[kenrexford]

So, playing in a local club game, with a stationary playing director (sitting North), we show up to find the hands already dealt.

On hand one, sitting North, my hand was amazingly dealt with all thirteen cards in the order you would sort them in. We have a strange auction to -2000 when we should have been in 6CX, -500, for an excellent score against their 5H.

During the evening, every time we are North, weird things happen. Two hands in a row, you think seriously about slam. Both times, you have 5-5 in one major and diamonds. Both times, partner has 5-card major support. Both times, the opponents bid the auction up to 5C. Both times, 5M goes down because of a diamond ruff (you have undisclosed dual 10-card fits).

Three times, 4S makes seven and cannot be bid.

Twice in a row, the auction ends at 2S, appropriately, but making five.

Sundry others.

The comeback was in figuring this out. When you see a clear game try, stop dead at 2M, and score up 110 (did this). The next hand, open with 11 and then jump to game to score up +450 (did this). Open a 6322 14-count 1NT to right-side the contract, then jeopardize the contract by taking a very high risk, low-percentage finesse to set up a working progressive squeeze (did it -- so did one other pair).

The one I mis-guessed. You have three points and three diamonds. Partner preempts in sandwich position, and Opener bids 4C. (1C-P-1H-3D-4C-?) Your call? I opted to double for penalty, playing 4C for -610. If the slam makes, we score well. However, this was the freak where somehow the obvious slam actually fails. Darn luck!!!

I cannot prove anything, but I sure do suspect...

[nickf]

Jlall, on Feb 21 2006, 04:08 PM, said:

Go Here Immediately

droll.

nickf
sydney

[Echognome]

Anyone seen the movie Pi?

Reminds me of it. Patterns are everywhere and we just have to figure them out. Or are we dreaming all along?

[FrancesHinden]

We had an amazing match yesterday. 32 boards (Crockfords Cup, for anyone who cares). Lots of flat games, a few flat partials. Only 6 boards with a swing of more than 2 imps.

[pclayton]

Echognome, on Feb 21 2006, 02:49 AM, said:

Anyone seen the movie Pi?

Reminds me of it.  Patterns are everywhere and we just have to figure them out.  Or are we dreaming all along?

More like: THIS

[han]

Thank you so much, this thread has changed my life! I'm seeing things now that I never noticed before, revolutionary things. I don't think that this is a safe place to write more about it though, I hear that people everywhere are already talking about me. My friend tells me that I'd better stop writing on this forum, got to go!

Han

[kenrexford]

An update -- the conspiracy theory is proven!!!

Week #2 at this game, and two of the first three hands are sorted already. Same playing director. No partscore bid fails to make game. 1/3 of all hands end up with the right action being to bid 5 over 5 in a competitive auction. 1/3 of all hands make slam, often the weaker HCP side making slam.

The playing director's partner confirmed that her partner "randomly deals" the hands before the game, notes that a while ago there was a suspicion of stacked hands, and comments that she has a very difficult time understanding her partner's "strange bids." Amazingly, they always have an amazingly high score!

Well, well.

[Gerben42]

And the reason the hands are pre-dealt by the director's partner is what? So that the game finishes at 22:30 instead of 22:33?

[Al_U_Card]

Hannie, on Feb 21 2006, 02:40 PM, said:

Thank you so much, this thread has changed my life! I'm seeing things now that I never noticed before, revolutionary things. I don't think that this is a safe place to write more about it though, I hear that people everywhere are already talking about me. My friend tells me that I'd better stop writing on this forum, got to go!

Han

That's why I always keep my aluminum foil cap on, especially at nite.

[kenrexford]

Perhaps the best part of this story is the incompetence of the stacker. First, how difficult is it to shuffle the hands after you stack them?

The best is the hand where we bid and made 3NT against the suspected stacker. You are on lead against 3NT, having opened 1H and had this raised. 1H-1NT-2H-X(stolen)-P-2S-P-3NT-P-P-P. Your lead from AKJ109? Seems easy to find the Jack. Especially when you KNOW that 4S is being set as partner has four of them. Especially as you know that A-K-out lets us MAKE 3NT. Even King first, then Jack, works. But, our stacker elected to lead A-K-out.

You may wonder why this person was on lead. They were not. However, they made a lead out of turn. My partner, a rookie with only Qxx as a stopper and good spade support, for some reason elected to pass my 3NT call, to accept the lead, and to make me declarer. We received a top.