Fielded Misbid (or not)?

[nige1]

It seems to me very simple to construct scenarios where a pair can get an advantage by using an illegal agreement without that agreement coming up ...

Zelandakh has modified my view. On reflection, I agree that your CPU can provide useful negative inferences, even if, in practice, you encounter no hand, suitable for it.

Yes you are not entitled to deliberately infract laws because you are willing to pay a penalty

Cascade is right but, IMO, system-regulation is neither simple nor clear (even WBF regulations). Anyway, in practice, judging by postings, here and on BridgeWinners, infraction due to carelessness and ignorance is common (e.g. undisclosed/illegal partnership understandings on third-hand openings that are "just Bridge"). Players regard a rule as unimportant when infraction is common but usually condoned. There are many other everyday examples

• Flouting stop-card regulations.
• Prematurely picking up bidding cards.
• Incorrect designation of dummy's card.
• Claiming mechanical error after a slip of the mind.
• ....

[barmar]

Incidentally, one sometimes sees a comment about psyches on expert-level CCs. For example "Psyches: third seat openings" or the like. This one always seems a little strange, since it is not a psyche if it is an agreement but the psyches listed may potentially be illegal as agreements in some jurisdictions where the pairs play.

There used to be a "Frequent psyches" checkbox on the ACBL CC.

 

As has been mentioned before, the definition of "psyche" has changed over the years. It used to allow for systemic psyches.

[mycroft]

...and I, with one partner, used to check that "Frequent", and then circle it once or twice. And we weren't joking, either.

 

Having said that, I bet we never got anywhere nearer than "close" to the somewhat strongly-worded ACBL regulations about "frequent" psychs; definitely not "unsportsmanlike" (we did it against anybody*) or "frivolous" (it was our style, it was consistently our style, and they weren't *crazy* psychs). Likely one psych per session, sometimes each.

 

But we were just another example of why that box was removed from the ACBL CC; everyone just put "rare" in case they misbid the same thing they misbid last month. If you ever actually psyched, like on purpose, you marked "occasional"; if you did it more than once a year, you didn't have to mark your card "frequent" - people would tell their partner on their own "watch these guys, they psych".

 

*) Okay, there was that one couple that griped any time anyone bid weird against them, never mind really psyched. And they were, of course, the most pleasant pair otherwise</sarcasm>. So *everybody* in the club psyched against them if they had the hand for it.