[Fluffy]

I see, yours the London SEF, mine is the Madrid SEF, and probably neither is the standard one if there is any

I play a tournament in the south of France every year and I don't remember 1♥-1♠-1NT showing a strong hand happening ever. It is totally true that 2♠ shows 4 card support though. Direct raise shows 4 card support 100%.

[Furlan]

Fluffy, on 2012-May-09, 09:01, said:

I see, yours the London SEF, mine is the Madrid SEF, and probably neither is the standard one if there is any

There is. It's a book, published by the French Bridge Federation; full title is "Le Système d'Enseignement Français".

[Zelandakh]

My understanding is that 1♥ - 1♠; 1NT does not show extra strength in SEF (or Forum D). I suspect that Gordon might be getting confused with the auction 1M - 2m; 2NT which does show extras. After the 2/1 response a rebid of the major is a Notgebot made with any minimum hand without a better choice, including all minimimum 5M332 hands.

[antonylee]

The official booklet (2006 version of the SEF) that I have says,

1. Après un changement de couleur au palier de 1...
1.3 Redemande à Sans-Atout...
1SA: 12-14H
1.4 Répétition de la couleur d'ouverture...
Répétition simple: 13-17HL. Ne garantit 6 cartes que si la réponse est la couleur collée à l'ouverture.

or, for those who don't speak French

1. After a 1/1...
1.3 Notrump rebid...
1NT: 12-14H
1.4 Rebidding the opened suit...
Rebid without a jump: 13-17HL. Promises 6 cards only if responder's suit was the step immediately above opener's.

[Fluffy]

and maybe this is the point, antonylee has made me recall that in the SEF I know you are suposed to rebid 2♥ with 4♠-5♥ after 1NT.

[chintz]

Help! Moved to the south of France 3 years ago. Joined the bridge club last week. They play SEF. I ordered the book, (only in French). Would prefer to learn it in English. Any teachers out there? I have been a member of ACBL for 13 years and am intermediate to advanced; I usually play 2/1. SEF is very quirky. I.e. all types of transfers are all called Texas. Who knew? They also play Landy and multi Landy; and Benjamin and Roudi. Much to relearn! Would love help, thanks, Mrs. G in Uzès.

[Gilithin]

chintz, on 2022-May-15, 04:57, said:

Help! Moved to the south of France 3 years ago. Joined the bridge club last week. They play SEF. I ordered the book, (only in French). Would prefer to learn it in English. Any teachers out there? I have been a member of ACBL for 13 years and am intermediate to advanced; I usually play 2/1. SEF is very quirky. I.e. all types of transfers are all called Texas. Who knew? They also play Landy and multi Landy; and Benjamin and Roudi. Much to relearn! Would love help, thanks, Mrs. G in Uzès.

Can you understand German? Forum D is essentially an exact copy of SEF so you can use the DBV resources if that is an option for you. In truth though, you might find that whilst SEF/Forum D specify that the system works a certain way, many locals actually play a sort of mash-up between the real system and Standard American. For example, in SEF the sequence 1M - 2m -- 2NT shows 15-17 and 5M(332) distribution but a very large proportion of French and German club players bid it instead with 12-14. So you are probably best off finding out what the local standard is and working from there rather than the fully correct version.