HI Bobby,

One carried over from yesterday which snuck under my radar. What is the car key rule, please? I hope it doesn’t involve dropping partner’s car keys into a lake somewhere, although we may all have been tempted at times.

Regards,

Iain

Re Lucy Lockett
I am not inclined to get back in the auction once I have opened 1NT and been overcalled, particularly if Rv.W. My “masterminding” has a spotty history and can cloud partner’s confidence in our general agreement (also will never take another bid, absent a force, lonce I pre-emptied). I seem to do better sticking to these non controversial “rules”. Too hidebound?

Re Settling down: Again I fall back ]]}ion the ‘rules”, specifically that a new suit buy an unpassed partner is a 100% force. Am I missing something?

Hi Iain,

I, too, wondered what he meant by his “card key rule”, also how SWMBO reads out, possibly starting with “since when”, or “some what” unless, of course, it does not.

Since Bill is indeed a “character” who often proves he dances to his own drummer, usually
a positive, with no doubt, always good intentions, we need him and him only, to answer the above.

Sorry for not being at the ready, but I leave solving the rule and short cut letter puzzles to my better half, Judy, and right now, she is sound asleep, but I am opting to make a shrewed safety play, by not awakening her.

“Better to recover from losing an extra trick, than to be floored”, which I one time read from a Chinese fortune cookie while playing bridge in China, with it being written in Chinese, but then roughly translated to me during a long ago bridge visit.

What do you think the chances are to soon hear our answers from the “Great Cubley”?

Hi Bobby,

Soon enough I’m sure while I think your safety play is definitely a worthwhile precaution.

Iain

Hi Bruce,

Your comment about not bidding again after preempting is one of the more important, possibly most important, disciplines to 100%
follow. That fierce resolve will pay you big dividends (and keep from having to change partners) over a long period of time.

However, call it sliding back in, with a decent 5 card major, after opening 1NT is not necessarily a violation, since stronger hands such as a 1NT opening come in various strengths and distributions, not completely described by only a 1NT opening.

Please understand I am not suggesting you do such things, but it is a different category than a preemptive maneuver, sometimes under the heading of just competitive judgment. And when your partner follows with 2 spades, merely pass and hope for the best (he should know you possess 5 hearts). Just assume he has: s. QJ1092, h. 9, d. J1052, c. 532 but thought himself too weak to chirp an initial 2 spades.

Finally a new suit by an unpassed partner is, of course forcing, once his partner has opened one of another suit, but certainly not forcing or even invitational, after partner opens 1NT.

No, I think you definitely should be hidebound to your defined bridge disciplines, and go from there, wherein greater experience (play more often) will allow your judgment to naturally improve by bounds and leaps.

And don’t forget to never leave home to play bridge without a very necessary companion, your luck in tow.

Hello Bobby
Lucy Locket’s question and the resulting comments / discussion are thought provoking.
Up to now I have strictly followed “captaincy” principle and would not bid again (freely) after having opened 1NT. I will now open this point up for discussion with partners, but need a firmer grasp of the underlying logic.
In an auction such as: 1NT 2C P P 2H is the correct interpretation:
1) Partner’s Pass indicates not enough for a penalty double
2) RHO’s pass indicates “OK we can play in Two clubs”
3) Opener’s “sliding back in” simply says: “I don’t want to let them play there”

Now suppose RHO didn’t like Clubs and asked for LHO’s major, so the auction is, say:
1NT 2C P 2D ? Presumably the 1NT Opener should now pass giving Partner (Captain) the opportunity to assess and act.

Is the above about right? If not could you please comment.
Thanks

Thank you for your comments. They are always appreciated. Also, I have a thought as to the car key rule. If Partner is driving,be cautious with criticism lest one be left walking home..

Hi Clarksburg,

At least it used to be, while attempting to ascend the ladder in bridge, at first a rocky climb, until the student realized (and felt secure) that, after hearing from a mentor (or two or such), that from what his improvement had been, particularly in the logic of bidding, would be very close to identical, to what he would decide bids should be.

Now for the examples to your specific questions:

1. After a 1NT opening (let’s assume 15-17) by partner, penalty doubles, immediately sometimes needed, fell victim to the greater frequency of card showing doubles (this should be our hand, not theirs) e.g. s. Q10xx, h. Kx, d. J10xx, c. Qxx which merely suggested to partner, at his next turn or two, to do something intelligent. However, with s. QJ1092, h. 9, d. J1052, c. 532 to pass but then if it comes back with the opponents (or partner) in 2 hearts, then bid a competitive 2 spades, but with the same spade heart and diamond holdings but QJx in clubs instead, bid an immediate 2 spades.

In other words, your partnership has an obligation to each other to, under the circumstances select the bid which best fits the hand for the right bid with the bidding having gone the way it did up to you,

However, I then think it logical if 2 clubs is passed around to partner then he is within partnership discipline to now chance a 2 heart bid, hoping, of course, to catch at least 3 of them, entirely possible and even likely.

Believe it or not (I certainly do), think about being an architect of a bidding system which deals with bridge hands and their consistency, then work out the logical way to determine what often extraneous bids in the past might now mean to give them maximum utility for your use.

The immediate above may seem like a Herculean task to some (and it is) but not to others who are now beginning to understand the bridge logic in the various meanings, with a double, the greatest tool to play off of as to its meaning.

In no ways is it foolproof (dame fortune will prove that, if she hasn’t already) but no partnership can do much more than to bow down to her, but not let her instead, rain on your communications with your partner.

The above rant would (should) or something similar, proceed a bridge school class of getting there from whatever advanced beginning (and middle) stage one has risen to.

You and partner need to be the master, even with wicked witches and poisoned flowers all around, but not let the game itself push you around and thus do the determining.

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for your kind words.

Yes, your meaning of the car keys principle is logical and qualifies you to achieve significant success once you decide to take bridge in a serious manner by overwhelming it instead of letting it do the same to you.

There are legitimate reasons, not enough time, not enough competent bridge players around, and many others, but if they can be overcome, you will likely not regret it, and who knows, the least that will happen, is that you will learn the definition of pure logic which applies to business, life in general as well as our glorious game in spades, making the challenge much fun to undertake.

Hi again Clarksburg,

Please excuse my not directly answering your question about the meaning of the opponent’s 2 club bid passed around to the NTer.

Most all tournament partnerships play conventions over the opponent’s 1NT opening. It usually is artificial, either for the majors (Landy convention) or clubs and a major suit, so that when partner passes 2 clubs, playing Landy he will have very long clubs (at least 6) and no more than a doubleton in either major or either (depending on the specific meaning of 2 clubs) better club support than either major, or at least the one partner is very likely to have.

My guess is sadly, perhaps more than 75% of humans, find it hard to comprehend that type of logic, and if so, they will never be a valid candidate to take up bridge.
IOW, a logical way to respond to partner’s attempt at describing his hand. With that in mind their opponents need to feed off of it and thus provide for hands worth competing, but keeping firmly in control of what their worthy opponents have for their actions.

Call it the game within the game, but get used to it (happens quickly) to the foreign language which evolves

The version of the car key rule I learned was that the easiest/surest way to determine the center of a car was to drop the car keys and have them roll under it.

Hi Jim2,

Yes, and its nickname TOKM but no TM…….yet!

I’m pretty sure SWMBO is She Who Must Be Obeyed. The car key rule – oddly, I thought I had it figured out from context yesterday, but today I have lost it. Something to do with which partner is the captain on a particular hand – has the car keys and is doing the driving where the other partner is the passenger, perhaps. You’ve described your hand and now must let the “driver” pick the contract. Maybe.

Hi Jeff S.,

Yes, “maybe” is the “key word”, but we may never know, although methinks you are at least close, to being on track with the driver, although the passenger may also have a hidden meaning,
indicating conservatism.

Some games give the player better odds than others.