HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: taylor@logan.tivoli.com (Eric Taylor)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: My fault ?
Date: 28 Sep 92 14:38:41 GMT
Organization: TIVOLI Systems, Inc.

In article <gmL+p.asai@etl.go.jp>, asai@etl.go.jp (Kiyoshi Asai) writes:
|> 
|>   When I was playing in Prince Takamatsu's Cup (one of the biggest
|> national tournament in Japan, DKO), I (North) had this hand of the
|> last boad of the 3rd round.
|>       S AJ109x                E       S       W       N
|>       H Axx                   1H      pass    2H      2S
|>       D Qxx                   3H      3S      pass    pass
|>       C xx                    4H      pass    pass    pass
|>   My partner's opening lead was King of spade, and the dummy was:
|>       S xxxx
|>       H J10x
|>       D Kx
|>       C Kxxx
|>   I overtook the SK by SA, and led the Cx. I expected my partner
|> to have CA and to hold up once. My hope was, of cource, to ruff the
|> 3rd round clubs. However, my partner went up with CA at once and
|> led back the club. May be he had 5-card clubs, so I had no option
|> but to return the Jack of spade, and Declarer's SQ winning....
|> 
|>   I was shocked and said nothing. My partner blamed me bitterly
|> before the play was over. I admitted my play was not good, but
|> I didn't think my play was meaningless.
|> 
|> 1. Was my overtaking SK by SA a silly play ?
|> 2. Was my partner's 3S a good move ?
|> 
|>   my partner had		declarer had
|>  S Kx				S Qx
|>  H xx				H KQ.xxx
|>  D xxxx				D AJxx
|>  C Axxxx			C QJ
|> 
|> -- Kiyoshi ASAI
|> 	Electrotechnical Laboratory, Japan

I admit I would have expected more from your hand with your 2 spade bid
and I do not blame your partner for raising.

Your partner needs more imagination, though.
It seems like almost a pure guess to take the club ace or not but ....

If you were sure about getting a ruff, you would
have plunked down your diamond ace if you had it.
Therefore partner should assume you do not have it.
Yout almost HAVE to have another ace for your bid.
Must be hearts.  If you
had a singleton club, you could have waited until you had your heart
ace, and then played your club.

I admit that this reasoning is not concrete, but it is not
far-fetched.


In any case, I would get a hold of a more understanding partner.
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
From: spencer@dew.Princeton.EDU (S. Spencer Sun)
Subject: weak NT info request...
Reply-To: spencer@phoenix.princeton.edu (S. Spencer Sun)
Organization: Live Organ Transplants
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 07:45:01 GMT

Hoping that this wasn't recently discussed (not in the last 350+ articles
that I can see, but if it is, well, it's too late now.  Sorry), I'd
appreciate it if people could mail me info on weak NT systems.  Sounds
intriguing, something I might want to experiment with, but I'd like a
range of opinions first because there seem to be several aspects which can
be handled differently so...  I'm especially interested in what problem
hands you run into.

Thanks in advance for any helpful replies.

----------- The opinions expressed in this article are solely mine. -----------
<Insert lame attempt at disclaimer humor>
sss/PU'94 Dept of CS (spencer@phoenix.princeton.edu)/JvNCnet (spencer@jvnc.net)
"This is grain, which any fool can eat, but for which the Lord intended a more
divine means of consumption.  Let us give praise to our Maker and glory to His
bounty, by learning about... BEER..."  [Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves]
From: dinah@rockytop.tivoli.com (Dinah McNutt {sysadmazon})
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: Bidding Boxes - for southpaws?
Date: 29 Sep 92 17:01:17 GMT
Article-I.D.: tivoli.4592
Organization: TIVOLI Systems

In article <lbmqppINNn4o@muleshoe.cs.utexas.edu>, varvel@cs.utexas.edu (Donald A. Varvel) writes:
|> In article <dej.01jf@qpoint.ocunix.on.ca| dej@qpoint.ocunix.on.ca (David Jones) writes:
|> |Now that bidding boxes have come up for discussion, I have a question...
|> |
|> |There is one pair at my ACBL club who use bidding boxes since one
|> |member of the partnership is hard of hearing.  I enjoy the opportunity
|> |to use the bidding boxes except for one problem.
|> |
|> |I am left-handed.
|> |
|> |This may seem silly, but if you are right-handed, try holding your
|> |cards in your right hand (so as to handle them with the left), and
|> |then remove the bidding card from the bidding box (at your right)
|> |with your left hand.  You may notice that the 90-degree rotation that
|> |one must make to the bidding card to put it on the table is so natural
|> |when done with the right hand, but amazingly awkward when attempted
|> |with the left.  Hopefully, RHO won't complain about getting an elbow
|> |in the face :-)
|> |

|> Frankly, this is such a nonproblem that I had never noticed
|> it.  At the club where I play we have a one-handed bridge
|> player who handles bidding boxes perfectly well.  Come to
|> think of it, he's left-handed too.
|> end{flame}
|> 

I am left-handed, but do almost everything with my right hand (except
write, eat, and play bridge.) I find if I put the bidding box on the
left hand side of the table it is much easier for me to use.
-- 


Dinah McNutt      TIVOLI Systems, Inc.   (512)794-9070
             dinah@tivoli.com
From: ftmx@acad3.alaska.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: Bidding Program for IBM PC
Date: 2 Oct 92 19:56:06 GMT
Organization: University of Alaska Fairbanks

In article <AAO5ongK_8@gst.kiev.ua>, pmbel@gst.kiev.ua (Beletsky Platon) writes:
> 
>     Is anybody interested in bridge bidding program for MS DOS? It uses
> Standard American System principles but is intelligent enough to know
> cue bids, splinter bid etc. Usually gains about 75% in bidding tests.
> It is about 50KB encoded, so I'll send it to newsgroup, only if somebody
> wishes to receive it.
>     Platon Beletsky, Kiev, Ukraine  pmbel%gst.kiev.ua@relay.ussr.eu.net
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: More 4th suit forcing
From: ckincy@mcs213c.cs.umr.edu (Charles Kincy)
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 18:09:25 GMT
Organization: University of Missouri - Rolla

In article <TURIN.92Sep26205030@jarre.euromath.dk> turin@jarre.euromath.dk (Soren Turin) writes:
>
>Hi there.
>
>While we are discussing 4th suit forcing. What is 1S-2H-3D-4C ? Is it a
>normal 4th suit ? I had the problem a couple of days ago with an
>unfamiliar partner. He thought it was a cue-bid agreeing spades!!! The
>rationale behind this was that a preference to 3S could have been a
>false preference without a club stopper. I think this treatment has some
>merit, but could find no other bid with x-Axxxx-AJx-AKQx. We hadn't
>discussed the sequence, but i think 1S-2H-3D-5N should be a grand slam
>invitation (1S-2H-3D-4N would clearly have been quantitative). However,
>i can't see us bidding a gigantic 7D after 5N, partner holding
>AKQxx-x-KQTx-xxx (not really a 3D rebid). Yes, i admit it. I'd give my
>right arm to bid a grand on a 4-3 fit. BTW he hadn't. AKQxx-Kx-Kxxx-Tx
>was all he had.

Well, if you're talking SA, I was under the impression that a new
suit is always forcing for one round.  That is, you ask your partner
for another chance to speak, but you don't promise to say anything.
:-)  Your partner can force the issue some more by also bidding a new
suit.  Of course, in the case mentioned above, it's hard to say what's
going on.

Bids in a suit are natural in SA UNTIL A SUIT HAS BEEN AGREED UPON.
Obviously, you have not agreed upon a suit at this point.  So 4C is
*not* a cuebid in this case.  Anyone who plays it as such has made an
implicit partnership agreement.  But think about it.  If you wanted
to play in spades, you would have raised, or, in this case, jumpshifted.

In our "SA" system, we play 3NT as a forcing raise.  Therefore, you're 
free to use the jump shift to indicate 16+ points with no support.
Of course, the boneheads at ACBL say we have to alert 3NT even though
it comes straight out of Goren's bible.  *Grrrr*  Sacriledge.

Of course, this hand is a galloping misfit from hell
that *happens* to make 7D unless you get statistically
unreasonable distribution.

cpk
From: pynq@quads.uchicago.edu (George Jetson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: Forcing Pass (was "Bid these hands" and "Competitive Decision")
Date: 1 Oct 92 16:39:37 GMT
Reply-To: pynq@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: D. J. Dougherty & Associates

In article <1670@idacrd.UUCP> desj@ccr-p.ida.org (David desJardins) writes:

>> As a tactical bid, why not open this hand 1 diamond even in a big club
>> system?  You will not get passed out and there will little doubt as to
>> the nature of your hand when you jack up the bidding to 4 or 5 hearts
>> later?
>
>There will be little doubt that you hold some different hand, because
>you have systemically denied holding this one.
(Insulting commentary deleted)

I think that what is being suggested is to alter your big club system
so that it allows you to do this.  I'm not sure that in our big club
system, it is entirely written in stone that any opening other than 1C
absolutely denies possession of 16+ HCP.  Further, I think our system
does allow you to shade 1C openings - this further muddies the picture.
(At least one of my partners would open the hand shown below 1C)

Besides: what would you make of the following auction (say at both vul):

	Partner	Opp	You	Opp
	1D	1S	P	3S
	4H

I suppose it could be: -,AKxxxx,AKxxxxx,-
or some such...

So, supposing that you *are* playing a rigid system (where *all* 16+'s
and *only* 16+'s are opened the big club), when you alert 1C, are you
required to state that it shows 16+ and that it shows *all* 16+ hands?
(Or are you required to alert all other openings and state that they
categorically deny 16+ ?)

************************************************************************
A note to new readers:  the weasely :-) symbol is frowned upon in this
group.  Any questions, see Phil Gustafson who will gladly rearrange your
diodes for you.
			- From the AFU FAQ -

	- pynq@quads.uchicago.edu, who is still costing the net
	  hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, every time he posts -
************************************************************************
From: sjp@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (susan.j.picus)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: Is standard carding obsolete?
Summary: Carding agreements
Date: 30 Sep 92 00:29:52 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories

In article <1992Sep24.200720.11561@leland.Stanford.EDU>, daveshao@leland.stanford.edu (David Shao) writes:
> 
> Here's the story behind the assign the blame hand I posted earlier:
> This was Board 115 of the Venice Cup with USA II comfortably leading
> Austria 314-217.
> 
>                              West     North      East     South 
>          K76                 Picus    Erhart     Osberg   Bamberger
> Vul:EW   A62                 -        -          -        P
> Dlr:S    AQ2                 P        1C*        P        1S*
>          KQJ6                P        2NT        P        3NT
> AT4               J95        All Pass
> KT3               QJ74
> J43               K9762
> 9743              5
>          Q832
>          985
>          T8
>          AT82
> 
> East led a diamond won by declarer.  Declarer ran four clubs, East
> pitching a heart, a spade, and a diamond in that order.  Declarer
> led the S7 to the queen, West's ace winning.  West returned a diamond
> which declarer won.  Declarer led a diamond to East, discarding a
> heart from dummy.  East cashed the last diamond, declarer discarding
> a spade from dummy.  West discarded a spade. NS +400.
> 
> Unfortunately I missed the opportunity of asking Osberg directly what
> their signalling conventions were in this situation, but now I would
> like to ask whether pairs have developed their signalling conventions
> enough so that the order of West's discards from 9743 could have given
> enough clues to have eased East's discarding problem.  
> 

Your opportunity to ask was not missed.   We played simple upside-down
count and attitude,  with no Smith echoes.  In a situation like this,
where count and attitude are irrelevant,  we play suit-preference
(rightside-up),   assuming one knows what suit to give preference to.

	Sue Picus
	sjp@usl.com
From: jwong@cs.arizona.edu (Chi On J. Wong)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: OKBridge
Date: 30 Sep 92 20:57:24 GMT
Organization: U of Arizona CS Dept, Tucson


    Where can I find a version of the okbridge?
From: matthew@base.cs.ucla.edu (Matthew Merzbacher)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Weak No Trump to (probably) become alertable
Date: 3 Oct 92 21:25:40 GMT
Article-I.D.: base.matthew.718147540
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department

I note that the September Bulletin said that a committee "worked hard" 
in Toronto to revise the Alert structure (and create an "Alert Chart")
that will presented before the entire ACBL board in Orlando.

Aside from the creation of the chart (probably a good codification),
weak notrumps will become alertable.

As an inveterate intermediate notrumper, I'm somewhat glad to see this
change.  At low-caliber clubs, I've started pre-alerting weak notrumps to
avoid possible ethical problems for the opponents (*).  I hope that adding
an alert will make the process more pro-forma instead of having one
opponent effectively TELL the other one that we're playing weak notrumps
and then pass.

We shall see.

(*) This sentence is a euphamism.
--

Matthew Merzbacher	ARPA:	matthew@CS.UCLA.EDU
Moo - Moo Moo  		UUCP:	...!{uunet|rutgers|ucbvax}!cs.ucla.edu!matthew
               		This time, *with* the oys
Organization: Penn State University
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 10:37:58 EDT
From: <JSM135@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: You Hold

All red.   You are in 2nd seat with    S - T
Auction                                H - Axx
       1NT (15 - 17)     ???           D - AKxxx
                                       C - AJxx
By the way, you are playing the following:

2C - single suiter
2D - majors *
2H, 2S - that suit & a minor *
2NT minors *
Dbl - business             * Partnership expects 5-5 or better.
From: taylor@logan.tivoli.com (Eric Taylor)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: Over Strong NT
Date: 28 Sep 92 14:14:23 GMT
Organization: TIVOLI Systems, Inc.

In article <1992Sep23.182422.12956@linus.mitre.org>, bs@gauss.mitre.org (Robert D. Silverman) writes:
|> 
|> Playing a 7 board swiss, you pick up 
|> 
|> KJ9xxx
|> 9xxx
|> Qxx
|> -
|> 
|> All white, RHO bids a 15-17 NT in first seat. 
|> 
|> Do you bid?
|> 
|> If so, what?

If I bid spades :
	Partner can sacrifice with appropriate cards.  Will not
	be displeased with your hand.

	Partner can double a cue-bid to show safety of spade lead.

	LHO can double you unmercifully.

	RHO could have the spade spots and be unable to double you.

	I might talk them out of an unmakable NT game.

If I pass :
	I have a good defensive hand iff partner has a non-singleton
	spade spot.


It seems like a good idea to bid the spades.   The good things that could
happen outweigh the bad.

Showing both majors seems like a bad idea.  You don't really have
both of them.
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: Over Strong NT
From: avir@chen.bgu.ac.il (Avi Roy Shapira)
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 00:02:36 GMT
Organization: Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel

bs@gauss.mitre.org (Robert D. Silverman) writes:
:
: Playing a 7 board swiss, you pick up
:
: KJ9xxx
: 9xxx
: Qxx
: -
:
: All white, RHO bids a 15-17 NT in first seat.
:
: Do you bid?

Before I proceed, I think I should explain my views on overcalling a
strong NT in the direct position. The first point, is that a double of
1NT is a rewarding proposition. You risk 180 to gain 100-1100. Consequently,
one should double 1NT (strong or weak) on every opportunity (and forbid
partner to pull out the double with a yarborough. Partner should pull only
when he/she sees prospects for a vulnerable game, so any call he makes is
at least invitational - I shall be glad to explain this further, if asked).

If one accepts the above postulate, then one can draw several conclusions
in re overcalls,  vis:
  1. the purpose of the overcall is to compete for the partscore. If the over-
     caller has enough to consider game, he usually has enough to double.

  2.  The suit is broken, since with a solid suit you should pass or double,
      and lead it.

  3.  HCP is limitted.

  4.  High trick taking potential

Obviously the above hand fits. It has few HCP, high trick taking potential, and
 a broken suit. The answer to the first question is YES, I bid.

The answer to the second question is simple.  First, this is NOT a two suiter.
there is only one biddable suit, and that is Spades.  This leaves two
alternatives. The first is to bid spades, and the second is to bid 2C, take
out the double into 2D etc.. finally after the oppenents are in the doubling
mood, bid 2S and pass the double.

I think this hand is a bit too weak for the latter treatment, so I would simply
overcall.

Personally, I use transfer overcalls over NT, so I would bid 2H. If I don't use
transfer overcalls, I simply bid 2S.

Avi
From: martel@spider.cs.ucdavis.edu (Chip Martel)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: My fault ?
Date: 29 Sep 92 18:07:30 GMT
Reply-To: martel@spider.cs.ucdavis.edu (Chip Martel)

In article <1666@idacrd.UUCP>, desj@ccr-p.ida.org (David desJardins) writes:
|> Chip Martel <martel@spider.cs.ucdavis.edu> writes:
|> > East's defense of overtaking is definately a mistake (though not
|> > because partner might have Kx!).  As argued before, this should show
|> > a stiff club.  It would also be costly if declarer had something like
|> > x, K9xxxx, AJx, AJT by removing his guess for the club queen.
|> 
|> Can you explain why overtaking and leading a club should show a
|> singleton, and signaling for a club shift should show a doubleton?  It
|> seems technically just as sound to play the reverse.


Signalling for a club shift does not show a doubleton, it could just show
strength in clubs  and denies a singleton. The reason for this
from a technical point of view, is that it is fine for partner to underlead
the ace both when you have the queen and when you have a doubleton. Thus low
shows one of these two holdings (when partner has the ace), which means the
only way to show a singleton is to overtake. 

|> 
|> > (note that the opponents could have gotton 3S down 3 on the acual
|> > hand, and if partner was 5-2-3-3 it could be worse)
|> 
|> A minor point, but I don't see how you can go down more than two.  If
|> the opponents don't lead trump, you score a heart ruff (possibly with
|> the king), four trumps, and two aces.  If the opponents lead trump, you
|> score five trumps and two aces.
|> 
|> The opponents have nine tricks in hearts, which puts the total-trick
|> count one over.  I think this is not surprising, given the 3S bidder's
|> hand.
|> 
|>                                         David desJardins

Sorry about the down 3. It should have been that the combined EW hands could
go down 3 (declarer must guess if North has Qxx or Qxxx against good defense)
not against the actual NS cards. If the spade queen were not doubleton, we
would get something closer to the right total trick count.

However, I should say that I am not a total tricks fanatic like some. However,
it is rarely right to make a bid which is likely to be off by two and could
easily be off the total trick count by 3.

Chip Martel
From: fogel@wish-bone.berkeley.edu (Micah E. Fogel)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Law questions
Date: 28 Sep 1992 21:33:48 GMT
Organization: U.C. Berkeley Math. Department.
NNTP-Posting-Host: wish-bone.berkeley.edu


	I have two questions about law that hopefully someone can clear up
for me...

	The first one is about the rule that a revoke at trick twelve must
be corrected, and revoker's partner can be required to play either of his
two cards if both are legal.  So if spades are trumps in this diagram

        --
        --
        23
--      --      A2
2               --
--              --
2       3       --
        3
        --
        --

and South leads the heart and west plays the club instead of following,
can South require East to ruff with the ace, and magically win a trick in
a no-win situation?  Seems a little unfair to me...

	If this is the correct ruling, is there a case where before the
revoke there was no way to win another trick but because of the revoke the
declarer gets both tricks?

	Secondly, I know that when the opponents make a mistake that gives
you several options under the law that you should take the one that you think
will give your side the greatest advantage.  But is it allowable to have a
set of understandings/conventions that takes advantage of the situation?  For
example, the auction goes

You   LHO   Pard  RHO
 1H    1S    3H    2S
 ??

are you allowed to have a set of agreements about what it would mean to accept
the insufficient bid vs. what bids might mean if you require RHO to correct
the bid?  Similar situations would be calls out of rotation and untimely or
incorrect alerts, where you might be allowed to change your call.

MIcah Fogel
fogel@math.berkeley.edu
From: gharris@jade.tufts.edu (George W. Harris)
Newsgroups: rec.games.moria
Subject: Re: Identify
Date: 3 Oct 92 19:01:08 GMT
Organization: Tufts University - Medford, MA
Originator: gharris@jade.tufts.edu

In article <1992Oct2.201108.8117@muddcs.claremont.edu> dgreen@jarthur.claremont.edu (David Green) writes:
>In article <1992Oct1.164552.7670@jade.tufts.edu> gharris@jade.tufts.edu (George W. Harris) writes:
>->	Oh, it is definitely a good idea to make sure you have enough food and
>->oil before doing this, and I also actually check my lamp to see when I went
>->down, and wait until my "turns of oil" is down 5000 from its starting level.
>->The game does tend to interrupt you occasionally when you get hungry, or 
>->notice something is magical.
>
>Actually, I hunt down a staircase, unwield my lantern, and then wait.  Doesn't
>consume oil that way.

	True, but a wielded (wielt?) lantern makes a great clock.  So you un-
wield the lantern, type R 5000, and after a little while it says you're hungry.
How do you know how long you've waited?

	Also, it's very easy to fall down a trap door or something, if you don't
have an easy method of finding stairs.

>dgreen@jarthur.claremont.edu				   David "Mishael" Green
--
gharris@jade.tufts.edu          "She had ever chance for happiness, ever 
George W. Harris                chance in the world, and stomped ever one 
Dept. of Mathematics            of them chances down in the dirt like a 
Tufts University                bug."   _The Devil's Dream_
Newsgroups: rec.games.moria
From: dgreen@jarthur.claremont.edu (David Green)
Subject: Re: skin turn to steel
Organization: Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 00:13:27 GMT

In some article jcrowley@leotech.mv.com (Jon Crowley) writes:
->Well, here goes.  My cheap new pathetic character in Moria 4.872 was
->wondering around, starving, fainting, when all of a sudden I get the
->message "your skin turns into steel."  I looked at my AC and it was like
->200 something.

You probably drank a potion just before the message; that is the message that
accompanies the quaffing of a potion of invulnerability.  The affects, alas,
are temporary.  Still, you were exceedingly lucky to find it where/when you
did.
-- 
dgreen@jarthur.claremont.edu				   David "Mishael" Green
		    Have you scritched your local Furry today?
***********************Who ordered the muon? -- I. I. Rabi**********************
	    Unix and the world Unix with you; VAX and you VAX alone.
Newsgroups: rec.games.moria