What Not to Do
No-no's
Unreconstructed square that I am, I'm not geared to discussing the subtleties of bidding. Within the limits of common sense, there's a fair amount of room for a variety of people, from the conservative to the aggressive, from those who luv-v-v-e their conventions to those who keep them to a minimum, etc., etc. And I'm not prepared to adjudicate for a closer adherence to my particular style.
But outside the limits of common sense . . . well. I have given my rundown if the simple principles that will save you from really bad bids, and steer you away from a goodly percentage of those likely to turn out bad.
So I began collecting some examples of what not to do. All come from live people, and all from players who identify themselves as advanced or expert, except a few occasions, all noted, where there is no self-evaluation, but one is playing at an advanced or expert table. So I call myself a square and admit I'm dealing in fairly basic elementary concepts that I feel any novice should be able to pick up in a few months; and yet, as I've said elsewhere, Life Masters (back when I was kibitzing live people) and self-styled experts commit a goodly percentage of the errors displayed.
So here are some examples: