[nige1]

In the Bridge Laws Mailing List, many years ago, I suggested an illegal agreement to encrypt pseudo-psychs.

With four deuces, you agree to "psych" 1♠. With four threes. you agree to "psych" 1♥. And so on. You can use as many specific combinations of small cards as you can remember. For example with ♣2 ♦3 ♥4 and ♠5 you can agree to "psych" 1N.

Thus, in any specific context, each psychic call has a unique trigger.

If partner is suspicious of any call, he can sometimes reassure himself by looking at his own hand. For example if your 1♠ opener seems fishy to partner, he will be reassured if his hand contains any deuce. If his hand is deuceless, however, then he may well be more wary.

Among the advantages of this approach are:

• Psychs are rare (because these card-combinations are rare).
• You "psych" pseudo-randomly (because of the random nature of deals)
• It's hard for observers to detect (unless they know its rationale).
• Partner has a good chance of fielding your psych (from inspecting his own hand).
• It's hard for opponents to combat (even if it were legalized and you declared it).

If this kind of thing were legal, however, the game might be more exciting.

[aguahombre]

An improvement might be for each of you to flash the bottom card as you extract the hand from the board, and use those cards as your encryption keys.

[ggwhiz]

Along with "Unethical defence to 1nt" and "I think I'm a cheater" do we need a new Subject forum?

[Hanoi5]

Quote

If this kind of thing were legal, however, the game might be more exciting.

Do we really need this? I think the game needs to be simplified if anything not getting more difficult.

[hrothgar]

Hanoi5, on 2011-September-30, 11:09, said:

Do we really need this? I think the game needs to be simplified if anything not getting more difficult.

The game is intrinsically simplifying as the brain of the median practitioner degrades into mush

[semeai]

I imagine 1♠ alerted as showing opening values and spades or possibly any hand with four deuces is legal whenever artificial 1♠ openers are legal.

It doesn't seem encrypted when partner doesn't have a key, and in fact is no more likely to be able to rule out the second hand type than any opponent. As an extreme example, if you hold 8 spades when your partner opens a multi, then you know which major partner holds (if you never open on five cards), but so would any opponent.

[wank]

we need a nige1 subforum imo

[aguahombre]

wank, on 2011-September-30, 12:09, said:

we need a nige1 subforum imo

"Water Heater"?

The Mods could subscribe it as:

Bridge or BBO related discussions of silliness, or for amusing and/or annoying each other.

This post has been edited by aguahombre: 2011-September-30, 12:22

[the hog]

Hanoi5, on 2011-September-30, 11:09, said:

Do we really need this? I think the game needs to be simplified if anything not getting more difficult.

Why not play Snap or Fish instead? They are simpler.

[Vampyr]

semeai, on 2011-September-30, 11:29, said:

I imagine 1♠ alerted as showing opening values and spades or possibly any hand with four deuces is legal whenever artificial 1♠ openers are legal.

Probably, although there could be an additional restriction that the four deuces hand must hold below a maximum number of spades.

[shyams]

Is encrypted bidding illegal? I thought only the defensive carding encryption is prohibited. On the assumption that encrypted bidding is allowed:

1. The use of 4 cards as keys is too burdensome. You hold all 4 deuces on 0.06% of the hands, making it too rare to use in a "psyching system".

2. Instead, how about only two "psyche key cards" --
a. If I hold ♣2+♦2, I am permitted to psyche 1♠.
b. If I hold ♣3+♦3, I am permitted to psyche 1NT. Holding both sets of key cards, I psyche 1♠ or 1NT (my choice).
c. Psyches are not mandatory on me -- it is my choice based on dealer / vul status.

3. The probability of holding at least one pair of "psyche keys" now rises to approx 5.2% (1 in 20 hands). And the fun begins.

4. When partner opens 1NT, responder alerts and says "15-17, except when he is holding both ♣3+♦3 he could be psyching".
4a. About 35% of the time, the responder will hold one of the psyche key cards and will know the 1NT bid is real.
4b. The rest of the time, responder can decide to do whatever he wants.

5a. The effectiveness of psyches can be increased by integrating into any strong club system. And making the psyches as 1NT and 2♣.
5b. If playing SAYC or 2/1, the system after a 1♠ opening can be modified to make 1NT response non-forcing.

This is just the start! It is possible expand this (warped) thought process to build a high-variance bidding system.

[glen]

Perhaps one can make the "psyche" a non-psyche legal bid.

Such as (in the ACBL):
1NT is 15-17 bal, or if both minor 7s can be 10-11 bal
1♠ is 11-21 5+♠s or if both major 7s can be exactly 4♠s and 8-10