[blml] adjudication

[Jerry Fusselman]

On 6/25/07, Eric Landau <ehaa at starpower.net> wrote:
>
> The 8 HCP limit is legal now.  It wasn't when they first imposed it,
> but rather than create a loophole under the "convention" powers of
> L40D, as was necessitated in order to outlaw the 9-HCP 1NT opening,
> they were able instead to convince the WBFLC to extend L40D (in 1987,
> IIRC) to permit zones to "regulate partnership understandings (even
> if not conventional) that permit the partnership's initial actions at
> the one-level to be made with a hand of a king or more below average
> strength".  That wording was designed to be explicit permission to
> ban outright one-level openings on fewer than 8 HCP without setting
> the (potentially terribly destructive) precedent of actually writing
> "high-card points" into the law.
>

However, my understanding is that the following hand is an
ACBL-allowed exception:

AKxxxx
xxxxx
x
x

You can open this hand 1S as dealer every time you get it.  I am not
sure whether you can *agree* to open this hand 1S every time you get
it, but you and your partner *can* in practice open it 1S every single
time.  You may have to call it a violation of your agreement every
time, but you can do it every time.  At least that is my
understanding, based on conversations with ACBL officials.

Jerry Fusselman