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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ukma!plh
From: plh@ukma.UUCP (Paul L. Hightower)
Newsgroups: net.rec.bridge
Subject: Re: Re: Hightower Club
Message-ID: <1192@ukma.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 7-Mar-85 10:01:09 EST
Article-I.D.: ukma.1192
Posted: Thu Mar  7 10:01:09 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 9-Mar-85 07:03:18 EST
Organization: Univ. of KY Mathematical Sciences
Lines: 27

>Have you ever used this convention/system competitively? One of the problems
>with systems that are non-standard is that they not only slow down a duplicate
>match significantly, but tend to frost the opponents. While this latter
>condition is not always bad, I've always considered it "bad form" to make up
>strange systems and then use them in duplicate matches. After all, your
>convention card must look like the rough draft of War and Peace by the time
>you're through with it.
>...bob garmise...at&t bell labs, columbus...

Good point, Bob.  Yes, I have used it in local duplicates.  Every bid in the
system is either a treatment or Class B convention, and thus is legal in all
but novice games (or a rare restricted-to-class-A club game.)  We alert 1C as
"semi-forcing but natural", 1D as "possible negative", and the 1NT rebid, along
with the second-round Stayman and transfers.  Technically, we should perhaps
alert virtually every bid as "non-standard", but I'll start doing that when
others consistently alert a 1D response to 1C as "denies four-card major."
I frequently play against rubber bridge players who regularly open 1C on a
singleton or doubleton, calling it a "short club" !

One important point about my style or system is that no elaborate defenses are
required to cope with it.  The alerts keep an opponent from being misled when
leading after a sequence like 1C-1D-1NT, which would ordinarily show 12-14, but
we use to show 18-20.  Notice that this is a natural bid : it suggests 1NT as
a contract, and we frequently play it there.

Paul Hightower
University of Kentucky