What is the "Short Club?"
mark...@carleton.edu
unbelievably stupid, but since I'm a relative rookie here, I thought I'd ask.
I learned bridge in pretty Standard American from _Goren's New Bridge Complete_
and played with five-card majors, strong two-club, weak two-bids, etc, etc.
But when I got to Carleton, my current college, and started playing
bridge here, a lot of people used what they call the "Short Club:" an artifical
one-club opening bid, forcing and asking for longest suit. Now, this seems
entirely unnecessary to me. but maybe I'm missing something. Has anyone else
heard of this? Do other people use it? Am I just behind the times? What is
the rationale behind this?
Thanks.
Chris Markwyn
Robert Bryan Lipton
: I apologize if this question is either (a) something in a FAQ; or (b)
: Thanks.
: Chris Markwyn
There are two senses of 'Short Club' that can be used rationally. In one of
them, an opener of 1D promises 4 diamonds. Since the 4-4-3-2 hand is not
uncommon, this means you must open 1 club on this sort of hand.
I have seen this misused so that, in practice, a 4-4-4-1 distribution is
opened 1 club. But then, playing 2/1 gf and 1NT forcing, I have held 13 hcp,
a 5/2/2/4 hand and had the auction go 1S/1NT/2C/P when partner held a 4/4/4/1
hand. "I didn't think you would pass!"
The other 'short club' system is actually a 'strong club' system: any hand
above a certain point count (16 is standard Precision, 17 in Schencken for
examples) is opened 1 club. This says nothing about the shape of your hand:
merely the point count.
Bob
David Moore
prefer to use one of those putters that looks like a bowl of fruit
on a stick.
It is used to beat partner when they open 1C on something like:
AQ72
KJ42
QT3
32
Because, they say, they don't want to open 1D on less than 4.
Carry one.
Eric Taylor
|> bridge here, a lot of people used what they call the "Short Club:" an artifical
|> one-club opening bid, forcing and asking for longest suit. Now, this seems
|> entirely unnecessary to me. but maybe I'm missing something.
If it is truly called "The Short Club", it is a pet name held
over from Goren Days. You are never supposed to admit you play it.
You simply bid 1 club when no other bid is attactive
(i.e. no biddable suits)
Your friends may be playing something else they have
misheard from somewhere or mixed up the "Short Club" with
the "Forcing Club".
Martin Schafer
While I graduated from Carleton in '79 I remember the bridge club
people playing that system then. It is certainly not neccessary,
but it is an extension of an idea behind 5-card majors. If you
are playing 5CM you either always open clubs with hands that don't
fit the requirements for other bids, or you open your better minor.
In this system an opening of 1 diamond promises a five card diamond
suit, the same way 1 h or 1 s promises 5. You bid one club with
opening count, no five card suit and not a NT hand. Partner must respond to
1C even with no points since you may be singleton. While it is
certainly a playable system, I think it is a silly artificiality,
though they seem to think that it is the way all the experts play.
I always played 4CM and did just fine against them at the daily
luncheon bridge games.
Donald A. Varvel
Martin Schafer <sch...@raistlan.network.com> wrote:
|In article <1994Feb28...@carleton.edu> mark...@carleton.edu writes:
|> I apologize if this question is either (a) something in a FAQ; or (b)
|>unbelievably stupid, but since I'm a relative rookie here, I thought I'd ask.
|>I learned bridge in pretty Standard American from _Goren's New Bridge Complete_
|>and played with five-card majors, strong two-club, weak two-bids, etc, etc.
|> But when I got to Carleton, my current college, and started playing
|>one-club opening bid, forcing and asking for longest suit. Now, this seems
|>entirely unnecessary to me. but maybe I'm missing something. Has anyone else
|>heard of this? Do other people use it? Am I just behind the times? What is
|>the rationale behind this?
|> Thanks.
|> Chris Markwyn
|While I graduated from Carleton in '79 I remember the bridge club
|people playing that system then. It is certainly not necessary,
|but it is an extension of an idea behind 5-card majors. If you
|are playing 5CM you either always open clubs with hands that don't
|fit the requirements for other bids, or you open your better minor.
|In this system an opening of 1 diamond promises a five card diamond
|suit, the same way 1 h or 1 s promises 5. You bid one club with
|opening count, no five card suit and not a NT hand. Partner must respond to
|1C even with no points since you may be singleton. While it is
|certainly a playable system, I think it is a silly artificiality,
|though they seem to think that it is the way all the experts play.
|I always played 4CM and did just fine against them at the daily
|luncheon bridge games.
I've been interested in this kind of system for a long time, since
I strongly suspect the 1C opening of standard 5-card major systems is
a bit underused. I've experimented with some alternative approaches
and they seem to work reasonably well.
American authorities tend to scoff at this sort of thing, treating it
as a "beginner's mistake."
Australian Ron Klinger's "Power System" has a 17-20-point 1NT opening,
5-card major-suit and diamond openings limited to 19 or so points,
a natural 2C opening, and a 1C opening for everything else. "Everything
else" in this case includes balanced hands in the 12-16 range, 3-suited
hands, hands with 5+ clubs and a 4-card major, and all hands of 20 or
more points. That is, he uses an opening bid structure much like the
Carleton lunch players to build a system that is playable at the highest
levels.
I think the idea actually goes back to Stern's "Vienna System".
The opening bid structure described is not unsound, although it is
not used (as far as I know) by any experts in this country. The most
important matter is what you do with that structure. What Klinger
does is exceptionally complicated and generally illegal in tournaments
in this country.
I think there are better ways to build a simple bidding system.
--
-- Don Varvel (var...@cs.utexas.edu)
"Deserve" ain't got nothin' to do with it. _Unforgiven_
Sally Wheeler's SO
I seem to remember this "convention" from my days as a novice in
the Dorm in 1969. It appears it has been around forever:) A five card
major system requires opening a 3 card club suit fairly frequently.
Any hand with no five card major, no 4 card diamond suit, and the
wrong point count for 1nt is opened with a possibly 3 card club. The
system also requires opening a 3 card diamond with 4-4-3-2 hand or
(by some) with something like: axxx,xxx,akq,xxx. There is an extreme
minority view (my guess would be 1% of experts) that 1d should always
have 4 and, as a result, a 4-4-3-2 hand, must be opened with a 2 card
club suit. There are also dozens of real forcing club systems (precision
is the most common).
The "short club convention" that these players are probably
playing is not, most likely, part of any organized bidding system. In-
stead this "convention" is probably the product of a serious misinter-
pretation of Goren's 3 card club opening (or,perhaps, Culberson's).
The "convention" consists of opening 1c on random hands. .I assure you
no player beyond the extreme novice stage bids this way.
Buddy
>
> Thanks.
> Chris Markwyn
Brian Meadows
I've met up with a system called "Milton Club" before, which may have
been something like this. Extract taken from EBU Director's guide...
Milton Club
===========
Opening bids of 1D, 1H and 1S show 13-17 points, and promise at least
five card suits. The 1NT opener shows a balanced 18-20 points, and 1C is
used to cover other opening bids in the 13-17 range, any balanced hand,
any 4-4-4-1 shape, and any hand in which clubs is the primary suit. In
response to 1C, 1d shows 0-7 points.
2C is the biggest opening bid showing 22+ points, other two bids show
18-21 points, at least 5 cards in the suit, but are not forcing.
I can't remember meeting more than a couple of pairs who played it,
though.
Brian.
======================================================================
= =
= Brian Meadows Br...@bcsl.demon.co.uk =
= =
======================================================================
Ed Sheldon
>The "short club" is usually a sand iron, although some players
>prefer to use one of those putters that looks like a bowl of fruit
>on a stick.
>
>It is used to beat partner when they open 1C on something like:
>
> AQ72
> KJ42
> QT3
> 32
>
>Because, they say, they don't want to open 1D on less than 4.
>
>Carry one.
American books always say that this style is only used by the most
inexperienced beginners. Why? It seems very sound to me, allowing you to
lead and compete more freely in partner's 1D opening. Indeed, I would
consider opening 1C on AQxx KJx xxxx KJx, so that partner can rely on my 1D
openings.
Christopher Monsour
>Indeed, I would
>consider opening 1C on AQxx KJx xxxx KJx, so that partner can rely on my 1D
>openings.
I'd be embarrassed to open that with anything in first seat! (at rubber bridge,
anyway)
--Christopher J. Monsour
John Hoffman
> I would consider opening 1C on AQxx KJx xxxx KJx, so that partner
> can rely on my 1D openings.
First, you need to get partner to rely on you to count your cards.
mons...@appmath.uchicago.edu (Christopher Monsour) follows up with:
> I'd be embarrassed to open that with anything in first seat!
> (at rubber bridge, anyway)
While others would down-grade this hand because of the extreme
lack of ruffing values, I take the positive view. Any hand with
14 cards is worth an extra trick as long as everyone else
has less than 14 cards.
Christopher Monsour
:-)
I hadn't meant that I'd be embarrassed at the distribution--rather embarrassed
that I would have dealt it.
--Christopher J. Monsour