[diana_eva]

Pickup partner recently passed me in 2H after she opened 1nt. I was trying to transfer to spades, so it went 1nt by pd, p 2h me all pass. I didn't comment but pd says at the end "You should write transfers in your profile, I thought you don't play them".

[nige1]

diana_eva, on 2013-December-18, 00:17, said:

Pickup partner recently passed me in 2H after she opened 1nt. I was trying to transfer to spades, so it went 1nt by pd, p 2h me all pass. I didn't comment but pd says at the end "You should write transfers in your profile, I thought you don't play them".

Diana_Eva seems to be right that the default is now 2/1 with gadgets. In my old club the default was "Acol, no weakness takeouts"

[EricK]

On Monday night, I was in a slightly pushy 4♠ contract. My hand and dummy had identical 4-3-2-4 distributions. I came down to an end position of ♠x ♥AK9 ♦x opposite ♠x ♥Jxx ♦x, needing 4 more tricks. So I exited with the losing ♦ and hoped for the best. The best happened (I got a ruff and discard!), so I made the game. At which point partner asked "Couldn't you have tried to discard your ♦?"

[ArtK78]

EricK, on 2013-December-18, 14:37, said:

On Monday night, I was in a slightly pushy 4♠ contract. My hand and dummy had identical 4-3-2-4 distributions. I came down to an end position of ♠x ♥AK9 ♦x opposite ♠x ♥Jxx ♦x, needing 4 more tricks. So I exited with the losing ♦ and hoped for the best. The best happened (I got a ruff and discard!), so I made the game. At which point partner asked "Couldn't you have tried to discard your ♦?"

Well, what's your response?

This is close to what happened the other night. Playing in a team match, I opened the bidding 1♥ and the opponents conducted an auction that made it clear that my LHO had a very strong hand and my RHO had a very weak hand. The contract was 3♠. I led the singleton ♠A and saw this dummy:

KQJTx Jxx ATxx A

Not wanting to break a red suit, I exited with a club. Declarer then proceeded to ruff several diamonds in hand to make 10 tricks. My partner complimented my lead, and noted that I would have continued spades if I had one. I told him I tried to continue spades.

[mycroft]

ArtK78, on 2013-December-18, 15:02, said:

Well, what's your response?

I frequently pull out the green suit for that one. "I looked for a green card to lead, but couldn't find one."

Quote

My partner complimented my lead, and noted that I would have continued spades if I had one. I told him I tried to continue spades.

"I did my best, I played a black card."

[Vampyr]

nige1, on 2013-December-18, 07:42, said:

Diana_Eva seems to be right that the default is now 2/1 with gadgets.

Why have a default, and why list methods in your profile? It seems more sensible to use one of BBO's stock cards, and play it exactly as written.

[GreenMan]

Terence Reese wrote about a hand where he tried to endplay West in clubs but that opponent pitched the King under the Ace, then on the next round East went up Jack to crocodile his partner's now-stiff 10. Eventually East got thrown in to lead into Reese's ♣97 for the game-going trick. After the play dummy commented, "You were really lucky to have the club honors falling together, weren't you?"

[barmar]

Vampyr, on 2013-December-18, 19:44, said:

Why have a default, and why list methods in your profile? It seems more sensible to use one of BBO's stock cards, and play it exactly as written.

Because most players don't know or like to play exactly the same set of conventions that are in any particular stock card. So they use their profile to indicate what they prefer.

[olegru]

It was not comment, but was clueless enough.
Yesterday I am playing in a very weak club with playing director and not very experienced partner.
Bidding started:

Me..............Director............Partner................North
3 clubs.........3 spades............4 clubs................4 spades
pass............pas.................5 clubs................pas
pass...............double................pass*

Instead of putting Pass card on the table, Partner takes all her bids to bidding box. North looks shocked but did not say a work.
South (Director) spent good 3 minutes trying to convince my partner to put her Pass card in case if North or I would like to make a bid.

Finally bidding continue

………………………………….....................5 spades
pass...............pass

Instead of putting Pass card on the table, Director takes all his bids to bidding box. “Why!” screaming my partner. “I still have a bid.”
“Now you see,” smiling Director.
He put his Pass card on the table, my Partner double and … all three of them took their bids to bidding boxes. Some people never learn...

But we all had a good laugh when I asked them to put their bid on the table and let me bid. Pass, of course.

[HighLow21]

Cyberyeti, on 2013-December-17, 12:09, said:

This only earns true derision if it's his only way of asking aces

Right... what exactly is wrong with Gerber?

[Trinidad]

HighLow21, on 2013-December-27, 10:03, said:

Right... what exactly is wrong with Gerber?

In a limited number of situations there is nothing wrong with Gerber. In other situations it uses a very valuable bid (4♣) to get to know something that is much less valuable.

The problem with Gerber is that it teaches beginners to ask for aces immediately, rather than to cuebid first.

Rik

[EricK]

HighLow21, on 2013-December-27, 10:03, said:

Right... what exactly is wrong with Gerber?

I hope nothing. My cousin is marrying a Miss Gerber in about an hour!

[manudude03]

I was playing in a pairs tournament a couple of weeks ago. I was dummy in some contract (4S I think) and declarer starts running my long suit and makes discards. One of the opponents then proceeded to ask what declarer's discards meant.

[CamHenry]

manudude03, on 2013-December-29, 21:26, said:

I was playing in a pairs tournament a couple of weeks ago. I was dummy in some contract (4S I think) and declarer starts running my long suit and makes discards. One of the opponents then proceeded to ask what declarer's discards meant.

I have heard of players who will discard high-low from hand to tell dummy there's nothing to worry about. Of course, some play reverse attitude in these situations

[helene_t]

Trinidad, on 2013-December-28, 15:55, said:

The problem with Gerber is that it teaches beginners to ask for aces immediately, rather than to cuebid first.

TBH I don't think cuebidding is for beginners.

I agree that weaker players overuse ace asking. But if not playing Gerber they would overuse Blackwood instead.

Weaker players will use Gerber when 4♣ should be natural, or 4NT when it should be quanty. Gerber is worse because it is generally easier to live without a natural 4NT bid than without a natural 4♣ bid.

[Jinksy]

Not a specific comment, but an epic drama in multiple acts:

Act 1

Playing at my local club, LHO (I’ll call her W) opened 1N, P passed, and RHO responded 1H. One director call later, E was invited to take back her bid and informed that W would be silenced. E opted for 3N, tabling dummy (2533ish) after my P’s lead, and then fidgeted anxiously until midway through the play, she shouted ‘Why aren’t you running my Hs, P?’

Everyone – her P included – asked her as politely as the circumstances warranted not to comment as dummy.

Act 2

After W drifted one off, it seemed to everyone that 4H would have been a better contract. E angrily shouted ‘Why didn’t you bid Hs, P?’. We reminded her of the director’s ruling, and who had been responsible for it, but, not to be deterred, she grabbed her partner’s hand from its wallet, displayed its contents – including 4 hearts – to everyone at the table, and asserted loudly that 4H would in fact have made.

Act 3

Feeling that fripperies like reason and table etiquette were obsolete at this stage, we suggested that they could discuss this afterwards, and we should move onto the next hand, given that we were already behind. E testily agreed, and we reached for our cards – at which point W realised that all 13 of hers – including 4 hearts – were lying face up on the table.

[lycier]

---

After TM, west player asked his partner,pd said 2♠ was a reverse bid with extra values,so I should bid to game.

[ggwhiz]

I once played with a Marty Bergen wannabe and made him promise to have 6 cards for a weak 2 in 2nd seat. Only in 2nd.

Third board in
p - 2♥ - p - p
double - float

They drew his trumps in 5 rounds, set up a side suit and ran it when they got in with the last trump.

Me: You PROMISED to have a six card suit in 2nd chair.

Him (hurt expression): I did! Clubs

[GreenMan]

ggwhiz, on 2014-January-02, 08:31, said:

I once played with a Marty Bergen wannabe and made him promise to have 6 cards for a weak 2 in 2nd seat. Only in 2nd.

Third board in
p - 2♥ - p - p
double - float

They drew his trumps in 5 rounds, set up a side suit and ran it when they got in with the last trump.

Me: You PROMISED to have a six card suit in 2nd chair.

Him (hurt expression): I did! Clubs

[the_clown]

I remember that in some team game my partner led something against a suit contract, I won and switched to my stiff. Declarer now asked partner about our leads and got the prompt response 3/5. She played low and immediately called the director when I ruffed the next round. She said that if she had known that I may have a stiff, she would have won the ace and drawn trumps!