[blml] A Psyche Classification

[David Burn]

-----Original Message-----
From: blml-bounces at amsterdamned.org [mailto:blml-bounces at amsterdamned.org]
On Behalf Of John Probst
Sent: 21 September 2007 14:57
To: Bridge Laws Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blml] A Psyche Classification

[PL]

> 2H was weak; *alerted, 'likely' to have four spades

[JP]

Why should West, when he knows opponents have game values assist the 
opponents to diagnose a 4-1 spade fit

[DALB]

If one of the opponents has a singleton spade, he will know this without the
aid of diagnostics. Since you do not propose to deprive the opponents of
bidding space (recall that at the moment they are in three diamonds, and
your pass allows each of them to cue-bid a major at the three level or to
splinter unambiguously at the four level) you can scarcely argue that
passing will make it more difficult for them to explore their combined
assets.

[JP]
 
Why should West when he knows his side are seriously outgunned, try a 4-4 
spade fit when he knows spades are breaking badly?

[DALB]

There is a difference between "likely to have" and "certain to have". West
knows neither that his side has only a 4-4 spade fit (since East may have
five) nor that the suit is breaking badly (since North may not have four).

[JP]

Pass is obvious

[DALB]

Pass is indeed obvious if you allow for the possibility that your partner,
who has bid spades, does not have spades. But if you do that, you run some
risk of having your actions classified as fielding a psyche. Curiously
enough, that is what the L&E did to those actions.

I am getting really rather tired of the pseudo-expert excuses people make to
justify abnormal actions (whether their own or those of some unknown
player). Just because Alain Gottcheiner would always open something with any
hand containing five spades to two top honours, it does not follow that the
East of the original hand would. Just because some BLML contributor or other
thinks that the opponents can't bid the cards in front of their faces if we
give them a free run, it doesn't follow that these opponents can't.
Meanwhile, ever more inventive reasons are being concocted to justify ever
more outlandish actions, but the fact of the matter is that players are
still trying to steal candy from babies, and then bleating about it when
they are caught.

David Burn
London, England