October 2007 - 8

Letters to the Editor

tors do not have a good grasp on this
law as far as I can see and are much
too liberal, doling out mulligans
without much thought.
Most players think their right to
change the call is absolute. Here is a
better rule, easier by far to adjudicate:
You cannot change your bid - ever.
This would only punish players who
have lost their concentration. Serves
'em right!
FRED MAHER
Drexel Hill PA
In most cases, club directors make
a concerted effort to determine the
difference between a "slip of the
finger" versus "a slip of the mind."
A careful inspection of the auction,
and at times the hand in question,
almost always leads the director to
the proper use of this law. Law 25A is
implemented with the hope of retaining the game, as opposed to having
the game decided upon the use of a
bidding box.

Modified VPs
To the Editor:
After I saw the letter about the
10-point victory point scale (May,
page 7), I decided to try it. But first
I changed the tie to 9.5 (it seems
fairer). The big advantage of the 10point scale is that it takes away the
pairing problems because it treats all
winners as equals. I have now used it
twice and I think it's a winner.
Just for the record, when we started
Swiss teams we had win-loss-tie.
Because there were too many ties, we
started three-quarter wins. Then we
went to victory points to better break
ties.
Yes, you can lose to a team that
has eked out its wins. So what? Look
at any sport or activity. Do they put
more in the win column if you win a
baseball game by five runs? No, what
counts is the wins.
Remember, all this started in an
effort to break ties. No matter which
scale is used, someone will find fault.
I don't know how it will look after
10 games, but after two, the 10-point
scale is a 10 (with the 9.5 modification).
BILL KOEHLER
Albuquerque NM
8

New rating?

All used up

To the Editor:
I would like to suggest that a
new rating be added to club games
designated as "E" for entertainment.
People who do not wish to earn
masterpoints would be allowed to
play in this category by paying the
standard club fee. Their scores would
be tallied with others, but no points
would be awarded. Special fees
(STaC or NAP) would not apply. I believe this would attract more players.
FRANK DANIELS
Atlanta GA

To the Editor:
I thought your readers would be interested in this story of two relatively
new players and their misadventure in
the ACBL-wide Senior Pairs earlier
this year. I have rotated the hands to
make my partner the declarer.

Ban psychs
To the Editor:
The ACBL expends effort to keep
the game of bridge fair and honest.
Alerts give every player at the table
the opportunity to understand the
opponents' bids and assess their own
bids, defense and play of the contract
accordingly.
A psych is deliberately calculated
to deceive. Obviously, a psych cannot be Alerted. I would like to see
psychic bids banned from the game
of bridge. It would be interesting to
know how others feel.
DOLORES DUNN
Wixom MI
Psychic calls are described as a
gross misrepresentation of suit length
or honor strength. Psychic calls are
specifically allowed per Law 40A.
Such a call is no different from deviating one's announced methods of
carding in order to (legally) deceive
an opponent. While frequent or frivolous psychic calls should be brought
to the attention of the director, the
Laws Commission is not expected to
address this issue of bridge law when
changes are next considered.

All the points
Jean Roberts of Denton TX played
in a knockout teams at a sectional
in Waco. On one of the deals, her
partner opened a strong 2, and
Roberts pulled out the 7NT card from
the bidding box. Her side had all
40 high-card points. It was a push,
Roberts wrote, "but what fun!"

Dlr: South  A K J 8 7 2
Vul: None  A 6 5
AK96
-
 10 9 5 4
63
N
73
 K Q 10 8 2
W E  10 8 4 2
53
S
AJ842
65
Q
J94
QJ7
 K Q 10 9 7 3
West

North

East

Pass
Pass

2 (2)
7 (4)

Pass
All Pass

South
2 (1)
3 (3)

(1) We play strong two-bids, but
partner looked at all those clubs and
pulled out the wrong bidding card.
Oops!
(2) My "waiting" bid seems conservative, I know, but that was my
choice.
(3) Partner realized that she had
erred, and she tried to correct the
mistake by showing her feature -
the singleton spade (another bit of
another convention). We are relatively
comfortable with conventions, but
sometimes they get mixed together.
(4) I could hardly contain myself, but
why mess around?
Can you imagine my partner's heart
rate at this point? She was in 7
with a singleton in her trump suit. I
was still blissfully unaware of what
had transpired until an opponent
asked what my 2 bid was. "I think
she wanted me to name a feature,"
said pard. Gulp!
The opening lead was the A,
ruffed in dummy. No problem from
there. A grand slam bid and made!
Am I right in thinking we used up our
luck for 2007?
KATHY GAITHER
Camp Hill PA
Bridge Bulletin
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2007
