NT for the humji~

[tlautrec]

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So, one of the dreaded contracts again. The rare occasion that someone (always other than you) gets an awesome hand and start cashing all those Aces and Kings. You stare at the person's avatar with murderous intentions... and you can't really do anything. And somehow... SUDDENLY, you and your partner, who was losing so badly a moment again, starts going on a roll and make a comeback at the end. Moans and groans from the declarer.

From another POV, you finally got a fantastic hand after so long and decided to show some power by bidding NT. All those Aces and Kings are grinning at you. (some cards scowl, unfortunately, but that's not the point) You call for the last remaining ace and then you guys are on a roll. You win set after set and then sometime later, you realise that you're out of winners. and you're just ONLY 1 TEENY WEENY SET SHORT OF VICTORY. ****, that was close!

Now, why does the above situation seem all so familiar?

Because the 'I-have-Ace-so-I-cash-Ace-syndrome' is all too prevalent on Zany Bridge. Now try this simple ailment:

The all new 'NoTrump for the Humji!' cure!

Instructions:

1. Humji Bidding:

-Avoid bidding no trump unless you're confident that you will call the partner with more points (usually the guy who is trying to contest with you for another suit and this usually goes up to level 3 lol)

-Count your sets - never go into no trump without a rough idea of how many sets you can win. If you have 6 sure winners, stopping at 2NT would be wise. Because you will call for a 7th winner card to be your partner but where's the 8th one gonna come from? It will be a 33.3% chance that your partner has it. so 2NT on a 33.3% chance.. (that's like trying to pass a 30% scroll on ********** =X) what about a 9th winner when you start going on to 3NT? that will be a 33.3x33.3%... around 11% I'd say? (Okay, now it's a 10% scroll) And by this I mean a SURE winner. Kxxxx with no Ace in sight cannot be counter as a sure winner. same goes to Qxxx or KJxxx whatever. Basically, to summarize above, be mindful of overbidding.

-A less humji way would be bidding for NT when you have a SEMI-SOLID suit to run. By semi-solid, I mean AQxxxx or AKxxxx or KQJxxx (and 6 cards or longer) Then, you MIGHT be able to come up with more sure winners in your hand from the long suit. (But take into consideration that there's always a chance that your suit might NOT run)

-If the minimum 4 rule applies, just AVOID NT contracts as much as you can, because even in contract bridge, no one starts by bidding 4NT. (4C, 4D, 4H, 4S are perfectly okay bids though) Well unless you really have 10 tricks and you are VERY BORED.

2. Humji playing

-In the case that you unfortunately DON'T have all your sure-win sets to secure victory, some sleek humji play might save you. Don't be in a hurry to cash your winners. If you have a strong balanced hand, (like high cards in all suits), start from a suit that you might happen to have AKQJ or AKQ in, if you REALLY want to show off your points. Otherwise, play a lukewarm card to see what your partner has to offer. Partner, in this case, don't be shy to show off your hand, however little points you might have, because you might be able to offer important missing cards that your partner wants.

-If you happen to have a long semi solid suit between you and your partner, let's say AKxxxx and you don't know if your partner has the queen, play a semi high card, say, an 8 or a 9. If your partner has the queen, good for you. If not, you will still have AKxxx remaining in your hand, and your opponents having 2 cards less in that suit that you want to run. So, the chances of them showing out after your you play both your Ace and King thereafter is... high. More graphically, Imagine if the suit broke like this:

You: AKxxxx
Partner xx
Opp: Qxx
Opp: xx

worse come to worse:
you: AKxxxx
Partner: xx
Opp: Qxxx
Opp: x

The chances that this break happens is 28%, and the chances of the queen with the 4-carder would further lower the 28%. So...what do you think? Still so eager to cash that Ace and King?

Also, the brainless laws of bridge tells us that, once the opponents start winning, you seldom win again. However, with the humji cure, you will get back the lead in no time. Why?

-Remember to keep 'Stoppers' in all other suits when you're giving out the lead. Because opponents might pounce on the chance and make their long awaited runs when you give them the start. That Ace diamond that you cashed earlier might make you regret later because the opponents start coming up with their KQJ10..... and you're speechless.

-Rule of thumb: never cash an unsupported ace, and try not to cash A from AQ holdings unless you're 70% sure your partner has the missing king.

-When playing a set out to your opponents, make sure you have an honor in each of the other suits that they might happen to be strong in. (Judge from the bidding; if there's a guy that kept bidding Hearts while you were trying to bid Spades and you didnt end up calling him, be VERY careful not to let he/she run the Hearts loose.

Well, of course this is a very generalized guide, but careful exercising of Humji-ness will result in better bridge. It's better not to go AWS at this point in time when we're playing with unknown partners.

Personally I love NT contracts. I hope you do too. ^^

[Kiwi8]

I very much like your guide and agree with the points.

In fact, I also notice that a vast majority of players played NT wrongly by cashing out their winner cards early (eg: Ace and/or King (when Ace was out in the previous round) and/or Queen (when Ace and King was out in the previous round).

U said it best, to retain stoppers to prevent the defenders from running away with any particular suit.

Thus in general, it is better to play conservatively in the first few hands, retaining stoppers in as many suits as possible so that u can gain control towards the end of the game.

[samuelchua2008]

Just to share my (simple and straightforward) criteria/strategy for bidding 4NT:

Win first 9 sets, then pass the 10th set to my partner with the partner card i called. Period.

Sure win strategy. Nice and simple.

[tlautrec]

Originally Posted by samuelchua2008

Just to share my (simple and straightforward) criteria/strategy for bidding 4NT:

Win first 9 sets, then pass the 10th set to my partner with the partner card i called. Period.

Sure win strategy. Nice and simple.

Humji indeed! What are the chances of getting such a hand? What if a bad break happens? You have AKQxxxxxx with only 4 cards missing. What if the missing cards broke 4-0-0 in favor of your opponent? haha. And is that win truly satisfying?

I like playing no trump against the odds. Like taking a risky finesse, or attempting a squeeze or wrongfooting the opps for a discard in favor of you. That gives me satisfaction; even if I have to go through all the trouble being humji about it. ^^

[samuelchua2008]

Originally Posted by tlautrec

Humji indeed! What are the chances of getting such a hand? What if a bad break happens? You have AKQxxxxxx with only 4 cards missing. What if the missing cards broke 4-0-0 in favor of your opponent? haha. And is that win truly satisfying?

I like playing no trump against the odds. Like taking a risky finesse, or attempting a squeeze or wrongfooting the opps for a discard in favor of you. That gives me satisfaction; even if I have to go through all the trouble being humji about it. ^^

Well, first of all i've been trained to become more "humji" (i'm using the term of your preference) in bidding in min4 rooms, not just bidding NT but bidding every single suit. Main reason is it will incur the wrath of the partner most of the time if the game resulted in a loss to the bidding side. I'm not pinpointing any individual, because i've witnessed it umpteens times already.

Hence for now whenever a tempting hand appears, i will count how many sure-win sets i would have. i usually will not rely on my P to win 3 sets or above. 2 would be good for me already. If possible, i should also be able to weather the storm in the case whereby the p is only able to win 1 set.

Agree that this kind of hand dont appear very often. So if it doesn't, i will just pass. Simple as that.

[tlautrec]

Originally Posted by samuelchua2008

Well, first of all i've been trained to become more "humji" (i'm using the term of your preference) in bidding in min4 rooms, not just bidding NT but bidding every single suit. Main reason is it will incur the wrath of the partner most of the time if the game resulted in a loss to the bidding side. I'm not pinpointing any individual, because i've witnessed it umpteens times already.

Hence for now whenever a tempting hand appears, i will count how many sure-win sets i would have. i usually will not rely on my P to win 3 sets or above. 2 would be good for me already. If possible, i should also be able to weather the storm in the case whereby the p is only able to win 1 set.

Agree that this kind of hand dont appear very often. So if it doesn't, i will just pass. Simple as that.

mhmm for suit contracts it's easier to elucidate more 'sure winners', say for example 2 suited hands that has a potential side suit that can be established, i would go ahead and bid it. For trump contracts, it's aws. AWS!!!!!! (I go AWS because im quite confident of my play/my ability to remember cards/count cards) hahaha but I sure agree with the 'i dont rely on p to win 3 sets or above' thingy.

[Kiwi8]

Instead of counting the winners, it is faster to count the sure-losers. As long as u count 4 sure-losers in your hand (namely the lower cards of your non-trump suits, or in the case of NT, the lower cards of your shorter suits (shorter suit meaning 4 cards or less) ), refrain from bidding 4 unless u are willing to risk that your partner helps u win at least 2 sets to make the opponent win 3 sets at most.

[gthui]

eh contract bridge taught us to count winner for NT contracts and losers for suit contracts. works for me, not sure about the rest of you.

[Kiwi8]

Originally Posted by gthui

eh contract bridge taught us to count winner for NT contracts and losers for suit contracts. works for me, not sure about the rest of you.

The number of winners is equal to the 13 minus the number of losers, lol.

[ycsdy]

I AM A *** JI!!!. . . . but i am also a KAM ***!. . . .

my ang mo, lousy!