Help
Free, on Feb 19 2006, 08:05 PM, said:
If I want to put my energy in designing a great system, that's fine. But if I never play against my own methods, why should I have to put energy in designing a good defense against it??? 
If my opponents don't want to do their homework, that's their problem imo, not mine... And if time is a problem, bad luck.
There's only 1 exception for me, and even then it's not clear: in big pairs events where you play 2 boards at each table, it might be better to be able to give a suggested defense. But don't expect it to be perfect!
For online bridge in the main lobby there are system regulations. If you won't want to play against strong pass, don't sit at foobar and drtodd's table. If you decide you want to sit there anyway, don't start whining about all sorts of stuff, just try to enjoy yourself. If you're so friendly to let opps discuss their defenses during the bidding and they don't want to do that, well, you've offered them a hand and they refused... Suggested defenses is something invented somewhere with ridiculous regulations, here in Belgium (and probably lots of other European countries) you can play lots of systems and don't have to offer a defense to it. However you have to inform your opps what you play way before you play (in competition that is) so opps have time enough to find something against it.
If my opponents don't want to do their homework, that's their problem imo, not mine... And if time is a problem, bad luck.There's only 1 exception for me, and even then it's not clear: in big pairs events where you play 2 boards at each table, it might be better to be able to give a suggested defense. But don't expect it to be perfect!
For online bridge in the main lobby there are system regulations. If you won't want to play against strong pass, don't sit at foobar and drtodd's table. If you decide you want to sit there anyway, don't start whining about all sorts of stuff, just try to enjoy yourself. If you're so friendly to let opps discuss their defenses during the bidding and they don't want to do that, well, you've offered them a hand and they refused... Suggested defenses is something invented somewhere with ridiculous regulations, here in Belgium (and probably lots of other European countries) you can play lots of systems and don't have to offer a defense to it. However you have to inform your opps what you play way before you play (in competition that is) so opps have time enough to find something against it.
Except if you plan to play in any real event (ie. not online and not at a club or sectional) and one sanctioned by the ACBL, you NEED a defense for your made up systems.
There are other and better places than USA to play REAL bridge (without corrupted regulations)! We have great freedom in Belgium, where there's logic in the few ristrictions. We can play red systems almost everywhere without needing 'suggested defenses'. Call them unreal events if you want, but I like it here! The only improvement would be to allow BSC and HUM at low level events as well, but that will probably never happen...