[Gerben42]

---

Regional pairs tournament in Germany. 3♠ was not alerted, however a weak jump to 3♠ would be alertable. EW (expert pair) claim they would have doubled 5♠ if they had known that South can be weak.

Normally a clear case. However NS are an intermediate pair who think ODR is probably some rock band. South explains: "I have 5 HCP, 2 points for the 9th trump, 2 points for the 10th trump and two doubletons for 1 point each, that's 11 in total, so that's an invitation".

If NS really think the south hand is equivalent to e.g. Axx Kxx Axxx xxx (more in line with what EW were expecting), is this still an adjustment?

[helene_t]

Would a mixed raise, say 7-9 HCPs if 4432, be alertable?

[mgoetze]

 helene_t, on 2015-May-17, 13:44, said:

Would a mixed raise, say 7-9 HCPs if 4432, be alertable?

Yes.

[Vampyr]

 Gerben42, on 2015-May-17, 13:30, said:

If NS really think the south hand is equivalent to e.g. Axx Kxx Axxx xxx (more in line with what EW were expecting), is this still an adjustment?

It does not matter much what they think. If the non-alertable meaning is "a high-card raise to 3", well, this is not what they have.

[mgoetze]

 Vampyr, on 2015-May-17, 14:23, said:

It does not matter much what they think. If the non-alertable meaning is "a high-card raise to 3", well, this is not what they have.

The regulations say the bid must be alerted if it is of less than invitational strength. They do not define what constitutes invitational strength.

[StevenG]

Their agreement seems to be the a raise to 3♠ is invitational. Therefore there was no reason to alert.

[Vampyr]

 mgoetze, on 2015-May-17, 14:33, said:

The regulations say the bid must be alerted if it is of less than invitational strength. They do not define what constitutes invitational strength.

Well, it sounds like the trouble is with the regulations. Pairs are seemingly allowed to define invitational strength however they want.

[aguahombre]

 Vampyr, on 2015-May-17, 16:16, said:

Well, it sounds like the trouble is with the regulations. Pairs are seemingly allowed to define invitational strength however they want.

Not a problem at all. I wouldn't want to regulate someone's judgement. If South thinks his hand his worth a game invite to 4S, it doesn't matter how silly that is. The agreement is that he was inviting game; next case?

[akwoo]

I'm not sure I buy the EW claim that they would've doubled 5♠. Certainly they would've doubled 5♠ if 3♠ was definitely weak. But doubling 5♠ when 3♠ could either be a normal invite or a distributional 'invite' like this one is a good deal more dubious. A score of 5♠-1 is probably already pretty good, so I would think you need a 70% chance of setting to actually double.

1) Was director called when dummy came down, or after the hand?

2) How well did 5♠-1 score?

As to whether MI occurred, it depends on whether there was an implicit agreement or not. Does North think South would normally invite on that hand?

[Vampyr]

 aguahombre, on 2015-May-17, 17:37, said:

Not a problem at all. I wouldn't want to regulate someone's judgement. If South thinks his hand his worth a game invite to 4S, it doesn't matter how silly that is. The agreement is that he was inviting game; next case?

Yes, this is fine. The question in the OP, though, is whether the bid is alertable.

I think that the regulators intended it to be, but were not specific enough in writing the regulation. They have left it up to each pair to define "invitational".

[aguahombre]

 Vampyr, on 2015-May-18, 02:28, said:

Yes, this is fine. The question in the OP, though, is whether the bid is alertable.

I think that the regulators intended it to be, but were not specific enough in writing the regulation. They have left it up to each pair to define "invitational".

"Alert"
"Please explain"
"Partner's raise is inviting game, but his judgement about what hands should invite game is poor."

Come on --- if they knew enough to alert that, they would know enough not to invite game with that hand.

[scarletv]

 akwoo, on 2015-May-17, 18:54, said:

2) How well did 5♠-1 score?

4♠-1 39 %
5♠-2 68 %
5♠X -2 96 %

[barmar]

South's judgement is really not an issue here. All that matters is what the NS agreement is. If they play that 3♠ is invitational, then it's not alertable.

I suppose if South has a habit of "upgrading" hands like this to invitational strength, that could create an implicit agreement that needs to be disclosed. But if they're weak players, I'm not sure you can expect them to pick up on trends like this.