[jahol]

Hello

This contribution (to some difference to my first two weak two stories presented in expert bridge forum recently) is, perhaps, more about communication among people than about bridge. But communication with partner does represent crucial aspect of bridge...or does not?.

Individual tournaments bring specific requirements regarding communication, not seen in the other "normal" sorts of bridge. Let us see the following problem:

Both lines nonvulnerable, IMPs, you are the dealer having:

xx---KQxxxx---Jxx--Qx.

In your short CC, SAYC is mentioned and emphasized, not much more, except for few specialities bid just WHEN AGREED, but nothing connected with weak two's specifically, anyway. The short CC of your "random" partner marked Expert looks like

....something irrelevant...."Multi"......something irrelevant ...."weak two"......something irrelevant.....

What would you choose?

1) You bid 2H....just having normal common weak two and expecting that your partner, when playing BB individuals, is expecting SAYC and knows that weak two is the far most common meaning of this bid both in SAYC and in BB individuals (when there is no other agreement)

2) You bid 2D Multi (weak two in hearts OR spades), because this bid is the first relevant mentioned in your partner CC and because you just expect that your partner is going to understand the bid like that

3) You pass to avoid potential disaster caused by mutual misunderstanding. Anyway, you are not oblidged to bid 2H or 2D keeping reasonable chance to get neutral or even plus score.

4) You ask a question (using chat line): "Do we bid Multi or normal weak two, pard"?. Indeed, there is no sense in bidding nonsense and even your opponents will surely understand that you would not like to destroy nice fight with them just at the beginning.

[hotShot]

Here is what i do:

If nothing is agreed, i asume we are playing BBO Basic which is about SAYC (this is specified in the site rules).

In doubt i take the more natural bid, meaning i would always bid weak two and not multi if we did not agree to play multi before.

If something is in my profile and my partners profile, and i desparately need it i take it as agreed.

If my partner bids 4NT asking for aces, and his profile says 41-30 and mine says 30-41, I take mine. Because this is a tick more simplistic than looking in my partners profile.

And most important!

If something went wrong because there was no agreement, anything more than: "Could we play xxx, in future." Is compleatly inappropriate.

[inquiry]

Pass or open 3H.... multi and weak two is confusing.. But there isn't an SAYC system where multi is part of it.. but I know a lot of people equate sayc to natural bidding and have grafted multi onto it....

ben

[cherdano]

First thing i say when sitting down at the table in an individual is "Your profile is fine p" (well, unless it says wj2000 or is empty...). Solves these problems and hopefully makes partner comfortable.