u/Pocket_Sevens

I hate playing 4-3 trump fits most of the time. However, playing IMPs and needing some haymakers, sometimes you get creative. Here is one such hand

NS vul, EW nv. N dealer

1h - p - 1s - x
xx* - 1NT - p - p
2s - all pass

*support redouble

N: AT9 KJ975 KQ73 J

S: J752 Q8 8 Q98743

Lead: 2h (UDCA, standard leads)

Playing low from dummy, E benevolently puts in the T and the Q wins. You try leading low the KQ73 of diamonds. W wins the A, and fires another heart to E ace. At trick four, W plays a low heart to give his partner a ruff, now what?

>!How I played it (spoilers) !<

>!The question is, what do you ruff with at trick 4, if at all? W has 12-15 hcp for his bid and E 8-9 hcp. E knows that S cannot have 3+ hearts, else he would've raised. More importantly, If E had KQxx of spades, S would just attack spades right away and not risk giving south a ruff en passant. He is hoping W has KQ and can simply cash his winners that way. Furthermore, W didn't lead the more common A from AK of clubs, thus he has at least one of those cards but not both. I gave W the Ad and Kc and E the Ah Ac (for his 8 HCP). If we give West KQx it doesn't make anyway. I put in a club and W ruffs with the K. Then a low club is lead to E ace who gives his partner the Qs on a heart ruff. !<

>!On trick 7 W played the Kc and dummy ruffed with the Ts. At this point E has 8642 of spades and 2 diamonds (W had 5). On the board, we have this position. !<

>!N: ATs Jh KQ7d !<

>!E: who cares W: 8643s xxd !<

>!S J752s Q2c!<

>!There are many different ways to do this. Cash the KQd and ATs. Either remaining red card will finesse the 8s. Perhaps not fancy to some but I thought it was worth sharing. !<

>!THE FULL DEAL: !<

	>!AT9 KJ975 KQ73 J !<
>!KQ 42 AJT94 KT65!<		>!8643 AT63 652 A2!<
	>!J752 Q8 8 Q98743!<

I hear this all the time. JJ McCarthy sucks because, despite a fantastic college career, he just can't seem to "make the adjustment" meanwhile Drake Maye and Caleb Williams for example had breakout Sophomore years.

What actually is the difference between being a strong college QB vs playing QB for your average NFL team? How do the schemes really differ between leagues and what sort of adjustments to QB have to make?

This had the potential to be a very successful Steely Dan song. It's totally accessible and surprisingly upbeat for a SD track. Did they just think it didn't fit the sound of Two Against Nature?

Producer Rick Rubin had this to say about AI:

"It's the same idea of the democratisation of a technology. In the past, you had to go to the conservatory for years and years, and someday you could play in a symphony. And then when punk rock came along, you could maybe learn three chords in a day, and then there were all these bands. If you had something to say, you could say it, you didn't need the expertise or skill set other than your idea and your ability to convey it. Vibe coding is the same thing. It's the punk rock of coding".

Just no. To quote Issac Asimov, democracy does not mean "my ignorance is as good as your knowledge". Lionizing ignorance and rejecting expertise to with the idea that "more people can participate" does not effectively combat inaccessibility. You must remove barriers to entry altogether, via libraries, free college tuition, quality public schooling, etc. Is it not a coincidence that the worlds most stable democracies also have few barriers to entry when it comes to receiving a robust education?

I would actually argue that the "old" way of popular songwriting did more for affirming democracy than the punk rock movement, and especially AI, ever did. Before recorded media, if you wanted to hear your favorite song you had two options: see it live yourself, or play it at home with a copy of the officially distributed sheet music. These were not Bach fugues, anybody who took piano lessons and had access to a piano in the house could play the song to a recognizable degree. Tunes by George Gershwin or Irving Verlin for example contained simple accompaniment, used relaxed tempos, had accommodating melodic ranges, and a followed a basic form. The tune basically played itself; the music was deliberately written with the idea that someone in middle America was going to want to play this for themselves. This style of songwriting reinforced a well populated and informed middle class that is necessary to sustain a healthy democracy.

The problem really arose when the "source" of pop as a genre gradually moved from the printed score to the recording. Think of owning the lead sheet of every Beatles song ever released vs actually having the original vinyl records. It used to be that a piano or a guitar was all that was needed to effectively reproduce a popular song. Well crafted arrangements and high quality production (or just timbre in general) became such an inseparable part of the music that appreciating such music became more difficult I.E. having a well manicured at home sound studio or being lucky enough to see the band live. Imagine wanting to play (on an instrument) your favorite band, but not really being able to.

Punk music ostensibly had a solution: Rock n Roll had to be more populist, it had to be "raw" and use simpler ingredients. Though well intended, much like many anti intellectual/populist movements throughout the US, the ethos of punk became heavily contingent on the cult of personality. Ones standing in the movement became based not on concrete accomplishments or ability, but on ones outward display of authenticity and charisma. One must look a certain way, act a certain way, and even appreciate the music a certain way to be considered a true member. Even today, many devotees of political extremist movements aren't strictly captivated by the strength of the speakers argument, but are convinced because the person speaks in an authoritative manner and has some sort of social standing. Being a true punk musician almost had nothing to do with "music" at all and in stripping down the "barriers for entry", a new sort of hierarchy was created entirely, one that seems expressly less democratic.

(To be clear, I am talking about the original conception of "punk" how Rubin probably means it, not so much as a genre per se but as a credo. In fact, punk music became more alienated from itself as listeners took it more seriously)

Point being, no, AI will not magically make everybody a better musician. It will in fact widen the disparity between the musically literate and non literate. The joy of learning to play or write on an instrument is that the knowledge belongs to you. You can engage with it without deferring to AI to think for you. If musical ability no longer becomes a prerequisite, we will instead defer almost solely to the presentation of the art, rather than to the intrinsic qualities of the music itself.

https://preview.redd.it/ju78lddzdelh1.png?width=1186&format=png&auto=webp&s=3a6b2c24679d291c3d71b312a56ad0d78319b6c2

(NS vul, EW non vul, E dealer.) Playing MPs, E opens 2h, S doubles, 4h from W, and 4s from N passed out

N: QJ942 - 852 KQ632

S: A52 AQT T75 AJ95

opening lead 3d to Wests A. Then, W plays the Kd and E the 9d. On the third round, W plays the Jd overtaken by E Qd. At trick four E shifts to the 7c, S the 9 and W the 4c.

Opponents play standard count and attitude and E is assumed to be a sound preempter. How do you play for the rest of the spade tricks?

MPs. NS vul. E dealer

N holds: 5 Q3 KJ986543 J6

S holds: AK9742 AK6 A2 K5

assume no opponent interference

First, what do you open as S?

Partner and I were sitting down at our clubs 499er game, discussing our convention card before the game.

"Inverted minors?" "yes"

"Unusual 2NT?" "yes, and unusual over unusual?"

"Ogust over 2M preempt only?" "yes"

"Kokish over 2c?" "yes"

"fourth suit forcing?" "yes"

"Forcing 1NT?" "no"

etc.

The folks next to us said "oh these guys are really good, they know a lot of conventions". Now my partner and I play more conventions than your average 499er player, but that doesn't mean we are impervious to lapses in judgement or boneheaded plays. For some reason, beginning and intermediate players have this idea that a detailed convention card is what makes someone a pro.

In my experience, the same people who proudly announce "I play Bergen raises" will pass forcing bids, or give a ruff and discard to opponents, or respond 1s over 1c/d with 4-4 in the majors, or bid on when parter clearly limited their hand (you get the idea). Even very strong players will do something like bid Stayman with 4-3-3-3 because "you MUST bid 2c with a four card major". Conversely, I have seen players use a simple, natural style and do well.

More often that not, my bottom boards will range from not counting or not leading partners bid suit, to missing an avoidance play or not noticing an esoteric percentage play . These things have to do with judgement and understanding, and have very little to do with memorizing conventions and gadgets. Advanced conventions become useful when: you have a solid understanding of the basics, and/or you play strong opponents on a regular basis, where the marginal gains from precision bidding can actually yield a top board and are thus worth learning.

Sorry if this is harsh. I avoid doling out advice but I really want to tell certain partnerships that they will see their playing improve faster studying basic bidding principles and declarer play.

I had my fourth donation Wednesday. Being O-, the person overseeing the donation invited me to do a power red. Frankly I'm ambivalent about donating that much blood in one sitting, but I'd be more willing if my blood was was CMV-. A quick google search shows that an out of pocket test is 65$, would the red cross be willing to screen for it at no charge if I asked them?

E deals. NS vul, EW non vul. Sitting S, you hold:

Q862 AQ87 K6 AT8

p 1NT p 2c

2s p p x

S eventually ends up declaring 4h. (bidding is not that important here. Assume 2c guarantees a 4 card major for simplicities sake)

5s lead. Opponents playing UDCA. Dummy tables:

K3 JT94 AQJ2 Q62

Q862 AQ87 K6 AT8

If you play low from dummy, E plays the As and returns a low spade, hoping to establish a ruff for partner maybe. S low, W showing the 9s. On the dummy you play the Jh and E, void in hearts, plays a low club (encouraging). Now what?

(I don't do these very often. SHDC no?)