slammer

Screen are diagonal across the table thus N&E are on one side and S&W the other. There is NO TALKING only pointing among opponents N&E or S&W. Each player has an exact copy of their system notes to point from or to. Bids are placed in boxes and slid under the screen so the opposing side sees the two bids at the same time.

My partnership agreements are One of a suit is a good hands otherwise we pass. We also revert to 4 opening card majors using a modified Drury for any 4 card raise. 1NT stays the same strong 15-17 as does 2NT 20-21 (Do you really want to open a 12 pt NT Vul v. NVul? Also Opening 2NT with 15 and going down two when everyone else is down 1 in 1NT hardly seems a sound strategy.) 2C is strong 2D remains Flannery (but a good one) as we play 2/1 2H/S are opening bids with 6 cards-not strong enough for a jump rebid 3c/d/h/s are opening bids with 7 cards-not strong enough for a jump rebid 4c/d is namyats (you play it) 4H/S is I play it

Contrast this auction my son and I had against wryly opponents: 2H--P----2S---DBL 3H--3S--P-----4S P---5S---P-----6S All Pass Who’s zooming who? Where’s the double? I want to add that after the 2S psyche, a double of 3S is AUTOMATIC and all consequent offers to play spades in hopes of 1) No RDBL or 2) a less expensive run out to hearts. What does he have to lose? When psyching follow up (BLUFFING) is critical to the subterfuge first done. My point is when you enter the realm of psyching, you are playing a psychological game of intellect verses intellect. This is where the game-is-a-foot! Cross and re-cross—not for the weak of heart.

MikeH, Yes, all you said is true. But what happens at the table versus theory is quite different. As I said, would I do it again--No. To psyche effectively one must have a table feel. It doesn't come often. Nor is it effective: witness the psychic splinter bid in the finals of the NABC team event. My point is it can be done! And one has to exploit EVERY opportunity. Would you not false card? They are many obligatory situations. "Play the card you are known to hold" But psyching is a much deeper, fascinating and not much understood or discussed subject!

What don't you understand? If RHO can't overcall spades--so much the better! LHO was trapped because he had a huge hand and SPADES! Could he pass? Then the bidding would have gone: 1♥--P--1♠--P(?) 2♣--P--4♥--??? What WINNING call can he make now? Double? 4♠? What are your agreements on this auction especially if I double? By my bidding and re-bidding spades it planted doubt that his partner had a fit. It was a SYSTEM failure. I just exploited a flaw in their system. Actually, it could have been much worse! Had he passed then imagine 1♥--P--1♠--P 2♣--P--5♥--? What now? How to tell partner they have stolen the auction? Impossible! Especially after a P--P--REDBL--? What now? 5♠? Vulnerable? It does take a tremendous amount of testicular fortitude to do that. Nes pas?

Contrast this auction my son and I had against wryly opponents: 2H--P----2S---DBL 3H--3S--P-----4S P---5S---P-----6S All Pass Who’s zooming who? Where’s the double?

To Mike777, The NABC LM Pairs is a six session event: two one-day qualifiers and a one day final. On this hand I was able to exploit the fact that, they were playing all low-level doubles were for takeout. (Support doubles can similarly be exploited.) Then the confusion set in. LHO had full suspision something was up but my second spade bid planted just enough doubt. Once I bid a spade, I am committed on this auction to do it again, right? I mean how hard is it if I prefer to 2♥ over pard's 2♣? And once the doubling began they couldn't stop. There are no "fish" in the LM pairs the second day...only sharks.

Hey, even down 8 undoubled is a mere 400 and most of the Matchpoints! Not bad against 650. You take your chances. They ain't gonna let you play this undoubled! You turn their feeding freezeny into your advantage. WHO SAID MATCHPOINTS IS BRIDGE??

>>Now suppose partner knows from past experience that I am liable to do this and discloses this to the opponents, is there a difference between I sometimes do it when I have this hand and I always do it when I have this hand. It is probably rare enough that partner won't be able to tell the difference for certain if he is just relying on partnership experience rather than explicit agreement.<< If you always do it then it is a private understanding and not allowed (in ACBLand) If, however you do it sometimes, it is a psyche and partner MAY NOT take ANY inference that you might, indeed, hold this hand--that would be VERY unethical. He must always BID his hand in response to YOUR BID in the context of your system agreements. And in ACBLand, atleast, systemic psyches are not allowed. He may not conjecture you have diamonds. The mere suggestion to the opponents damages them and they would be entitled to seek redress. Further psyching a NT opening repeatedly with a small singleton WILL get you into trouble. The recorder keeps notes! How would you feel if an opponent opened and his partner then alerted and began a spurious and rather bizarre explanation of “a hand” his partner might have? That would be really bad form. In this context then re-examining your original question, a "psychic 1♠" if done so systemically,ie, the bid is expected whether or not partner has spades, is ILLEGAL. It is a systemic psyche. Therefore it is moot if one should alert it. So partner must bid his hand as if you had spades even to the detriment of the partnership. In fact if you were then to jump to 4♥, he would be expected to "hang you" with a 4♠ bid, if his hearts were weak and spade holding strong. It would be highly questionable if he did otherwise and passed. In some situations he might be expected to drive to a slam—why cannot his LHO have made a “psychic double”? If you are known to occasionally do a “tactical psyche”, the opponents are expected to have “some knowledge of these situations" but again, partner must not mention that you might be psyching and must act accordingly. Tactical psyching from time to time IS part of the game. Your opponents are expected to understand you don’t always tell them the truth. But partner can only infer your psyche when it is obvious to all. The example below comes very close. Indeed partner was 1=5=2=5 and couldn’t prefer. Would I do it again--No. Bidding "in tempo" like that was extremely difficult. And besides I rarely psyche; its destroys partnership confidence. Will I psyche? Ask me if I falsecard! ************************************* To the person that doesn’t think experts can be fooled (or better screwed) consider the following from the second day of a NABC LM pairs. ♠ xx ♥ AQxxxx ♦ xxxx ♣ x Partner deals (NV v. V) Partner [space] [space] RHO [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] Me [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] LHO 1H [space] [space] [space] [space] [space]P [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] 1S(!) [space] [space] [space] [space]DBL 2C [space] [space] [space] [space] [space]P [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] 2S(!) [space] [space] [space] [space]P P [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] DBL [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] 3C(!) [space] [space] [space] [space]DBL P [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] P [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] 3H [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] P P [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] DBL [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] P [space] [space] [space] [space] [space] [space]P(long hesitation) P +540 with E-W cold for 5S