HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: kibler@turing.ICS.UCI.EDU (Dennis Kibler)
Subject: Bidding Problems
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Date: 17 Apr 92 16:11:08 GMT

These are real interesting problems.

>J9x
>x
>AKQ8xxx
>QJ

>You LHO Part RHO
>1D  3C   3H  4C
>4D  P    4S  P
>??
5 spades. Concentrating attention on the club suit.

>(2) None Vul.
>
>x
>Q109x
>Qxxx
>Kxxx


>RHO  You  LHO  Part
>1NT   P    P   6S
>Dble. ??

Pass. I don't know if any of my cards are working and
partner did not bother to find out.


>(3) All Red:

>Axxxxxx
>Jx
>Qxx
>x

>LHO  You
>1C    ??
2S. Who's afraid of 1100?


>(4) Vul vs. Not

>AKxx
>AKxxxxx
>J
>x


>Part RHO You LHO
> 1D  P   1H   P
> 1NT P   ??
2C. Let's find out if partner has 3 hearts. Only practical forcing
bid.

>(5) None

>10xx
>Jx
>AKQx
>AQJx

>You  LHO  Partner  RHO
>1NT   P    3C(1)   4C       (1) A weak, minor two suiter.
>5C    P    P       6C
>P     6H   P       7H
>??				Might you double for a diamond lead?


>(6) Vul vs. not

>AKJx
>Qxxx
>AQx
>xx


>You  LHO  Part  RHO
>1NT  Dble  P    P
>??

The answer here depends on your agreements.

 We play:  1nt x  red=transfer to clubs
                  c/d/h  transfers to next higher suit
                  pass:  forces 1nt-er to redouble.
                         Now  Part either leaves it in with
                         a good hand or starts bidding 4 card
                         suits up the line.
From: baseggi1@husc8.harvard.edu (Franco Baseggio)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Ruling, Please
Summary: Unusual situation
Date: 7 Apr 92 02:53:55 GMT
Article-I.D.: husc8.baseggi1.702615235

What is the correct ruling in the following situation?

North deals (in a KO) and passes.  East bids 2C, South passes.
Now, West asks for a review, and _East_ says "1H-2C-P."
East, of course, is not supposed to give the review, but the 
main problem is that now west knows east thought she was 
overcalling 2C, not opening 2C.  


Franco Baseggio
From: eric@pencom.com
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: A few questions
Date: 14 Apr 92 14:38:56 GMT
Organization: Pencom Software

In article <1992Apr13.170902.20066@bhpcpd.kembla.oz.au> dif@bhpcpd.kembla.oz.au  
(David Faulkner) writes:
> eric@pencom.com writes:
> 
> >In article <1992Apr7.152307.1@mscf.med.upenn.edu>  
shankar_k@mscf.med.upenn.edu  
> >> Is :  QJT9xxx Qx xxx J a good preempt?  At all vulnerabilities?  If not,  
what
> >> is?
> >
> >This is a matter for partnership debate.
> >But anyway, you expect to take 5 tricks opposite NOTHING.
> >Therefore you are within 4 tricks of making 3.
> >This is not a SOUND preempt at any vulnerability.
> 
> I don't really agree with this reasoning. Opposite NOTHING the opps will
> surely be making slam. Only red vs white and doubled would 4 light be a
> bad thing in this case.
> I would pre-empt with this hand in most situations.

Nothing means "Nothing useful".   Scattered Queens and Jacks and Kings
will be useless on offense, but golden on defense.  The opponents
will be content to double you for penalties many times when they
can diagnose the situation correctly.

Down 4 not vulnerable is good ONLY when the opponents can make
a 100% slam.

But anyway, you did not include the last sentence I made.  :-)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
From: davidm@rutabaga.Rational.COM (David Moore)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: hesitating with a singleton
Date: 10 Apr 92 20:14:34 GMT
Distribution: usa

Quite clearly, failing to take time to examine dummy when you have a singleton
if you normally do so is unethical since you are giving partner improper
information. 

Secondly, making gratuitous remarks during the play of the hand is also
unethical; even if the intent is to protect the opponents. As a defender, 
the correct time to draw the declarers attention to anything done by your
side which may have improperly influenced the outcome is after the hand is
completed. For example, if partner gives a wrong explanation of a bid, you
must play the hand before calling the director. 

Apparently, here in the US, statements like "No clubs partner?" are not
frowned upon. When I played in Australia, making such a statement would have
caused the immediate calling of the director (and rightly so). Another practice
that is common here and which I find obnoxious is people alerting their partner
that they have made an insufficient bid.
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: Bid these hands
From: avir@chen.bgu.ac.il (Avi Roy Shapira)
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1992 22:34:34 GMT
Organization: Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel

doug@cm.deakin.OZ.AU (Douglas Newlands) writes:

: "The Roman Club System of Distributional Bidding" by Belladonna & Avarelli
: is the base book but was published in 1957 after 3 world championship wins.
: I don't know how you buy a copy , I found one in a library sale for 1 shilling
: and 6 pence a great number of years ago.
:
: The two bids may not seem very efficient but they are logically necessary to
: fill holes in the one level opening structure.
:
So they are. Otherwise it would have been easy to modify or update them. This
is the same with the Blue Club 2D bid. A marvel in and of itself, but occurs so
rarely that is is not worth the trouble to learn. Yet it is a necessary part of
the system, because of other bidding structures.

Avi
From: tac6189@hertz.njit.edu (Tom Carmichael)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: *My* Thoughts on the Jihad and ACBL
Date: 10 Apr 92 17:54:38 GMT
Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J.

In article <2887@sol.deakin.OZ.AU> doug@cm.deakin.OZ.AU (Douglas Newlands) writes:
>In article <1992Apr6.180648.11308@linus.mitre.org: bs@gauss.mitre.org (Robert D. Silverman) writes:
>:In article <1992Apr3.173629.20707@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu> milord@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu (Milord) writes:
>: 
>:I hope NOT!!!!!!!!
>:
>:There is too much cheating now that goes on in ACBL tournaments.
>:
>:Can you imagine what it would be like with cash prizes???
>
>Hearing Bob say this and having had some interesting email
>discussions with others I am coming to realise that US
>players accept that pairs cheating is a normal part of
>competition play.
>This is difficult for me to comprehend and for , certainly
>Europeans and Australians as we do not expect anyone to be
>cheating. Sure the odd pause gets read but there is no expectation
>of malpractice from ones opponents.
>I am slowly becoming aware of why the US teams of 50's and 60's
>could level cheating accusations regularly and also why the US
>could not understand why the Europeans could not understand
>what it was all about.
>It seems to me the ACBL has a bigger problem to deal with than
>system regulaions.
>Do other US correspondents agree about the amount of cheating?

I know that I do, at least in the club level.  I have never had a real problem
at tournaments, but the cheating that goes on at the club level is 
unbelievable.  One of my favorite(?) stories about this has the following 
auction:

	1H Dbl 1NT P
	P  2H  P   P 
	P

Are you confused?  Would it make more sense if I said that both the double
and the 2H were said in a voice of thunder, and the pass over 2H was said
very meekly and questioningly?  Net result:  the hand was missplayed and we 
got a tie for top.  Did we call the director for protection?  No.  It is hard
to justify this, especially when the person who bid 2H is the director's 
husband.

I have other examples of cheating.  How about declarer leading from dummy,
pausing about 5 seconds and playing the Ace.  I get in next trick with a side 
and try to cash the King of the first suit.  What happens?  Declarer ruffs.  
This kind of nonsense is not seen too much at tournaments, but unfortunately
it abounds at the club level.  It is a sorry thing indeed.

Tom



-- 
"Sleep is a poor substitute for caffine."|  Tom Carmichael
	- The Wizardry Compiled		 |  tac6189@hertz.njit.edu
-----------------------------------------|  tomc@shock.njit.edu
#include <stddisclamer.h>		 |
From: idc@cs.hw.ac.uk (Ian Crorie)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: Bidding problem
Date: 15 Apr 92 10:35:36 GMT
Distribution: rec.games.bridge
Organization: Dept of Computer Science, Heriot-Watt University, Scotland

In article <1992Apr10.205710.20071@lth.se> f84beo@efd.lth.se (Bjorn-Erik Olsson) writes:

...about this hand:

In Bermuda Bowl 1987 Tony Forrester opened a gameforcing 2C on:

      x
      xx
      Ax
      AKQJxxxx

[Bjorn-Erik]
:No, the opening bid of 2C doesn't appeal to me either, but my point is that
:even very strong players open with a forcing 2C on hands which aren't up to
:the standards you have set.

True, but this is a don't-try-this-at-home-kids hand.   The-Great-Man feels
he can get away with bidding like this but it doesn't mean it is the
correct opening bid in a strong 2C system.    I wouldn't argue with anyone
who called it a psyche (and I suspect Forrester wouldn't either).


-- 
        "When I started, flying was dangerous and sex was safe"
                - Aer Lingus pilot at his retirement party
--
From: bs@faron.mitre.org (Robert D. Silverman)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: Not another Jihad (some EVIDENCE)
Date: 12 Apr 92 16:50:12 GMT
Organization: Research Computer Facility, MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA

In article <gdu3VV_00VB=J7pEcZ@andrew.cmu.edu> jl8e+@andrew.cmu.edu (Julian D Lighton) writes:
:danny@cs.su.oz (Danny Yee) writes:
:
:>In article <1992Apr8.152338.18345@welchgate.welch.jhu.edu>
:>ted@welchgate.welch.jhu.edu (Ted Ying) writes:
:(stuff deleted)
:>>If we added a few things at a time (like starting with *ALL* transfer bids
:>>now...since people are familiar with Jacoby Transfers already) then people
:>>would be able to cope with the changes.
:>
:>Now that sounds like a good idea.  
:
:agreed
:
:>Some other posibilities for relatively simple things are:
:>	canape openings 
:
:canape openings are already allowed, with the limitation that you can't
:canape out of a three card major
 
Which completely clobbers even modified versions of the Roman system.
Roman is a system that's been around for 30 years. It has been well
published. Defenses to it have been well discussed. So why does the ACBL
ban it?? It is NOT a destructive system.
 
The answer is that it is simply a difficult system to understand and use
which means Ma and Pa Fish aren't up to handling it. Since the ACBL's
prime purpose is to promote ATTENDENCE AT CLUBS AND TOURNAMENTS, and
since allowing such systems would drive away many players, they ban it.

Allowing it would attract new players, but the league would lose more than
they gain. Aggressive and dedicated players who are willing to spend time
studying the game in order to master it are in a minority.

--
Bob Silverman
These are my opinions and not MITRE's.
Mitre Corporation, Bedford, MA 01730
"You can lead a horse's ass to knowledge, but you can't make him think"
From: mperry@waikato.ac.nz
Newsgroups: rec.games.moria
Subject: Re: Learning, slaying, Ego
Date: 14 Apr 92 14:57:25 +1200
Organization: University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

In article <1992Apr14.003137.158867@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu>, de04@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (Dale E. Eckart) writes:
> 
> If one doesn't find them, then there is a levelling out during levels
> 25-30, where not every experience level has a new spell.  Then, each
> experience level the player advances gives a chance to learn the low level
> spells.  These potions are not as good as Gain Experience, which boost
> one's max. Exp, usually by an amount sufficient to increase a level.

Another good way to learn spells:
- when you have just gone up a level and learnt a new spell, attack a monster  
  which removes your experience. You lose your experience but keep the spell.
  Then go away and gain the level, and lose it again. Doing this you can
  quickly catch up those spells that you don't have.
From: BUCKHAULTS@bscf.uga.edu (PHIL BUCKHAULTS)
Newsgroups: rec.games.moria
Subject: can i copy moria to my vax/vms or unix machine and it work?
Date: 14 Apr 92 21:16:07 GMT
Article-I.D.: athena.1992Apr14.211607.6698
Organization: University of Georgia, USA
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.20

The machines i have access to do not have moria.  I have a copy of a Mac
version of the game but am wondering if playing on a networked computer allows
for interaction between many players at different sites.  If playing on a vms
or unix machine is any better, could someone email instructions for copying
moria from somewhere and running it? thanx




no kool sig
Newsgroups: rec.games.moria
From: am962@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mike Harm)
Subject: Kukulcan is Fixed!!! :)
Reply-To: am962@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Mike Harm)
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
  After trying unsuccessfully to ftp offa kukulcan for several days,
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 92 05:18:53 GMT

I decided to go about seeing what could be done to get it fixed.
I finally got in contact w/ a user on the system Rothman.  His
reaction was you SURE this place has moria? It's just an old PC RT
sitting in the corner of the office.  Seems noone knows about Moria
there.. Hmm.  Anyways, I got him to reboot the place and everything is
workin great now.  :)
Doom Frog

Newsgroups: rec.games.moria
From: kilroy@gboro.glassboro.edu (Dr Nancy's Sweetie)
Subject: Re: Monster Weakness Indicators?
Summary: Already done.
Keywords: monsters, strength, ability, `Woof!'
Organization: Glassboro State College
Disclaimer: Brandy the WonderDog wants something to tell how many teeth have
            have been knocked out.
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 15:54:29 GMT

Christopher Petit writes about telling how dead a monster is:

>80% or more of starting HP              Strong
>50%-79%                                 Fit
>29%-49%                                 Wounded
>10%-28%                                 Badly Wounded
><10%                                    Critically Wounded

This will not work; a `Badly Wounded' AMHD could still have 582 hp, and be
able to do 194 hp of damage with a single breath.

I've implemented something like this already, as a part of the `look' feature,
with a few additions.  First, if the monster is asleep you are told.  Second,
if you are the wizard you get the monsters sleep counter, max/current hp.  The
formula for non-wizards is this:

	If the monster's max hit points is > 200,
		then we use 200 as our measure of `maximum health'
	else
		use the monsters max hit points.

	Depending on percentage of max health, we use one of the following
	descriptions: dying, faint, weak, tired, shaken, healthy.

	If the monster has drained mana/charges from you and his _above_
	his max dice roll, then he is described as `energized'.


This was made for umoria 5.4, but can probably be stuck into other versions
with a little work.  Here are the diffs for the file source/moria4.c (it's a
little gross, I haven't gone back to it since I put it in because I've been
doing other stuff):

617,620d616
< /*
<  * kilroy changed this to tell if the monster is asleep, and give its
<  * current health.  4 December 1991
<  *   old code:
625,659d620
<  *    new code:
<  */
<       (void) sprintf(out_val, "%s a%s %s ",
< 			dstring,
< 			m_list[c_ptr->cptr].csleep ? " sleeping" :
< 			( is_a_vowel( c_list[j].name[0] ) ? "n" : "" ) ,
< 			c_list[j].name);
< 
< 	{ char  health[25];
< 	  char  hack[25];
< 	  int   mhp;
< 
<      mhp = c_list[j].hd[0] * c_list[j].hd[1];
< 
< 	(void)sprintf(hack,"(%d-%d/%d) ", m_list[c_ptr->cptr].csleep,
< 					  m_list[c_ptr->cptr].hp, mhp);
< 
<     switch ( m_list[c_ptr->cptr].hp * 10 /
< 	     ( mhp < 200 ? mhp : 200 ) ) {
< 	case 0: sprintf(health,"(dying"); break;
< 	case 1: case 2: sprintf(health,"(faint"); break;
< 	case 3: case 4: sprintf(health,"(weak"); break;
< 	case 5: case 6: sprintf(health,"(tired"); break;
< 	case 7: case 8: sprintf(health,"(shaken"); break;
< 	default: sprintf(health,"(healthy"); break;
< 	}
< 
< 	if ( m_list[c_ptr->cptr].hp > mhp )
< 		sprintf(health,"(energized");
< 
< 	(void) strcat(out_val, health);
< 	if (wizard) (void) strcat(out_val, hack); 
< 	(void) strcat(out_val, "). [(r)ecall]");
< 	}
< 


Darren F Provine / kilroy@gboro.glassboro.edu
"It only makes sense that every facet of our daily lives should depend upon
the position of celestial bodies hundreds of millions of miles away." - Calvin
Newsgroups: rec.games.moria
From: petitc@vccsouth28.its.rpi.edu (Christopher Jon Petit)
Subject: Useless/Harmful Items (Sequel to Useless Spells)
Reply-To: petitc@rpi.edu
Organization: Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Date: Sun, 12 Apr 1992 05:28:44 GMT

 These are some objects that I have thought of (some of which are in the game,
while others could be added, but the idea is that all of these items are next to
useless/harmful if not totally so).

 Ball and Chain (SE) (+2,+3)         <-  I really found this! :&O

 Cloak of Immortality (immediately kills the wearer :&) )

 Stone Armor (-40) (60,+3) (weight=60 lbs)

 Paper Armor (-1) (0,+0) (weight=0.1 lbs)

 Potion of Instant Death

 [OK, enough made-up items yet? :&) ]

 Ring of Sustain Charisma (only 1 thing lowers it--Potion of Ugliness)

 a stick

 broken sword

 Ring of WOE/DOOM (talk about dangerous items :&O )

 filthy rags

 Any additions?


   

-- 
Sleep and become rested.  Within the pleasant confines of slumber, you too can
voyage to worlds unknown.  Become a valiant knight rescuing a damsel.  Become
a mass murdrer.  Be whatever your heart desires.  All within the confines of
sleep.  And all for $19.95.  Call now   -- quote from Night Riders
From: d9hh@dtek.chalmers.se (Henrik Harmsen)
Newsgroups: rec.games.moria
Subject: Re: Amiga Moria graphics version available
Keywords: Moria
Date: 15 Apr 92 00:11:04 GMT
Organization: Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg Sweden

tim@vulcan.anu.edu.au (Tim Munson) writes:

>The Amiga_gfx version still needs menus (contrary to the author's philosophy)
>for game save file manipulation (three people use this amiga for Moria - the
>old AmigaMoria3.0 allowed one to duplicate/rename the player files from the
>workbench without dipping into Shell).

As you probably know it is at least possible to play more than
one player by just giving the savefile name as argument to moria
when you start it up.

I'll probably put menus in the game for the next (possible) release.

As you probably have discovered the game doesn't really work well 
from workbench. Why? I have no idea... I'll try to put together
some kind of intelligent script for IconX so it can be run from
wb too.

>Otherwise, this new version of UMoria is WAY better than AmigaMoria3.0. Now the
>objects and weapons are standardised (damage is shown too!), and all my usual
>commands are there.

It feels good to know I've done something right :-)

--
Henrik Harmsen     Internet:  d9hh@dtek.chalmers.se
               Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. 
      "I haven't lost my mind -- it's backed up on tape somewhere."
From: mjb@acsu.buffalo.edu (Matthew J. Bernhardt)
Newsgroups: rec.games.moria
Subject: Re: Umoria 5.5 posted to kukulcan.berkeley.edu
Date: 7 Apr 92 00:58:22 GMT
Article-I.D.: acsu.1992Apr7.005822.11577
Organization: UB

pjharris@galluk writes:

>Geez, read the date in the header.......ring a bell???


>Patrick
>PJH

	Pat, I thank you!

*******************************************************************************
* Matt Bernhardt        *                                                     *
* Mad Scientist         *  Speak softly, and carry a Staff of *Destruction*.  *
* University of Buffalo *                                                     *
* mjb@acsu.buffalo.edu  *                                                     *
*******************************************************************************
Newsgroups: rec.games.moria
From: kilroy@gboro.glassboro.edu (Dr Nancy's Sweetie)
Subject: Real-Life Bargaining (was haggling)
Summary: Short historical note.
Keywords: haggling, bargaining, honesty, dishonesty, Quakers, `Woof!'
Organization: Glassboro State College
Disclaimer: My dog Brandy, who wrote this, loves the study of history.
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 15:49:18 GMT


Matthew J Bernhardt (who, btw, has one of my favorite quotes) said:

> Moria shops aren't exactly placed in contemporary settings, and haggling
> helps accentuate this feeling.  My understanding is that haggling persists
> in many parts of the world, and that its loss is primarily a Western
> phenomenon.

The following information is in my brain, but the source is buried under so
much cerebral dust I can't find it.  So this is one of those "got it off the
net with no reference" comments, and it could be completely wrong.  Anyway...

As I understand it, the reason we no longer haggle as a matter of course is
that the Quakers who ran shops refused to haggle.  In their opinion, such
bargaining entailed lying -- the shopkeeper sets an artificially high price,
and the customer makes an artificially low offer.  The Quakers therefore felt
that regular haggling encouraged sin, and they stopped doing it.

The non-Quaker shopkeepers began losing customers in droves (since, as has
been observed here, lots of people don't like haggling), and to stay afloat
they had to set fair prices for their goods.  Once this caught on, there was
no going back; setting prices enables you to hire lots of cashiers, since they
no longer need to be able to bargain carefully.  This lets you run a bigger
store, selling more goods at reduced overhead, and making more money.  So it
turns out that, in raw monetary terms, haggling costs a supermarket or other
large store more than it pays.

Auto dealerships can still haggle because they are not a high-volume business,
and haggling doesn't add too much overhead.  Recently, however, some auto
dealers have started setting prices, and I expect that in 25 years or so cars
will be fixed-price items.

This is not directly relevant to Moria, of course, but I thought it might be
interesting.  There may be some application, though, such as if you go to a
store after dark you get a cashier who isn't allowed to haggle and who uses
only fixed prices (but marked up 5% over the owner's final offer).  Or if you
get one shop to stop haggling over potions the other does as well; maybe set
it so that the temple/alchemist alternate between price wars & price fixing,
so it gets better/worse for the player depending on whether the shopkeepers
are on friendly terms with each other.


kilroy@gboro.glassboro.edu      Darren F. Provine      ...njin!gboro!kilroy
"If it was said on UseNet, it must be true." -- Marc Rassbach
From: strandsb@daimi.aau.dk (Jens Kristian Strandsbjerg)
Newsgroups: rec.games.moria
Subject: How to get a satisfying character
Keywords: character production
Date: 17 Apr 92 09:30:04 GMT
Organization: DAIMI: Computer Science Department, Aarhus University, Denmark

There were, some time back, posted a program that could find a character
with stats that you could be satisfied with, did someone save this program,
if so would they either mail me or post it again?

I lost when I accidentally made a rm -r *, stupid of me, I know.

Yours
Jens K. STrandsbjerg

email strandsb@daimi.aau.dk
From: mjb@acsu.buffalo.edu (Matthew J. Bernhardt)
Newsgroups: rec.games.moria
Subject: Re: My brain's erasable
Date: 6 Apr 92 15:34:54 GMT
Organization: UB


	Well, first I will try to address this post on its merits, which are
damn few.

	If you need to maintain a cumulative monster memory, obviously you're
the party who has been lobotomized.
	Furthermore, having a fresh monster memory for each character is
useful for determining if a given character has encountered a given monster.
It is also useful for keeping track of exactly how many Giant Fruit Flies one
has killed, for those of us who are up on trivia like this.

	And as for your flame, I will not engage you in a war of wits, as you
are obviously unarmed.

*******************************************************************************
* Matt Bernhardt        *                                                     *
* Mad Scientist         *  Speak softly, and carry a Staff of *Destruction*.  *
* University of Buffalo *                                                     *
* mjb@acsu.buffalo.edu  *                                                     *
*******************************************************************************