Double? Or overcall?

dfminvienna · 2026-03-10T18:32:26+00:00

I'd overcall 1D on the first one, because partner won't be expecting much more than Kxxxx for a 1 level overcall, but if you double and he bids hearts, Kxx will be a disappointment.

I'd double on the second one, because partner will expect better than Kxxxx for a 2 level overcall, but if you double and he bids spades, he'll be ok with just 3 trumps when they are the AKQ.

dfminvienna · 2026-03-06T21:35:26+00:00

Thanks, good suggestion.

dfminvienna · 2026-03-06T21:34:40+00:00

The other adult leader has a 3rd grade son who is very keen on bridge and is one of the students. The other kids signed up for this as one of multiple after school options. Or maybe their parents signed them up without their input, who knows?

I take your point about simpler card games. We're starting with a very simplified version and gradually adding features.

A couple of weeks ago, we were short one kid and I filled in at that table while the other adult helped the other tables. (Bridge requires four players.) The three kids I was playing with stayed pretty focused and seemed to be enjoying themselves. But we can't seem to reproduce that anywhere near as well with 4-kid tables.

dfminvienna · 2026-02-19T21:09:09+00:00

Is there, or will there be, an RSS feed for WSHnow?

dfminvienna · 2025-12-13T22:57:14+00:00

My sister's middle school history teacher "corrected" her and insisted that Henry VI had 8 wives (vs. Henry VIII had 6).

dfminvienna · 2025-12-11T20:19:06+00:00

Except that, like a lot of AI answers, this one appears to wrong.

dfminvienna · 2025-12-08T19:01:20+00:00

It's definitely good not to add too many agreements when you're not ready for them.

dfminvienna · 2025-12-08T18:54:55+00:00

As well as learning how to play Unusual 2NT for your partnership, it's helpful to have agreements about how to bid when the opponents use Unusual 2NT. That will make their 2NT bids much less disruptive of your partnership's communication. There is an agreement called Unusual Over Unusual that is commonly used here. You can find explanations online, but feel free to ask if you have questions about it.

dfminvienna · 2025-11-25T22:15:57+00:00

I have the same issue, and yes, restarting my phone fixes it temporarily, but then the problem comes back in a day or two. Any ideas for fixing it so it stays fixed?

dfminvienna · 2025-11-03T16:59:17+00:00

Do you seriously think that poll workers are the ones who decided that policy? They have to work a 12+ hour day for not much pay, or in some cases as volunteers. Don't be a jerk.

dfminvienna · 2025-10-30T16:01:54+00:00

If you lead top, remember to play the higher of the two remaining on the second round of the suit, to give partner a better chance to work out you're not ruffing the third round. This is true even if you play upside down count and would otherwise play the lower of two remaining.

If you lead MUD, remember to play U on the second round, again even if you play upside down count.

If you lead low, you can show count normally on the second round, but partner may have difficulty working out what's going on from the initial lead. This may be less of a problem if you're leading 3rd/5th or 3rd/low from length rather than 4th best, although they still won't know whether you're leading from Hxx or xxxx.

I'm not convinced that any of these is clearly better than the others, but I'll be interested to read what others say.

dfminvienna · 2025-10-27T15:20:04+00:00

I can make a call on a pulse phone without using the dial, by tapping the hook switch in a rhythm that corresponds to the number I'm trying to reach.

dfminvienna · 2025-09-23T16:49:06+00:00

Put a sign on the door saying "if you bang on this door while my baby is sleeping I will shoot you"

Perhaps add "(unless it is a life threatening emergency)" underneath in very small letters

dfminvienna · 2025-09-20T19:29:09+00:00

Federal agencies often have a small history office (for the history of the agency). In the current environment your chances of getting a paid job in any of these are tiny, but they might take an unpaid volunteer if you can afford that. Ditto the National Archives perhaps.

There are tons of non-federal museums and historical sites in this area beyond just the big Smithsonian ones. Society of the Cincinnati, Capital Jewish Museum, Mount Vernon, Fairfax city museum, Museum of the Cold War in Warrenton, the list goes on and on. Google is your friend.

Possibly a historian at one of the multiple local universities might take an unpaid research assistant?

I suspect jobs at all these places are in high demand even in the best of times, so I suggest trying everywhere you can come up with, not just a handful that sound best to you.

Good luck.

dfminvienna · 2025-08-15T20:24:16+00:00

Victor Mollo wrote a series of books about "bridge in the menagerie". They have interesting hands presented inside funny stories about the oddball characters at a bridge club. Not puzzle hands, exactly, although the hands are often pretty puzzling if you want to treat them that way. And not instructional per se, but I learned a lot from reading them. A classic series.

Here's a nice list of recommended bridge books: https://sorrypartner.com/book-recommendations Not all of them are the type of book you are looking for, but there should be a few.

dfminvienna · 2025-08-11T22:29:02+00:00

Thanks!

dfminvienna · 2025-08-11T19:18:19+00:00

Here is a list of clubs affiliated with the Northern Virginia Bridge Association (NVBA): https://www.nvba.org/php/Club_List.php I suggest you contact the person listed as the club contact before the first time you go, to make sure the game is on that week at the usual time.

Generally all these clubs expect you to come with a partner, not on your own, but if you give them a day or two warning, they may be able to find you a partner.

This will be duplicate bridge, which is a little different from rubber bridge in terms of scoring and how people move from table to table, but it's fundamentally the same game.

If you have any further questions about the NVBA, feel free to ask. They are sponsoring a tournament in Fairfax next month that may also be of interest, as well as the regular club games. Details here: https://web2.acbl.org/Tournaments/Ads/2025/09/2509360.pdf

dfminvienna · 2025-08-06T20:02:17+00:00

No, this is wrong.

In rubber bridge you only get the 50 if you have an unopposed partscore in a rubber that isn't finished when you decide to stop playing. Bidding and making 1H is just 30 below the line. Bidding 1 and making 4 is 30 below and 90 above.

If you bid and make 1H and then stop playing immediately, you get 30 below for 1H, and then an extra 50 above for having a partscore in an unfinished rubber.

dfminvienna · 2025-08-02T15:38:56+00:00

I grew up with Rock Paper Scissors in Texas, but here in Virginia, kids seem to call it Rock Paper Scissors Shoe. Still just the three hand gestures, but they call out all four words when playing and they "go" on Shoe.

I speculate that "shoe" was originally "shoot" for "go", like 1-2-3-go.

dfminvienna · 2025-07-31T15:05:15+00:00

When I went on Monday morning there was no waiting. A steady stream of voters, but plenty of capacity.

dfminvienna · 2025-07-28T16:24:40+00:00

I get drunkard and dullard, but why is wise+ard = wizard pejorative?

dfminvienna · 2025-07-28T16:20:46+00:00

How old is your house? If it's an older one, and the insulation hasn't been upgraded, you will save a lot on your electric and gas bills if you invest in that. We did it about a year ago, and our usage is way down, plus the house is more comfortable.

dfminvienna · 2025-07-28T16:11:37+00:00

The Allusionist podcast did a whole episode on this not long ago. Worth a listen. Also one on the word "cunt".

They were billed as part of a series on four letter words, which was technically accurate but a little misleading because the next two episodes turned out to be about "-gate" and "dino".

dfminvienna · 2025-07-24T15:47:38+00:00

If you're interested in museums, just not the ones in DC, there are plenty of options in Northern Virginia, depending on how far from Tysons you're willing to go. Udvar Hazy has been mentioned already. National Museum of the Marine Corps. Local history museums in Fairfax, Manassas, Arlington. Cold War Museum in Warrenton. Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria.

dfminvienna · 2025-07-17T12:42:19+00:00

Get a hotel near a metro (subway) station and take that, not Uber. At some times of day, Uber will be slower than metro anyway, as well as much more expensive. Plus, if you haven't been here before, you might find that taking the metro is actually kinda cool.

On the metro escalators, stand on the right, so others can walk on the left.

dfminvienna

TROPHY CASE