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An old Rodwell interview talking about getting the strong nt off your chest...
http://www.bridgemat...com/rodwell.htm
I get it now I think. I'm used to playing strong NTs so dbl there for me shows about 10+ and four spades and this meaning would seldom pose a problem for a strong NT hand. So if you're playing weak NTs, the dbl has to include a lot of 8-9 pt hands with or without spades.
I hear from weak Nters that they get a lot of good results simply because people don't know how to contend against it. Fred, do you think that strong NT on average is better against stronger players?
this is why we play strong NT
#41
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Posted 2010-February-20, 19:25
#42
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Posted 2010-February-20, 19:58
straube, on Feb 21 2010, 01:25 AM, said:
I hear from weak Nters that they get a lot of good results simply because people don't know how to contend against it. Fred, do you think that strong NT on average is better against stronger players?
I think that just about any approach, as long as it is not completely absurd, can be effective if the partnership puts in the necessary work and is comfortable playing it.
I do think that there is more "necessary work" if you play weak notrump.
I don't think it is really possible to answer questions like "which notrump range is best?". Even if it were possible, whatever is "best" in theory might not be best in practice (because the baggage that is necessary to make it work is too hard to remember or because its inherant volatility is too hard to deal with emotionally or...). If there is such a thing as a "best notrump range", I would be surprised if it didn't vary according to things like vulnerability, position, form of scoring, opponents' system, and who knows what else.
I think that any system will show gains when it is played against those who are not familiar with it. Such gains will be less frequent against stronger players, both because such players rate to be familiar with a wider variety of systems and also because such players rate to be better at figuring things out as they go along if it becomes necessary.
Bottom line is that I strongly suggest that you play whatever makes you most comfortable and happy. If you love the weak notrump, it would be crazy to stop playing it just because I am telling you it makes this auction more difficult than it would be if you played strong notrumps instead.
Sorry if that doesn't answer your question.
Sorry also that I may not be able to make any posts for a week or so - I am leaving for a vacation soon
Fred Gitelman
Bridge Base Inc.
www.bridgebase.com