BBO Discussion Forums: Upgrading - BBO Discussion Forums

 fromageGB, on 2015-February-19, 03:37, said:

Strongly disagree. Even at matchpoints, playing both weak and strong NT, we score seriously better on hands where we open 1nt (no matter which range).

 yunling, on 2015-February-19, 21:53, said:

Put into the evaluator ♠QJx, ♥QJx, ♦QJx ♣QJxx

and you get

binky-hcp.suit: 9.6
binky-hcp.nt: 11.0

So your claim is not correct, though most hands value slightly more in binky-hcp.suit. Major reason is that distribution counts much more at trump contracts.

Rainer Herrmann

 Mbodell, on 2015-February-20, 02:27, said:

All I can go by is logic, and my experience. I find I score better opening 1♣ and using transfers. Being a level lower you have more room to show hand types, and by playing in a field where generally I open 1♣ when others open 1NT, I do see frequent comparisons.

 Zelandakh, on 2015-February-19, 05:01, said:

I agree with swings and roundabouts, but 3-5 fits are just as easy opening 1♣. While opponents compete more over 1♣ than 1NT, that does little to interfere with showing majors. A second seat jump overcall interferes, but now you are in no worse a position than having opened 1NT. A 2 point strong NT means you need to distinguish between 17/18 and 19, but I can't see other obvious pressures. It's a question of taste/style, whatever. Perhaps some perceived benefits of opening 1NT are because people have spent a long time discussing continuations, and have not put the same effort into agreeing continuations after 1♣.

 yunling, on 2015-February-19, 23:10, said:

What's the standard deviation for those numbers? Isn't it at least 2 or 3?

 fromageGB, on 2015-February-20, 08:46, said:

I hold a weak hand with a 5 card major. Partner opens 1♣ and I respond in my major. Partner now makes a simple rebid (1NT, 1♠, 2♣) and I have to decide whether to rebid my major or not. I suggest to you that playing a standard US/UK style the answer is no in all cases. On the other hand, if partner opens 1NT we will transfer to our major almost 100% of the time. So I disagree that we find the same 5-3 fits after 1♣ as after 1NT. It is just the way natural systems work - transfer Walsh can obviously make a difference here of course.

 Zelandakh, on 2015-February-20, 09:27, said:

Of course. It seems strange to me that people seem reluctant to play it, but not many are willing to experiment, and always play the way they were taught - and twalsh is not in the curriculum. Some, locally, are tentatively trying a very basic Montreal "1M response shows a 5 card major", but go no further.

What really gets me is that while the vast majority are happy with transfers over a (weak) 1NT (because they were taught that way), they don't see that if you open 1♣ on the same hand, the benefits of transfers are just as valid, and because you are a whole level lower you can do it with a card fewer.

Edit : or one card less

This post has been edited by fromageGB: 2015-February-20, 09:49

 fromageGB, on 2015-February-20, 09:45, said:

I think the fact that you can't play it (t-walsh) in GCC events is a reason many are reluctant to play it. If it were GCC legal, I think you'd see many more play it.

 Mbodell, on 2015-February-21, 01:02, said:

Except that over here we have EBU regulations, and while it is not permitted in specifically newcomer/novice-only events (designated "level 2") it is permitted at ordinary club nights and any normal event (level 4 and now-defunct former level 3). Hence my bafflement. My guess would be less than 1% play it round here.

Problem with T-walsh is that there isn't any single standard rebid structure. Every pair seem to invent their own continues. That kind of missing standard rebid structure makes a huge barrier that most bridge players can't cross.

 rhm, on 2015-February-20, 05:09, said:

Yes, I'm wrong here. Some hands can take more tricks in NT than in any suit contract.
But I'm still not convinced that a combined 25 binky-hcp.suit and an 8-card fit can make a game.

 suokko, on 2015-February-21, 13:11, said:

Yes, it is true that there is a bewildering array of rebid structures some of which require a book of explanation. However, you can start with absurdly simple ones and show a gain compared to normal methods. So it is easy to experiment with (assuming you don't live in nutty GCC land anyway).

Nick

 yunling, on 2015-February-23, 04:18, said:

Very few hands fit that description. Usually means opponents are cross ruffing.

Quote

Don't know about binky points. A 8-card fit plays one trick(on average) better than notrumps when the SST is 4 or less.
The 8-card fit one-half a trick better when SST is 5. That assumes the expected tricks is between 7 and 10 1/2.