[thepossum]

Hi all

Not expecting sympathy but this auction was something of a test in the designated ranges.
Instead of using my judgement. That is pass 3NT I thought to myself. No I will believe the point range that my partner claims to have and add it to mine, and think, oooohh. Maybe when added to my points we have a slam

Some people will say but you should know from the bidding. But that's not what the point ranges say

I do not know where blame lies but when I add my points to the max, 19, I get enough for 6NT despite what the updated label on my bid says.
I was not alone but relatively lonely in this disaster. But I had a strange premonition

People will say but in real bridge you would know

Not showing my play (irrelevant) because I didn't manage to make the 3-1 that many made

I thought about it for ages. Instinct says pass 3NT but, no, it could have 19 points. What an opportunity

Then I thought, don't worry, if its at the bottom end of that range it will leave you in 4NT

I do everything I can to bid in a disciplined way and according to the constantly variable bid descriptions but sometimes I struggle

Even according to the massively distorted updated descriptor on my 4NT 13 points only adds up to a minimum of 32. Even then. Despite all other possible considerations, errors, whatever

I know some may try to make out I know nothing about computing and basic sums but adding up points should be quite easy. The top end of our alleged ranges added up to more than 40 which considering what EW had was remarkable

I know its my fault being brought up with systems where fairly quickly you knew how many points you had within a few points

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[smerriman]

GIB simply has a rule that says if you bid at the 3 level, and it has stoppers in any unbid suits, a bid of 3NT should always be described as showing a minimum of (25 minus how many points you've shown so far, ie game forcing) and a maximum of (32 minus how many points you've shown so far, ie not slam forcing).

Hands where it has the upper end of that range it would have bid something else then or earlier, but it is not capable of figuring that out when writing the description. That's why you have to rely on bridge logic and never just the descriptions.

Likewise, quantitative no trump bids only make sense over a 3 point range so partner knows whether to accept or reject. It should never even really define them when the range is wider, but it does and assumes you're asking about a specific 3 point range at the bottom.