[fromageGB]

Am I reading this right? Basically in the US you can't open a multi 2♦ - except if you are playing 6 board rounds in some elevated competition? Well, I thought the EBU was bad ...

[blackshoe]

You might find a club that would let you open multi. I get the impression, from reading online mostly, that clubs vary widely across NA in their approach to these things. Aound here, even some things that are GCC legal are "banned" in some clubs, and restricted in others.

You have to understand that multi is rare on this contintent, though granted that may be a "chicken and egg" thing. More important, of course, is that it was Not Invented Here.

[ArtK78]

It is not that rare. I play against Multi in many regional tournaments. I have played Multi with one partner in a regional tournament.

Most Flight A events at regionals allow Mid-Chart conventions.

[awm]

The part I find unbelievable about Multi is that this seems to disallow it in the Reisinger.

After all, the Reisinger is BAM scoring and thus plays two or three board rounds.

This is one of the ACBL's big name events -- ranking with the Spingold and Vanderbilt as the most prestigious events on the NABC schedules. It draws a very international field. How can we disallow a convention played by little old ladies in clubs around the world in an event of this level?

I'm also annoyed that no attempt has been made to clarify the various rules (are natural bids allowed? what's a natural bid anyway?) and that the charts are moving away from something fairly general and simple (the old mid-chart) towards something that looks like a laundry list of people's pet methods (the new mid-chart).

[ArtK78]

awm, on Jun 4 2008, 05:13 PM, said:

The part I find unbelievable about Multi is that this seems to disallow it in the Reisinger.

After all, the Reisinger is BAM scoring and thus plays two or three board rounds.

This is one of the ACBL's big name events -- ranking with the Spingold and Vanderbilt as the most prestigious events on the NABC schedules. It draws a very international field. How can we disallow a convention played by little old ladies in clubs around the world in an event of this level?

I'm also annoyed that no attempt has been made to clarify the various rules (are natural bids allowed? what's a natural bid anyway?) and that the charts are moving away from something fairly general and simple (the old mid-chart) towards something that looks like a laundry list of people's pet methods (the new mid-chart).

For what it is worth, here is the definition of the suit length requirements for a natural call:

Definition of expected length for natural bids for the Alert Procedure are:

Suit bids:

3+ in a minor and 4+ in a major for opening bids, rebids and responses.
4+ for an overcall at the one level, 5+ for higher levels.
5+ for a weak two-bid.
6+ for a weak three-bid.

Notrump openings and overcalls:

A notrump opening or overcall if not unbalanced (generally, no singleton or void and only one or two doubletons) is considered natural.

This definition is found in the ACBL Alert Procedures page on the ACBL website.

I agree with you that the rules do appear to prohibit the use of Multi in all pair and BAM events, including NABC+ events, such as the Blue Ribbon Pairs, Life Masters Pairs, and Reisinger BAM Teams, due to the number of boards played in a round.

[awm]

The part of the convention chart that I find poorly worded is where it says:

Unless specifically allowed, methods are disallowed

Then there is a list of methods. This list does not include:

*Opening 1♥ to show 5+♥ with a minimum of ten hcp

Obviously it is not the intent of the general chart to forbid this dangerous method. But nowhere is this method allowed! A literal reading of the general chart suggests that these natural openings are not allowed!

So it seems clear that what is intended is something like one of:

1. Unless specifically allowed, methods which are not natural are disallowed.

2. Unless specifically allowed, conventional methods are disallowed.

However, if meaning 1 is assumed, then an opening of 2♥ which shows 5+♥ and a 4+ minor would be allowed, since it shows five or more cards in the suit bid. Since ACBL seems convinced that this method is mid-chart, perhaps the intent is meaning 2. But then we need a definition of conventional -- and one also has to ask the question why so much trouble was taken to define natural when it's really a definition of conventional that is needed to interpret the charts...

[blackshoe]

Natural methods cannot be regulated. That's why authorities resort to things like "if you play this natural method, you can't play any conventions afterword".

Hm. That's under the 1997 laws. Under the 2007 laws, any partnership understanding may be designated by the RA (the ACBL, for example) as "special", and then they can regulate it however they like.

"Conventional" is defined in the 1997 laws, but not in the 2007 laws. My understanding of the reason it was dropped is that the lawmakers feel they have constructed the laws in such a way that whether a bid is conventional is now irrelevant. We shall see.