[a_user]

The 'average' club player - whatever that is - often play Gerber. We get really good boards against them when they end up playing in 5♣.

If our opponents play Smolen, multi, puppet, splinters etc they usually get the follow-ups wrong trying to pull the splinters out of their multiple puppets.

I'm too old and too lazy to learn enough to play Bridge for money.

[blackshoe]

Sit down with your new partner. Fill out a card. Make agreements. Play. Every time either one of you forgets any artificial agreement, take it off the card. Pretty soon you're playing what one California expert years ago called "the Nuttin' System" -- as in "we don't play nuttin'". If you or your partner ever forgets the meaning of a natural bid, well, now you've got a real problem.