New duplicate players - where can we find software to drill SAYC concepts?

[Pete Lewis]

My partner and I have begun playing duplicate after years of social bridge. We are serious about improving and are looking for ways to practice bidding online. Is there software available, or web sites, that we can utilize to drill, drill, and drill some more? At our advanced ages we want to accelerate the learning!
Thanks much,

Peter

[Barry Margolin]

In article <ec57643d-b562-48c0...@googlegroups.com>,

You can use the Bidding Practice rooms on Bridge Base Online.* This will
just allow you to practice bidding with each other, it doesn't actually
provide instruction (it won't tell you if you bid wrong).

*Disclaimer: I work for BBO.

--
Barry Margolin
Arlington, MA

[paul...@infi.net]

There was a pretty decent book published a few years ago on SAYC; a quick google failed to turn anything up but it should be available new or used. At a minimum, print out the SACY system booklet from the ACBL website (www.acbl.org) and use the bidding practice rooms at www.bridgebase.com zs Barry suggested. This will let you practice constructive bidding (no interference) at least. For specific gadgets such as Negative Doubles or Jacoby transfers, look them up on the ACBL website; they ran a 24-month Bidding Toolkit series in the Bridge Bulletin and the articles are available online. Between the system booklet and the toolkit articles, you should be able to be on the same page with partner most of the time.

One problem with the system booklet, and why I would recommend the book if you can find it, is that the booklet was intended as a summary of changes to well-known Standard American bidding -- it was not a complete guide to bidding! So to use it properly you need to combine it with something like Dorothy Truscott's "Bid Better, play Better."

Another option would be Audrey Grant's books, also available from the ACBL and other sources. A google search turned up some sites claiming to have SYAC practice software but I have no knowledge to offer an opinion on those.

[jle...@gmail.com]

Bridge Base Online has a web-based client for playing hands that may not always be accurate (it is just a computer after all), but I find it very helpful in that the bids are explained with what they show based around a Standard American type system. It's also limited to a single person so you can learn twice as fast! http://www.bridgebase.com/client/web4.php

[Barry Margolin]

In article <6ae9be23-517c-4b18...@googlegroups.com>,

The robots play 2/1 Game Forcing, not SAYC.

However, the OP might want to reconsider whether they really want to
learn SAYC. Most advanced duplicate players in the US play 2/1.

[Michael Angelo Ravera]

On Tuesday, December 30, 2014 9:04:10 AM UTC-8, Pete Lewis wrote:
> My partner and I have begun playing duplicate after years of social bridge. We are serious about improving and are looking for ways to practice bidding online. Is there software available, or web sites, that we can utilize to drill, drill, and drill some more? At our advanced ages we want to accelerate the learning!

The ACBL provides a free download called "Learn to Play Bridge" ("LTPB"). There is also an LTPB2. Both of them teach something that is very close to "Yellow Card" (which has been superseded by the "White Card") The great part about it is that you can skip or go quickly through the areas that you know (or think that you do) and move at your own pace on what you need to practice.

Go to the https://web.acbl.org/LearnToPlayBridge/ to do the download or http://learn.acbl.org/ to work on line.

[Michelle Steiner]

In article <7fede78e-6a94-4d21...@googlegroups.com>,

Michael Angelo Ravera <mara...@prodigy.net> wrote:

> The ACBL provides a free download called "Learn to Play Bridge" ("LTPB").
> There is also an LTPB2. Both of them teach something that is very close to
> "Yellow Card" (which has been superseded by the "White Card") The great part
> about it is that you can skip or go quickly through the areas that you know
> (or think that you do) and move at your own pace on what you need to
> practice.
>
> Go to the https://web.acbl.org/LearnToPlayBridge/ to do the download or
> http://learn.acbl.org/ to work on line.

Note that the download version works only with Windows.

[bridge...@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, December 30, 2014 11:04:10 AM UTC-6, Pete Lewis wrote:

The book in question is titled Standard Bidding with SAYC authored by Ellen Pomer and Ned Downey. It's available at the usual internet book sellers. I have used it for teaching classes and it is well liked by students.

However, if you are really looking for software, the answer to your question beyond the ideas already given about BBO Practice Bidding tables and LTPB or the newer tutorial on the ACBL Website that will work with either computing platform (I hesitate to name either for commercial reasons and having just eaten), some existing software items that you might investigate are as follows:

1. Conventions by Mike Lawrence -- not really SAYC, but a good resource for over-the-shoulder instruction on the gadgets that one typically plays with SAYC like Neg. Dbls and Stayman and Jacoby.

2. Bridge Baron -- has a function that allows you to deal hands that are constrained to defined parameters (major suit raises, Stayman, Jacoby Transfers, inverted minors) and it does give feedback on how to bid those hands after you make your best effort with them. The problem is that the explanation are brief, but if you have a mentor, you can probably record hands on paper that give you problems and ask him/her for further explanation.

3. Learn & Practice Bidding Conventions--Vol. 1, 2, and 3 from Great Game Products (the company that makes Bridge Baron). Each volume has over-the-shoulder instruction on a list of conventions. For example, Vol. 1 covers Stayman, Jacoby, Weak Twos, Michaels Cuebids, Jacoby 2NT, and Neg. Doubles. The explanations are somewhat better here.

4. In a more advanced vein, Play Bridge with Larry Cohen 1999 Life Master Pairs -Day 1 and Day 2 (2 CDs) and Cavendish 2000-Day 1 and Days 2 & 3 (2 CDs) give you outstanding insight into how to think through an auction. I'm unsure how easy these disks are to get these days. Also, they are written for fairly experienced duplicate players, so you may want to wait awhile in rushing after them, but I still think they should be part of your curriculum of software for learning to bid.

5. Finally, I'm not sure if you can even still get them, but the two volume software set titled Private Bridge Lessons, Vol. 1 and 2 by Mike Lawrence are also very good. The problem is that I have the original 3.25 floppy disk versions of these and I am unsure if Mike or a publisher updated the material to CD and later versions of Windows. Going to michaelslawrence.com should assist you in getting them if they are available.

Disclaimer: I work for none of the companies or persons listed above.

Hope this helps.

[Michelle Steiner]

In article <af6430cb-cef7-4853...@googlegroups.com>,

<bridge...@gmail.com> wrote:

> 5. Finally, I'm not sure if you can even still get them, but the two volume
> software set titled Private Bridge Lessons, Vol. 1 and 2 by Mike Lawrence are
> also very good. The problem is that I have the original 3.25 floppy disk
> versions of these and I am unsure if Mike or a publisher updated the material
> to CD and later versions of Windows. Going to michaelslawrence.com should
> assist you in getting them if they are available.

They are available from Mike Lawrence's web site, and also from
amazon.com. The amazon site says they come on a CD ROM; however, they
are about play of the hand, and the OP is asking about bidding.

-- Michelle

[Grant Robinson]

On Tuesday, December 30, 2014 9:04:10 AM UTC-8, Pete Lewis wrote:

Another resource is rpbridge.net, an impressive collection of lessons, exercises, articles, information, and tools by Richard Pavlicek, Sr. Note the Bidding Practice (http://www.rpbridge.net/rpbp.htm).

However, note the author's bidding system. It is a natural system, more effective and easier to master than Standard American (in my opinion), but you won't be familiar with some of its continuations. The author also uses a point-count system that is different than the ACBL and Audrey Grant texts in counting distributional values, but this won't be much of a hindrance.

Best of luck to you!

[Steve Willner]

On 2014-12-30 12:04 PM, Pete Lewis wrote:
> My partner and I have begun playing duplicate after years of social bridge.

Welcome to the group, Pete.

Why are you interested in SA _Yellow Card_ in particular? Almost no one
actually plays that. It's a compromise system designed to avoid greatly
displeasing anyone, but that means it pleases no one.

Why not look at Bill Root's _Commonsense Bidding_ or the Dorothy Hayden
book suggested elsewhere? Or maybe others? (I would not recommend
anything by Max Hardy because the ones I've looked at seem difficult to
follow.)

[Barry Margolin]

In article <m9201n$qvh$1...@dont-email.me>,

Steve Willner <swil...@nhcc.net> wrote:

> On 2014-12-30 12:04 PM, Pete Lewis wrote:
> > My partner and I have begun playing duplicate after years of social bridge.
>
> Welcome to the group, Pete.
>
> Why are you interested in SA _Yellow Card_ in particular? Almost no one
> actually plays that. It's a compromise system designed to avoid greatly
> displeasing anyone, but that means it pleases no one.

Note that many people playing online bridge *claim* to be playing that.
But they don't actually know most of the details, so they often deviate.
For instance, back in the days when I frequently played with randoms on
OKbridge, most of them didn't realize that Jacoby 2NT was part of YC.