[blml] 40B3, etc.

[Robert Frick]

On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:01:54 -0500, Stefanie Rohan  
<daisy_duck at btopenworld.com> wrote:

>  Jeff Easterson:
>>
>>> Hola Blnlers!  The idea that a pair, in advance, will plan to make
>>> illegal bids (insufficient for example) and then discuss what to do
>>> (what conventions, etc.) after these bids boggles what is left of my
>>> mind.  JE
>
>> Robert Frick:
>
>> I'm pretty sure this can't be done. If you don't realize your bid is
>> insufficient, then you will "forget" to use your convention. Conversely,
>> if you are following your convention, you know you are making an
>> insufficient bid. Which is illegal.
>
> No, what Jeff means is a convention that is used after attention has been
> drawn to an accidental insufficient bid. Or after the bid is accepted, in
> the hope that partner will notice that his bid is insufficient by the  
> time
> the auction gets back to him (If partner has to shuffle through his
> already-used bidding cards, or borrow a card from someone else's box, you
> will probably be prompted to notice that your bid is insufficient.  
> However,
> the actual auction is AI.
>
> Anyway, I have been worried about this for many weeks.

Hi Stephanie. Interesting idea. I just worked with if changing my  
insufficient bid. This is tough to do because Law 72B1 bars you from  
making any bid better than the ones that were at your disposal.

After considerable effort:

If a nonconventional or conventional bid is made sufficient by raising it  
a level, it has the same meaning. For example, my partner opens 1S, RHO  
bids 2D which I do not see, and I bid 2D natural showing a diamond suit. A  
correction to 3D would then be natural, showing diamonds. Or my partner  
opens 1S, opps bid 2NT unusual, and I foolishly bid 2C not seeing the 2NT  
bid. A correction to 3C is now clubs, not unusual over unusual.

This convention would have been useful for the old laws, but then it could  
be used only when both bids were nonconventional. E.g., I open 1C and  
discover my opp has already opened. My bid of 2C should now mean the same  
as my bid of 1C did. It does allow you to show a hand that you otherwise  
might not have been able to show...but you have to hope that you don't  
gain from that in the auction, because if you do then 27D kicks in. (And  
hence this is nothing for you to "worry" about.)

Apologies if this is already known. If not, it's the "what I just said"  
convention.