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500 Strategies, Conventions & Tips
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
RobbieLad's Reply to Kate4
Saturday, May 28, 2011
RobbieLad's description of a "finesse"
1. Your partner leads low,
2. Next player goes lowish or offsuit,
3. You have both the ace and the queen, and play the queen.
You stand a 2/3 chance (more or less) of winning the trick with the queen, hence keeping the ace for a further trick.
Daffer's Addendum: Finesses work MUCH better with uncalled aces.
Another scenario:
1. You have both the ace (uncalled) and the queen, and you have the lead play the queen.
2. If your opponent in the second seat has the king s/he may hold back from playing it in hope that their partner has it or in fear that the other opponent has it.
Toby's Top 16 Tips
A rarity worth preserving - a sensible, coherent post from the dawg!
1. Make friends with the pass button (a dafferism).
2. Score dictates bidding.
3. Fortune favours the brave.
4. Generally play out trumps if your side has the bid.
5. Generally never lead trumps back at opposition who won the bid.
6. Third plays high (ie 2nd often can play low/finesse).
7. Fourth plays to win the trick.
8. Never (rarely) leave partner on an ace call - if nothing else call 7spds.
9. 9 spds for open - call ur lowest suit or 9NT to signal bird/high.
10. Be careful when finessing.
11. When in opposition and trumps are still in play, first discard is generally to short yourself in the hope that your partner wins the trick and leads back.
13. If your partner has an Ace, and you have a low and the king, risk leading the king first and then lead to your partners ace and hope he has a few more tricks up his sleeve.
14. Never lose an unforced misere.
15. Dont call 8 if u cant defend open.
16. At the beginning of the game, try to not be first to go negative unnecessarily.
1. Make friends with the pass button (a dafferism).
2. Score dictates bidding.
3. Fortune favours the brave.
4. Generally play out trumps if your side has the bid.
5. Generally never lead trumps back at opposition who won the bid.
6. Third plays high (ie 2nd often can play low/finesse).
7. Fourth plays to win the trick.
8. Never (rarely) leave partner on an ace call - if nothing else call 7spds.
9. 9 spds for open - call ur lowest suit or 9NT to signal bird/high.
10. Be careful when finessing.
11. When in opposition and trumps are still in play, first discard is generally to short yourself in the hope that your partner wins the trick and leads back.
12. Don't lead the joker first trick when you have won a NT bid.
13. If your partner has an Ace, and you have a low and the king, risk leading the king first and then lead to your partners ace and hope he has a few more tricks up his sleeve.
14. Never lose an unforced misere.
15. Dont call 8 if u cant defend open.
16. At the beginning of the game, try to not be first to go negative unnecessarily.
Suggestion Box
Lee's No Trumps Play/Bidding
by Lee |
How often have you had a good no trumps hand that was only missing a couple of key cards that could have allowed you to call slam? If only your partner was able to call you those cards, if they had them?
What is the highest point scoring bid in 500? No trumps, of course.
Most players follow conventions when bidding a suit bid. There are even basic calling conventions for misere and open misere play. Yet they follow no bidding rules when calling a no trumps hand – why is this? It is, after all, a unique form of play in 500. As unique as any of the other types of calls available.
All of the above are good reasons why some simple rules of bidding should be followed when calling a no trumps hand. Like any form of play in 500, the idea is to share as much information about your hand with your partner so as to maximize your bid.
First Golden Rule – When does a no trumps bid begin?
Please note there are no set rules, as two partners may settle on their own signs for when the “trigger” for a no trumps bid begins. However the easiest way when getting used to no trumps bidding is that a secondary call of no trumps between two partners starts a no trumps bid.
Example:
P1: 6nt
P2 7D
P3 7nt
P4 pass
Player 3, (P1’s partner) has made a secondary call of no trumps. He/She is announcing that they have a good no trumps hand and want to definitely head in that direction in the bid.
Further examples:
P1: 6C
P2 7H
P3 7nt
P4 pass
P1 8nt
Player 1, (P3’s partner) has just made a secondary call of no trumps.
Second Golden Rule – What do I start bidding?
When a secondary call of no trumps is made, partners should start bidding their aces, lowest suit first.
Bear in mind there is no need to call aces that may have already been called at the 6 level – your partner is already aware of them and it is not advancing the no trumps bid.
Simple Example:
P1: 6nt
P2 7D
P3 7nt
P4 pass
P1 8S (I’ve got the ace of spades)
P2 Pass
P3 8nt
P1 Pass (I’ve called all my aces)
In the above example, P1 has pushed the bid up by one trick by calling the ace of spades, but why shouldn’t they when they are calling a certain trick?
Imagine if P3 has an excellent run in certain suits and was only missing the ace of spades to call 10nt – He/she wouldn’t have let the bid rest at 8nt and most certainly would have bid slam.
Note that both partners have an opportunity to bid their aces and should do so.
Example:
P1: 6nt
P2 7S
P3 7nt
P4 pass
P1 8S (I’ve got the ace of spades)
P2 Pass
P3 8D (I’ve got the ace of diamonds)
P1 8H (I’ve got the ace of hearts)
P3 8nt (No more aces to bid)
P1 9C (Guess what – I’ve got the ace of clubs too)
P3 9nt
In the above example, neither partner should be left in any doubt as to what a safe lead is. Both should also be in an excellent position to work out whether a 10nt bid is possible.
Note that P1 has pushed the bid up 2 tricks (to 9nt) by calling two aces – but again, if his/her partner’s 7nt bid was realistic, then this is no problem as P1 has simply called two more certain tricks.
P1 has also made any Kings/Queens held by P3 in these suits look particularly good as well.
Third Golden Rule – NO ONE GETS LEFT ON AN ACE BID!!!!!
In all of the above examples, once the no trumps bid has commenced both partners call all aces they have but NEVER pass when an ace is called to them.
This is a simple but vital rule – once you’ve exhausted all your bids, you NEVER pass, you call no trumps. Your partner may continue to call their hand after this – always respond with a no trumps bid, NEVER pass.
Fourth Golden Rule – Don’t up the bid by one if you’re calling a card that’s already been called
If you’ve already called an ace before the no trumps bid commenced, don’t call it again if it is going to lift the bid by one. Your partner may have already taken this card into account when calling 7nt or above to trigger the no trumps bid.
There’s no problem in calling it again if it isn’t going to lift the bid by one though.
Calling a run
What if you have the ace/king (or more) in a suit and you want to call it?
In a no trumps bid, if these cards haven’t already been called, you are calling two more certain tricks, so call it!
Example
P1: 6nt
P2 pass
P3 7nt
P4 pass
P1 9D (I’ve got the Ace and King of diamonds)
P3 9nt
Note that if P3 had the ace of hearts, there would have been an opportunity to call it also.
What if P1 held the Ace, King, Queen, Jack and a few more smaller diamonds?
Between two players who understand these simple bids and follow the basic rules, there should be no reason why P1 wouldn’t call 10D, and P3 should respond with an ace of hearts bid (10H) or 10nt.
If P3 responded with 10H, P1 must call 10nt. But note the ease of play because of a few simple calls. P1 plays out his/her diamond run then is left in no doubt what to lead – a heart.
(a further post from Lee on this topic)
"Most players follow conventions when bidding a suit bid. There are even basic calling conventions for misere and open misere play. Yet they follow no bidding rules when calling a no trumps hand – why is this? It is, after all, a unique form of play in 500. As unique as any of the other types of calls available."
Grumma and I had a good understanding (we did have our occasional disasters). Take the following example:
Grumma: 6S
Lee: 6NT
Grumma: 7NT
Lee: 8S
Grumma 8NT
Lee: Pass
Grumma knew I wouldn't have been calling a suit bid (a definate NO NO when your partner annouces to you they want a NT bid). She knew I wouldn't advance the bid by one unless I was calling a further winner. She knew I was calling the King of Spades.
We got the bid in a cakewalk, which was pretty typical for our NT play.
To me it was a very simple and risk free bid. I daresay though, the prospect of calling a mere King at 8 would make most players baulk. I don't know why. In NT Kings are of the same standing as bauers in a suit bid. A lot of players think nothing of calling a bauer at 8.
IMPORTANT: Anyone who wants to follow these basic NT bidding conventions, please tell me before we partner/play. If you haven't, I won't know and will interpret your calls in the othodox way. Disaster is likely to ensue.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Stoppers
Stopper (plug), also known as a cork, a plug or a bung (Wikipedia)
The other night my partner and I were leading a game 320 points vs the opponents -480. My partner started the bidding by passing and the opp on my right called 6 spades. I didn't have the bird so called 6NT - what I call a "stopper" bid.
The opp on my left sensibly passed fearing a game-winning misere and so did the other opp. I didn't get my 6NT and the opp on my right said BL!
It seemed a strange comment as I had achieved my objective of stopping the opps calling the bird and easily winning a 7 or 8 call moving them safely away from the backdoor. I explained the rationale for my 6NT call to be told it was "BS" by my aggrieved opp. Ah well, 'twas water of this duck's back and the opps proved my point by backdooring themselves next hand - LOL.
"Stoppers" are a valuable bidding strategy worth adding to any player's bidding arsenal.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Lee's Bidding Basics
I'd ask some of the newer players to just consider the following issues and yes, I'm trying to brief...
BIDDING ACES AT SIX
In any 7 or 8 call (your strength) you are going to take, on average, around 4/5 tricks with your trumps (all things going well). This means you will need to take at least 2/3 in "offsuit" tricks.
If you have no idea what offsuit aces your partner holds, or you don't communicate your aces to your partner, significant disavantages will result. You will have little, if any, idea of what to keep or throw out if you get the bid and kitty ("shortsuiting"). We've all seen how Huey, Luey and Duey keep one of every suit to lead in offsuit and how disasterous it is. Often you'll also find you've underbidded a good hand through being completely in the dark as to how many tricks you might have - taking both your hand and your partners hand into account.
It's for these reasons the orthodox style of play is to bid your aces at 6, before calling your strength.
What holds some players back is the fear that "I'll get left on it". The accepted convention (certainly on this site) is that no one gets left on their six call. If you don't have a viable 7 bid, call your partner off their 6 bid with 7 Spades. Expect the same of your partner.
If you get left on 7 Spades, don't fret. It may be the 7 call that your partner wanted. Even if it turns pear shaped, remember 140 points is only 20 - 100 points more than a 6 bid and its a small price to pay as insurance against losing a good 7 or 8 bid.
BIDDING STRENGTH
Just some small advice - be realistic, unless you're forced by the scoreboard to do otherwise. In a Red suit bid there's 13 trumps, in Black there's 12. Think about how many you have, how strong they are and how many you're likely to have left after you've bled all of the trumps out of the opposing players.
If you have a bauer and three rags - the math and probability is totally against you. The probable scenario is "murderation". It often takes up to 4 or 5 leads to get the trumps out and you aren't going to win them all anyway. Even worse, an Ace with a few rags just plainly isn't a strength bid (unless you're forced to do so by the scoreboard).
Bidding strength in an unforced situation on the hope that you'll pick up two or three high trumps in the kitty is just plainly silly. The likely scenario is murderation.
CALLING THE JOKER
Always call the joker at 6. Always. It's a very important card in a suit bid and the ultimate card in a no trumps bid. It's the key.
Again, what holds some players back is the fear that "I'll get left on 6NT". The accepted convention (certainly on this site) is that no one gets left on a 6NT bid. If you don't have a viable 7 bid, call your partner off their 6NT bid with 7 Spades. Expect the same of your partner.
Again, if you get left on 7 Spades, don't fret. It may be the 7 call that your partner wanted. Even if it turns pear shaped, remember 140 points is only 20 points more than a 6NT bid and its a small price to pay as insurance against losing a good 7 or 8 bid.
AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, BLEED ALL TRUMPS BEFORE PLAYING OFFSUIT
Try to get as many of your opponents' trumps off them before leading your offsuit. If you have the high trump cards, keep playing them until the opposition have no more trumps. Don't keep leading them if you're only taking trumps off your partner - you're eliminating them from possibly taking a cheap trick or two by trumping the opposition's good offsuit.
Nothing is sillier than seeing a good offsuit ace that is definately worth a trick getting trumped by the opposition.
WORK CO-OPERATIVELY WITH YOUR PARTNER, NOT AGAINST THEM
Co-operative play starts with the bidding. It's easier to win a 500 bid playing with 20 cards as opposed to 10. Approach the bidding from the footing that your objective is to share as much information about your hand with your partner as you can. You have a better chance of winning and also getting maximum value for your bid.
Conflicting bids - think carefully about overbidding your partners red call with a black one, or vice versa. There is an old maxim - those who overbid, must get.
Always call into your partner's hand rather than against it - this is the situation where one player wants (for instance) 7D and their partner wants 7H. Yeah, sure, you have this real pretty hearts hand. So what. The game is about taking a bid, not which one of the partners gets the kitty. Think carefully about whether your pretty hearts might be more useful as offsuit tricks and whether a better bid is 8D instead of 7H.
Also, discussing bidding styles with your partner prior to a bid is much better than discussing it as a post mortem of "what went wrong". If you are a fan of the 7S for misere or 9S for open bids, tell your partner up front if you're not sure they know.
Be open to polite suggestions of how you might improve your play. Don't be needlessly argumentative or defensive. I've certainly learnt heaps off the permanent (and not so permanent) fixtures on the site.
I recommend in the strongest terms that newer players read the information at:
play500.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-500-top-10.html
With the qualification that some of this player's tips (like "avoid 7S for misere calls") are probably fairly described as personal preferences that you can eventually make your own mind up about.
Calling 7 Spades for Misere
A lively conversation between Lee & Toby worth saving from Richard's auto-delete:
http://www.play500online.com/500/forum.jsp?Forum=Forum&ID=3360 - do they get paid by the word?
Lee:
No. [Calling 7 spades for miser] creates untold confusion when you have a genuine spades hand.
Gabriella:
in that instance l would call 8spades straight up to prevent any confusion Court: Agree with gabs Lee: That creates as many problems as it solves. Firstly, what if you have a viable 7 hand but not really a viable 8 hand? You're overbidding merely to accomodate a "tricky" 7S call for misere. Secondly, depending on the state of play, we are often quite reluctant to go to an 8 bid before you know whether your opponent/s are looking for an open bid. Going straight to 8S can hand them a gold brick. Finally, the "straight to 8S to avoid confusion" is a tactic that Huey, Luey and Duey adopt after a 6NT bid - I'm asking (tongue in cheek) are we as skilful, imaginative and creative as the bots.....on second thoughts, don't answer that. I dislike the 7S for misere call because it tells me NOTHING about my partners hand. When you're down and defending, blocking etc., or even when you're looking for a potential game winning bid, the presence of one bower, even a king or queen in offsuit can be all important. My own view is that I will give a bid, even if its a weak one, before resorting to the negative (and I don't mean that in a pejorative sense) forms of play like misere and open. With all respect to the misere/open players, I've seen it dominate some players complete outlook on playing 500 - to the point where a 7S call seems to be the two out of every three bids, followed by the inevitable misere/open call. It seems to me that the thinking becomes infected along these lines: I've got a poor hand, I just can't bring myself to hit that pass button, I know, I'll call misere. I see so many poor misere calls going down that seem to be driven by this kind of outlook. Amongst skilled and experienced players, miseres and opens often go down.. On the odd occasion I've enjoyed the reaction of the misere/open junkie who retorts "I was unlucky". A favourite partner of mine (Gollum) and I once adopted a deliberate strategy when playing known misere/open junkies. When the 7S or 9S call was given, we would call misere or open just to deprive the misere/open junkie of their "fix". It was illuminating to watch the frustration levels on these players ratchet up to punching the computer screen levels. Any other player on this site who wants to adopt a similar tactic when partnering me should let me know. Toby:
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