Facebook invaded

I've read that hundreds of Facebook groups have been hijacked. At first, Facebook denied it, but it was true. To read about this, click here.

Now, attackers have released a newer, more powerful version of the Koobface virus. (Koobface is an anagram of Facebook.) More than 300 Facebook groups have been taken over in the last few days. From what I've read, it infects a PC, then sends messages and wall postings to that computer's friends. If the friends follow the links, they can end up infected, too.

To protect yourself, do the stuff you've already heard you should do. Keep your virus protection up to date. If a link looks suspicious, even if from someone you know, don't follow it. If you find yourself on a page that is asking you to download a software update, don't do it.

You can read more about it here.

13 bloggers left in NFL eliminator series

At first there were 43, and it looked so easy. All you had to do was pick an NFL winner each week -- how hard could that be? Well, harder than you might think as there are now only 13. I'm talking about the NFL Eliminator Series that bloggers are playing in.

Two of my favorite bloggers, Lightning 36 and CK of BWoP are still in, as am I.

It only gets harder and harder, however, because you can only pick each team one time. Heck, I'd like to pick Indianapolis each week, too, but that isn't allowed. I did pick some bad teams early. I picked San Francisco, Buffalo (!) and a couple of other pretty bad teams. Why? Well, I have saved some good teams to pick in the coming eight weeks: Pittsburgh, Minnesota, New England, Dallas (at home against Oakland, yum!), Arizona (at home against St. Louis, more yum), Denver (at home against Oakland, super yum) and Cincinnati.

We'll see how it goes, but I want to win *really* bad. Bragging rights among bloggers -- it doesn't get any better than that.

Are/were you in a group? Are you still alive?

Preserve your assets

               ♠ 8 5 4
               ♥ A 9 6 5
               ♦ J 9 7
               ♣ A 10 9
♠ K 9                        ♠ 6 3
♥ K J 10 8 4 3 2             ♥ ---
♦ 2                          ♦ A Q 10 8 5 3
♣ Q 7 3                      ♣ K J 8 6 2
               ♠ A Q J 10 7 2
               ♥ Q 7
               ♦ K 6 4
               ♣ 5 4

South opened 1♠, West overcalled 2♥, North competed to 2♠, and East was stuck for a bid. They played that a double was a good raise to 3♥, so a responsive double was not available.

This passed out and West led the ♦2. East won the ace and returned the suit. South did well to duck, West ruffing. The ♥K was returned to the ace, and East ruffed. A second diamond ruff was followed by a second heart ruff. Declarer was booked before gaining the lead, and he still had a club to lose.

Do you see how South could do better?

At trick three, West led the ♥K. If declarer ducks, East can do no better than discard. East will ruff the next heart and give West a second diamond ruff, but the contract will be safe. Declarer can win the next trick, draw the last trump, cross to dummy with the ♣A (or the ♠8), and discard the club loser on the preserved ♥A.

It's an illusion

After South opened 2NT and was raised to 3NT, West led the ♠J on this layout:

                ♠ A Q 7
                ♥ 10 6 4
                ♦ 9 7 5 4
                ♣ 9 5 4
==
                ♠ K 5 4
                ♥ A K Q
                ♦ A J 10
                ♣ A 10 7 3

Declarer won with the queen, and led a diamond and finessed the jack. This lost to the ♦K, and West led another spade. South won in dummy, and finessed again by leading the ♦5 to the 10. Do you agree with this?

The ♦10 lost to the ♦Q (West had falsecarded). West cleared spades, and there was no longer any way to take nine tricks.

Here are all four hands:

                ♠ A Q 7
                ♥ 10 6 4
                ♦ 9 7 5 4
                ♣ 9 5 4
♠ J 10 9 8 3                   ♠ 6 2
♥ 9                            ♥ J 8 7 5 3 2
♦ K Q 8 6                      ♦ 3 2
♣ Q 8 2                        ♣ K J 6
                ♠ K 5 4
                ♥ A K Q
                ♦ A J 10
                ♣ A 10 7 3

UPDATE:
The question was: Do you agree with declarer's play? The answer is no. It's true that you take nine tricks if the diamond honors are divided. But the double hook in diamonds is an illusion. There is a better play. Do you see where declarer went wrong?

Here's a better plan. Win the spade lead with the king. Play the ♦A, followed by the ♦J. Win the spade return in dummy (a shift to another suit by the defense is no better), and lead to the ♦10. This makes dummy's ♦9 good. That's three spades, three hearts, two diamonds and one club.

Poker pearl #31

Scott Montgomery made the final table of the WSOP Main Event in 2008 as a member of the (first) November Nine. In the latest issue of Card Player magazine (scan of cover above), he was asked what sorts of things was he looking for to spot a bluff.

Beyond reading bluffs is convincing people not to bluff you. That's why having an image as someone who makes crazy river calls with bottom pair defintely helps a lot in tournaments. Pull a couple of those a day, and you'll scare people into not bluffing you.

Easily the best

Before his brutal murder in 1985 (which was never solved), Barry Crane was considered the best matchpoint player in the world. He had the most ACBL masterpoints, and it wasn't until six years after his death that Paul Soloway overtook him. Crane won the McKenney Trophy, given to the player who wins the most masterpoints in a given year, six times. It's now known as the Barry Crane Top 500.

Crane won all his masterpoints basically as a weekend player. During the week, he was a television director and producer. Mannix and Mission Impossible are two of the better known shows he was connected with. He was also credited with directing numerous episodes of such series as Trapper John, M.D., The Incredible Hulk, Hawaii Five-O, CHiPs, Dallas and Wonder Woman.

Crane would work during the week, then fly on the weekend to whichever regional tournament that appealed to him. He had partners scattered around the U.S. Back in those days, they didn't have a bunch of different events. On Saturday was the Open Pairs, on Sunday the Swiss Teams. The fields were huge, and, every weekend he would win at least one of the events, or so it seemed.

There are many highlights to his bridge career, but winning the World Mixed Pairs in 1978 with Kerry Shuman Sanborn might have been the best. They demolished the international field, winning by five boards!

Crane had an aggressive bidding style. He wasn't as effective in long IMP matches because he refused to shift gears. With Crane, it was his way or else. I remember this at a regional tournament: He was playing with Gunther Polak who's from Chicago. I didn't hear the conversation, but after the afternoon session, Polak must have said something that Crane didn't like. Crane took their convention card and tore it to shreds, and then tossed in on the table.

Crane had lots of rules. He didn't believe in taking saves. He always said: "Only Jesus saves." Also, with a nine-card fit missing the queen, he believed in cashing a high honor, then finessing (most people play for the drop).

When I ask people to give me a Barry Crane story, they invariably want to give me a bridge deal that they played against him,espcially if they had a good result. It's like playing golf with Tiger Woods. Suppose you shot 82 and he shot 68. If you beat him on only one hole, that would be the highlight of your day. The same thing with Crane at bridge.

Guess what? I'm the same way. One of my favorite hands of all time was against Crane. You hold:
♠Q 8 3 ♥A K Q 10 6 5 ♦A 2 ♣K 3.

With none vulnerable, my partner, Jeff Sparks, passed. Crane opened 2♠ -- what would you bid?

I tried 3NT. Q 8 3 of spades is a dangerous holding playing in hearts. Partner was a passed hand, so we weren't going to miss slam, and he rated to have a few values. It passed out, and my left-hand opponent, Tommy Sanders, led the ♠K. These were all four hands (low cards approximate):

                ♠ A 4 2
                ♥ J 8 2
                ♦ 10 8 5
                ♣ Q J 10 5
♠ K 7                         ♠ J 10 9 6 5
♥ 7 4                         ♥ 9 3
♦ Q 9 7 6 4 3                 ♦ K J
♣ A 6 2                       ♣ 9 8 7 4
                ♠ Q 8 3
                ♥ A K Q 10 6 5
                ♦ A 2
                ♣ K 3

I won the ♠A, drove out the ♣A and claimed 12 tricks! Needless to say, this was a top.

Did any of you readers play against Crane? Do you have any stories? If so, leave in the comment section.

Timing is everything

The World Championship of Bridge was held in Yokohama, Japan, in 1991. The U.S. women were allowed two teams to compete for the Venice Cup. For USA2, Rhoda Walsh withdrew, and the team added Lynn Deas.

On paper, USA1 was a powerhouse and the heavy favorite to win. USA2 wasn't give much of a chance. Sometimes things that look one way on paper turn out differently at the table. USA2 went on to win the world championship.

During the round robin phase, all the competing teams played each other, and eight advanced to knockout play. With one round robin match left to play, USA2 was in danger of not qualifying (hands rotated):

                ♠ Q 10 9 2
                ♥ A K 10 7 2
                ♦ ---
                ♣ K Q 9 4
♠ 5 3                          ♠ J 8 4
♥ Q J 8 6 4                    ♥ 9 5 3
♦ A K J 9 8 5                  ♦ Q 7 4
♣ ---                          ♣ J 8 7 6
                ♠ A K 7 6
                ♥ ---
                ♦ 10 6 3 2
                ♣ A 10 5 3 2

       West   North   East   South
                             1♣
       1♦    1♥     Pass    1♠
       2♦    4♦     Pass    4♥
       Pass   5♦     Pass    6♣
       Pass   7♣     All Pass

Deas, South and playing with Stasha Cohen, bid to 7♣ on the layout above. Looking at the North-South hands, it seemed like declarer could ruff two diamonds in the dummy and likely take four spades, two hearts, two ruffs, and five club tricks for 13. The 4-0 trump split, however, meant it wasn't that simple.

West led the ♦K. When the deal was played on Vugraph from the Bermuda Bowl (the open competition), the declarer went set. The commentators, having the advantage of looking at all four hands, analyzed the deal and stated that the grand slam couldn't be made if playing in clubs. The 4-0 split couldn't be overcome.

If Deas went set, her team wouldn't advance, so this was a crucial deal. Do you see how she made it?

Deas saw a layout that gave her a chance, but she had to time it just right. She ruffed the diamond lead in dummy and played the ♣K, getting the bad news. She continued with the ♥A K, discarding a diamond and a spade. The spade she discarded was a winner, so it was tempting to discard two diamonds. Doing so, however, would have been fatal.

Next, declarer ruffed a heart, and played three rounds of spades, ending in dummy. These were the cards that were left:

                ♠ 10
                ♥ 10 7
                ♦ ---
                ♣ Q 9
♠ ---                       ♠ ---
♥ Q J                       ♥ ---
♦ A J 9                     ♦ Q 7
♣ ---                       ♣ J 8 7
                ♠ ---
                ♥ ---
                ♦ 10 6
                ♣ A 10 5

Deas led a heart (anything else would have led to defeat), and it was immaterial what East played. She ruffed the heart, and ruffed a diamond in dummy. Deas led a heart (a spade would work, too) and was able to score her ♣A 10 and ruff her last diamond with the ♣Q.

Making 7♣ meant her team advanced to eventually win the event.