bridgethoughts.blogspot.com
Bridge Thoughts: May 2009
http://bridgethoughts.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html
Sunday, May 31, 2009. I was just commenting on the Seniors Camrose on BBO and watched Paul Hackett open 1D (2nd seat, vul vs not) on the hand below:. That's 11 HCP on the 4-3-2-1 scale and only 9.6 on the 11-7-4-2-1 scale (7 7 4 4 2=24 * 4/10 = 9.6). That's before adjusting for the doubleton queen. The spades are worth a bit extra due to the honours working together, but still the hand is clearly weaker than an average 10 HCP when evaluated correctly. The Kaplan/Rubens hand evaluator. Calls it 9.75.
bridgethoughts.blogspot.com
Bridge Thoughts: The Case for the Weak NT: Going for a Number
http://bridgethoughts.blogspot.com/2009/09/case-for-weak-nt-going-for-number.html
Tuesday, September 15, 2009. The Case for the Weak NT: Going for a Number. Nobody likes to get doubled and concede a big penalty. There will be times when this happens and you get a bad result that could only have been avoided by not playing a weak notrump in the first place. The question is how often this happens and whether the cost outweighs the benefits described in the previous three sections. I've done some computer analysis on this, using the following assumptions:. They may double and you make.
bridgethoughts.blogspot.com
Bridge Thoughts: June 2009
http://bridgethoughts.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html
Friday, June 19, 2009. I played interclub last night so missed the second half of our Juniors against Australia on Vugraph. Since BBO saves its Vugraph sessions I was able to download it and construct a text file report of the match which is below. Here is the link: PABF R1-2.txt. I've added two more, the NZ women against Australia and the open team against Singapore:. Here is the link: PABF R1-4.txt. Here is the link: PABF R1-7.txt. Thursday, June 18, 2009. One of my pet hates is 'practice Stayman', whe...
bridgethoughts.blogspot.com
Bridge Thoughts: September 2009
http://bridgethoughts.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html
Tuesday, September 15, 2009. I have done some analysis on the performance of each pair in the Bermuda Bowl final. The method is based on assigning each pair an IMP score on each board reflecting the result they deserve to get relative to an error-free world class pair. In most cases I did this independently of the actual result so a minus would be assigned for missing a good game regardless of whether the game made in practice. Avg IMPs per board. It appears that the choice of lineups accounts for almost...
bridgethoughts.blogspot.com
Bridge Thoughts: The Case for the Weak NT: Playing the wrong partscore
http://bridgethoughts.blogspot.com/2009/09/playing-wrong-partscore.html
Thursday, September 10, 2009. The Case for the Weak NT: Playing the wrong partscore. After a 1NT opening there is always a risk of a missing a 4-4 major fit on a partscore hand. The weak notrump occurs with greater frequency which makes this more likely and also the extra strength of the strong notrump means that 1NT will still often make when a better spot is available. To actually lose IMPs this way, though, several things have to happen:. 1NT has to go down while 2 of a major is making. Defeating an u...
dblbridge.blogspot.com
Becker's Bridge Blog: November 2010
http://dblbridge.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html
This blog will feature my ramblings about everyone's (well at least a few people's) favorite card game, bridge. Hopefully it will be a chance to exchange ideas and ultimately help us all become better bridge players. Saturday, November 6, 2010. Slams in Lake Geneva Part 2. Buoyed by the success of the previous hand, Dan and I faced another slam opportunity. I picked up: KTx Tx AT9 AKxxx and heard him open a 15-17 1NT. A9x AQ9xx Kx QJx. Slams in Lake Geneva Part 1. X AQxx Jxxx Axxx. It seems that slam wil...
bridgethoughts.blogspot.com
Bridge Thoughts: NZ vs Italy
http://bridgethoughts.blogspot.com/2009/08/nz-vs-italy.html
Monday, August 31, 2009. The following is a report of the NZ vs Italy match from the Bermuda Bowl round robin. I don't have much experience in formatting bridge hands in HTML so let me know if it doesn't look good in your browser. The relevant system cards can be located here. The first board was a cold 3NT at both tables - no swing. A 13 IMP swing to NZ from a combination of judgment and systemic differences, where the systemic differences were more luck than superior methods. Another combined system/ju...
dblbridge.blogspot.com
Becker's Bridge Blog: August 2010
http://dblbridge.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html
This blog will feature my ramblings about everyone's (well at least a few people's) favorite card game, bridge. Hopefully it will be a chance to exchange ideas and ultimately help us all become better bridge players. Friday, August 27, 2010. Suppose you pick up this hand in 4th seat:. Jxxx AJ98x A54 x. Thursday, August 12, 2010. As promised, here is one interesting hand from the recent NABC in New Orleans. It comes from the swiss teams- you are vul vs not and partner opens 1 Heart. The auction begins sim...
dblbridge.blogspot.com
Becker's Bridge Blog: December 2011
http://dblbridge.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html
This blog will feature my ramblings about everyone's (well at least a few people's) favorite card game, bridge. Hopefully it will be a chance to exchange ideas and ultimately help us all become better bridge players. Friday, December 16, 2011. Borderline BAM Decisions- Updated. Here are two similar hands that came up in Seattle- how would you handle each situation? Each is rotated to make you South. 1 Dealer South, N/S game. 2 Dealer East, E/W Game. What were the table results? Sunday, December 11, 2011.
