Benito's rules

1. You must have a good reason not to lead trumps
2. If you don't lead a stiff, you don't have one.
3. Every card on defense should mean something.
4. These rules have exceptions, learn them.

Back...

Back from a good, long vacation. Got plenty of time to sit and vegetate, which is exactly what I needed.

As far as bridge goes, I think my game is still improving. Don't get me wrong - no one called me to sub in at the Reisinger or anything... But I continue to see good, incremental gains in the things I'm working on. I need to start concentrating on memory so I can get better at spot recognition and counting down the hand.

Jan Martel started a forum on youth bridge over on the BBO Forums. Should be very interesting. For a while I've been considering poking into the JuniorBBO sessions, since I just barely qualify still. Seems like a good way to get some more experience.

Finally, someone else posted a rumor that Zia Mahmood is likely to replace Paul Soloway on the Nickell team. Hamman/Mahmood, Meckstroth/Rodwell, Nickell/Freeman sounds like a pretty good lineup to me...

Now, Soloway/Hamman used to be nicked 'Hamway'. Will the new partnership be 'MahMan' or 'HamMood'?

In the black...

Nothing particular to report, though I think I'm definitely seeing improvement. My scores are improving, and I think that I'm starting to be able to analyze play/defense deeper. It's nice to see progress. Makes you feel like there is actually hope.

Judgement in competitive auctions is still an issue.... and I'm not quite sure what to do to address that. Anyone got a good recommendation for a competitive auction 'primer'?

We're taking off for vacation early next week. While we're away, I'll be continuing the interface with Kantar, Lawrence, and Watson.

No longer "Yuck"

Bridge is a funny game.

It was only two days ago that I was lamenting the worst set of my life... Now, I'm basking in the morning after glow of the best set of my life. What makes it extra funny is that this set included my all-time worst score for a single board. Wasn't much I could do about it, though:

♠ 5 ♥ Q87654 ♦ 96532 ♣ 8

Pard opens, sitting East:

West	North	East	South
		1♠	1NT
p	3NT	4♠	p
p	X	p	p
p

I love to bid as much as the next guy, but even I pass two point hands vulnerable. I was mortified when pard rebid spades at the 4-level, and completely unsurprised when the red card came out of north.

	♠ A9 ♥ K92 ♦ AQ84 ♣ T763
♠ 5 ♥ Q87654 ♦ 96532 ♣ 8		♠ KJT7432 ♥ 3 ♦ KJ ♣ Q54
	♠ Q86 ♥ AJT ♦ T7 ♣ AKJ92

When the dust cleared, we were down 5 for -1400 (about 18IMPS on the board). However, even with that we were +20 for the session, so no complaints.

Bridge, etc

Well, the Bermuda Bowl is over and my predictions, posted here, were almost entirely wrong.

I had the eventual finalists (USA1 and Norway) losing in the semis. My winner pick, the Italians, were blitzed by an upstart South African team. USA2 didn't even make the final 8 - thanks in large part, I imagine, to Paul Soloway's withdrawing due to illness. And all my dark horses? Well, they didn't even get in the race for the most part.

That said, I'm absolutely thrilled for the Norwegians... If you asked me what team I wanted to see win, the answer would've been Norway. I love watching Helgemo/Helness play and I think having another nation claim the prize is great for the game.

So, congrats Norway!

In other news, I've been playing a fair bit... But haven't come across anything really 'interesting' to post. That said, I wouldn't know a truly 'beautiful hand' if I fell across it. I just can't appreciate that depth of the game yet... Maybe someday.

On that note, there's a "Why do you play bridge?" thread over on the BBO forums that I'm going to throw some thoughts in. If you're here (and not there), I'd love to see your response in the comments below.