tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83705616201216797542024-09-10T12:11:39.571-04:00Bridge ManiacsThis is a blog about my experiences in bridge - bridge ethics, defensive problems, play problems, tournament results, junior bridge, and notes about canape, and Fantunes systems. Read about my computer ranking system for college football (Click college football under popular subjects or visit <a href="http://asburycfb.blogspot.com/">Asbury CFB Rankings and Predictions.</a>), read <a href="http://jeveuxvoyager.blogspot.com/">Je Veux Voyager</a>.Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.comBlogger344125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-21197439076867006722016-04-12T09:27:00.000-04:002016-04-14T09:58:46.404-04:00Reno!
The Reno NABC last month was in some ways great but in many
ways a disappointment. The town and general atmosphere was kind of trashy. I
played with 3 partners over 6 days, which is more variety than I like. I had
never played with two of them before, and never played with Emory at an NABC. I
was honestly happy playing with Emory, Mike, and Jessica, but the results
weren’t as hot as they shouldAndre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-84450810947471681642016-02-03T10:53:00.002-05:002016-02-03T10:53:20.955-05:00Kickback and PlanningOver the last eight years, I've probably played more sessions with Emory than anyone else, but our aggreements are somehow less firm than most of my partnerships. This is probably due to most of our games being at the club, where I admit I may not pay great attention to the game.
Anyway, he's the one and only person I play kickback with. There's a reason I've refused to play this with Cristal (Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-1964845644931515512015-09-24T17:44:00.000-04:002015-09-25T16:35:27.908-04:00Adventures at the Greek Bridge Festival<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-91837141712012336592015-09-02T12:14:00.001-04:002015-09-02T12:14:23.266-04:004 or 7 Hand but I was in 5 I faced a brutal play problem last night at the club. It was a 4 or 7 hand and I was in the worst possible level – 5! ♠AQ ♥AK9xxx ♦x ♣Qxxx ♠KJTxxx ♥J8x ♦AK ♣Jx First let's start with the auction. That was pretty interesting too. My RHO opened 3Din first seat, both vul. I overcalled 3♠, what do you do with the north hand? He bid 4♦, Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-90876145988397708702015-08-19T13:26:00.000-04:002015-08-19T20:04:38.008-04:00Chicago NABC SummaryThis NABC was quite an experience. I like structure and plans in my life so when things get chaotic and my plans get screwed up, I take it poorly. When you agree to play with me, I expect a few things, and I think these should go without saying, but maybe I should make this more clear: be decently-well rested, hold yourself to high ethical standards, remain Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-33697387094734910672015-07-13T09:25:00.000-04:002015-07-13T15:12:03.016-04:00July 4th BridgeThree years ago, Sean and I drove to Bethesda, MD for the July 4th Washington DC regional and one of the most exciting weeks ever. I think I wrote about it back then. Two years ago was a similarly good experience at the DC regional in Reston. Last year, there was no incentive to go to DC and this year the DC regional wasn't over the 4th so I'm kind of sad. Instead I went to as Vegas theAndre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-7175989863924050732015-06-17T19:29:00.002-04:002015-06-17T19:29:16.988-04:00Lessons from the bridge clubLast night was an interesting night at the bridge club. I learned a couple of things: when the opponents bid 1Major-2Major, let them play it there. Twice I either Emory or I balanced and they proceeded to bid a cold game. Annoying.Another lesson was that psyching and successfully keeping them out of their 4-4 spade fit which makes 3 or 4 is not such a good result. They played 2D and made exactly Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-52478387590116031762015-05-29T10:39:00.003-04:002015-05-29T10:39:57.477-04:00Suit Preference When Returning Partner's Lead in NTIn 2nd seat, all red, You hold:
T865
K9
AQT4
986
Auction:
1C (strong) - P - 1D (0-7) - P;
P - 1S - 2H (5-7, 5+H) - P;
2NT - P - P - P
Opening lead: D4
Dummy:
Q2
QJ753
532
JT5
Partner wins K and returns 9, covered with the J. You cash the Q and T. Dummy sheds a club. Partner follows with 8 and 6. Declarer pitches S7 and HT. Your lead to trick 5. What are your thoughts? For the 2NT rebidAndre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-82088236234559835882015-05-13T15:18:00.000-04:002015-08-20T22:16:58.872-04:00Bridge hiatus?
Summer 2015
is approaching and lifestyle changes are coming. It seems about once a year
there’s a significant life change, but none too big because I’ve lived and
worked in the same place now for 7 years. I haven’t posted a lot on here lately
and I still don’t have any bridge hands to write about but they will come as I’m
probably going to be playing more bridge again. My life has been allAndre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-74820707997863876212014-12-15T16:19:00.001-05:002014-12-15T16:19:15.203-05:00
The trip to Providence a couple of weeks ago was quite a pleasant trip. It was low on stress and low on drama, much unlike the previous two. The quality of bridge at
my table was acceptable. Cristal and I qualified for the second day of the LM
Pairs, had one decent session in the final and then collapsed. It was a real
struggle – we didn’t really get any gifts the Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-11464193515579290262014-12-03T13:45:00.001-05:002014-12-03T13:45:20.999-05:00GT-FSU this weekend
I haven’t posted
my college football rankings at all this season. Frankly, I’ve been too busy to
even bother looking at it until last week. I got caught up on all the games and
stuff before Thanksgiving and now heading into conference championship week, I’ll
post the rankings.
1. Alabama (11-1)
2. Oregon (11-1)
3. Ohio State (11-1)
4. TCU (10-1)
5. Mississippi (9-3)
6. Florida Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-520680920231371372014-09-18T10:38:00.000-04:002014-09-18T10:38:58.181-04:00Think!Over the
years, I’ve been accused of not sharing enough information and being vague
about my plans, but I also am often the one trying to plan activities in advance more
than other people. A few times I’ve been accused of giving too much information or being too persistent in getting other people to commit to things, so I don’t quite know
where the happy medium is. I Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-15861339927922282272014-09-04T14:49:00.003-04:002014-09-04T14:49:55.634-04:00Memorable Atlanta regional
The Atlanta regional last week was one of the most memorable tournaments. Emory was inducted to the Georgia Bridge Hall of Fame, and Bryan and I teamed with Emory and Olin for a respectable showing - 2nd in a KO, 3rd in Sunday Swiss, and just missed overalls in the Monday Swiss. We ended up being the only team to beat Meckwell all week (in the semis of a KO). In addition to the bridge and Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-69028306531726658752014-08-01T01:39:00.002-04:002014-09-04T19:57:42.349-04:00Vegas Wrap Up
The verdict is in: 21 days at bridge tournaments in a 25 day span
is too much. However, it's not so much the bridge that is exhausting but
all the other stuff that goes along with bridge that makes for many
very late nights. No other time of the year are there so many good
friends in such close proximity. Even three people I normally spend a lot of time with at bridge tournaments (Joel, AlliAndre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-34360149309009656062014-07-13T02:00:00.002-04:002014-07-13T02:03:12.884-04:00Jack Doubletons in ColumbiaOne more day left in the Columbia regional. We have amassed 45 points
somehow, but this is the story of the jack doubletons.
In
the first KO, in which we finished 3rd/4th, I went down in a slam when I
finessed for the HJ holding Qx opposite AKTxx. I knew that clubs split
6-2 and in another side suit each opponent had at least two but that's
as much of a count as I could get before having toAndre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-70402656739821534232014-07-03T09:06:00.002-04:002014-07-03T09:06:30.969-04:00
Later today
I will begin my summer travels, sort of, with 3.5 days at the Atlanta super
sectional. It’s already off to an ominous start as team plans dismantled at the
last minute. After last weekend’s plans didn’t pan out, I had decided to make
no more plans and just play everything by ear. That’s so not me. I got anxious
last night and started making plans – or at least attempting to, and Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-29857023655134184432014-05-28T15:39:00.000-04:002014-05-28T15:39:02.851-04:00Restructuring tournaments for substantial cash prizesSince the Dallas NABC in March, I haven't played a lot of bridge. Well, actually I have - it's just mostly been in bridgebig.com. If you are unfamiliar, this is a site where you play bridge for money and it's an all individual format and you don't know who your partner is so cheating really is eliminated. There is, however, a decent amount of randomness based on who you happen to get for a Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-10036114506526502542014-04-22T14:52:00.002-04:002014-04-22T14:57:50.465-04:00Spades to BridgeFor the last couple of years, 3-4 days I play spades during lunch with co-workers. There are often two tables of us, sometimes with an extra player or two, and I've tried on occasion to get them to learn bridge, but there's something about the mentality of people where I work that makes them not want to exert much brain power and bridge is definitely more intense than spades. There are really Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-8003014320920595522014-04-02T23:53:00.002-04:002014-04-02T23:53:52.845-04:00You know you're playing a high level of bridge when you execute squeezes like they're routine and the opponent being squeezed concedes rather than agonizing over the discard. The latter happened twice last week. Then there was that one time an expert opponent erroneously tried to concede... no further details.Anyway, Jonathan's pictures from the Dallas NABC are up so there's actually a Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-5810186145054238952014-03-27T01:05:00.002-04:002014-03-27T01:16:52.184-04:00Hello from Dallas<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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been an interesting week in Dallas for the NABC. Jonathan (and possibly others)
has been Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-55014515272789657922014-02-13T15:19:00.001-05:002014-02-13T15:19:57.151-05:00Hands from Hilton Head and Valentine's Day weekendIt's February 13 and I am dreading the next few days. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day - arguably a single person's least favorite day - and it's a 3 day weekend with no real plans. Last year, I took off to play 2.5 days at the Palmetto, FL regional before coming home to play/work entirely too much at the Macon regional. I'm debating about what to do this weekend. I made some mild Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-89788328753640187912013-12-24T13:59:00.004-05:002013-12-24T15:27:08.953-05:00My
motivation has been really lacking in the last couple of weeks, in almost all aspects of life. I briefly
entertained the idea of hosting a Christmas party last weekend but could
motivate myself to do the work and invite people. I didn't put up a single Christmas decoration for the first time since I've been out of college. I have hardly posted to
facebook or twitter since the Phoenix trip, andAndre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-26832411537086457942013-12-06T01:15:00.002-05:002013-12-06T01:15:33.963-05:00Interesting Squeeze<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-25250004279493639272013-12-01T23:52:00.001-05:002013-12-01T23:52:30.999-05:00<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8370561620121679754.post-42063295334856555322013-11-20T23:15:00.001-05:002013-11-20T23:15:18.989-05:00Deceptive PlaysLast weekend I enjoyed a couple of sessions with a new partner brad
Campbell. Well, 3.25 sessions. Didn't do much in the pair game Saturday
and we were in good position to win the Sunday Swiss but two very costly
unfortunate things happened at the other table in the penultimate round
against the eventual winners so we made the low overalls. This is a
cute 3NT contract against a fairly week Andre Asburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169761706897345951noreply@blogger.com1