Psyche controls

[Vampyr]

I was reading a thread about psyches, and got to thinking about psyche controls. Suppose you play a system, as I do, in which a 2♣ opening shows 20-21(2) HCP, balanced, or a GF hand. All of partner’s responses except for 2♦ show weak hands, ie. not interested in game opposite 20-21 balanced. So… would a 2♣ psyche, with a diamond bust, be considered a controlled psyche? Playing one-way Drury, is opening 1M with long clubs a controlled psyche?

[pilowsky]

I was reading a thread about psyches, and got to thinking about psyche controls. Suppose you play a system, as I do, in which a 2♣ opening shows 20-21(2) HCP, balanced, or a GF hand. All of partner’s responses except for 2♦ show weak hands, ie. not interested in game opposite 20-21 balanced. So… would a 2♣ psyche, with a diamond bust, be considered a controlled psyche? Playing one-way Drury, is opening 1M with long clubs a controlled psyche?

 

It's a not uncommon ploy when playing with robots.

[nige1]

I was reading a thread about psyches, and got to thinking about psyche controls. Suppose you play a system, as I do, in which a 2♣ opening shows 20-21(2) HCP, balanced, or a GF hand. All of partner's responses except for 2♦ show weak hands, ie. not interested in game opposite 20-21 balanced. So… would a 2♣ psyche, with a diamond bust, be considered a controlled psyche? Playing one-way Drury, is opening 1M with long clubs a controlled psyche?

A common convention, in Scotland:

2♣ = ART either

• G/F or
• TRF weak 5-9 HCP with 6♦. Responder bids 2♦ unless interested in proceeding opposite the latter.

This is an agreement :) not a psych :)

[mycroft]

ACBL regulations are different - here we do have a "you can't psych an artificial opening bid" rule. (heh, it looks like the 99ers get to do it, but not open players. New note for the committee). In the EBU, however:

1.4.1: Systemic psyching of any kind is not permitted. A partnership may not use any agreement to

control a psyche. For example, if you play that a double of 3NT asks partner not to lead the suit

you have bid, you may not make such a double if the earlier suit bid was a psyche.

...

There is not an EBU regulations that a player may not psyche a game-forcing or near gameforcing artificial opening bid.

 

1.4.2: The actions of the psycher’s partner following a psyche – and, possibly, further actions by the

psycher – may provide evidence of an undisclosed, and therefore illegal, understanding. If so,

then the partnership is said to have ‘fielded’ the psyche.

 

I would be asking instead of these forums the L&E committee, but I think the pass is really on the borderline of "you may not X if the earlier bid was a psyche"/"further actions by the psycher". But I'm biased from a "can't psych 2♣ opener" world.

 

Interestingly enough, due to the definition of Psychic Control, the pass here (and the Watson double example from the White Book) would *not* be a psychic control in the ACBL - they have to be "Bid"s. Benefits of trying to write around "passing a forcing bid is the usual way to show you don't actually have your opener".

 

Conversely, Drury has *always* been described in England as "the classic psychic control" - and if you do open 1M in third seat with long clubs and pass Drury, it will be ruled that way still (I think). In the ACBL (where NIH does not apply), of course, this is just "expected" (except when I did it. Actually, when I did it, I didn't realize until partner *did* bid 2♣ that that was actually my suit).

[pescetom]

In Italy you can psych an artificial opening bid at teams, although not at pairs. But given the protective element, I suspect your agreement would be classifed as a Brown Sticker and thus only allowed at top level competition.

 

Opening 1M in third seat with only long clubs and passing Drury looks like a controlled psyche to me, but I somehow doubt that is the official line.

You and others already tackled this in this old discussion.

[Gilithin]

It is an area of the bidding code very open to abuse and the only way of really finding out is to keep records over time. Another example: opps are playing a 1NT response structure that does not allow direct raises with a balanced hand. Is that a psychic control? Do you change your mind when the opps open a weak 5♥5♣ with a SNT? How about when they do it 3 times in a month? Note that I think the biggest issue of psychic controls is that they are CPUs - if you have put in place a system to control a certain psyche, it is hardly a surprise to partner when that psyche is made. Therefore it is not a psyche but part of the system. Much of the time, calling such methods psyches is just a means of getting round system regulations by not giving full disclosure. This is clearly something that should not be allowed.