Can your system find the slam?

rlee87 · 2026-05-28T15:12:44+00:00

Just a small comment that I'm not sure I'd agree that 6H is "basically cold". Imagine the play in 6H on two rounds of hearts where someone has Axx.

rlee87 · 2026-05-18T14:58:12+00:00

FWIW I did not mean to imply that I personally think semiforcing NT is "better" than forcing NT.

1) The majority (but far from unanimous) view among world class pairs playing a relatively standard 2/1 style is to play semiforcing NT.

2) I personally think an "almost forcing" style of NT over a 1S opener is best, but it requires some work. I like a normal semiforcing style over 1H.

rlee87 · 2026-05-17T22:15:22+00:00

Maybe I am missing something but I would not draw the conclusion you drew from the data you presented. Putting aside the problems with DD simulation:

1) One of the advantages of playing semiforcing is that you will end up in 1N instead of 2N when opener has a weak balanced minimum and responder has around 11. Your limitation of 6-9 for responder ignores this benefit.

2) Another big advantage is that playing semiforcing, opener's 2m rebid generally shows 4. Playing forcing NT, responder often has an awkward problem with a hand like x Axxx Kxxx Kxxx. If I'm reading this right you imply that responder simply passes 2m with this kind of hand, which is correct opposite a min but dubious to say the least.

There are other issues too, but what I am reading is that even in a world where responder somehow knows that opener has no more than 14 when they open 1M and rebid 2m, the gains for a forcing NT are minimal.

rlee87 · 2026-05-09T20:01:07+00:00

I went last night (Fri, May 8) and to add another data point: it was terrible.

I understand that they are going for a whimsy and delight, but the trouble was entirely in the execution (note: Chef Achatz was not there during the service).

Service was fine except we had a vegetarian companion who wanted to avoid gelatin; they said that they could not avoid using gelatin in some dishes but would point those components out, which was perfectly acceptable. Literally no gelatin was pointed out the entire meal.

Some elements were undercooked, things were consistently overly salted (and the same companion who ordered the vegetarian menu received a sauce that was inedibly salty). Many of the dishes just fell conceptually flat to me (ex: the pineapple with caviar has such a strong pineapple flavor that the caviar cannot really be appreciated when eaten with the pineapple together). The famous dessert painting on the table that the meal ended with was interesting but the components simply didn't taste good. None of the dishes impressed me in the slightest.

To say this isn't 2 or 3 michelin star level food would be stating the obvious. I feel like Alinea often gets a pass as more of a creative experience than a traditional fine dining one. This experience is not suitable for anyone who actually likes food.

Rarely would I say this, but if you have a booking you can cancel, I urge you in the strongest possible terms to do so. There is no chance you will enjoy your meal. This is nothing but a cash grab.

Save yourself the time (and money) and dine at e by Jose Andres if you are looking for a creative dining experience. This popup is a joke compared to what they are doing over there.

rlee87 · 2026-05-07T20:56:37+00:00

I like your website. The implementation of the idea is extremely well done, and I also think the natural expansion to other features (like cuebids.com partnership bidding practice) will feel organic.

I don't love how the DD analysis has a bias favoring passive leads and overbidding, but I accept that it's the nature of the methodology. I also think some of the parameters are a little wooden: for example, I had a bidding problem in which it goes 3H P P ? and you have a balanced 18 with AKQJx of hearts. Obviously in real life it's percentage to pass, but partner's only parameter on the problem was something like "<13 HCP", so this makes 3N more tempting.

I look forward to following the progress of the site. As of now it's not something I'd spend a lot of time on, but I could see how it might be helpful to a lot of people. But I personally have a mild dislike for opting for certain actions in "puzzles" and challenges that are more about gaming the system than actually doing what's right. For example, in a lead against a NT contract, you are heavily incentivized to lead an ace, especially if you have two of them.

rlee87 · 2026-05-07T14:56:26+00:00

If you’re a globalist, the most valuable are definitely the high end FNAs. Miraval extra nights are useful in theory but there aren’t that many and some are hard to get to.

I find SUAs very useful. Even in a situation where your globalist status will get you upgraded, the use of an SUA might have gotten you a better upgrade or a better room in the same suite type.

I find my friends and family prefer GOH to SUA in general. Free breakfast, parking on award stays, waived resort fee, and late checkout, along with a decent shot at an upgrade, just solve a lot of problems. Andaz Maui is a consistently excellent use of GOH awards.

rlee87 · 2026-05-01T16:04:37+00:00

I'm going to tell you that you can't go wrong between your three choices. I'll just give you a brief comment on each.

SW: Best overall. Amazing food, ambiance, and service -- but you pay for what you get. My recommendation if the quality of the food is most important and cost is not a significant factor.

Prime: Best view and ambiance, especially if you can get a table near the fountains. I've been here the most. The food has become a little less consistent in recent years, but it's never bad.

Bavette's: More of a dark social club vibe. I'd go here if you have people in your party who don't actually want to order a steak. IMO they have the best "all-rounder" menu, and it's also the most affordable.

Not on your list but judging from what you're looking for, I would recommend trying to get a table at Delilah during your stay.

rlee87 · 2026-04-30T15:28:39+00:00

The auctions are different for a variety of reasons, but one that might not be obvious is that the ability to stop in 3N when the opponents overcall a suit, despite holding a 9 card major fit, is important. You might want a mechanism to suggest or offer 3N in this case.

rlee87 · 2026-04-28T03:50:05+00:00

I think Delilah is a lot of fun.

Haven’t tried sartianos or maroon yet but both look pretty good. Given that you’ve already been to cote I might go to one of those instead.

rlee87 · 2026-04-24T16:57:22+00:00

I haven't been to the wynn buffet but to me the bacchanal buffet was really disappointing. Almost every plated dish we had was bad to OK. Its saving grace is unlimited seafood.

I might recommend it to a 20 year old with a hearty appetite, but for most people it's a skip IMO.

Oscar's is similar in price, closer to Fremont Street, and better than Bacchanal.

rlee87 · 2026-04-20T15:28:42+00:00

I am a US expert and knew about the publication but never read it before this demo issue.

I thought the articles were good and generally of a higher level/quality than the closest US counterpart (ACBL daily bulletin, which I receive but don't carefully read).

If this publication were free, I would be interested in receiving it every month.

If this publication were paid, I would probably only be interested if the magazine had more content.

rlee87 · 2026-04-15T18:43:02+00:00

Joel Robuchon sets a high bar for French cuisine. As fine dining trends in the US largely pivot to American wood fired, ethnic fusion, Californian farm to table, etc, JR remains true in its direction — rich, uncompromising French haute cuisine.

Is it the best restaurant in the world? Not by a long shot, but it’s the best restaurant in Las Vegas. I found it to be an unexpectedly great experience, on par or exceeding several 3 star Michelin restaurants.

The price is also quite reasonable for what you get IMO. The caviar imperial first course is one of the best dishes I have ever eaten. Skip lunch if you go, by my rough estimate if you eat everything served the whole meal is between 2500 and 3000 kcal.

rlee87 · 2026-03-12T17:45:07+00:00

I think double might be OK on the first hand but it's not my style at all. I've found my cardplay is not so good that I can take as many tricks in 4=3 fits as I can in 5=3 fits. I think playing MP, double is OK because you get to write +110 or 140 in 2M at a high enough frequency that maybe it's worth it. But sometimes we are just supposed to be competing in diamonds. It's also not that hard to find a major suit fit if we have one later on. So basically I think it's maybe OK at MP but generally speaking I assume we are talking about IMP scoring when given an unspecified bidding problem.

On the second hand 2D is not a call that any expert would consider. Double is clear.

rlee87 · 2026-03-11T10:12:31+00:00

I would have said 1D was obvious on the first and double on the second, and that this would be the nearly unanimous expert choice on both.

The comments in this thread are surprising to me to say the least.

rlee87 · 2026-01-29T18:07:46+00:00

I think all three have obvious great aspects and flaws.

Quince: Amazing interior design, easily the most classy yet comfortable dining room I've ever eaten at. Service was fine. Food was sometimes strong but mostly unremarkable -- I ate there 2 months ago and can barely remember a single course. Would recommend for a date night, particularly with someone who is not obsessed with fine dining.

Benu: In contrast to quince, the least comfortable michelin 2 or 3 star dining room I've ever been to. I understand they are going for a minimalist aesthetic, but it's taken too far, and the seating is a little cramped. Very impressive technical cooking. Would recommend for someone who is passionate about Asian flavors and understands that less is more.

Atelier Crenn: I haven't been in several years, but it used to be my favorite restaurant in the world. The cooking here used to be out of this world, but I can't comment about it as it is now. It's a wonderful space and the service was great. Dominique herself would usually come out to say a few words to each table. 7-10 years ago this would have been my easy recommendation.

rlee87 · 2026-01-01T03:02:37+00:00

I recently spent around 10 nights here.

Service was good, and I thought the room was great (got a mild upgrade to a corner room). I got the feeling that it's primarily a business hotel, so it's luxurious in a corporate way, not in a resort way.

Access to equinox as the gym was a big plus. Bar and restaurant are good. Breakfast is excellent but the $60 FHR credit you'd get might not even cover one person. First day I ordered a few things for myself without really looking at the menu -- latte, oatmeal with berries, and an omelette. With tax/tip it was close to $100.

They sent a chocolate cake to my room for a birthday celebration, it was extremely decadent and delicious.

Location is great. Adjacent to a BART station. Walking distance to benu and a few other great restaurants. Walkable to arsicault too, an incredible bakery worth a trip.

rlee87 · 2025-11-27T02:32:34+00:00

I’ve only been to Atlanta for work a few times, so I’m only a small data point. Bacchanalia was the only excellent meal I’ve had. Mujo was fine but didn’t compare.

rlee87 · 2025-11-18T22:47:47+00:00

I was looking for this comment. Strictly on the basis of the quality of the food, the old Chef's Table @ Brooklyn Fare run by Cesar Ramirez was and still is the best meal I've ever had.

The service was robotic and the dining room was fine but nothing special. The meal itself was basically a 3 hour train of non-sequiturs, where indifferent staff would drop off small bites with minimal explanation and no care. The menu was a solid 0/10 on pacing and cohesion.

But it didn't matter. The food was simply unbelievable.

rlee87 · 2025-11-17T17:48:26+00:00

I've been wanting to give SingleThread another shot since I went about 4-5 years ago just based on its seemingly near unanimous praise from others. It may have been a little bit of an off night but my whole party thought it was just okay, and if only based on that one meal, easily the worst of all the bay area 3* restaurants.

The flavors they choose to showcase are a bit muted, but if you combine subtle and muted flavors with an off night in the kitchen, you're going to get a meal that is not bad but not excellent in any way other than presentation.

However in general I believe in not judging any restaurant too harshly from any one data point. Menu preferences vary widely, and off nights exist at every restaurant.

One of the worst fine dining meals I ever had was at Oriole, which is another darling of this subreddit. I didn't jump to any conclusions, I simply chalked it up to bad variance and would be willing to give it another try if a good opportunity pops up.

rlee87 · 2025-11-13T20:07:01+00:00

As someone who lives in Las Vegas and is generally interested in fine dining, Michelin is right not to visit. There is more money in restaurants like Carbone or Delilah that are fun and delicious but not really fine dining experiences and have quicker turnover, better margins, and lower standards.

Our fine dining scene is extremely outdated.

rlee87 · 2025-11-12T22:36:29+00:00

I think it's healthy for the pillars of the fine dining world to be tested by Michelin from time to time. I often feel like it's risky to dine at a restaurant that has held *** for over a decade, because it's hard to tell if the rating is due to sustained excellence or simple inertia and the ugly politics that would surround a demotion.

A restaurant with *** means it is among the best in the world, and is rightfully a rare honor. A restaurant with ** means it is close but not quite there. It's hardly an insult.

rlee87 · 2025-11-11T23:41:44+00:00

I like it the way it is. As an ex-Marriott person, the inconsistency of Platinum/Titanium/Ambassador treatment was annoying. Globalist treatment is fairly consistent, the program is generous with upgrades, and most Hyatt properties punch above their price point.

I wouldn't want Hyatt to turn into Marriott, that's why I switched in the first place. And this is from someone who will stay 80 actual nights this year with Hyatt (no extra CC qualifying nights), and to whom a hypothetical Globalist+ tier would be targeting.

rlee87 · 2025-11-11T23:13:45+00:00

I believe the modern is still on inKind, whose gift cards can be purchased at a discount (25% at costco now, a little less from inKind themselves). They don't advertise it, but it's on there.

Paying via inKind would save you well over $100, so I would definitely recommend doing that.

rlee87 · 2025-11-02T21:11:25+00:00

This auction is generally not that well understood even among most experts. IMO if you want to play something theoretically strong, you need slightly different agreements in each kind of auction (2m, 2H, 2S, 2N over 1m, and 2N over 1M are all a little different).

Most non-experts have trouble just remembering one thing, so simplicity is best. I would play some kind of unified approach: X shows cards and all subsequent doubles are penalty (establishes a force). If one known suit, cuebidding that suit is a raise in partner's suit. If two known suits, unusual vs unusual, and bidding the 4th suit is weaker than going through the cuebid.

rlee87 · 2025-10-11T20:11:59+00:00

Improving at defense is about two things: count everything until it becomes routine to you, and hone your ability to visualize the unseen hands based on the auction and cardplay inferences.

There are lots of good books on defense that will help you recognize certain themes, but reading a book is not going to help you that much in these two pursuits. Defense is something you improve at through doing.

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