[EarlPurple]

I think that defensive hand posting looks a lot clearer when dummy is North, and your hand (defending) is either East or West.

While it's true you can "cheat" with those templates, it would be much simpler it were displayed without a "South" over one of the hands, but instead with a North and either the East or West.

[Gerardo]

Poll added to this thread

[Chamaco]

Declarer in south is seat easier to watch, but posting the real hand with declarer in any seat is easier to post with cut and paste.

[EarlPurple]

surprising here that some have selected for declarer to always be North. I'm not sure they read the question properly - did they mean dummy should always be North (thus declarer always South).

In the templates, I think the intention is that your own hand is South and that dummy is either East or West.

It confuses me because give me 2 hands diagonally and no "table" and my assumption will be that the one closer to the top of the screen is the dummy and North, AND that:

- a hand below it to the left is West and playing before dummy
- a hand below it to the right is East and playing after dummy.

[Gerardo]

You're right, I made the wrong question, but it is a equivalent one.

[inquiry]

Earl,

No one was more confused by the Gerado's decision to always make "you" South in post on this forum than I was. I used Leftdummy button when and Rightdummy backwards for a fair amount of time in an effort to always have "south" the declearer. If you read the history of the development of the add=on that Gerardo did (great work btw), you will see that he did it this way because "it was easier for him".

It takes just a minute or two for the normal person to get the hang of south is always one of the hnads shown.. and is (for problems posted) "your hand". If you are defender, you see dummy to left or right, making declearer ethier East or West. It took me about a month to figure it out (I am slow at times).

Now, we have other software dependent upon these definiations, like Cascade's truely wonderful Linconverter (if you don't have this program, go download it immediately... iti is a must have). It is at...Linconverter. It will convert lin files to 1) Plain text (with or without play), 2) PBN format (netbridgevu will convert pbn to lin, so you can go either way), 3) Deep Finesse format (whatever that is), and finally and most importantly, 4) To BBF format for posting here in the forum... complete with functioning "rotate the hand to make anyone south" and working leftdummy, rightdummy, and singlehand.. .note, single hand is always "south" so you need to rotate the original so that whatever hand you want is south..same is true for left and right dummy.

So in the final analysis, it would seem to be best if we don't change the way it works (I was huge advocate originally of south always declearer), better I think, is to add position name above cards (south, west, east, north), or perhaps instead a direction arrow in the middle... something like that.

Ben

[EarlPurple]

Thanks for the replies.

A square (box) in the middle indication where the table is would make it easier for a start.

I'd be interested to know how easily the PBN and lin files can be used with Jack, by the way. I often find during vugraph I am having to type the hands into Jack, but it would be wonderful if it could somehow be integrated in like DeepFinesse is.

[Free]

The hand which has to play is in South. Either this is declarer, or his RHO or LHO (together with the dummy). And yes indeed, a square or green little table with N/E/S/W directions would solve a lot of brainteasers and misunderstandings.