[Gerben42]

Playing Fantunes-style with NF suction openings (i.e. 2♠ opening shows ♠ or minors, etc.) was pretty crazy... Or the 2-way 1NT opening (15-17 or weak with ♣).

Perhaps also the weak 2NT opening (13-14 balanced).

Lots to choose from

[Echognome]

I played in Ireland once with three members of the university team. After some poor performances in the morning session, we mixed things up in the afternoon. We played "lucky dip" for partners and "lucky dip" for bidding systems. So you drew for your partner that session along with a baseline system. The systems were pretty wild. One of them we played psycho suction openings with psycho suction responses. The little old ladies (and men) there weren't bothered in the slightest.

For just plain bad system, I remember that a common convention at the first club I joined in England played that over their weak NT, 2♠ = 11hcp and 2NT = 12 hcp.

[hrothgar]

I once played Power System in a serious partnership
You wouldn't believe the number of alerts

[mikeh]

Playing in a sectional speedball pairs in the late 1970s, in a small town where one of the local players sponsored a cheap bar...over pre-game drinks, my partner and I discussed, in not much detail, the following structure in a strong 1N method:

1♣ showed ANY 4333 out of range for 1N. 1♦ was a relay response, promising 8+ hcp...all other suit bids were weak

1♦ showed 4=4 or 4=4=4. 1♥ was a relay, as above

1♥ promised a 5 card suit somewhere...1♠ was a relay

1♠ was either 5-5 or a 6+ suit, 1N was a relay


Mercifully, I forget the details of the relay.

I do remember that we missed every 4-4 major suit fit we held, other than when we opened 1N...and that we won in both a landslide and a drunken haze...and I became a Life Master as a result.

We never played it again. I suspect it was illegal, but it was a small town speedball held during the wee hours of Saturday morning at a time when drinking at the table was not only permitted but, in that town, virtually required. So the atmosphere was pretty relaxed...and the average age of the players was probably in the 40's whereas now it's in the late 60's at best.

A year or two later (I think...time blurs) I was playing in the speedball pairs at the Reno Regional....it started around midnight December 31. The tournament supplied each table with 2 bottles of california bubbly...and another friend and I started against two people we knew well, who were teetotallers. I think both bottles were empty by the time the first round ended, altho in our defence I should point out that the game didn't get underway on time.

We were playing 'stoneage', but had no discussions of that other than that we were not playing stayman, or any ace asking conventions. Everything was 'natural'.

Things weren't going too well (altho we had scored more wine by now) when we sat down against Meckstroth...I think this was the year before he hooked up with Rodwell...anyway, he was high on the McKenny and his partner was, I think, in 6th place and a good showing would move him into 5th.

Meckstroth opened a major (hearts, I think) and partner doubled. The auction proceeded with my partner doubling 2♥ along the way and then 3♥, which I passed despite my stiff small heart and horrible hand.

Meckstroth looked unhappy, but at one point ruffed a card in dummy...dummy had 2 trumps...and I underruffed with my deuce equivalent. Meckstroth looked up and smiled and said 'things are looking up'. He called for dummy's last trump and I pitched. Meckstroth folded his cards and returned them to the board, announcing '800'.

It turned out that we didn't play takeout doubles, tho I hadn't realized this. Meckwell and his partner were really good about it...I guess they could tell that I hadn't the faintest idea of what was going on and that we were both hammered.

A lot has changed in tournament bridge, and much of it for the better (no smoking for one thing) but sometimes I miss the fun that we used to have. The fact that the bridge may be better is only partial compensation.

[jdonn]

When playing TOSR we used to require an ace or two kings to make a positive response to the strong club (as well as the requisite 8 hcp). So we agreed to play 1♣ 1♦ 1NT 5x as showing 14 or 15 hcp with the king of the bid suit and the rest in queens and jacks. We will win (or lose) a big swing one day for avoiding a 33 hcp 6NT on two balanced hands off an AK.

[gwnn]

hey that's pretty sweet jdonn, I'll use it in my SR partnership if we ever restart it!

[mycroft]

I played 5-rule club one midnight:
1) 1C Precision
2) 1D only NGF response, all else natural
3) 1NT 13-15 BAL
4) 1D 13-15 UNBAL
5) 1M 8-12, 4+
That was the total of our agreement. Didn't do too badly.
Took it to the club one night, TD insisted on "5 and 5" for weak 2s (which were 1-7 before). "Okay", we said, and switched 2bids to be "11-15, 6-card suit". Significantly improved the system...

For single convention, I think the one out of my "mutilate the GCC" system applies (everything's (barely) GCC legal, but still More Twisted Than Thou): 2C Minor Suit Flannery. Actually had it come up once, for a good score (we avoided the auto-lose 3NT).

[MFA]

2NT = exactly 15 balanced hcp.

What else can you do, if you play 12-14 NTs and precision 1♣?

Played that in a fairly serious event once. It came up twice, and responder had 2 & 1 hcp those times, but we were above average anyway, since the opponents got preempted out of game one of the times.

[dkharty]

The ABCA (Atlanta Beer Card Ask).

Many years ago I was playing with a pickup partner in a zip KO in Atlanta, and we played that certain double jump shifts at responder's second turn, and most jumps to 5NT, asked partner if he had the ♦7.

The really embarassing thing is that we spent at least fifteen minutes discussing rules for when it applied.

Partner proceeded to use the ABCA four or five times during the event, at the slightest excuse, scoring the beer card once.

[cloa513]

Lobowolf, on Jul 2 2010, 02:23 AM, said:

Stolen bid doubles, but in my defense, I had a student who insisted.

What's wrong with stolen bid doubles in response to a double?
How else to pick a psyche or even get into a suit where opponent is only 4 card.

[jdonn]

The other craziest thing which I have done many times with several partners is to play no conventions at all. No stayman, jump overcalls to 2NT are like opening 2NT, no doubles are takeout, jumps are always natural and always stronger than if you didn't jump.

I don't recall getting worse than about 64% playing this system. My favorite result ever using this system was I had a 16 count with 6 hearts. My RHO opened 1♥ so I made the obvious penalty double. LHO bid 1♠ which my partner doubled, and we got them there for 1100 and a clear top.

[TimG]

mikeh, on Jul 2 2010, 12:08 PM, said:

So the atmosphere was pretty relaxed...and the average age of the players was probably in the 40's whereas now it's in the late 60's at best.

But, it's the same players, right?

[lmilne]

This probably wouldn't go down well in ACBL land...

Along the lines of the "multi" 2♦, we played a multi 3♣. 6 options:

Weak "4-suited" (ideally 4333, 4432 or 5332 at a pinch);
Strong "4-suited";
Weak 2 in spades;
Normal preempt in clubs (otherwise you can't open them!);
8.5+ playing tricks in diamonds;
or 9+ playing tricks in clubs.

Responder normally responded 3♦, and things took off from there. Very illegal convention.

One of the funniest auctions was (us vul) 3♣ - (X) - 3♦ - (X) - pass -...

after some thought the little old lady emerged with 4♣, where they played, for +150 to us.

[Fluffy]

opponents have game strenght at least.

I played a kind of very strong openings in 1st second wich evoluted to ultra weak openings in third/4th, kind of forcing pass.


we also opened 5 card minor, best major, and we had this convention:

pass-pass-1♠!-X
2♠!


1♠!= 3+ spades, 0-8
2♠!= opponents have game strenght at least.

Sadly partner forgot the convention, and kept rebiding his 6 card spades while I kept rebidding m 6 card hearts for -1400.

[Vampyr]

My regular partner and I have agreed, over a strong 1♣, to pass with any constructive hand (at pairs). Unfortunately, strong club systems are very much in the minority around here, so we have not yet had the chance to see how it works out. We also have not really bothered to think up continuations -- any ideas?

Once I tried out an intermediate pass system at the local club. It turned out that we had not given enough prior notice and had to exchange our 1♦ fert with our pass. Unplayable.

[MFA]

Vampyr, on Jul 3 2010, 04:33 PM, said:

My regular partner and I have agreed, over a strong 1♣, to pass with any constructive hand (at pairs). Unfortunately, strong club systems are very much in the minority around here, so we have not yet had the chance to see how it works out. We also have not really bothered to think up continuations -- any ideas?

Once I tried out an intermediate pass system at the local club. It turned out that we had not given enough prior notice and had to exchange our 1♦ fert with our pass. Unplayable.

Reminds me of my favourite convention. I play strong club, and I like a 1♠ overcall showing "13 cards". That is when the opponents play the convention, of course. Suicidal.

[ggwhiz]

With a new partner, rookie at the time but really good now, as we arrived for the tournament, he said "by the way, I like to play a cuebid of the opps opener as showing total control of the suit."

Could be void, stiff ace, double ace king etc. but no point range or shape at all. I nodded sagely and said sure (this will never come up).

It happened 3 times in 2 sessions and luckily the opps blew up every time because nobody had a clue.

[Free]

Against Polish Club I've played 1♠ overcalls as 0-3♠s, was nice and came up frequently. No negative Dbls, opener can't just bid 1NT with the weak NT,...

Crazy openings are Lorenzo two's: 2X = 0-7HCP, 4+X (MAFIA style), no good hand. One of the funiest moments was on a national tournament where I opened 2♠ and partner raised to 4♠ with something like Jxxxx-J-Axxxxx-x. I had Kxxx-xxx-QJ-xxxx. RHO had a pretty balanced 19HCP but they were Red, so he passed. I made 4♠. Afterwards my RHO said "c'est un système terroriste" (I guess everyone understands), hilarious moment ofcourse.

The craziest opening I've played is still random 2♣, showing 0-5HCP with any distribution. A pure destructive BSC. In a certain club, they were proud to announce ALL systems were allowed, so one day me and my partner decided to give this a try. The TD was called 5 times (yes, it was very frequent that evening), and all he could do was say that everything was allowed. The next week they were a little less proud to announce that HUM and BSC were no longer allowed...

[jvage]

This weekend I went over to Sweden (Østersund) to play a tournament. We were 12 Norwegian pairs who all played something very boring and similar-looking (something close to 5443-openings and strong 2♣). Our Swedish opponents on the other hand played all kinds of strange systems (this was a 2-days semi-serious pairs tournament with 3 board rounds).

I was quite impressed that all our opponents had a CC and while the 2 most common systems probably were 4+ majors, 8-14 (with a strong club) and the supernatural 4+ openings in all suits (like the rest both are practically unheard of in Norway), our 25 Swedish opponents played at least 10 totally different systems. We did not meet any strong pass (as i know some Swedes play), but we did meet all of these:
- Fantunes-like with unlimited openings and transfer responses to 1♣
- Transfer openings (a 1♥ opening showed 4+ spades)
- Two-way club (strong or balanced)
- 1 major promising exactly 4 (denying 5 or more)

2 pairs actually played that 1♥/♠ was 3+ with 8-14 hp. Against us one of them bid:
1♠ (3+spades, 8-14) - 2♠ (alerted and explained as 14-17 balanced!)
3NT - pass

I led my only fourcard-suit (clubs) and of course hit declarers fivecarder...

John

PS: It was great fun playing against all these strange systems, but in the end the boring Norwegian style came out on top. We got the top 2 and 2/3 of the prizes

[hanp]

The other day I played both puppet stayman and support doubles! Watching vugraph last week I learned that these are two of the three worst conventions.