Bridge Winners Profile for Doug Couchman
Basic Information
- Member Since
- Feb. 25, 2014
- Last Seen
- 6 minutes ago
- Member Type
- Bridge Player
- about me
I'm a semi-serious bridge player and teacher in Tucson, Arizona. I'm a former TD and am active on my unit and district boards, and second alternate to the national board. Playing the game, and helping others learn to play and appreciate it, are a substantial part of my life.
Having a girlfriend who — somewhat to my consternation — has taken up the game helps make it even more fun.
When not playing bridge I tutor, preparing people for standardized tests. (Primarily those for graduate school admission, specifically the LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, and GRE.) If you or someone you care about needs help on a test, I'm your guy. See details on my website, www.dougcouchman.com.
I'm a system maven — ask me about my "Troll Club" canapé relay system.
Though I have recently relocated to Tucson, Arizona, I retain ties in the San Francisco bay area.
- Country
- United States of America
Bridge Information
- BBO Username
- atakdog
- ACBL Ranking
- Silver Life Master
- How should the director rule
- As others have said: 4♣ wasn't good. West's partner, a passed hand, wants to play hearts; he has the king of hearts in support and a club suit that isn't any better than he's shown before. Passing would be a LA, I strongly believe. (We ...
- Demanding revoke correction
- This is correct, but there are two issues for declarer consider (if he understands the problem in time): - Many directors will get this wrong, considering not each revoke in turn (as you describe) but the two together; doing the latter they might conclude that there was a one trick automatic ...
- Revoke Question
- 64A2 provides that the automatic penalty for the first revoke is one trick. 64B2 provides that there is no automatic penalty for the second revoke. 64C1 establishes the general procedure for equity adjustment beyond the automatic penalty, and 64C2a deals specifically with subsequent revokes in the same suit, but on ...
- Your thoughts on whether Alerts or Explanations are required or should be required or voluntarily should be done
- The rules (in my case, the ACBL alert procedure) provide for all required alerts. I alert the calls that the applicable rules say are to be alerted. I do not alert calls that the applicable rules do not say should be alerted. When an opponent asks about the auction (provided ...
- Doug Couchman's bidding problem: AK83 AT964 63 Q5
- He was indeed. South informed us right away about the MI, which in my opinion caused no damage. But as usual, MI creates UI, and I found that issue more interesting.
- Doug Couchman's bidding problem: AK83 AT964 63 Q5
- Spoiler follows... . . . This is actually a UI question. 1♥ was alerted and contemporaneously explained as showing either spades, or clubs plus diamonds (suction, which N/S play after a strong club but not after a precision diamond). I questioned north's decision to pass 1♠, considering a raise ...
- Which is more likely for them to balance?
- As far as I know there's nothing special about the equal sign for this purpose, but certainly there's a frequent need to distinguish between "some hand that has a six card suit, two three card suits, and a singleton" and "a hand that has six spades, three of ...
- Which is more likely for them to balance?
- Perhaps it (the 4=4=3=2 sort of designation) is not BridgeWinners standard but I've always thought it clear enough and (maybe) standard enough that I've used it many times hereon. No one's ever asked about it.
- Mistaken bid
- Some bids that force the partnership to game are not slam tries, but instead are informational bids intended to inform partner's decision if there is (further) competition beyond the game level. A splinter is not such a bid, but they do exist.
- Too weak to reverse but holding 6m-5M, which suit do you open with?
- Yes, or perhaps beyond. 5-6 hands are so powerful that most of them are "opening strength"; if I choose to open one at the one level, I will also be treating it as worth a reverse.
