[blml] The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep is sick

[Robert Geller]

Something that seems to be missing from this discussion is the fact the
bridge is inherently a probabilistic game.   If your oppts fail to bid a game 
that goes down only when trumps are 5-0, and they get the only plus
score in the room you get a bottom, whereas the other 96% of the time 
you would have gotten a top.   That's just "the rub of the green."

Similarly, if your opponents in all innocence forget or screw up a convention
most of the time you get a good score.  Once in a while the "forget"
works out helping the oppts and you get a bad score.  That's also just
"the rub of the green."   There's no law guaraneeing you a good score
every time the oppts forget a convention.  You just have to take the
bitter with the sweet.

Of course intentional and repeated psychs of conventions 
are another kettle of fish altogether.....  The above is not intended to refer
to those.

-Bob

Eric Landau さんは書きました:
>On Sep 30, 2007, at 5:07 AM, Gampas at aol.com wrote:
>
>> We are reluctant to change the rules of bridge yet there seems no good
>> reason why a misbid should not be an infraction. If you forget to  
>> sign your
>> scorecard in golf you are disqualified. If, in chess, you forget to  
>> press your
>> clock on the last move before the time control you lose (unless you  
>> notice in
>> time). Yet forgetting a convention such as Ghestem might incur no   
>> penalty; this
>> is because of some illogical belief that forgetting your own   
>> system should be
>> allowed without penalty unless UI occurs. But I expect that a   
>> change to the
>> laws to make a misbid an infraction will not take place. And there   
>> is the
>> problem of distinguishing it from a psyche.
>
>Those who have never heard of chess or golf already know how to press  
>buttons and how to sign their names.  They do not need to understand  
>their respective games before applying those skills.  They do not  
>have to practice them.  Learning a bidding method is a whole  
>different kettle of fish.  It must be learned in context.  If it is  
>non-trivial, It may require considerable practice to master it  
>fully.  Learning requires trial and error; learning as a partnership  
>inevitably involves some significant potential for confusion and  
>misunderstanding.
>
>Making it illegal to forget or screw up a convention thus effectively  
>prohibits partnerships from trying out new methods: you can't master  
>it without practicing it, but you can't practice it without having  
>mastered it.
>
>Eric Landau
>1107 Dale Drive
>Silver Spring MD 20910
>ehaa at starpower.net
>
>
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-----------------------------------------------------
Robert (Bob) Geller,     Tokyo, Japan        geller at nifty.com