Hesitation 5H

[barmar]

As an aside, the 10-second idea goes way back. I'm currently reading "Bumblepuppy Days", a history of whist and bridge. He mentions an 1898 publication "Whist of the Future" in which the author suggests a 10 second rule as a control on hesitations. The author of the current book comments:

This certainly is unworkable. Who runs the clock? Ten seconds pass much more quickly when one is trying to make a decision than when admiring the wallpaper.

The author is from the US, obviously not from a country where players regularly obey skip-bid warnings.

 

Note that since this was about whist, not bridge, it was referring to card play -- whist didn't have bidding. BTW, the proprieties in most of the laws of whist had admonitions against coffeehousing, and some versions specifically mentioned hesitating with s singleton.

[Bad_Wolf]

I used to think that until I saw it work in practice. Now I actually prefer not having them.

 

But this is off topic and I don't feel particularly strongly about it one way or another. So this thread is probably not the place to discuss their merits or otherwise.

Exactly, all the bumshifters round here (over the ditch) make it perfectly clear they have a problem when the stop card is out or ignore it when they don't. Good luck getting an adjustment for that (when their mate doesn't take a borderline action)

[vigfus]

In Iceland

If I understand this right. Break in tempo.

4S-1 50% 4S-2 50%

[lamford]

In Iceland

If I understand this right. Break in tempo.

4S-1 50% 4S-2 50%

I think gnasher's post #7 says it all, but I would still not give declarer any of 4S-1. -100 is still going to be a bucket of IMPs out, and it looks almost impossible to fail to find the club ruff, even if West leads the AH, as there is no quick entry to dummy. 100% of 4S-2 looks right.