Tempo Issues in ACBL (and others)

[spiralscan]

I've played in many tourneys where tempo issues are perceived to be connection issues when brought to the attention of the director. However all the while the party in question has been able to talk etc easily. In a recent example, South opened 1♥ and West now bids 4♣. North raises to 4♥ and all pass to W♣ who takes a 60 second tank (or longer). The director is summoned before South takes a call and the situation is explained and told to carry on. South chooses to bid 5♥ and West immediately doubles for down 2. As it turned out neither could make either contract, West had a CLEAR 5♣ call as they were void in ♥. :blink:

 

The director ruled this was not a tempo issue but that West could have had a connection problem???????? I could see 20 seconds for deciding but 60???????? Interestingly enough had he simply bid 5c immediately South may not bid 5♥

[EricK]

It is hard to see how this could be a clear 5♣ call when both 4♥ and 5♣ go down.

 

Furthermore, doesn't the hesitation (if genuine) imply that 5♣ may not be the correct call? In which case one is more likely to bid on over the immediate 5♣, but double them in the hesitation case.

 

It might help to see the actual hands.

 

Eric

[spiralscan]

I apologize, the essence of the post was correct but the bidding was wrong. I've attached the bidding and full deal as follows:

 

 

 

[hv=d=n&v=n&n=skq92hda4cajt9732&w=sajt6h932d765c865&e=s7hakq875dkq83cq4&s=s8543hjt64djt92ck]399|300|Scoring: IMP

Bidding goes:

 

1♣, 4♥, P, P,

5♣, P, P, 5♥,

DBL ALL PASS[/hv]

 

The one club opener took over 60 seconds to make a decision that should have been made to either double or bid on within some 15 to 20 seconds. This was ruled as a connection issue. The player did not red dot whatsoever and was talking freely.

[the hog]

Do you mean that the 4H bidder took some 60 seconds before deciding to pass 5C and his partner then bid 5H? Well, 4H is a bad bid and 5H is even worse.

 

If on the other hand you are criticizing the C bidder for taking a long time over 4H, then I totally disagree. Nth had a lot to think about and can take as long as he likes; to say that 5C is "clear" because of the H void is simply not correct. Pass, X 4S and 5C could all be correct and require time to think through.

 

Anyway no damage appears to have been done; Nth guessed wrong and subsequently East and West bid even worse.

[MickyB]

What problem do you have with him taking time to make his call? Maybe he was thinking, maybe he was busy juggling. It doesn't matter, unless:

 

His partner takes advantage of the hesitation

You fail to finish the board because of this time wasting

He deliberately hesitates to mislead the opponents

 

You seem to be suggesting the third scenario may be true. The typical case is 1H-P-2H-P, then hesitate before passing to try to persuade LHO that it would not be wise for him to balance. I can't see that being the case here. Firstly, his bid is not that clearcut, and secondly, as Eric points out, his hesitation implies uncertainty - surely that is a slight suggestion that you should *not* bid 5♥?

[dogsbreath]

for your info..

Tempo is a small town in the sticks in N.Ireland

Culbertson is considered a bit revolutionary there.. so the phrase 'bidding in tempo' has a rather different and unpredictable meaning for those of us from this outpost of the Empire. Rgds Dog :rolleyes:

[EricK]

My take on the bidding is as follows:

 

The 1♣ opening looks normal.

 

The 4♥ overcall is unusual. Much more defensive strength than one would normally expect. But it does apply pressure to the opps.

 

The next two passes are obvious.

 

North now does have a difficult decision. It looks right to bid something, but what? 5♣ is unilateral. Take out X risks a diamond bid or a pass from partner. 4♠ might be viewed as a 6-5 rather than a 7-4 hand so get incorrect preference. And pass is just caving in to the oressure put on by Opps.

 

After 5♣, East should double IMO. To show he has a strong hand rather than a purely pre-emptive one.

 

After 5♣ has been passed round to him, West guesses that the 5♥ sacrifice will be cheap. In his position I would have guessed that 6♣ is possibly on for the opps, so would have kept quiet. But then my partner's 4♥ would have shown a different sort of hand.

 

Eric

[spiralscan]

OK thanks, that helps.

[Chamaco]

Spiralscan,

maybe in some cases suspects are justified.

 

However, consider this: it has happened to me, even during a tourney, to have to run at the bathroom for some urgent need :rolleyes:

When I went back, it may as well have appered as an "hesitation" to my opps (and probably in the 60 secs range).

 

Other times, I had to checkout the coffee or other errands.

 

I think that online bridge is simply different from live bridge, and so be it :(

[inquiry]

Far be it for me to defend the person who choose to bid 4♥, but in a 12 board tournment, there is certainly some logic to it.

 

For example, if you ONLY preempt with weak hands, you make it easer for your opponents, 2nd, someone has spades, if it is not your partner, a 1♥ overcall makes it very easy for your opponents to find their spade fit. 3rd, a non-vulnerable 2♥/3♥ are both a huge underbid.

 

For one, I prefer opponents who only bid 4♥ with very weak hands.. they are so much easier to play against. Also, I agree, East should probably double 5♣ but it is hared to imagine at imps partner will take a 5♥ sacrafice...Down two is not much a good safe (400 versus 300)... and down three is at least possible opposite a very frisky partner.

[Rebound]

I'm inclined to agree with Chamaco. I tend to ignore tempo completely when playing online. Who knows the reason for the delay? The cat may have spilled his coffee, the phone may have rung, could be anything. I just don't event consider it unless it interferes with completion of the round in a timely fashion.

[luke warm]

i don't ignore tempo, i check to see if reddots are around, and it's a pet peeve of mine... i especially can't stand it when someone takes forever to play a stiff... and i've seen very good players do that, on more than one occasion... i can see making a slow '2' count, but not 10 seconds to play a stiff

 

on this hand i have no opinion... i'd have to have been there