tennis, life and a few things in between

Ok … finally, I played my first real small slam 💃…

My hand had 14 hpc, 17 with a singleton (2 pt) and 1 doubleton (1 pt)

♠️KQ8762, ♥️3,♦️Q764, ♣️AK

My partner has 17 hcp, 20 in total distribution.

♠️J, ♥️AKQ42, ♦️AK92, ♣️42

Slam bidding by MIT is a good read:

• To make a small slam (bid of 6) ↔ 33 pts.
• To make a grand slam (bid of 7) ↔ 37 pts.

… some no trump plays

• 5 nt hands played ↓
• 2025.1.06 ↑

Our bidding tonight:

1. P;  me 1♦️; P; 1♥️
2. P;  me 1♠️; P; 2♦️
3. P; 4NT; P; 5♥️ which means 2 As
4. P; 6♦️

At the 3rd round, I bid 4nt: asked for my partner’s As

Blackwood convention: 4NT is asking for how many Aces (such as this dream hand), 5NT for kings, the reply should be:

• 5♣️ = None or all four aces
• 5♦️ = One ace
• 5♥️ = Two aces
• 5♠️ = Three aces

… 5NT is asking for kings, the reply should be

• 6♣️ = None or all four kings
• 6♦️ = One king
• 6♥️ = Two kings
• 6♠️ = Three kings

My first set of question to Ira the expert:

Conventionally, I should open with 1♠️ ? … I didn’t bec I want to give my partner a chance to bid at 1 level, to know her hand better.

With distribution, you have 16 points. Conventionality, bid s/b 1NT BUT you’re short in clubs. Better opener is 1S bc of strength and length. You’ll probably end up in 6D anyway but you asked for correct opening bid.

Make it short in clubs and hearts

Irene, rule of thumb, if you have opening, by point count OR length of suit, ALWAYS bid your strongest and longest suit.

My subsequent questions:

1. Does winning 12 or 13 tricks but bid at level 5 or below, still consider a small / grand slams? … Yes
2. The conventionally method to bid longest and higher suit, vs bidding low to let my partner to bid at lower level hence to know her/his hand better?

A new player, Phil joined us today … and it’s men vs women … and I played a slam on my first hand … unfortunately we didn’t bit for it, as usual. The bidding went

Pass
1♦️ (me)
Pass
1♠️
P
2♦️ (me)
P
2♠️ my partner
P
3♦️ – after giving much consideration

As it turn out, suit diamond is better for us: 8 vs 7 spades. I made 12 tricks.

We played 13 hands: 8 went up and 5 down.

⇐ My big disaster is the 4th hand when I bib 3♣️ – I only made 6 tricks.

This hand ⇓ ^{The 1st round} my partner opened with 1NP; 2♥️; 2♠️ (me); 3♣️. ^{The 2nd round} 3♦️- my partner. This hand was played 3♦️… and we were down 2 – made only 7 tricks!

The second time in a row, Ons Jabeur (6 seed this year) lost to unseeded Marketa Vondrousova / Vondroušová (1999; 2016; $5,447,411 with only two titles with £2.35 / $3.08m from this toruney) of Czech Republic on Saturday, July 15. My heart goes out to Jabeur: I’m so hopeful for her to win, to make an impact for the women of Tunisia and the region at large.

I’ve an interesting hand: a void, ♠️2345678, ♥️AQ76 and ♦️AK.

My partner played a weak 2♠️ a couple of hands earlier (se below ⇓). So I tried it on this hand.

Weak two means you’ve weak hand (5-10 pt) but with at least 6  ♠️/♥️/♦️. 2♠️ is the most effective, because it’s the top suit, making it harder to top – only 2NT or going to 3 …

My hand has 13 HPC without counting in the void which is an additional 3 pts. But I went with it anyway, for the novelty. We ended up making 10 tricks.

According to my expert, my bidding was wrong:

Count your points! You can’t bid a weak 2 anything; with distribution you have over 13 points!

My partner’s weak 2 bid: she opened bid by weak 2♠️, 2N, me pass, 3♦️. I doubled it. They only made 9 tricks – didn’t make it.

It has been four weeks since I stepped on to a court. Although the pain I suffered was all too fresh, but the joy of playing tennis is overwhelming. 好了伤疤忘了痛 The injuries come with it, requires compromise. Finding that perfect balance is the key.

No matter how much warm up prior to and stretch after the game, injury seems unavoidable. Now I do jacuzzi/spa before the game too. Hope this helps.

The 4 weeks layoff is very apparent: I feel tired after an hour hitting. I didn’t even try to serve.

The down side of playing on the har tru (sandy) is we’ll have to swipe the court afterward.

Bidding starts each hand, and the points (hcp and or long/short suit) determine how you bid, or not.

The basic rule for opening bid in each level, w/ hcp:

1. NT 16-18; suit: 12-13 (♦️♣️: 3; ♠️♥️ 5 in suit)
2. NT 21-23; suit: 22 hcp in ♠️♥️♦️♣️ 5 card suit
3. of a suit: Preemptive; weak (5-9 hcp) 7-card suit
4. of a suit: Preemptive; weak (6-10 hcp) 8-card suit; NT
5. NT slam bid asking for kings

Conventions are used in bidding.  

Responses

Responses to partner’s 1NT opening bid: (Responses to a 2NT opening bid are the same, except 2NT 3C is Stayman)

• Pass: Normal if game is out of reach, unless 2D 2H or 2S is a safer contract.
• 2C is Stayman, promising some 4+ card major and asking partner to bid her 4-card major (2H or 2S) if she has one, otherwise to bid 2D. You can subsequently shift to a major to show a 5-card suit and invite game.
• 2D, 2H, or 2S is a sign-off; partner must pass.
• 2NT is invitational to 3NT; partner will raise if at the high end of her 16-18.
• 3-of-a-suit is forcing. Partner will raise with 3+ card support, and otherwise bid 3NT.
• 3NT or 4H or 4S is a sign-off in game.
• 4C is Gerber, asking for aces. Partner responds 4D with 0 or 4 aces, 4H with 1, 4S with 2, 4NT with 3.
• 4NT is invitational to 6NT (This is quantitative, not Blackwood.)

Responses to partner’s 1-of-a-suit bid

• Pass with 0-5 points.
• ^{1H →} 2H = 6-10 points and support in the suit (8+ cards between you)
• ^{1H →} 3H = force a game, 13 points and support.
• ^{1H →}  4H = is a sign-off, indicating a weak hand but with many trumps.
• ^{1H →}  1S = 6-18 points, and 4+ cards in the suit. Forcing, i.e. don’t let the bidding stop there.
• ^{1H →}  2C = 10-18 points, and 4+ cards in the suit. Forcing (except by passed hand).
• ^{1H →} 2S = 19+ points. Forcing to game, and slam is likely.
• ^{1H →} 1NT =: 6-9 points, no fit in partner’s suit, no other suit that can be bid at one level. Not necessarily balanced.
• ^{1H →} 2NT = 13-15 points and a balanced hand, and usually no 4+ card major suits.
• ^{1H →} 3NT = 16-18 points and a balanced hand.

501 Marlins Way,
Miami, FL 33125

… more pix n videos on Google Maps

It’s the home of Miami baseball team Marlins. It’s a retractable roof stadium, seating capacity is 37,000. Opened in 2012. A little more history from Reddit, from the letters (Orange Bowl) to not having Cuban culture theme, to blame Broward Country commissioners.

It’s near Little Havana. The parking garages charge $20. Many private homes also offer parking for the games, at the same price – we’ve never taken up on that.

• Mets def Marlins
• World Baseball Classic 2023

Cup holders: cheap seats don’t have them … gee, Van Wezel doesn’t discriminate -:)

There are these alphabets on the ground – do they mean anything, or just a decor? A, N, O could be Loan but M or W?   … Some fans said it’s a nod to the Orange Bowl, which the current arena is built on.

When I hear pram bowl, I think of tennis -:) once a junky, always a junky.

31 Piazza Dr.
Port St. Lucie, FL 34986

Will return.

Mets’ training days are played here. We passed by Cardinals’ in Jupiter which looks rather minor. This one for the Mets is pretty major.

It’s my first time to a training game and like it a lot. The park is intimate compare to Shea and now Citifield. The bathrooms are plenty and clean. Food smell rather good – given the fact that I just had a huge meal. Staff is courteous.

Tonight’s game vs St. Louis Cardinals is a tie: 4-4.