Articles›Duplicate Tournaments›06/28/2022 Tuesday Game Post-Mortem Session
06/28/2022 Tuesday Game Post-Mortem Session
55 minutes
Tue, Jun 28, 2022Gavin WolpertDuplicate TournamentsVideo: General
Thanks for playing in the Wolpert Bridge Duplicate Game. We hope you enjoyed the game and the post-mortem zoom session.
For further info about these topics see the following lessons:
Board 2: End Plays and Frozen Suits
Board 3: Declaring 4-4 Fits
Board 11: Going for Blood
If you have any questions about the hands you have played in these games, use the Q&A section below to ask your questions.
When asking a question, please reference the deal number. You can also go to BBO, and chose the deal you have played, and from the menu choose 'Export', 'Handviewer link', and copy the link and paste it in the comments together with your question.
Comments
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Thanks, Gavin for the special effort you are making by adding hands that have an important idea to emphasize and the postmortem that reinforces some of your lesson content. This morning in Rob's Wed morning bbo game you mentioned maybe doing a lesson from your recent Robot qualifier game. That could be very useful for those of us who are struggling with BOT play. Wishing you great cards at Toronto Tourney!
Board 10 your question about suit combination Q8xx opposite AT7x. Is it to play low club from dummy to 10?
Thats still just one finesse. There is a way to take two finesses. Lets try to break it down even further. How about ATx opposite Qxx. How can you take two finesses?
Run Q then finesse to 10. If Q covered by K, win Ace. Go back to other hand and lead towards Tx for 2nd finesse.
I recorded a video explaining how to take two finesses: https://youtu.be/x0opZF6c0Mg
Thanks Gavin. Now I won't forget this one.
Re: not inviting with 11 in auctions like 1♣ - 1♥ - 1NT or 1♦ - 1♥ - 2♥, what does your invitational range look like there? I'm wondering because in other contexts like 2/1 or fourth suit forcing I'm game forcing with an average 12 count ("opening hand opposite an opening hand") so it feels weird that a slightly weaker hand isn't even worth an invite in these other auctions. Am I game forcing too light, or is the point just that in those other auctions opener is still unlimited & so you'll find opener with an above-minimum hand often enough to make up for it? Edit: Maybe this is a good topic for your "General Bridge Questions" series.
Ryan very good question. But I think you missed other part of opener's and responder's hands: their shape. Both cases are fairly balanced hand. Bal opp Bal at best 25 points is low percentage game.
That doesn't fully explain it to me since we could have two reasonably balanced hands in those other auctions (like in a major suit 2/1 opener could be 5332 opposite some flat 12 count). Another case--should I not invite with an 8 count opposite a 15-17 1NT? I'm wondering what else in my system should be changed, basically. I assume matchpoints vs imps matters here too. Related to this discussion I remember reading somewhere that 1NT ranges used to be 16-18 and that when they shifted to 15-17 people never really updated their invitational ranges to match.
Hand #8 looked like a perfect hand for the 2Way Game Try convention.
All this falls in grey area where there is no clear cut answers. The guideline you get from World Class players like Gavin are based on overall experience playing such hands. They have lot more sample sets unlike us to form their judgement. Your 2 examples are in this area. Where do the points lie (honors spread across vs together)? What is the shape? Gavin in his videos never rarely used hcp as judgement. This is what makes Bridge great too or else Robots will outplay humans.
My partner got carried away on this board and control bidding took us to 4H. Defense misplayed and I made it for 100%. But I told him the same. He should pass 2H and not let the results fool him.
If you are game forcing with all 12 point hands that do not have a fit or a source of tricks, you are game forcing too often. An invitational hand shows 11-12 points. I would need to see examples of what situations youre talking about. If my partner opened 1♥ and I had Qxx Jx AJxx A876 I would bid 1NT. I have no fit for partner and nothing about my hand looks like it will take more tricks than my high card suggest. We often invite with 11, but this particular spot we do not because we have at most 8 trumps and two balanced hands. You can't open all rule of 20 hands and also automatically game force with 12. You will get too high too often. Edit just to add, that my invitational range in those two auction is 12, or 11 with a 5 card suit. You could even invite with less if you are more distributional.
The hand isn't strong enough to invite, no matter which convention you play. You can envision an easy game if partner has shortness in spades, but partner would already have upgraded some 13 and 14 counts that include a singleton spade. Trying for game on the off chance partner has 12 + a singleton spade, or a perfect 14 point balanced hand with two small spades, is not worth it. In the process you will end up in 3 or 4 going down too frequently.
That's very helpful, thanks!