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General Bridge Questions
Tue, Jun 21, 2022Gavin WolpertOther ActivitiesCommunity
I am going to be making some short videos this summer to help my students keep learning without committing a lot of time to lessons.
I am looking for common questions that are easily answered in a short video.
Here are two examples of subjects I have on my list already:
1) Should I declare my 4-4 fit or 5-3 fit?
2) Should I open 1NT with a 5 card major?
Please use the comment section of this article to suggest possible topics. I may or may not make videos on your topics and will not reply to the suggestions but they are much appreciated.
Comments
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My suggestion for possible lessons: 1) Follow ups after 4th suit GF (1♣-1♦-1♥-1♠, or any other) 2) Dealing with weak-NT. More importantly how to deal with when they don't open 1NT weak but play weak NT. This was mentioned in your Multi-landy Q&A 10-minute video as possible lesson.
We all know you are very busy during this time of year (well, probably year round😁). But me and my partners would like a way to practice "Dealing with Michaels and UNT". Thinking a practice set on that topic would be nice, certainly no urgency....................
Opposite 1NT, how to bid when 55 Majors, weak, invitational or game forcing.
There is a 'practice' type lesson with 20 example deals on Responding to 1NT with both majors: https://wolpertbridge.com/lessons/both-majors-after-1nt-practice
GF 5-5 you transfer to spades and bid 3H, Weak 5-5 you bid 2♣ stayman and over 2♦ you bid 2♥ Invitational there are different routes. The standard expert route is to transfer to 2♥ and then bid 2♠ showing 5-5 Invite. This leaves the question what do you do with 5♥ and 4♠ with an invite and there isnt a good answer. It is simpy to bid 2♣ and then over 2♦ you have to decide whether to show a weak hand or a game forcing hand. It doesn't come up enough to be a big deal.
Is there anyway to point out bidding issues when using Gavin's System on Intobridge?
On IntoBridge website, there is a "report a bug" section on the bottom left (it may be at a different location on your screen depending on your device or browser). Just let them know the bug is about Lia playing Gavin's 'light' or 'full' version. And let them know what your auction was, and which of Lia's bids you think were not in line with Gavin's system, ...
bump: Suggested Masterclass Practice set on "Dealing with Preempts". Me and 2 partners practiced using David Bailey's BBO Practice Scenario "Better Minor Lebensohl" and it worked fine. Just needing mucho advise from the maestro...... also thinking this thread should be pinned to the top.
Shape of my hand is 3/2/2/6 clubs being A,K,j,10, 5,4 and I open Partner responds 1 spade...what do I bid??? int is tough since I am not distributional. partner has 5 spades and 11 points
Opener's rebid with 6/4 hands
I found this a couple of weeks ago via the Bridgewinners website and thought it might be useful to those who like to practice bidding on BBO. "Sophisticated and easy bidding practice on BBO with Practice Bidding Scenarios" https://tinyurl.com/3nbjtmbu
Suggested Masterclass Practice set on "Dealing with Preempts". edit: Another suggestion: I have a new partner that wants to start learning the Masterclass series from start to finish. Problem he has is he can't tell the order of the lessons without looking through each lesson and writing down the dates. Any chance of adding the ability to sort by date or maybe numbering them?
Sorry we haven't replied to this earlier. There is a 'Sort By' option at the top right on the 'Lesson Library' page. You can set it 'Date - Oldest First' to see the lessons in the order Gavin taught them.
Suggested topics: Flannery, Reverse Flannery -- Yay or Nay?
Regarding balancing 1NT: Do you play systems ON over balancing 1NT? eg (1C) P (P) 1NT (P) ? ... If yes, how are responses adjusted for strength? Any difference if balancer is a Passed hand?
Regarding 1NT openings: Question: Gavin probably won't have time for this, but I had this hand: xx AKx AQ Kxxxxx Prior to the Wed. Morn. tourney, I would have opened this 1C. However, I opened 1NT - mainly since I have plenty of entries to establish some C tricks - and also as Rob and Gavin point out, there is some benefit in shutting out opponents finding a Spade or H fit. Pard jumps to 3NT and we have completely mirrored hands: xx Qxx Kx AQJxxx !!! LHO has AKxx in Spades, but also a 6 card D suit which he wants to establish using the Spades as entries, so I get a D lead and take 11 tricks for a huge top (in fact, this was a "Common Game" hand and we even got a 100% versus the entire field)!! So, it paid off, but very well might not have - was 1NT the right opening??
Not sure where to put this. But maybe I missed the announcement, but the new addition to be able to play boards right here on your website is going to be fantastic now and in the future. Thanks for the upgrade to the "Best Bridge Site" on the interwebs. :)
Hi Gavin, How about this: Is it worth learning to open a weak NT? What, if anything, do you give up with this system? Also, how to defend (bid and play) against a weak NT opener. Thanks! Warmly, Tracy
What is the bridge club where you and Rob play? I am going to be in Boca in early February for a few days. I would like to come and play. Is there a partnership desk?
Gavin plays at Jourdan's Palm Beach Bridge Club.
Lesson on Jacoby 2NT. Do you play different then typical version or fancier like Larry Cohen in July 2010 bridge bulletin? Does the response of Jacoby 2NT to show shortness a demand bid? or does it show extra? If 3H is strong hand and 4H is weak, is 3NT in-between? 3 of new suit is it only show shortness and no strength? All these questions on Jacoby 2NT.
Hi Gavin. I have question because i am confused . So my partner open 1C i have 13 points with 6322 distibution so i bid 1S. My partner rebid 2C 12-14 with long clubs. What should i bid now? 2s would be like 6-9 points right? how about 3S? for me is like invite 11-12 points with 6 spades but mby im wrong. and after that i made mistake and bid direclty 3NT and we miss 4S. Can u help me ? thank you
hi i am interested in if you got an answer to your Question. I wonder the same thing. My thoughts are to bid 2S to show 6 and deny support for his Clubs. Thanks. i am looking for BBO partners too, BBO :Tewksbabe
When to bid major when you have a NT hand?
Just reviewed some the declarer play lessons. The when to delay drawing trumps/dangerous opponents/7 card fits. Would love mixed bag declarer play practice!
responding to 1N with weak and invitational hands and 5/4 in the Majors.
Bidding after strong jump shifts could be nice. They're cramped auctions, and I never know what to bid without boxing partner in.
We've recently come across circumstances where Pass shows extras (eg. Pard forced, RHO bid, and a non-Pass bid exists which DOES show minimum). This begs a broader topic: RHO bids after Pard's force create two previously unavailable bids, Pass and X. What *should* they mean? This likely varies (eg after a Xfer), but any general thinking to figure this out on the fly would be very helpful.
Exclusionary Blackwood, Spiral Raises and Keycard bidding with voids.
Scrambling 2NT to tell partner not sure where to play with 4-4 over his double. Example on board 3 of practice set Transfer after 1M-X interference.
Complete Modified-BART convention as you play with your partner. Is it ON if responder is passed hand and other details missing from 1M-1NT lesson?
I see you have defense against prempts as an upcoming class. I would be interested in the what to bid when the overcaller does a weak jump eg 1S 3C X (negative double) P 3D is 3D answer to negative double or forcing bid..... Cheers Kathryn
Partner opens 1♠, Opponent bids 2♥. With limit+ you bid 3♥. Partner makes 3NT bid. What is meaning of such bid? 3♠ is decline invite, 4♠ is accept game. Any other suit bid would be showing extra with slam interest. So what is 3NT? Any meaning or just bad confusing bid.
Kokish perhaps? And what you mean by Kokish with flip on your cc?
I am interested in this answer too. I think Gavin will cover it in his 2C response structure lesson.
These are some topics I'd like: 1) Fit jumps. 2) UDCA... and ongoing carding after the first signal is given. 3) Helpful signals. Perhaps smith echo, trump suit preference. And an idea... an index to topics... I sometimes wonder which lesson covered a certain topic.
With 17 HCP and 5332 distribution, do I open the 5 card suit and rebid 2NT or do I open 1NT? Does the answer differ if the 5-card suit is a major or a minor? With 14 HCP and 5332 distribution, do I open the 5 card suit or do I open 1NT? Does the answer differ if the 5-card suit is a major or a minor?
Playing match points, we bid to 2M without interference. The opponents double and get to a 3 level contract and we only have an 8 card fit. When do we double for penalty?
How to spot a potential squeeze? I have noticed that you often indicate, as soon as dummy traks, almost without hesitation, that you "see" a potential squeeze. What are the gross or obvious patterns to look for to assist us in recognizing them?
Opener's reopen with a 6-card suit or 55 shape (X vs bid)?
Exceptions to "Don't Stayman with (4/3)/3/3". eg. Slam-invite or stronger; other exceptions?; or Never? Different teachers seem to guide differently on this topic.
The optimal use of the two Un-v-Un cuebids, **and why**. We currently play: 1. HigherRanked or OnlyKnown = Fit & 10+p. 2. LowerRanked = GF& 5+cd4thSuit. Maybe we should be using "cheaper/more-expensive" instead of "suit ranking". Anyway, I'd guess that many folks would appreciate knowing what you've adopted, and WHY you adopted it. **Update:** This is answered in Gavin's lessons here: https://wolpertbridge.com/lessons/two-suited-hands and here: https://wolpertbridge.com/lessons/michaels-and-unusual-2nt
Play 2'1 and partner opens what should responder bid with 3 hears and 6-12 points? Does it vary depending on points?
You have 9 cards in a key suit missing the QJ, You play the A from hand and RHO drops the Q. You have KT9x remaining in dummy. 8 ever 9 never or restricted choice? RHO is a good player.
A short lesson on when to bid diamonds instead of clubs with more clubs than diamonds and not enough points for a reverse would help me. I think you've addressed it before, but I'm not sure where. How should responder think about opener's bids in such situations?
How about a lesson about different strategies for team games IMPS vs pairs MPS
Hi Gavin - Topic suggestion: Should we consider playing 2/1 or Precision?
i support the request about 2/1 vs Precision since I am very unclear on precsion.