4 loser thats what p expects till I realay ->sceptic: ok paulg: this is good use of bidding space so far :) sceptic: weak scramble either major so I bid 4!s even ifd it is worse choice 1Valeria: ty sceptic: glp chrissie5: ok - try melater paulg: perhaps cashing the !sA first would have been safer? 1Valeria: yes sy sceptic->Club: wdp paulg: safely played :) 1Valeria: ty p kasey28->Club: mine is paulg: so the auction looks pretty complicated ... do you want to take us through it? Mikael_FI: yes pls 1Valeria: 2!D relay GF sceptic: it is called KOKISH relay 1Valeria: 2!H relay 1Valeria: 2!S relay 1Valeria: 2NT opener had balanced hand 24 25 HCP paulg: so you use this so that you can bid all your balanced hands at a low level nzakosek: 2!d? 1Valeria: yes distinguishing all range Hcp sceptic: yes 1Valeria: 3!C stayman paulg: And after this you use the same set of sequences following 2NT 1Valeria: 3!D no M 1Valeria: 3!H 4!H and 5!S 1Valeria: yes 1Valeria: 3!S fit 3rd sceptic: after 2nt we use stayman teaxas rtransfers as usual but we know the range is 24-25 not 20-21 balanced sceptic: on this particular sequence paulg: so I guess that 4!s was a mild slam try - as Val has shown a fair hand by bidding 2!d ... sceptic: we are stil at 2 level and have imparted a more accurate description of our holding sceptic: NO val showed weak hand 1Valeria: 2!H of Wayne could have been from balanced or natural NS6: bo nic nie rozumie ich dialektu:-) paulg: but wayne does not hold aces and kings, and his spades are poor 1Valeria: 2!D strong hand sceptic: 3!h is a weak scramble for either major 1Valeria: Game Forcing 1Valeria: no nzakosek: smolen? 1Valeria: is Smolen sceptic: yes thats why I chose spades Mikael_FI: oh yes Trishms: ah, then private mentoring of wayne and val ? ->Trishms: yes, but free for anyone to watch - however this is most complex it has ever been! not normally like this vanyvon->Club: if Wayne had had 22-23 pts - how would the bidding change paulg: so I think you probably need to decide on the meaning of 2!d sceptic: 2!d does not show strong hand it is waiting bid thats all, me and val need to argue later hahahaha sceptic: yes we need to understand that a bit better paulg: i assume that 2!c-2!h is a very weak hand kyno40: what was the final bid in the Springgold pl.? 1Valeria: 2!D GF 2!H weak 2NT for !H strong 2!S natural strong paulg: in the Spingold both pairs played in game sceptic: hehe we need to work on that one :) 1Valeria: :-)) paulg: so this is not a hand from the Spingold - but it is one from the Swiss teams kyno40: S H or NY ? juve: what realy is paulg? thxs!! juve: relay kyno40: NT? ->juve: often a relay is a bid that asks partner to describe hand ... juve: thxs Where can i find more information about it? ->juve: it is a bid that may not show anything in particular .... ->juve: in a sense the 2!c bid after 1NT (Stayman) is a relay bid juve: mmmmmmmmmm ok!!!!.....thxs!!! ->juve: it says nothing about your hand,but asks about partner's 1Valeria: glp paulg: playing too quickly again :) Kabb: er det et bra spill eller? sceptic: yup to quick 1Valeria->Club: gt p paulg: not sure you could make it .. but worth thinking about a little sceptic->Club: bad try I thought it looked easy and I never planned it geofspa: according to DF it was makable paulg: apparently DF says you could :) but that does not mean that you should! 1Valeria: why not 6!D paulg: so i played this hand with my brother and the first 3 bids were the same ... paulg: I then bid 5!d rather than 4!s paulg: he should have bid 6!d but passed .... paulg: it's not an easy bid over 4!h .... 1Valeria: can we make 7? paulg: 7!d does make .. but I'd be pleased with 6!d juve: paul 4!h doesn't promises 5 in the other major and a minor? paulg: 4!h is just a forcing bid ... LadyStar17: Valerie's bid a cue bid paulg: it normally suggests at least 2 places to play paulg: it does promise the ability to control the auction ... sceptic: so after 5!H I could bid 6!D and give val the choice paulg: so suggests slam paulg: yes, after 5!h 6!d is a much better bid paulg: strange how much trouble a simple 3!h interference makes .... paulg: it's often worth intervening a strong 2NT auction when you have extreme distribution paulg: as here, the opening side tries to get their best contract rather than doubling paulg: but do make sure you have wild distribution -- not on 5-card suits please :) Jimmy V: today's topic------is----? ->Jimmy V: bidding over 2NT Jimmy V: ty paulg->Kibitzers: so this should be a normal auction - transfer to spades and then show 2nd suit paulg->Kibitzers: 6!c is an excellent contract, 6!s has no play paulg->Kibitzers: oh dear! chrissie5->Kibitzers: don't they play transfers? Mikael_FI->Kibitzers: yes they do but Wayne is trying fancy now lol Mascarpone: Puppet? Mikael_FI->Kibitzers: something fancy :) paulg->Kibitzers: they do play transfers - the auction should go 2NT-3!h-3!s-4!c-4!d=cue bid agreeing clubs ->sceptic: do you want to restart with a transfer to spades? LadyStar17: sceptic identified it as stayman ->Mascarpone: not puppet sceptic: hm may be good idea Mikael_FI->Kibitzers: Paul, if she don't accept clubs what's the bid? paulg: it's often a good idea to play your bidding prior to starting .... especially with hands like this paulg: so 4!d must show club support .... paulg: since Val would not have bid 3!s with spade support paulg: Val could have bid 4NT without club support paulg: By showing two suits Wayne has shown some interest in slam, and has now denied a heart control by cuebidding spades sceptic: I hope I have shown slam interest and my club suit, but I need help she knows my dist and ball in her court now ->sceptic: presumably that is rkcb for clubs? NS6: 5!S ? Mikael_FI->Kibitzers: couldn't Wayne cuebid his 1d singleton? sceptic: spades I hope or I make same mistake i did the other day Mikael_FI->Kibitzers: !d singleton chrissie5->Kibitzers: 2controls + Q S 1Valeria: glp sceptic: typ chrissie5: shouldn't rkc response be on last bid suit - if S 2kc + Q? geofspa->Kibitzers: if !c agreed suit and Wayne has no controls then they are passed 5!c so have to bid 6 ? juve: 5!s was not ok? 2 controls and the Q? juve: sorry 2 keycards 1Valeria->Club: wd sceptic->Club: sorry val I made same mistake I made the other day :) 1Valeria: this ended well :-)) paulg: so it's best to play RKCB for the agreed suit ... here that suit was clubs paulg: it should not be for the last bid suit ... unless that suit is the agreed one :) paulg: often it is true that it will be the last bid suit ... such as 1!s-2!s-4NT ... juve: yes sorry thxs!!! paulg: if wayne responded 5!s at the table in error, Val knows he has got it wrong as he has denied the !hA chandaa: what if a suit hasnt been agreed, say 1!s- 2!c - 2!h ..... paulg: this was a well bid slam ->chandaa: 1!s-2!c-2!h-4NT is keycard for hearts - implicit agreement due to the jump geofspa: does RKC have to be bid here ? paulg: but Val might be a little concerned that Wayne may hold weak doubletons in both red suits chandaa: and what if responedr has !s and not !h ? paulg: in that case the slam will need good spades opposite paulg: as Val and Wayne cuebid 1st and 2nd round controls without distinction ... they often need to use Keycard paulg: to verify that they are bidding SOME aces and not all kings :) Mikael_FI: which is better, cuebid A's and K's equally or first A's ? paulg: when clubs are trumps there is less value ... since they may not be able to stop in 5NT with zero kings paulg: the best slam bidders, the Italians, cuebid A's and K's equally Mikael_FI: ok thx 1Valeria: :-) many kisses paulg: but both methods are playable ->1Valeria: :) Mikael_FI: cuebidding both equally saves bidding space.. paulg->Kibitzers: so we shall get another complex auction too 2NT to allow Wayne to show his NT range paulg: 2!h is either NATURAL or a balanced hand - partner MUST bid 2!s and the rebid shows the hand type paulg: in SAYC you would have to open 2!c and rebid 3NT ... so this system saves a level paulg: so we know that Val could bid 4!d with a weak hand and long hearts ... chandaa->Kibitzers: why not just open 3nt in sayc ? paulg: so 3!d transfer is either showing a balanced raise to 3NT (or higher) with 5 hearts, or contains 6+ hearts and a mild ... paulg: slam try ->sceptic: do you use 4130 for clubs and 3041 for hearts? geofspa: are wayne and val bidding 2/1 ? sceptic: 1403 for all LadyStar17: Do they not cue bid the queen of hearts? ->sceptic: so your response should be 5!c? sceptic: I am reading as never had a hand go all the way Q asks etc just checking as I go ->sceptic: 5!c is probably right now ;) yoffy: 5!H to ask about Q!H.....not 5!S? Mikael_FI->Kibitzers: Valeria could cuebid !s singleton, no? ->yoffy: 5!h was signoff ;) yoffy: y paulg->Kibitzers: probably not the way they plan paulg->Kibitzers: after Keycard starts, new suits are asking bids not showing bids Mikael_FI->Kibitzers: what to answer if Wayne got the Q but no !sK ? sceptic: cant be asking for heart king as I have bid it so have to pass paulg->Kibitzers: that is because keycard bidder is now the CAPTAIN of the auction ... and should ask sceptic: typ 1Valeria: wd :-) paulg: well done paulg: firstly, on the play .... Mikael_FI: how to answer to the trump Q question if Wayne got it but not the spade K? sceptic: I bid 5!D by mistake p sorry about that, I was reading notes and they are written down 0314 not 1403 :) paulg: i like the fact that Wayne drew trumps and then claimed paulg: i always prefer to remove trumps as it removes a lot of doubt over claims ... paulg: the bidding was fine .... paulg: wayne showed his shape via their system, and then showed a superaccept with all suits controlled paulg: Val used keycard to find out that wayne had 1 or 4 controls .... juve: what is this convention's name? ->juve: kokish juve: thxs!! paulg: now, given his bidding, it is clear that Wayne has 4 controls .... paulg: so we are either missing an ace or !hK ... paulg: I would now have just bid 6!h ... paulg: since with 6 hearts it is likely that missing the !hq is not important paulg: but the information given by asking, namely Wayne has !sK, might help defence 1Valeria: if K1H missing I don't play 6!H without Q!H don't know how solve problem paulg: but Wayne probably has four hearts ... especially if missing !Hkq ... so it will drop 1Valeria: ok paulg: even with !HAxx still only require a 2-2 split so not disaster paulg: so that is all the hands I've prepared .... paulg: if you want to improve your slam bidding, practise is the only way .... 1Valeria: ty very interesting paulg: the bidding rooms on BBO can easily be set to create hands for you ... LadyStar17: thank you, Paul. Nice Lesson paulg: especially if you want to create strong balanced hand openers Mascarpone: ty! paulg: i'm happy to stay around for 30 mins more if people wish to play unprepared hand? juve: yes please thxs paulg: ok, two volunteers for West & East 1Valeria: hi DVJ: hi p LadyStar17: hi P sceptic: ty paul, that was most helpful and quite enlightening paulg: as always, feel free to ask me questions if you need help :) LadyStar17: raising hand ->sceptic: need to practise some of these slams more ... DVJ: after this double should i bid with low points like i have ->DVJ: i would bid 4!h with this hand! ->DVJ: distribution more important than points DVJ: ok ->LadyStar17: would you prefer to bid 2!s? ->LadyStar17: rather than double? LadyStar17: yes... I thought that was a better bid because now I am stuck ->LadyStar17: i can fix it :) sceptic->Kibitzers: http://www.prairienet.org/bridge/rkc.htm for those that want to read about RKCB :) ->DVJ: lady did not have her double --- which your !h bid exposed :) DVJ: ok LadyStar17: truly lost here... these bids paulg: As we seen, it's always best to consider what partner may do when we make a t/o double ->LadyStar17: pass 1Valeria: glp ->LadyStar17: you have shown a reasonable hand with spades .... which is a good description ->LadyStar17: duck the !dA sceptic: the 10 forces ace or I overtake for my !D sceptic: now lady has A!S and K!C so I shoul dmake all but 1 trick kyno40: ok thank you ->sceptic: right 1Valeria: wdp sceptic: ty paulg: well done ... Mikael_FI: vwd LadyStar17: nice one Opps paulg: the only suggestion is that I would have redoubled Lady's original double to show a very strong hand paulg: otherwise later doubles may not appear so penalty oriented 1Valeria: ty p sceptic: glp ->sceptic: what would original 2!s raise have shown? sceptic: 7-9 but I did not like it spo I opted for weaker response ->sceptic: so perhaps you should bid 3!s on the second round then? sceptic: I would rebid 2!s after a diff suit sceptic: no 3 may show more interest 4!s shows no more interest at all ->sceptic: what was 2NT then? sceptic: thats what I am not 100& SURE ->1Valeria: what was 2NT? 1Valeria: 17 20 i think ->1Valeria: so 3!s would not be forcing then 1Valeria: no ->sceptic: val says she thinks it is 17-20 :) ->sceptic: but that 3!s is weaker than 4!s .... otherwise you have no way of showing weak 1NT response sceptic: IT IS STRONG BUT o AM A BIT UNSURE EXct definition LadyStar17: nt Opps gd P 1Valeria: ty paulg: a little too aggressive there DVJ: there would make ->sceptic: ok DVJ: if i took my k!c early DVJ: he could discard paulg: wayne's is probably better bidding 3!s on his 9-loser hand ... DVJ: ok DVJ: the leadhada alot to do withn it paulg: the hand probably doesn't make as long as you switch to hearts paulg: so we swap east west after two hands, so thanks to dvj and lady paulg: and if two other volunteers would like to jump in when the seats free 1Valeria: hi :-) noslice: hi all ->pbalbin: 3!d shows the majors ->sceptic: this is a minimum 2!d I guess sceptic: nope we go as low as zero ->sceptic: not your place to bid here .... ->sceptic: especially with an ace 1Valeria: no idea what should be my bid ->sceptic: ok noslice: glp pbalbin: typ sceptic: we tend to be undisciplined about weak twos anything seems to go from both of us ->1Valeria: double is risky ... no guarantee that you can beat 4!h, i'd probably have bid 5!d at IMPs 1Valeria: ok ty sceptic: we need to sort it out between us I think, just so many new things going on at moment ->sceptic: yes, you seem to be taking on a lot of stuff at the moment noslice: mine was not a smart bid with both vul, was it? sceptic: I can send you most of it if you want a look ->noslice: i wouldn't have bid it :) ->sceptic: sure, np noslice: yes, tht so. ->noslice: generally, it doesn't pay to bid with weak hands when they have shown a weak hand by preempting ->noslice: also partner was a passed hand .... so you know South is strong noslice: good rule to remember, thx ->noslice: partner has an ideal hand and yet you will go down ... so perhaps not the best bid .... unless they bid 5!d :) noslice: gtp pbalbin: typ 1Valeria: gto pbalbin: ty paulg: perhaps the main comment I'd make here is that ... paulg: you should not preempt a preempt .... paulg: so after oppo's weak 2!d ... jump bids should be constructive and NOT weak .... paulg: and Michaels should be a good hand and not weak .... paulg: this is because (1) there is a good chance that partner has a good hand ..... or paulg: (2) partner is passed and the next hand is VERY strong ... paulg: still, well played paulg: last hand for today .... pbalbin: I make if I don't allow the undo LOL ->pbalbin: yes, but I'm chatting to everyone and distracting them :) bgwin67 (Lobby): hi LadyStar17: looks like Val had an excellent Michael's paulg: does 1NT show some values ... or can it be very weak? 1Valeria: no is good ->LadyStar17: Val thinks this is too strong for Michaels 1Valeria: but i don't know how proceede LadyStar17: I thought it was either weak or 16+ for strong noslice: my part has S? ->sceptic: 4!h is splinter ->sceptic: agreeing spades 1Valeria: oj oj oj ->noslice: your partner has hearts :) 1Valeria: glp sceptic: typ ->LadyStar17: when strong it's best if the points are concentrated in the two suits ... here there are extra diamond values sceptic: I am expecting 5!S and at least 23 hcp between us ->sceptic: wd BILmanager: is this the last hand? LadyStar17: thanks an important fact I forgot ->BILmanager: yes paulg: so I think Val has bid this hand well ... geofspa: should wayne bid 2!c after the X ? paulg: too strong for Michaels ->geofspa: not with Val .. i.e, italian doubles paulg: especially with the extra values in diamonds BgooD: hehe BgooD: ops ->geofspa: but in any case the real potential asset in the hand is possible heart stop 1Valeria: wdp sceptic: typ paulg: so 4!h splinter is a good bid which partner should understand :) paulg: wayne's first bid involves a choice - 1NT or 2!c ... paulg: but with a balanced hand (3334), potential heart stop and some values, I think 1NT is best paulg: especially as the takeout double really focuses on the spade suit (initially) and partner may not be interested in four ... paulg: bad clubs loubel: what about nos 's opening? paulg: over 2!h is more difficult, but partner will not expect 4!s after the 1NT bid paulg: noslice's 1!h opening is aggressive and perhaps only ok at this vulnerability paulg: so thanks all LadyStar17: thank you, Paul!!! 1Valeria: thank you so much :-) noslice: tu, enjoyed Mikael_FI: ty Paul, learned a lot :) BILmanager: !D!D Paul-thank you so much-This has been interesting! And Wayne, thanks for sharing your lesson with us !D!D sceptic: thx paul thats was great session 1Valeria: bye all paulg: we are doing something different next month, so please check the newsletter for details yoffy: ty=toda loubel: tks Paul paulg: thanks to Wayne, Val and all our volunteers paulg: bye all