[gartinmale]

Anywhere in ACBL-land; this is a (admittedly stupid) theoretical question.

You have agreed to play strong jump shifts with your partner, with the idea that something like 18+ total points and a good, at least 5-card suit are required for such bids. Not showing a strong jump shift at your first opportunity consequently denies a hand with 18+ total points and a good suit. For example, over an opening bid of 1♣, the hand

(A) ♠ AKQxx ♥ KQx ♦ Qxx ♣ Kx

is clearly defined in your notes as a strong jump shift (2♠) in your partnership, and there exist weaker hands that would make the same call.

Now, suppose partner deals and opens 1♣, passed to you, and you hold

(B) ♠ AKQJxxxx ♥ A ♦ A ♣ KQx

Fully aware of your agreement, you nevertheless elect to respond 1♠, for whatever reason. Perhaps you are afraid partner will forget your strong jump shift agreements, or you are hoping lefty will stick his nose into the auction.

The ACBL defines a psychic bid to be "a deliberate and gross misstatement of honor strength or suit length." Given that a response of 1♠ denies hand (A), and given that hand (B) is both longer in spades and greater in honor strength, is 1♠ not a psychic bid?

Note also the ACBL's treatment of the reporting of psychic bids, cf. this link.

"2. SUGGESTED REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. All psychs should be reported twice — once by the psycher and once by the side psyched against. Penalties should be assessed if the psycher fails to report a psych."

[gnasher]

Yes, it's a psych, but not one that's likely to interest the authorities very much.

The main concern about psyches is that frequent psyches lead to undisclosed implicit agreements. In this instance, that's unlikely to occur or to matter. (Though it could: supppose that someone misdefended becaused they knew you couldn't have a strong jump shift, and it turned out that you had done this enough times for it to be an implicit agreement.)

gartinmale, on 2012-August-27, 01:58, said:

Note also the ACBL's treatment of the reporting of psychic bids, cf. this link.

"2. SUGGESTED REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. All psychs should be reported twice — once by the psycher and once by the side psyched against. Penalties should be assessed if the psycher fails to report a psych."

Is that a regulation, or just a recommendation?

[gartinmale]

mike777: the question is the one with the question mark after it ("is 1♠ not a psychic bid?") I admit that it's stupid because it seems pretty stupid - I doubt anyone would ever call the director to report such a psych. Nevertheless, one of the fascinating things about this forum to me is the number of things that are debated that don't come up at the table.

gnasher: I didn't feel like constructing a hand, given how silly this question is to begin with, but the misdefense - or someone getting into the auction when they wouldn't over a SJS - is what I had in mind. I've never seen this ACBL quote anywhere but their webpage on psychic bidding, so I don't know if it's a regulation or recommendation. I do know that despite calling the director afterwards in the (can count on one hand) few times I've psyched, no one has ever recorded it.

[Cyberyeti]

Psyches where you have more than you promised are almost never recorded although I have one notable exception.

Partner being on another planet passed his 14 count, I overcalled on a steaming pile and dummy was a disappointment to the opps, but more of a disappointment to me as I knew opps had game on until dummy decked with that lot. Anyway, opps never led trumps and I proceeded to make 5 trump tricks from Ax/Jxxxx and -500/800 turned into +470. Director was called and this was ruled as a fielded psyche/misbid.

[Quantumcat]

Shouldn't really count as a psyche, as it is unlikely to upset the opponents (who may not even be aware you play strong jump shifts), only your partner. Will upset you also when you want to bid 1♣ 1♠ 1NT 3♠ forcing, but you can't because that's probably defined as invitational now ... and as a psyche hoping lefty sticks their nose in, it's no good, since you have no desire to defend, and you'd rather opps didn't get in the way of a constructive auction anyway. A rough definition of a psyche, is when you deliberately make the wrong bid hoping the opponents will get into more trouble than partner. If the opponents can't conceivably have any worries then it's not really a psyche, just a misbid.

[1eyedjack]

gartinmale, on 2012-August-27, 01:58, said:

You have agreed to play strong jump shifts with your partner, with the idea that something like 18+ total points and a good, at least 5-card suit are required for such bids. Not showing a strong jump shift at your first opportunity consequently denies a hand with 18+ total points and a good suit.

Although a partnership is free so to agree, absent such an agreement it does not necessarily follow that a simple change of suit denies 18+ total points and a good suit just because a jump shift would have promised those features. It is common, for example, among those who play strong jump shifts that there are other constraints, such as denying another biddable (unbid) suit.

Also I think that, without commenting on its merits, it is also theoretically possible for a partnership to agree that with 18+ and a good suit they might make a jump shift or a simple shift depending on how they feel that the wind is blowing at the time, so that there are two systemic possible bids consistent with a specific hand. They may have problems with full disclosure, but in principle I think it is possible.

[blackshoe]

Yes, it's a psych. Note that the definition of "psych" says nothing at all about who might get upset, or be deceived, so we don't get to claim "it's not really a psych" on the basis that the opponents won't care.

The suggestion on the ACBL web site is just that, a suggestion. It is not a regulation.

[jillybean]

gartinmale, on 2012-August-27, 01:58, said:

.
"2. SUGGESTED REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. All psychs should be reported twice — once by the psycher and once by the side psyched against. Penalties should be assessed if the psycher fails to report a psych."

Do you call the director and report the psyche after the board is completed?

Is this real, how long has it existed and does anyone follow it?

[aguahombre]

blackshoe, on 2012-August-27, 08:14, said:

The suggestion on the ACBL web site is just that, a suggestion. It is not a regulation.

On my planet a suggestion with a penalty attached for not following the suggestion is a regulation.

[Bbradley62]

aguahombre, on 2012-August-27, 09:59, said:

blackshoe, on 2012-August-27, 08:14, said:

gartinmale, on 2012-August-27, 01:58, said:

Note also the ACBL's treatment of the reporting of psychic bids, cf. this link.

"2. SUGGESTED REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. All psychs should be reported twice — once by the psycher and once by the side psyched against. Penalties should be assessed if the psycher fails to report a psych."

The suggestion on the ACBL web site is just that, a suggestion. It is not a regulation.

On my planet a suggestion with a penalty attached for not following the suggestion is a regulation.

Here on Planet Earth the heading "SUGGESTED REPORTING REQUIREMENTS" would apply to both sentences that immediately follow; both the reporting requirement and the penalty for failure to comply are clearly labelled as suggestions.

[hrothgar]

aguahombre, on 2012-August-27, 09:59, said:

On my planet a suggestion with a penalty attached for not following the suggestion is a regulation.

The Ayatollah's Correct Bidding Lessons (ACBL) has a long history of suggesting practices which are at variance with the laws