Team Pharon (Hanlon McGann) survive

Good evening all

I was up late last night having a look at the Yeh Bros qualifying bridge event. It carried on through the night.
Fiona Brown Thomas Hanlon and Hugh McGann were involved. The English Ladies plus 1 failed to get through the Swiss qualifiers in a very tough event. Team Pharon (Pharon is a Financial services company with a bridge connection) scraped thru in the final qualifying place but now have only one knockout match ahead of them. Lose and they are out. The top 7 teams plus YEH1 have double knockout.

Tonight PHARON play against CHEEK whom they defeated comfortably last night. However any team containing Justin Lall and Joe Grue among others is not going to be easy meat in a knockout match.

The vugraph show starts at 1:30am Irish time and I don't think the Irish will be on vugraph as they probably show the higher level matches.

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Pictures from Derry Seniors Congress coutesy of Mary Kelly Rogers
Results can be found at www.fob.ie

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Enda Murphy pointed out my poker odds are wrong ...I still reckon its 221-1 to get pocket Aces or any two specific cards but he hasd been playing cards longer then I

Like the blog Eamon,

Need to educate you re odds [to save you money ]......

Odds of first card an ace are 4 in 52 ie 1 in 13 ie 12 to 1 against.

And second then is 3 in 51 or 1 in 17 ie 16 to 1....

Jacko will tell you these small diffs add up over time

Bear in mind you are dealing with a guy who only yesterday invested a tenner that Chelski would lead halftime and draw fulltime.....in other words Luis Suarez is a fine upstanding citizen, bless his little cotton socks.

Enda

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Finally Law 73C reared its ugly head last night in Malahide

North deals and opens 1H holding

KQ5

AKJT

K93

752

East passes

South holding

64

9874

AT8

QT96

places a pass on the table in reaction to Easts pass (which he presumed was the opening bid)

Then South noticing the 1H bid makes some noises and attempts to replace the pass with some thing else at the same time indicating he might have a bid by verbal noises.

I am called and I deem the PASS as made given it was his clear intention to PASS and not an accident

WEST balances with 1S ............

NORTH now makes the aggressive bid of 1NT (claims he is upgrading as KQx of spades is well positioned)

EAST bids 2S

SOUTH wide awake now makes the bid of 3H

WEST pushes on to 3S ..

and all PASS ...

After the hand is finished ...I am called back and lots of noise is made about NORTHS 1NT bid being strange and unusual

I deem result stands as 3S down 3 is about 3 tricks less then I would make .... I say EW can appeal if they choose

Basically South was dozing and failed to notice his partner opening and passed but then decided to hand over some information for some reason that he would have bid something if he had noticed.

North for some bizarre reason felt his minimum opening bid had suddenly improved to what is about 18-19 balanced shown by the 1NT willing to battle alone bid. Obviously it is very safe to bid 1NT when partner has indicated verbally his ownership of about a 6 count. 

However I could not as a director penalise North for his method of evaluation of his hand.

I don't understand the method of evaluation but one does not get penalised for stupidity.

I would like some comments on this as I really did not know what to do .. People are supposed to make every effort to play honestly and Law 73C is there for folk who chance their arms.

Basically does North have a 1NT bid given his partner has used the verbals to tell him stuff.

I don't understand why anybody would act in Souths way ... A player of over 25 years experience.

Thanks 

Eamon Galligan