Innovative Slam Bidding: Win Bridge Tournaments With

By Irwin S. Landow

LEARN THE FOLLOWING TECHNIQUES:

Learn to Think Out of the Box to Find Slams
Four New Slam Conventions
The Computer Finds The Best 2 Convention
Find More Slams and Win More Tournaments

And Also

Many Illustrations and Practice Examples

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 24, 2009
• ISBN: 9781462820313

Irwin S. Landow

Irwin S. Landow is a Life Master, an ACBL Accredited Bridge Director, a bridge teacher, and has been published in the ACBL Bulletin. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the City College of New York and a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University. He did additional post-graduate study at Columbia University and Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and holds a Professional Engineering license. He was a member of the faculty at Adelphi University as a physics instructor. While starting his own engineering and manufacturing company, he invented several products, still in use today on all nuclear submarines and petro-chemical plants throughout the world. He has had a multi-disciplined business career and is presently active as a Vice President in a successful manufacturing business. He is married and resides in Dix Hills, New York.

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Copyright © 2009 by Irwin S. Landow.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

47497

Contents

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Dedication

Acknowledgements

How to Use This Book

Chapter I

Introduction

Chapter II

Signs to Explore for a Slam

Chapter III

Computer-Developed Guidelines and When to Look for a Slam

Chapter IV

Existing Conventions Useful for Slams

Chapter V

The Suit Stopper Convention

Chapter VI

The Three-Level Response to 1NT

Chapter VII

Looking for a Slam with a Void or Singleton

Chapter VIII

Finding the Best Contract after Partner Opens 3 missing image file or 3 missing image file

Chapter IX

Are You Using the Best 2 missing image file Convention?

Chapter X

A New Convention for Responses to the Strong 2 missing image file Bid

Chapter XI

Practice Examples and Solutions

Percentage Table for Distribution of a Suit in Two Hidden Hands

About the Author

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Dedication

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To my dear wife, Jane:

Without her support, perseverance, and inspiration,

I never would have set pen to paper enabling me

to give something back to the bridge world.

Acknowledgements

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I would like to thank Jason Rosenfeld of Great Game Products, Inc., who used Bridge Baron, one of the leading computer bridge programs, to assist with this book. Jason is an excellent computer programmer, mathematician, and bridge player. He programmed the computer to play over one million random hands, of which two hundred thousand were considered 2 missing image file openers, to test a new convention compared with three standard ones. Also, other random hands were used to establish a useful bidding algorithm for the conditions required to look for a slam.

Thanks to Nick Kostiw, Robert Hoffman, and my partner Dr. Kiam Ling Tio, who checked all the examples and proofread the accompanying text. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Lori Frucht for proofreading all the text. Thank you, Mike Zimmerman, for using the computer to format all the examples and laying out the entire text of this book.

Also thanks to Michelle Davis and Sandra Guerreri for typing the text and to Rafael Burgos for designing the book cover and cartoon. I feel very fortunate to have had such an excellent team help me make it possible to create this book.

How to Use This Book

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Bridge is a game of endless learning. A player should establish his own goals and the level he aspires to reach when playing the game. I do not believe that everyone who reads this book will have the same expectations and will use it in the same way. Some may be interested in adopting one or more new conventions. Others may use most of the suggestions in this book. Most importantly, I hope that in the future each reader approaches the search for a possible slam in a more productive manner. This book details how to adopt more effective guidelines by exploring the importance of counting tricks instead of high card points (HCP). Also, it illustrates how the best results are achieved when you consider the percentage of each move instead of limiting yourself to bidding only slams that have little or no risk.

Regardless of your individual goals, I expect that all readers will make more slams and, most importantly, have fun playing the game of bridge.

Chapter I

Introduction

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Did you ever hear a bridge player say, I made a slam, but it wasn’t biddable? Not all slams that are made are biddable. However, most can be found with the special conventions and bidding techniques that are described in this book. It is especially important to bid slams that are makeable while your opponents only reach game when scoring with international match points (IMPs) because the difference in the score could offer you a big swing and help you win the match.

The most difficult slams to find usually have distributional values that are sometimes more important than the high card points (HCP). Example 1-1 illustrates the importance of distribution versus HCP and shows a hand with only six HCP but with very unusual distribution that makes 7 missing image file . If you ever actually are dealt a similar hand, you are either in bridge heaven or smoking something illegal!

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It is easy to bid when you can see all four hands. You have only six HCP and your opponents have 34 HCP. Your contract is worth 2,940 points if 7 missing image file is bid, doubled, and redoubled. Incidentally, if South had his hand while he was in heaven, and you happen to be East with 34 HCP and losing by 2,940 points then obviously you must be in a much less desirable place!

Example 1-2 shows a hand with 37 HCP, and because both you and your partner’s hands are square (no long or short suits), you cannot be sure to make a slam.

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What percentage of the slams that you bid should you make? Winning bridge requires that you take the proper calculated risk in bidding. If you make nearly every slam you bid, then you are missing too many opportunities that are worth more than the occasional loss from a slam that goes down. Typically, you should make approximately two out of three, or three out of four of the slams that you bid. Some bridge players are more aggressive and take more risk when scoring with IMPs. The percentage of the slams for which you bid and make is a matter of personal style, but you should not deviate too much from the above percentages if you want to have the best chances to win the most matches. Do not limit yourself to bidding only the