[kenrexford]

rogerclee, on Jun 27 2008, 03:31 PM, said:

Are you saying he knew he made an error?

Yes. I think so.

[awm]

I think he is acknowledging that as the cards lie, he made the wrong call.

But I don't think that makes it an error. I will back Fantoni's judgement over most of our forum regulars all day long. I know there is a tendency on forum "problem hands" to always bid, say it is the "most flexible" option, and then blame partner if you end in a bad spot (unless maybe that bad spot is what you bid, doubled). While this kind of reasoning might win bidding polls, it has an alarming habit of backfiring (and leaving the bidder searching for a "better" partner) at the table.

Fantoni's reasoning seems sound to me. He's basically just saying "I have a bad hand with a lousy suit, why should I bid?" while acknowledging that he might bid such a suit if he had a better hand overall, or that he might bid with eight points with meaty suits.

[kenrexford]

I mean, sure. In principle the answer might be right. But, these suits do have a lot of body. If body was the iddue, the comment would have been that I wanted the jack in my suit instead, or something like that. Commenting about the 8 points with the comment "I am never balancing with only 8 points" as the lead, though, is patently absurd. It surely is hyperbolic, as surely "never" and "only" are nonsensical as absolutes. This is exactly the kind of phrasing that someone uses when they are a little miffed with the situation, usually because they know that the decision was dubious.

[awm]

I think you're reading too much into this. He has plenty of reason to be miffed at the result regardless of whether he thinks he made the wrong call looking at only one hand.

I disagree that there is a difference between "I am not balancing with such a bad suit and only 8 hcp" versus saying "I am not balancing with only 8 hcp and such a bad suit" especially when the comment is made by someone who is not a native english speaker.

[rogerclee]

awm, on Jun 27 2008, 01:42 PM, said:

I think he is acknowledging that as the cards lie, he made the wrong call.

He made this comment during the auction, and did not say anything about missing 4♠ after the hand was over.

His English was not fantastic during the commentary, and his comments were relatively terse in general, so I would not read too much into the structure of his words. The "never" may have been an embellishment on my part (apologies), but his tone seemed to be that he was quite convinced pass was right. If I recall, he passed pretty quickly.

[awm]

Realistically, look at what happened here:

(1) A hand was posted.
(2) A number of people stated they thought bidding was "obvious."
(3) One of the best players in the world did not bid.
(4) He was kind enough to explain why he did not bid to the kibitzers at the time.
(5) Rexford concludes that he "made a mistake and knew it."

Is it any surprise that some people seem not to listen? Mightn't a better explanation be that Fantoni knows that some people would bid with this hand, has thought the matter through, and believes that they are wrong? That he commented because he wanted people to know why he thinks balancing is wrong? And that Fantoni's reputation as a good player is a better indicator that passing with this hand is a reasonable action than the table result on one board?

[kenrexford]

That's even worse!!!

If you think you made the right call, you set your cards down and say, "Good luck partner."

If you are thinking that you "took a position" and made what is probably a really bad decision, you prepare for the post mortem with a preemptive assault, staking out land as if you now have authority over the issue.

LOL

(Now, admittedly I am in one of those moods, where I like to stir things up. So, take me with a grain of salt. LOLOL)

[rogerclee]

kenrexford, on Jun 27 2008, 01:54 PM, said:

That's even worse!!!

If you think you made the right call, you set your cards down and say, "Good luck partner."

If you are thinking that you "took a position" and made what is probably a really bad decision, you prepare for the post mortem with a preemptive assault, staking out land as if you now have authority over the issue.

LOL

(Now, admittedly I am in one of those moods, where I like to stir things up.  So, take me with a grain of salt.  LOLOL)

I cast my vote for Ken Rexford as Best Bridge Psychologist of the Year by BBO.

[gnasher]

kenrexford, on Jun 27 2008, 09:21 PM, said:

When a person is talking about a 5-5 hand with another person, both competent bidders, each of them knows that the other is analyzing the hand as to its losing trick count and to the interiors (8 pips plus).

I'm not sure if I qualify as a competent bidder, but when I discuss a hand it is very unlikely that my analysis involves the losing trick count.

[kenrexford]

rogerclee, on Jun 27 2008, 05:14 PM, said:

kenrexford, on Jun 27 2008, 01:54 PM, said:

That's even worse!!!

If you think you made the right call, you set your cards down and say, "Good luck partner."

If you are thinking that you "took a position" and made what is probably a really bad decision, you prepare for the post mortem with a preemptive assault, staking out land as if you now have authority over the issue.

LOL

(Now, admittedly I am in one of those moods, where I like to stir things up.  So, take me with a grain of salt.  LOLOL)

I cast my vote for Ken Rexford as Best Bridge Psychologist of the Year by BBO.

I was wondering how long it would take for someone to notice that! LOL

[dake50]

Direct seat action needs keep his minimum up to support game tries. So leaving those partial-seeking hands to reopen. Just what I have: would have pushed direct action trying game, but now can suggest not that much. Hope 2S - 3C - 3D isn't a misfit disaster.

[OleBerg]

rogerclee, on Jun 27 2008, 03:16 AM, said:

IMPs, Red vs White, Fourth Seat

♠A97xx ♥Jx ♦KT97x ♣T

(2♥) - P - (P) - ?

2♠ and holding my breath. Not in eager expectation.