[qwery_hi]

ACBL. So the auction is over, and I have some questions regarding style (e.g. can 1N be rebid with a singleton in responder's suit?) and perhaps about the bids.
Do I have to select my opening lead and then ask questions, or can I ask the questions and then select the lead?

[Bbradley62]

Ask, then select.

[qwery_hi]

ok, thanks. So best practice would be

1. Ask your questions, if any,
2. Make the lead face down,
3. Ask partner if he has any questions
4. Lead face up

 Bbradley62, on 2011-June-30, 22:14, said:

Ask, then select.

[blackshoe]

 qwery_hi, on 2011-June-30, 22:17, said:

ok, thanks. So best practice would be

1. Ask your questions, if any,
2. Make the lead face down,
3. Ask partner if he has any questions
4. Lead face up

Yes. BTW, declarer also has the right to ask questions before the lead is faced.

[shevek]

I don't like your example much.
If we go 1♦ - 1♠ - 1NT - end

I wouldn't be happy to hear the leader ask whether I can have a stiff spade. Sure I can.
Sounds like the question might be based on a good spade holding.

Just lead and wait till you - and only you - really need to know. In the endgame.

[qwery_hi]

You have a valid point.

Previously, I used to worry whether any questions I ask might piss off the opponents. Nowadays, I ask if I think I need to know,
and let the director or the appeals committee deal with all the implications if opponents complain.

Another auction where I would like to know is 1c - 1d - 1N - As the opening leader, I would like to know if 1N could contain one or both majors.

 shevek, on 2011-July-01, 00:14, said:

I don't like your example much.
If we go 1♦ - 1♠ - 1NT - end

I wouldn't be happy to hear the leader ask whether I can have a stiff spade. Sure I can.
Sounds like the question might be based on a good spade holding.

Just lead and wait till you - and only you - really need to know. In the endgame.

[mgoetze]

 qwery_hi, on 2011-July-01, 01:21, said:

Another auction where I would like to know is 1c - 1d - 1N - As the opening leader, I would like to know if 1N could contain one or both majors.

I tend to alert in that auction, but Walsh is not as common here as in the ACBL, I think. If that's all very much unalertable then it's certainly reasonable to ask about it right away.

[gwnn]

 shevek, on 2011-July-01, 00:14, said:

I wouldn't be happy to hear the leader ask whether I can have a stiff spade. Sure I can.

Not everyone agrees with that.

[blackshoe]

You can ask "tell me about your style", and if 1NT can be rebid with a stiff spade, that should be mentioned. Under ACBL regs, the onus is on the pair explaining their methods to fully disclose all pertinent information — the opponents do not have to ask specific questions. If the explanation leaves out something pertinent, that is MI, and the NOS are entitled to redress if it damages them.

[Cyberyeti]

 shevek, on 2011-July-01, 00:14, said:

I don't like your example much.
If we go 1♦ - 1♠ - 1NT - end

I wouldn't be happy to hear the leader ask whether I can have a stiff spade. Sure I can.
Sounds like the question might be based on a good spade holding.

Just lead and wait till you - and only you - really need to know. In the endgame.

I might need to know immediately looking at KJ109x, as I might consider leading the K if stiff Q is possible for opener.

[shevek]

 gwnn, on 2011-July-01, 04:06, said:

Not everyone agrees with that.

I reckon every man & his dog rebids 1NT with

♠6 ♥AKJ5 ♦J875 ♣K942

Maybe catlovers bid 2♣. Don't know. Certainly those who opened 1♣ have zero choice.
Sure, the opening leader and dummy can have a long chat about hands like this and whether ♠Q would swing it but no useful purpose is served.

[qwery_hi]

Good to know... I think I'm going to do this from now on.

 blackshoe, on 2011-July-01, 05:26, said:

You can ask "tell me about your style", and if 1NT can be rebid with a stiff spade, that should be mentioned. Under ACBL regs, the onus is on the pair explaining their methods to fully disclose all pertinent information — the opponents do not have to ask specific questions. If the explanation leaves out something pertinent, that is MI, and the NOS are entitled to redress if it damages them.

[bluejak]

In an English club about 10% of players will rebid 1NT with a stiff spade: in events it may be 25%. It is common for it to guarantee a balanced hand.

But the idea of not being allowed to ask is anathema, and I do not see it. I like to know about the opponents' methods in detail when defending so I always ask a number of questions at the start of the play.

Why should anyone not like this? I can see nothing wrong with it. It gives nothing away and misleads nobody.

Incidentally, Ed, in answer to a question about a 1NT rebid I have heard an answer as to whether a stiff is possible only from two people: myself and my partner. No opponent has ever told me - that is never in my whole life - without a supplementary question. So I might just as well skip the preliminaries and ask.

[peachy]

 qwery_hi, on 2011-June-30, 22:17, said:

ok, thanks. So best practice would be

1. Ask your questions, if any,
2. Make the lead face down,
3. Ask partner if he has any questions
4. Lead face up

You can easily skip Step 3. Partner has a chance to ask questions when it is his/her turn to play to first trick. Besides, once your lead is face down, you are not allowed to change your lead to something else so whether partner has questions or not, does not affect your actions and surely it is only more helpful to partner to ask any questions when dummy is in sight.

[bluejak]

It is normal enough to ask questions when partner has led face down, and skipping step 3 is merely rude. Furthermore, that is how opening leads out of turn get faced.

[pran]

 peachy, on 2011-July-01, 15:28, said:

qwery_hi said:

ok, thanks. So best practice would be

1. Ask your questions, if any,
2. Make the lead face down,
3. Ask partner if he has any questions
4. Lead face up

You can easily skip Step 3. Partner has a chance to ask questions when it is his/her turn to play to first trick. Besides, once your lead is face down, you are not allowed to change your lead to something else so whether partner has questions or not, does not affect your actions and surely it is only more helpful to partner to ask any questions when dummy is in sight.

Sorry - NO - Step 3 is important as well ! ! !

If as a consequence of partner's question(s) misinformation from (presumed) declaring side is revealed then the face down opening lead may be retracted. the auction rolled back and continued as specified in Laws 21 and 41. It is then even possible for the originally presumed declaring side to eventually become the defending side as a result of such rectification. This option is no longer available once the opening lead is faced.

But you should not ask partner if he has any questions; the correct procedure is to just wait for your partner to give permission to face your opening lead.

Now why is this so important?

At least in theory your asking might possibly convey UI to your partner, it may for instance be taken as a suggestion for him to ask questions.

The correct procedure as described in Law 41 is to simply leave the initiative to your partner and await his signal that you may face your opening lead.

(I have no count of all the times I have experienced declarer or dummy nodding "yes" to LHO when he has placed his opening lead face down on the table. Apparently they believe the purpose of the procedure is to avoid an opening lead from the wrong defender and they nod as confirmation "yes, it is your lead". This is none of their business - it is the other defender who shall indicate that he has no more questions to ask so now is the time to face the opening lead.)

[qwery_hi]

Where can I find a (preferably online) text of Law 41?

 pran, on 2011-July-01, 17:06, said:

Sorry - NO - Step 3 is important as well ! ! !

If as a consequence of partner's question(s) misinformation from (presumed) declaring side is revealed then the face down opening lead may be retracted. the auction rolled back and continued as specified in Laws 21 and 41. It is then even possible for the originally presumed declaring side to eventually become the defending side as a result of such rectification. This option is no longer available once the opening lead is faced.

But you should not ask partner if he has any questions; the correct procedure is to just wait for your partner to give permission to face your opening lead.

Now why is this so important?

At least in theory your asking might possibly convey UI to your partner, it may for instance be taken as a suggestion for him to ask questions.

The correct procedure as described in Law 41 is to simply leave the initiative to your partner and await his signal that you may face your opening lead.

(I have no count of all the times I have experienced declarer or dummy nodding "yes" to LHO when he has placed his opening lead face down on the table. Apparently they believe the purpose of the procedure is to avoid an opening lead from the wrong defender and they nod as confirmation "yes, it is your lead". This is none of their business - it is the other defender who shall indicate that he has no more questions to ask so now is the time to face the opening lead.)

[gwnn]

http://www.worldbrid...lcode/law41.asp

[Vampyr]

(About whether 1♣-1♦-1NT can contain 4-card majors)

 mgoetze, on 2011-July-01, 02:51, said:

I tend to alert in that auction, but Walsh is not as common here as in the ACBL, I think. If that's all very much unalertable then it's certainly reasonable to ask about it right away.

I don't understand this quite. Do you alert if you CAN have 4-card majors or if you can't? In most bidding philosophies, and this will come up more with 5-card majors, opener is not permitted to rebid 1M with a balanced hand. So 4-card majors are always possible, and definitely not alertable.

 pran, on 2011-July-01, 17:06, said:

Sorry - NO - Step 3 is important as well ! ! !

Not only for the reasons Sven mentions, but also third hand might want to ask about the auction while the bidding cards are still out, especially if the auction has been long. Also, of course, he may want to ask about inferences in the bidding before declarer has been influenced by seeing dummy's hand.

[blackshoe]

 pran, on 2011-July-01, 17:06, said:

But you should not ask partner if he has any questions; the correct procedure is to just wait for your partner to give permission to face your opening lead.

Now why is this so important?

At least in theory your asking might possibly convey UI to your partner, it may for instance be taken as a suggestion for him to ask questions.

The correct procedure as described in Law 41 is to simply leave the initiative to your partner and await his signal that you may face your opening lead.

(I have no count of all the times I have experienced declarer or dummy nodding "yes" to LHO when he has placed his opening lead face down on the table. Apparently they believe the purpose of the procedure is to avoid an opening lead from the wrong defender and they nod as confirmation "yes, it is your lead". This is none of their business - it is the other defender who shall indicate that he has no more questions to ask so now is the time to face the opening lead.)

Perhaps that's how you do things in Norway, Sven. In North America everybody asks partner if he has any questions before facing the opening lead, and nobody thinks this conveys UI. Well, nobody I've ever run across anyway. And both procedures are flawed, since declarer is also entitled to ask questions before the lead is faced.

 qwery_hi, on 2011-July-01, 18:33, said:

Where can I find a (preferably online) text of Law 41?

Downloadable pdf.