jlwbridge.blogspot.com
JLW's bridge blog: December 2009
http://jlwbridge.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html
Wednesday, December 30, 2009. It’s rare for 100% of the matchpoints to be at stake on any decision. Look what happened on this hand. In a robot duplicate I held AJ98 7 A73 KJ532 and opened 1C. It continued 1H by lho, X by partner, up to me. I think this is an obvious 2S bid. 1S is a nothing bid that could be on 3 trumps with no H stopper, so to me 2S shows only something like 14-16 support points, which I have easily. The field disagreed unanimously: 24 of 24 bid 1S! North: KQ54 QJT Q6 T764. Http:/ onlin...
jlwbridge.blogspot.com
JLW's bridge blog: March 2010
http://jlwbridge.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html
Monday, March 22, 2010. Six-card ending; conclusion. See two posts ago for the problem. The club pitch strongly implies that lefty was 2-4-2-5, so the ending looks something like:. N: - - AJ7 - - Q9x. S: - - Tx 82 Kx. If West has both heart honors, you can make it by straightforward play. If East has the K, you can’t make it – the position is frustratingly close to a double squeeze, but there just isn’t a way to rectify the count without East cashing the setting trick. That is how it was at the table.
jlwbridge.blogspot.com
JLW's bridge blog: Update on the mysterious origins of the fatal hand
http://jlwbridge.blogspot.com/2010/08/update-on-mysterious-origins-of-fatal.html
Saturday, August 7, 2010. Update on the mysterious origins of the fatal hand. I was curious enough to get in touch with the author, Gary Pomerantz, who was kind enough to send a prompt reply:. Somehow I was under the impression that Eli Culpertson presented and discussed the hand as a defense witness at the trial. Of course he might have made it up. I am wrong about him going through the hand at the trial? 8/8/10, 11:35 AM. 8/8/10, 5:38 PM. 8/9/10, 2:50 PM. 8/9/10, 6:17 PM. Costa Rica wrap up. In "real l...
jlwbridge.blogspot.com
JLW's bridge blog: The fatal hand
http://jlwbridge.blogspot.com/2010/08/fatal-hand.html
Saturday, August 7, 2010. I just read "The Devil's Tickets" by Gary Pomerantz, a very entertaining book published a couple of years ago (targeted to non-bridge-players) which details both the famous Bennett bridge murder and the rise of Ely Culbertson as the nation's bridge guru. I've seen the "fatal hand" which led to the murder many times in bridge publications. Interestingly, this book states that aside from the bidding, the fatal hand itself is a fabrication! The alleged hand was as follows:. In "rea...
jlwbridge.blogspot.com
JLW's bridge blog: May 2010
http://jlwbridge.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html
Saturday, May 15, 2010. K98xxx opposite J7x - lose at most 2. I hadn't seen this one before today. The answer, I believe, is to run the 9 (or low to 7.) This loses only to stiff T offside. Other plays lose to 2 cases, one 3-1 break and one 4-0 break (lots of choice as to which), while this one picks up both 4-0s. Tuesday, May 11, 2010. On a lighter note. And they got your name wrong, you're not Steve! Tuesday, May 4, 2010. USBC RR Format: Avoiding Sitouts. Given that the conditions of contest call for &#...
jlwbridge.blogspot.com
JLW's bridge blog: Bidding Problem
http://jlwbridge.blogspot.com/2010/08/bidding-problem.html
Wednesday, August 11, 2010. Here’s an interesting hand to bid from the Spingold. I had a promising collection in 1. Seat white/red, AKQxxx Kxxxx x x, which got better when partner responded with Jacoby 2nt. What is your plan? Assume standard Jacoby where 4x=5-card suit and at least a sound opener. I don’t think any of the popular modifications exactly solve this hand either. What do you think? 8/12/10, 9:53 AM. This would be a *much* better bid if your suit were diamonds, so partner had a last train bid&...
jlwbridge.blogspot.com
JLW's bridge blog: April 2010
http://jlwbridge.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html
Friday, April 30, 2010. I suggest an exponential decay factor, maybe .9. This would avoid these odd reversals. Given my (lack of) record in major events, my gripe has no self-interest component. Tuesday, April 27, 2010. Most game-players are sports fans, so I'm throwing in a little essay I wrote on foul trouble. It was targeted for an econ blog, and uses one or two technical terms, but they aren't central. Allowing a player to play with 3 fouls in the first half is a particular taboo. The phrasing is dec...
jlwbridge.blogspot.com
JLW's bridge blog: November 2010
http://jlwbridge.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html
Thursday, November 11, 2010. Check out Bridge Winners. I'm not playing much lately and have less time to blog. In the unlikely event that any readers here haven't seen it, I highly recommend the new site Bridge Winners. Bottom line: I will leave this site up, and still love bridge, but don't expect too much activity! If I do come up with something I might write an entry over at Bridge Winners, which has become bridge central. Many thanks to everyone who has regularly read and commented here!
jlwbridge.blogspot.com
JLW's bridge blog: January 2011
http://jlwbridge.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html
Tuesday, January 4, 2011. I had a good time last week at the NYC regional and came in a close 4th in the board-a-match.close to 2nd, that is. The winners were about 6 boards clear of the field! I wrote up a cute hand where I could have reduced the margin a small amount - check out http:/ www.bridgewinners.com/blogs/nyc-bam-validating-an-insult.html. Subscribe to: Posts (Atom). Costa Rica wrap up. The Significant Implication of Belichick's 4th Down Call (sport). I hope you enjoy. View my complete profile.