[blml] Announce or alert?

[Eric Landau]

On Nov 14, 2007, at 6:01 PM, Guthrie wrote:

> [Collins Williams]
> Wouldn't the announcing of doubles help the doubling side get them
> right more often? Perhaps it is just me (or my parochialism) but I
> find myself in auctions where the meaning of a double is in doubt far
> more often than the bidding of a red suit after partner's NT is  
> ambiguous.
>
> [Jerry Fusselman]
> Agreed.  As a rule of thumb, a regulation for announcing should only
> be in effect if the announcement will almost never give surprise UI to
> partner.  Doubles are certainly not anywhere near routine enough for
> this condition to be met. Announcements are best for very well-defined
> and limited situations.
>
> [Nige1]
> When LHO alerts RHO's call, I assume that Collins and Jerry opt for
> strategy [A] below ...
> [A] *Sometimes* ask.
> [B] *Always* ask now.
> [C] *Never* ask until the end of the auction.
>
> IMO option [A] should be illegal. If you adopt option [A] then you are
> likely to convey unauthorised information. Poor partner must try to
> avoid those options suggested by that unauthorised information. It
> disadvantages an ethical partner who will frequently be inhibited from
> taking the best action. This option deliberately subjects players to
> avoidable temptation.
>
> If you adopt strategy [B], you may as well have announcements instead
> of alerts -- because announcements are then about twice as quick as
> alerts -- announcements save the time taken
> -- for an opponent to wave an alert card around and
> -- for you to ask a question.
>
> You can save even more palaver and unauthorised information, if (as I
> advocate) a new rule allowed you to *switch them off*. This is roughly
> equivalent to option [C] but eliminates more unauthorised information.
>
> I concede that, to begin with, this rule might result in half-alerts
> (or half-announcements) -- from habit -- that the director would have
> to treat as unauthorised information.
>
> Manifestly, however, it eliminates far more unauthorised information
> than it engenders.

Then there's strategy [D] ([A']?), which works best if you take a  
moment to peruse your opponents' CC before the round starts:  Ask  
when you don't already know the answer.

Good players use the disclosure procedures, including asking  
questions, in order to follow their opponents' auction and build a  
picture of the opponents' hands based on their bidding.  They do this  
whether or not they are considering entering the auction.  This  
conveys no intrinsic UI despite falling to the category of   
"'sometimes' ask".


Eric Landau
1107 Dale Drive
Silver Spring MD 20910
ehaa at starpower.net