[Free]

lowerline, on Jan 5 2006, 03:36 PM, said:

Against strong NT (14+)

dbl = clubs OR diamonds+hearts
2c = diamonds OR hearts+spades
2d = hearts OR spades+clubs
2h = spades OR clubs+diamonds
2s = spades+diamonds
2nt = hearts+clubs

Against weak NT (max 15)

dbl = natural
2c, 2d and 2h same as above
2s = clubs OR diamonds+hearts
2nt = spades+diamonds OR hearts+clubs

The 2suiters can be 54 if the 4crd suit can be played in at the 2level not vulnerable, otherwise 55.

Answers are P/C, 2nt and 3 of the overcalled suit can be used as gametry.

Don't like this actually... What's the difficulty for opps? You intervene, they just wait a round to know what you have, and then continue like you bid naturally immediatly.

[MickyB]

I want to give Inverted Psycho Suction a try at some point - 2♣ is either minors or hearts, 2♦ either reds or spades, etc. Makes everyone guess lots, which increases the chance that the contract will be ridiculous, which reduces the chance that my cardplay will matter

[mikeh]

Free, on Jan 5 2006, 09:57 AM, said:

lowerline, on Jan 5 2006, 03:36 PM, said:

Against strong NT (14+)

dbl = clubs OR diamonds+hearts
2c = diamonds OR hearts+spades
2d = hearts OR spades+clubs
2h = spades OR clubs+diamonds
2s = spades+diamonds
2nt = hearts+clubs

Against weak NT (max 15)

dbl = natural
2c, 2d and 2h same as above
2s = clubs OR diamonds+hearts
2nt = spades+diamonds OR hearts+clubs

The 2suiters can be 54 if the 4crd suit can be played in at the 2level not vulnerable, otherwise 55.

Answers are P/C, 2nt and 3 of the overcalled suit can be used as gametry.

Don't like this actually... What's the difficulty for opps? You intervene, they just wait a round to know what you have, and then continue like you bid naturally immediatly.

The scheme is similar to suction, and I assure you that against suction, you cannot safely pass and see what the overcaller has

On some hands, that tactic works, but on others the bidding will be significantly higher by your next turn. The effectiveness of suction lies not in the ambiguity inherent in ovecaller's bid but in the opportunity for advancer to bounce the auction anytime he fits both of the possibilities.

Overcaller shows ♥ or the blacks and I, as advancer, hold 3 or 4 ♥ and a long(ish) black suit: I bounce the auction as high as I can afford to: and if we are at favourable, that may be quite high. Or advancer passes with length in the bid suit.

I have played suction and had it played against me in tough competition: there are defences to it, but it is one of the most effective methods against (strong) 1N yet invented.

[Gerben42]

Quote

The scheme is similar to suction, and I assure you that against suction, you cannot safely pass and see what the overcaller has 

But you can safely double to show values, the bid suit has not been shown! Psycho Suction, inverted or not, is the way to play this stuff.

Against a strong NT there are different kinds of strategies:

* KISS: Play natural
* Interfere: Bid bid bid... If you like a defence of this type, play Lionel.
* Confuse: Put in Multi-meaning bids to make the auction a mess. If you like this type, play Psycho Suction (inverted or normal)
* Build: Try to find a good contract, not just any. If you like a defence of this type, play Woolsey / Jassem (2 names for same thing).

[Al_U_Card]

MickyB, on Jan 5 2006, 10:59 AM, said:

I want to give Inverted Psycho Suction a try at some point - 2♣ is either minors or hearts, 2♦ either reds or spades, etc. Makes everyone guess lots, which increases the chance that the contract will be ridiculous, which reduces the chance that my cardplay will matter

At last, something that I can relate to....

[MickyB]

Gerben42, on Jan 5 2006, 04:41 PM, said:

Against a strong NT there are different kinds of strategies:

* KISS: Play natural
* Interfere: Bid bid bid... If you like a defence of this type, play Lionel.
* Confuse: Put in Multi-meaning bids to make the auction a mess. If you like this type, play Psycho Suction (inverted or normal)
* Build: Try to find a good contract, not just any. If you like a defence of this type, play Woolsey / Jassem (2 names for same thing).

Inverted Psycho Suction is an improvement IMO - quite often you will have a reasonable choice between passing partner's bid or correcting it to the suit above. With Psycho Suction you sometimes just have to pass and hope! Although it is possible that this works out fine in practice.

I think Meckwell is much more suitable for interfering a lot - Lionel is designed for competing for the part-score while reserving the possibility of doubling 1NT, if you use the double on few values you will get redoubled and then smacked when you run.

[Free]

I know all kinds of suction, but I don't like it against NT. Against strong ♣ openings it's quite good, but a NT opener has specified his hand a lot better!

It indeed depends on what you want to do.
- If you want to intervene a lot, play agressive DONT: any 4-4, any 5+ card. You don't care how much bidding space you take away or if you find the best partscore, you just intervene and get them out of their NT contracts. Meckwell is a good alternative: a little less frequent, but with a natural 2♥ overcall.
- If you want to fight and win partscore battles, then Brozel and Lionel seem fine because the suits are known.
- If you want to find games (usefull after weak and mini NT), I prefer Multi-Landy or ASPTRO (I guess this is the correct spelling, but you get the picture right?).
- If you want to confuse 2 or 3 opponents, play some sort of suction and jump like hell.
- ...

[Al_U_Card]

Free, on Jan 5 2006, 12:18 PM, said:

I know all kinds of suction, but I don't like it against NT. Against strong ♣ openings it's quite good, but a NT opener has specified his hand a lot better!

It indeed depends on what you want to do.
- If you want to intervene a lot, play agressive DONT: any 4-4, any 5+ card. You don't care how much bidding space you take away or if you find the best partscore, you just intervene and get them out of their NT contracts. Meckwell is a good alternative: a little less frequent, but with a natural 2♥ overcall.
- If you want to fight and win partscore battles, then Brozel and Lionel seem fine because the suits are known.
- If you want to find games (usefull after weak and mini NT), I prefer Multi-Landy or ASPTRO (I guess this is the correct spelling, but you get the picture right?).
- If you want to confuse 2 or 3 opponents, play some sort of suction and jump like hell.
- ...

Food for thought. Does each method have a particularity that makes it more suitable for the purpose/NT type? In particular, I don't see transfer or jump transfer bids where (despite the obvious lack of bidding space) there is more certainty and more opportunity to accurately describe your defensive hands.

[joshs]

Well your goals do vary with form of scoring and Vul and seat:
For instance, white vs white at mps: your goal is to play any plausable spot. Playing in your second best strain is fine.

In most other situations, I think its important to:
a. find your best strain
b. have some hope of bidding distributional major suit games, but its not the most important thing
c. obstruct the opponents INV auctions
d. put the NT bidder on lead

Because of d, things like the woolsey 2D bid, or x-fers are much better in the direct seat than in the balancing seat.

But in the balancing seat it is much more important to find your best strain than it is in direct seat (no obstructive value if you come in in the balancing seat), hence the obstuctive value you might get from a don't 2H (majors) is lost in 3'rd seat and you are much better off playing 2C for majors there.

Anyway, the two treatments that I am most fond of vs a strong NT are woolsey, and Lynn Deas's don't woolsey hybrid:

Woolsey:
2C Majors (then 2D asks preference)
2D 1 major (this sides the major well in direct seat, and its much easier to compete when partner has 1 of 2 suits than if he has 1 of 4)
2M 5M, 4+in some m
x a minor, some play this guarantee's a 4 card major on the side, some don't

Note: In years of experience playing this method the sequence:
1N-x-P-2D(asking for a 4 card major) is very rare whether you guarantee a 4 card major or not.

Deas's Dont:
2m 4+in that suit, 5+ in some major (stays low like don't, but tells you that the major is longer)
2H Majors
2S Spades
x 4M and 5+ in a minor OR 6+D or 6+H or 6+C and a very good hand (rare) or both majors and a great hand (very rare)

You initially treat it like the woolsey x except over 1N-x-P-2D(asking for the major)
a. pass with diamonds
b. Bid 3H with 6 hearts since partner should be at least 4-3 in the majors for the 2D bid

The main advantage of Deas's method is that it is GCC

Josh