[jillybean]

Last board , pickup partnership on BBO

3♠-2

---

[Mbodell]

Where's the vote button for "standard, not a psyche"?

I mean I guess the opening is probably a psyche, and one certainly wouldn't have the agreement to do that nor do it all the time, but w/r in 3rd getting a possible lead direct and taking the 1♥ bid out of the box seems like a pretty common tactical bid. It wouldn't surprise me if in a large field a non-trivial number (say 5-20%) of people opened this 1♠

[dicklont]

Respect for South. I would not dare this.
Whenever I try something like this it comes back in my face.
Others seem to have a far better table feel, that must go beyond 3rd hand green-red.

[gordontd]

If South had not opened 1♠, wouldn't EW have ended up in a non-making 4♥?

So, where's the damage to EW, the advantage to NS?

[jillybean]

gordontd, on 2011-February-19, 03:39, said:

If South had not opened 1♠, wouldn't EW have ended up in a non-making 4♥?

So, where's the damage to EW, the advantage to NS?

You seem to be saying that had EW had a making contract you would take some action.
West tells you without the 1♠ bid he would have opened 1N.

[jillybean]

Mbodell, on 2011-February-19, 00:30, said:

Where's the vote button for "standard, not a psyche"?

I mean I guess the opening is probably a psyche, and one certainly wouldn't have the agreement to do that nor do it all the time, but w/r in 3rd getting a possible lead direct and taking the 1♥ bid out of the box seems like a pretty common tactical bid. It wouldn't surprise me if in a large field a non-trivial number (say 5-20%) of people opened this 1♠

53 tables played this hand. Other than this 1♠ opening, one table (south) opened 2♠, one table opened a conventional 2N showing minors and one table opened their 5 card suit.

[Stephen Tu]

Psyches are absolutely legal, and part of bridge, unless you are playing some non-bridge BBO "no psyche" tournament.

West should be informed "opponents don't always have to have their bids, they can do whatever they like, they only have to inform you about their pre-arranged agreements". North obviously didn't field the psyche, there is no misinformation, therefore there's never any adjustment no matter whether EW normally make something or not. Tell West that psyches are legal, and sometimes they will work, sometimes they won't.

Sometimes your opponents make ridiculous bids or plays and you get a bad result. That's life. This time you arguably get a good result vs. the field since 4h seems like a more likely contract than 3nt. You hope on average when the opponents psyche that it hurts them more often than it hurts you. If not, perhaps your methods need adjustment.

[daveharty]

Where was East? If my partner made an unfavorable 2-level overcall and I had a defensive ten count including Q9xx in their suit, I might have something to say about 3S.

[Siegmund]

Somewhere between risky psych and great psych. Seat vulnerability and hand strength make some kind of opening clearly indicated, but the choice among 1D, 1H, and 1S is not obvious and the hand isnt perfect for any of them.

North is the rabid bidder in the partnership, not south.

[ggwhiz]

I voted risky psyche, no foul but am a LOT closer to great psyche than any of the other options.

I once played in a Regional where my pard psyched 1nt in 3rd on a similar piece of junk. The opponents screamed for the Director, got no adjustment (not fielded) and then SCREAMED for a recorder form.

When they demanded my partners name, he gave them mine.

[blackshoe]

He should have given them Zia's.

[Hanoi5]

I think West is lying about opening 1NT with that hand. Or very bad.

[gordontd]

jillybean, on 2011-February-19, 06:10, said:

You seem to be saying that had EW had a making contract you would take some action.
West tells you without the 1♠ bid he would have opened 1N.

I'm saying that there doesn't appear to me to be any damage.

But I certainly wouldn't be adjusting if there had been - South's psyche is a legitimate ploy, and has not been fielded by North.

[pooltuna]

Hanoi5, on 2011-February-19, 17:36, said:

I think West is lying about opening 1NT with that hand. Or very bad.

oh so you would rather reverse with 3♣ or even better bid 2♣ over 1NT?

[hrothgar]

Personally, I think that North's bid is a hell of a lot stranger than South's...

[Phil]

daveharty, on 2011-February-19, 08:59, said:

Where was East? If my partner made an unfavorable 2-level overcall and I had a defensive ten count including Q9xx in their suit, I might have something to say about 3S.

Like a slow pass?

[the hog]

Phil, on 2011-February-19, 20:38, said:

Like a slow pass?

That's a bit unfair. Maybe he plays penalty doubles at the three level?
I agree with Richard. North's bidding is weird.

[aguahombre]

Yeh, North is the one who screwed the pooch for his side. A simple 2♠ response would have undoubtedly propelled E/W into 4H. And with his hand and heart holding, that seems to have been the right call.

Nevertheless, E/W seem to have no complaint, no damage to them, and a decent score.

[gwnn]

pooltuna, on 2011-February-19, 19:41, said:

oh so you would rather reverse with 3♣ or even better bid 2♣ over 1NT?

3♣ is not a reverse, it's a jump shift by opener.

And I don't see your point. There is no gap between

1♥-1NT
2♣

and

1♥-1NT
3♣

There is a gap between (the traditional meanings of)

1♥-1♠
1NT

and

1♥-1♠
2NT,

hence people sometimes decide that they should open 1NT with a 5332 15-17. other people stretch out the ranges to eradicate the gaps, for example making 1NT 12-16 and 2NT 17-19. yet others think rebidding a 3 card minor suit is best.

after
1♥-1NT
2♣ shows something like 11-17
3♣ shows something like 18-21

So you either judge your hand to be a game force, in which case you bid 3♣, or you judge it to be less than a game force, you bid 2♣. If the decision is unbearably close, you can toss a coin, since it will not be far from a 50-50 decision.

I assume you know most of this, so what's your point???

[kenberg]

Psychic opening bids: Basically, I don't do it. We once won an event, and a free trip to the nationals, because my LHO opened a psychic 1♠ that caused us to play in 3NT, avoiding the doomed 4♠ everyone else reached. Now the fact that I don't do it doesn't mean others can't, the rules allow it.

However: People are not allowed to just screw around. That's what I would explore here. Sometimes players just do whatever the hell comes to mind just to have their version of a good time. There is a difference. If this hand was part of a serious attempt to have a good round then he gets to psyche if he wants to. Looking over other hands, and maybe other events if you really want to look into it, will disclose whether he is trying to win or just handing out random tops and bottoms because he can get away with it.

Not only don't I psyche, I don't direct. So I really don't know the exact rules. But I don't see that "I would have bid 1NT" has much relevance. I regard 1NT on the W cards as weird, but even if it isn't, so what? Anyway, if he thinks 1NT is a great opening bid, then he can overcall 1NT. I wouldn't, but I wouldn't open it 1NT either.