[Interrobang]

Greetings!

I've enjoyed playing bridge for most of my life, but I haven't played in years and I haven't played duplicate in decades. (And even then, I was never really any good!) I play a simple SAYC style.

I have the BridgeBaron program. I enjoy it, but it has one really annoying bidding quirk. It treats a response of 2 NT over an opening bid of 1 in a suit as strong support for partner's suit. It may actually consider it to be a game force. I want to use 2 NT to be invitational with very little support -- 11-12 points, a balanced hand, and a worthless doubleton in partner's suit.

Does the computer know something I don't? And if it does, how am I supposed to show the hand I just described?

Thanks very much!

RobR

[Walddk]

Welcome to the forums, Rob!

The default in Baron is that a 2NT response to 1 of a major is game forcing with support, but as far as I recall, you can choose any system you like. So if you want your programme to play 2NT as 11-12 balanced without support, you had better switch to Acol. Because that is what 2NT shows in that system.

However, this also means that you must play 4-card majors, and I have a feeling that you don't want to do that. I am not sure if you can combine the two, and I don't know enough about Baron to determine if all this is possible.

If it isn't, it should be! The programme is expensive enough as it is.

Roland

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

you can customize the Bidding System,
it should be possible to unflag the 2NT
Jacoby option.

For whats it worth, I believe, that the 2NT bid
you described just occurs after a mayor suit
opening.

If you play Jacoby 2NT after a mayor
suit opening, but dont play, that a 1 NT response
to a mayor suit opening is forcing for one round,
you need to bid your 4 card suit on the 2 level
or raise partners mayor to the 3 level with only
3 card support.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[bid_em_up]

It sounds as if the program is playing Jacoby 2N which is a Game Forcing major suit raise. It is my belief that most higher level players will use some version of this treatment.

See if there is a way to remove this convention from the programs list of conventions played.

It also sounds like the program may be playing 2/1, which solves this problem as the hand you describe can bid 1N forcing without too much fear of being passed.

[Interrobang]

Thank you very much! It is quite likely that I had turned on Jacoby 2NT without realizing it. I'll check it out.

What is the advantage of using the Jacoby 2NT convention? Here's my uneducated guess: It forces to game without using too much bidding space, and it probably also strengthens the meaning of a jump shift to 3 of a minor, making it a slam invitation (say, 18 points+). The cost is widening the meaning of a 1NT response, forcing the auction at least to the 2 level after an opening of 1 in a major, but there are relatively few instances where 1NT would be makable and 2NT or 2 of the opener's suit would not be.

My wife just encouraged me to get back into the game, and I think I'll take her up on it, at least a bit.

RobR

[helene_t]

I don't think the Jacoby 2T convention is related to the range for a 1NT response. In French style, the 1NT response is narrow (maximum 9, or 10 modest HCP).

But 2NT as non-forcing does not sound good. If 11 points is too much for a 1NT response, you can just bid 2♣ followed by 2NT. This gives opener more bidding space. If 2NT is 10-11,
then
1♠-2NT
3♥
must be to play. Now you tell me what opener must do with a slamish hand with both majors, or with only spades.

If you check Jacoby 2NT off within the framework of Standard American, the meaning of the 2NT response will become 12-14 (or maybe 13-15).

[P_Marlowe]

Interrobang, on Oct 5 2006, 12:58 PM, said:

<snip>
What is the advantage of using the Jacoby 2NT convention? Here's my uneducated guess: It forces to game without using too much bidding space, and it probably also strengthens the meaning of a jump shift to 3 of a minor, making it a slam invitation (say, 18 points+). The cost is widening the meaning of a 1NT response, forcing the auction at least to the 2 level after an opening of 1 in a major, but there are relatively few instances where 1NT would be makable and 2NT or 2 of the opener's suit would not be.
<snip>

Hi,

depends who you are asking, there are regular posters around,
who claim, that Jacoby 2NT + usual continues are terrible.

The adv.: It generates a cheap game force, allowing to
investigate, if you have a slam on or not.
The disadv.: You loose the natural 2NT, a bid you should use
only with a lot of reluctance, in case your partner opens light,
playing Acol, which is a system with light openings, a 2NT response
was a no-no bid, since 2NT did quite often force you to play 2NT
with just 20-21, not very good in the long run.

The 2NT bid does not affect the meaning of a jump shift response.

If one plays 2NT as Jacoby, one has to decide, how to bid the 10-12
bal. hand, one option would be to use a forcing NT, another option would
be to bid weak 4 card suits on the 2 level, raise partners mayor to the 3 level
with 3 cards.

With kind regards
Marlowe