Alerting and Announcing
I had always assumed that the summary table available on the EBU website covered everything about alerts but it doesn't.
It lists the times to announce and for some situations (opening bids, doubles,...) it shows whether to alert or do nothing.
But it does not include instructions to alert anything else unusual. You could say that it implies that no other alerts are required.
This table is all that many players will ever see - those fortunate enough not to have delved into the Blue Book.
Perhaps an additional note in this document would be useful.
Alan
It lists the times to announce and for some situations (opening bids, doubles,...) it shows whether to alert or do nothing.
But it does not include instructions to alert anything else unusual. You could say that it implies that no other alerts are required.
This table is all that many players will ever see - those fortunate enough not to have delved into the Blue Book.
Perhaps an additional note in this document would be useful.
Alan
Alan
Comments
Where an alert requirement is not listed in the regulations, is it not proper to follow the general principle (whether stated in the regulations or not) that any bid that does not mean what it says, i.e. is natural, should be alerted?
Well it is for us - but not everyone reads the blue book or the law book (still less the white book) - they go on what they have been taught or what they see others do. Better to tell someone what they already know than not tell them something they don't.
The regulations (Blue Book) which most ordinary players don't have as their bedtime reading, are much more complicated and confusing. Sometimes you alert bids that everyone understands - or don't alert something less obvious.
My point is that for many 'low level' players the regulations about Alerting and Announcing are the simplified summary table - which should be complete and accurate but isn't.
Alan
Alan
If it covered absolutely everything, it wouldn't be a simplified summary.
The ANNOUNCING AND ALERTING SUMMARY is a summary of "new" announcing and alerting when announcing was introduced (and alerting of doubles changed) in 2006. The first page covers situations which might involve announcements: opening bids and auctions which start with 1NT or 2NT. The second page covers (mainly) alerting of doubles. The summary does not cover overcalls and responses after an opening bid in a suit.
It isn't called the Simplified Summary. It's the ANNOUNCING AND ALERTING SUMMARY. Nothing in it's title or content even hints that it might be incomplete. Almost everyone who reads it won't even know of the existence of the Blue Book and for them there is no other guidance.
It could at least include a note that there are other circumstances that should be alerted.
Alan
Alan
Alan, you were the first one in this discussion to use the word "simplified".
The document and its title have outlived its original emphasis. Its aim was to be a summary of announcing and associated alerts and changes to alerting of doubles. When we update the document, there should be more to indicate that there is more detail about announcing and more to be alerted in the Blue Book.
One evening this week, our opponents were playing "Benji" according to that single halfword abbreviation on the front of their scorecard.
My LHO opened [Stop]2C and my RHO announced "Strong".
As my RHO is an EBUTA-registered, practising Teacher, what chance do his/her pupils have of getting it right?
Oh, I would love to return to when bidding was a silent affair.
I know I'm repeating myself when I state that announcements have really confused the average club player "round here" but it continues to get worse as time goes on.
Another occasion but also still this week - (different) LHO is an EBUTA-registered, practising Teacher and a qualified, practising club TD. She opened 1NT (correctly announced as 12 to 14); my partner doubled and RHO bid 2D. LHO announced "Transfer to Hearts".
I don't blame LHO for getting this wrong because close to 100% of players "round here" get this one wrong, there must be a discontinuity in the roll-out from WBF/EBU down to the Club player.
Is it possible that she missed the double?
No, she admitted she didn't know she was supposed to alert in this sequence.