Alertable?

[paulg]

There are many auctions in which 2N could be played as either takeout, Lebensohl, or natural. I believe that some partnerships have either clear enough rules, or sufficient partnership experience, to virtually always be on the same wavelength as to which it is. IMO those partnerships should always alert 2N if it is something other than natural, unless it's a situation where there is no chance that their opponents could think it's anything but what it is. 1S-P-2S-P, P-2N would be such an example. Yes, I do take into account who the opponents are when deciding whether or not to alert.

 

In the given auction I think all "modern" experts would treat 2N as takeout, but perhaps a few more "old-fashioned" experts would think it's natural. And what if you are playing against non-experts? I never see the harm in alerting if you clearly know what partner's bid means and there's any chance the opponents might not. That's assuming your knowledge is based on a partnership agreement - whether it's about the specific auction, derived from general principles, or based on extensive partnership experience. Of course if your certainty is based on what you have in your hand, that's different.

 

When I've often found myself unsure whether or not to alert 2N, it's when I feel it's probably takeout, but I'm in a partnership without clear agreements. Against experts, if it's an auction I expect they know many would treat as takeout, I usually won't alert unless I'm sure. Against players who I think might have less reason than I do to suspect 2N is takeout, I'll usually alert. If all the players are of about equal general bridge knowledge, and the partnership has no special agreement, I certainly wouldn't alert, or expect one from my opponents. When they bid 2N in an ambiguous auction, I've often asked if my opponents have any relevant agreements, even if they don't alert.

Where is the "I like this" button?