[AL78]

Having browsed this forum for many years, I have become aware that there are huge holes in my bidding knowledge. The systems and conventions that I was taught 25 years ago and I have used throughout are, I suspect, rather out of date and I feel out of touch with much of the bidding discussion on here. Examples include ace asking after minor suit agreement, modified Jacoby 2NT, continuations after inverted minor raises, construictive bidding in competitive auctions, forcing passes and pre-empt aggression. I am happy to p[lay catch-up and study some of this stuff and I would find it very interesting, but given I don't have a regular partner and so only play with pickup partners, is there much point in trying to learn the theory if I don't have an aspiring partner to practice it with?

[awm]

You must be immensely patient to play exclusively with pickup partners! I'd find this extremely frustrating.

If these "new ideas in bidding" get to be popular enough that you see them in people's profiles or your pickup partners are asking you to play them, then it's definitely worth learning. But in general these things take a very long time to pass out from the "serious partnerships" community to the more general bridge community and you don't really need to be near the leading edge of the curve if you don't have a serious partnership.

Things like modified jacoby, modified inverted minor continuations, and transfer advances in competition are popular in serious partnerships but I don't think you'll see people trying to play them in pickups. Preempts (and also openings) getting more aggressive is probably a real thing though (even outside serious partnerships).

[DavidKok]

The short answer is 'probably not'. However, I think the answer might depend quite drastically on exactly which topic you pick.

Personally I consider bidding to consist of two skills - system knowledge and hand evaluation. I think with pickup partners you won't benefit much from some of these advanced gadgets you mention. However, understanding why they might give you an advantage, and which hands are therefore stuck in simpler systems, is still a boon. I also think hand evaluation is relevant on basically every deal in basically every system, and the modern trends haven't just been on gadgets. That being said though, I think the 'why' of any such convention is probably more helpful for pickup partnerships than the 'how, exactly'.

[AL78]

My thinking is that there are situations where I feel the simpler or older methods I learnt occasionally don't work well at all, whereas I have seen ideas on here which removes some of the difficulties I have encountered which aren't necessarily related to hand evaluation. I have an interest in learning new things but really, to learn new bidding theory, you need to practice it, otherwise it is like trying to learn a new language without communicating with it. I don't know people who play the stuff I mentioned hence I'm not sure if it is worth buying a book or two and studying. I have to play with pickup partners or not play at all, to be fair, one or two of them are competant club players and I have done well with them.

[jillybean]

I am in much the same position, I love systems but don't have a regular, serious partner who has the same desire to experiment so I find I am playing my partners card but this is where BBO pickups come in useful. I have a growing list of "friends" outside of NA who play Multi, "ACOL" and one I am keeping on my list for when I want to try Precision. I'd be happy to play if there's anything on my card that you want to try.

[mycroft]

It is good to know the tools, you'll be a nice surprise for the pickup who also does.

It is good to know *of* the tools; when you find a pickup you want to develop into a stronger partnership, and when they notice the hands that are falling through the cracks, you can mention there's a better way, should I pull it up and we can learn to play it together?

It is not important to have all the tools memorized that you do not play and will not find a partner who can - that's just memory space you could use for something else. Oh, and probably time learning you could use on getting better at what you do play. Plus, even if you think you know how to play something, until you have played it, probably misused it or messed it up once, and notice where "partner could have used it here and didn't, so they don't have..." - you don't know how to play it yet.

[Cyberyeti]

When playing largely with pickups, you will get far more out of putting together a list of questions to ask your partner at the start, than learning lots of new stuff in the hope somebody will play some of it.

Things like:

What are 1N-2♠, and 1N-3suit.
Do we play any penalty doubles, and when do they apply
What's our preempting philosophy (is first seat sound or not)
What do out overcalls and jump overcalls look like
Do we do anything different defending a "US style" 1♣

That said, I would look at conventions other people around you might play, and if you don't know them, familiarise yourself with them, puppet and some of its variations for example. As(p)tro and the various different versions.

[mw64ahw]

Half the fun for me is looking at a variety of bidding approaches.

I have one partner who is willing to try new approaches although it is slow progress, but generally struggle to get others to try new methods.

A lot of the locals here in SE England play Acol and with a pick-up partner I usually ask a) approach for interference over 1N 12-14, b) escape sequence over 1N-X 12-14, c) meaning of 1N-P-2S. If they don't have one it's a) a quick description of Multi-Landy, b) Chris's Ryall's Dig-Out and c) whatever they want.

Outcomes can be amusing, but like you I find few willing to aspire to a greater level of creativity.

I prefer 5-card Majors as there seem to be more 'toys' and I have perused various strong ♣ approaches including creating a unique version, but have yet to find a partner to play that.

So yes learn the theory as it will, make you a better player and add to your appreciation of the game as it has mine