A BRIDGE TOO FAR

Count me amongst the unnumbered, unsung generalists, panzade. When I die, a sole Coltrane-esque saxophone will do, and free sandwiches for all....maybe a muffin too.

Oh puhleeeeze, banish these mobid thoughts from thy countenance. Thou must always play the clown. It is thy sentence, varlot!

Hi TBG --

I still like my way of playing the Q of a KQxx holding just because several tricks later I'll see that K and may remember better than IT is a winner... whereas I have been known to "forget" that my Q is good, particularly if drinking is involved. Been there, done that.

As long as my partner knows my quirk... we should be OK, don't you think?

Thanks for the great explanation of the 11! I knew that one of the cards was the fourth card in my hand, but I couldn't figure out what other one didn't need to be counted. Duh... the ace!

A gazillion thanks.
Piffka


PS -- So, do people still say they're "sitting with the bathtub" if they've been dealt a lot of good hands?

Well, as long as you and your partner have an agreement, and you BOTH play the same way, you can do whatever you like! (as long as you tell your opponents that when you lead a queen it promises the king, and NOT vice versa Bridge is a game of full disclosure, to make it as much about skill as possible)

And keep in mind that if you ever play duplicate or even in most kitchen bridge games, everyone else will lead K from KQ, so you should always be watching for those things as declarer.

I would recommend that you stick to one style and do it regardless of honors. So if you want to lead your 2nd of touching honors, then not only will you lead Q from KQ, but also J from QJ, and T from JT. The question remains, what will you lead from KQJ or QJT? For consistency, I'd stick to the 2nd best if that's what you prefer.

You wrote: "As long as my partner knows my quirk... we should be OK, don't you think?"

As I mentioned above, you'll be OK as long as (a) your partner knows your quirk, and (b) your partner agrees to play the same way! You can't have different lead conventions depending on the partner. Stick to one style between the 2 of you, watch each other's leads, and you'll gradually get used to figuring out what everyone else holds in the suit that gets led. If you don't have a solid agreement about what you're leading, and then stick to it, then you'll always be in a haze and your defense will suffer.

"PS -- So, do people still say they're "sitting with the bathtub" if they've been dealt a lot of good hands?"

I don't think so, because I've never heard it before! Then again, I haven't played much kitchen bridge, and that sounds like a saying that would have sprung up during home games rather than tournaments

Hmmm, the "Sitting with the Bathtub" saying was from duplicate bridge... and I always wondered where that bathtub was supposed to be!

Thanks TBG!

Sitting with the bathtub always worked for me - along with a good partner. Partnering is the most important aspect of the game IMHO.

Years ago when I played more than twice a week with the same person we had the total ability to read each others hands and although we has some very regular conventions. Stayman, Gerber, we still had an uncanny ability to read each other.

Mostly like in all relationships it is trust that makes the game.

panzade, I assure you, I have no "mobid" thoughts at all, in my countenance or in my mind.

Righto cav, and mornin to you.

Mornin' Joanne. I'm watching my bro's posts with interest, but sadly have nobody to play bridge with.

Who is your bro? We can cook up partners and/or teams and play on line bridge together. Panzade and I did one night.

It was nerve racking for me but he was quite the gentleman.

But we could reserve a room and practice together to hone our skills before we set off to play with others.

What do you think panzade do you think you can deal with us.

So far I count six, panzade, Diane, piffka, mezzie, cav and myself. We only need two more. This could be great we could re-enter the bridge world as the great A2kers Bridge team.

mezzie the bridge guru is my bro.

For real?

Yikes I just read his profile - Ph.D. in linguistics but living in Philly, howse that work for him? Has he decoded Phildelpian method of communication yet?

Yeppers, Joanne.

This is a bridge thread Cav. Mobid thoughts are a prerequisite. But sometimes can lead to a penalty

I can set up two tables on Bridge Basic Online. It's called a match. It's scored by comparing the results of each partnership. It would be a lot of fun. Willow is another A2ker that is very good, I haven't seen her post here though.
In any case Joanne I'd like to play again. Let me know when.

OK I have to go to the doctor this after noon but will be home by 4:30 for sure. Could you post the link to Bridge Basic Online again, pretty please. Here I am tossing you one of the Supreme Bean's wonderful bones. (The Supreme Bean is what JLNobody calls my dog, the MinPin, Bean.)

I can see how a degree in linguistics would fit right in with bidding in bridge. Cool, Mezzie!

After the download you should have a shortcut installed on your desktop for easier navigation.

http://www.bridgebase.com/online/bbo.shtml

For the record, I'm only in the 2nd year of the PhD program, so I have no credentials to speak of yet

If you all do have a game and there are any bidding/play/defense questions/disputes/threats, let me know!

TBG