[Al_U_Card]

Is splintering in support of a bid that doesn't necessarily show the suit bid not unusual, to say the least, and alertable as a partnership agreement? If the bid was a transfer to S and partner splintered in support of S then I could see it ( sort of).

I realize that 2nd round splinters may not be alertable, but this is a bit of a stretch. Why couldn't 4C be a great club suit that invites game if the bust hand has a few trumps and some shape? (or even, gulp, Gerber.... )

[pigpenz]

Al_U_Card, on Nov 7 2005, 02:23 PM, said:

Is splintering in support of a bid that doesn't necessarily show the suit bid not unusual, to say the least, and alertable as a partnership agreement? If the bid was a transfer to S and partner splintered in support of S then I could see it ( sort of).

I realize that 2nd round splinters may not be alertable, but this is a bit of a stretch. Why couldn't 4C be a great club suit that invites game if the bust hand has a few trumps and some shape? (or even, gulp, Gerber.... )

thats just it, I had no idea what the bid meant? It certainly made no sense to me as I know partner knows I have no values.

Should I:
pass
bid 5♣
bid4♥
bid4♠

my thinking on this one is
pass is too unilateral
4♠ could be right
4♥ if partner has hearts he will pass if he was making a forcing heart raise or splinter and am willing to play 5♣ if it was a club suit. Interesting hand isnt it?

[Al_U_Card]

At the table, I would have bid 5C with that hand (undiscussed).

[pigpenz]

Al_U_Card, on Nov 7 2005, 02:33 PM, said:

At the table, I would have bid 5C with that hand (undiscussed).

ah....maybe we should make a poll for this one

[kenberg]

A variety of responses

Al U Card's "Leave the cheater's to their fool's paradise". One hundred per cent agreement. To the extent we can rid the world of them, fine, but far more important is that we contribute to the game by our own friendly, ethical, and, to the extent it doesn't require looking foolish, trusting approach to the game.

As to Pig's hand: If 2C-2H is artificial, then this is a partner with whom you have had some discussion. This gives you some responsibilities as a pair to know what your bids mean. Of course it can happen that you don't, as here, and then you do as you think best. I have no problem with your choice as indeed you simply have to guess, but I think part of agreeing that 2C-2H is artificial is that you have a discussion about what happens next.

Here is a spot I found myself in recently. RHO opened 1C, I entered with 1NT, LHO bid 2C and partner called 2D. This is an indy. Default (and neither of us overruled the default, my profile says I assume SAYC until told differently) is BBO basic or SAYC, which means that 2D shows diamonds. I am holding four diamonds and two hearts. I bid hearts (yes, it was right, someone had to hold the suit). I hadn't decided how I would respond if the opponents asked the meaning of my 2H bid.

Here is another instance from long ago. I showed up at a club game without a partner and was assigned to someone that I did not know. By the seventh round or so, I knew him all too well. Somewhere around then, he opened 1H. I looked at my 20 hcps and my five card heart suit and raised to 4H. He took 10 tricks. The opponents, who apparently did know him, were sympathetic rather than upset. Betweeen rounds he congratulated me on fielding the psych. Sure. I was inclined to alert the 1H and explain "Whatever he has it cannot be a five card heart suit and 13 hcps, as from what I have seen he would no doubt open that hand with 1C".

But we drift from the original post. I apologize.

Ken

[mike777]

If I understand this last post I would expect my score to be adjusted and a stern warning given to both players. If not, one more reason to give up bridge and let the experts play.

[luke warm]

pigpenz, on Nov 7 2005, 11:53 AM, said:

thake this hand:

---

2♣ 2♥*
4♣ you

*totally negative
What would you bid now with this hand?
I bid 4♥, assuming that partners bid showed hearts and club ace or shortness in clubs.

Now when dummy came down I had to field ten msgs from both opps on how I knew to bid 4♥. Ill leave it up to you.

frankly it wouldn't occur to me that 4C was a splinter for hearts, since nobody had ever *bid* hearts... i play 2C is 100% game force, so i'd have bid 5C here with very little hesitation

[kenberg]

mike777, on Nov 7 2005, 04:05 PM, said:

If I understand this last post I would expect my score to be adjusted and a stern warning given to both players. If not, one more reason to give up bridge and let the experts play.

I would have no problem with that. But perhaps it is satisfactory to simply get through the evening, never play with him again, and make it clear to the folks running the club why. He was not long a customer at the club.

You are of course right but sometimes a more laid back approach is satisfactory all around. No one objected to the approach that was followed, as long as he went away. Any offer he couldn't refuse was fine.

[keylime]

There probably is cheating going on within the ACBL tourneys. With that said, I tend to avoid using that word, "cheating".

I'll be the first one to confess here publically that I have been accused of "cheating". It's not a fun feeling, trust me, especially with as visible as I am (not as much recently for obvious reasons). It's even worse when the grounds for the accusation are both fruitless and mean-spirited. It makes you feel very, very injured. And very very angry.

No one wins with the hued overtones of cheating. It's something that is quite rightfully spoken only in private, never in public. Yet many have forgotten this in the game (along with other things).

Instead, I think it's far more important to start actively promoting the positive things of bridge and to enforce the standards and decorums of the game. It does us no good to the beginners, intermediates, and low advanced players if they look upon the better players (especially the "experts") with such disdain that it distorts their actual skill level. Furthemore, when the ACBL starts to really get after slow play, rudeness, and lack of disclosure...the game will be better off.

I'm going to make an early resolution for 2006: I'm going to aspire to be more kind, more giving, more diligent in my labors to promote the game - AND to enjoy it MORE!