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MSN Bridge Club Alerting Procedures

It is the responsibility of all players to:

  • Load a completed convention card to the table when you arrive

  • Announce to opponents before play starts a VERY brief description of your methods ("We play SAYC" "2/1 Game Force with UDCA" "Acol-Weak NT with 4 card majors" etc).  

  • Self alert all alertable calls (see chart below) by clicking the Alert button, then clicking the bid (if you forget you can still alert it by double clicking on the bid and clicking the checkbox that says Alert)

  • Answer all questions about your bidding understandings as completely as you can - typing "look at the cc" is not an answer

If you feel you have been damaged by a failure to alert or by an inaccurate or incomplete explanation call the director to the table BEFORE you have completed play on the board so the director can view the alerts and the explanations.

MSN Bridge Club ALERT CHART

  NOT ALERTABLE ALERTABLE
NATURAL BIDS: about expected strength and shape     unusual strength, shape or limitations
ARTIFICIAL/ CONVENTIONAL
BIDS:
  • Stayman
  • Blackwood 4NT
  • Gerber when bid over NoTrump

 

  • All other artificial bids and responses to conventional bids 
  • 4C Gerber when it is not bid over NoTrump
1NT OPENINGS All balanced hands of any range of 4 points or  less AND a minimum of 12 HCP Any other 1NT opening

2 NT & 3NT

Natural, strong, balanced hands

Any other 2NT or 3NT opening.
RESPONSES TO NT:
  • Stayman 2C (3C/2NT)
  • Natural, weak to play 2D,2H,2S
  • Invitational 2NT
  • Forcing 3C,3D,3H,3S
  • 4C Gerber
  • Natural 4D, 4H, 4S
  • Quantitative 4NT
All other responses including but not limited to:
  • Jacoby, Texas, 4way Transfers
  • MSS
  • Jump to 3C/3D weak or invitational
  • Lebensohl 2NT, forced 3C and further advances

 

OPENING SUIT BIDS:
  • Natural 2 bids regardless of strength
  • 2C strong, artificial and forcing

 

  • 2 bids which promise 2 or more suits, regardless of strength
  • 2C if not strong, artificial and forcing
  • 1C if may be short (2 or less)
  • 1C if strong artificial and forcing
  • Frequent very light (<10 HCP) third seat
RESPONSES TO SUIT BIDS:
  • 1H or 1S response to 1C that may bypass a 4-card or longer diamond suit
  • 2/1 Game Force
  • 2NT over 1-bid strong, natural and game forcing
  • Neg or waiting 2D/strong 2C or 2NT/strong 2 of suit
  • 2NT/2 level openings asking for clarification
  • Strong jump shifts
  • Forcing and semi-forcing 1NT response to 1H or 1S
  • Non-forcing suit bids by an Un Passed Hand (UPH)
  • Natural jump shifts which are not game forcing
  • Preemptive jump raises
  • Non Forcing 2NT / 1-bid by UPH
  • 1NT/1C or 1D not denying a 4 card major
OPENERS REBIDS: Two of a minor after a forcing 1NT or semi-forcing 1NT that could be three cards
  • 1NT rebid ib strong (15+)
  • 1NT rebid if may bypass 4 card major
  • Canape (2nd suit bid systemically longer than the first suit bid)
OTHER COMPETITIVE CALLS:
  • Preemptive jump raise/Double
  • Limit or Forcing jump raise/overcall
  • Limit or forcing jump raise/Double
  • Preemptive jump raise/overcall
DEFENSIVE BIDS:
  • Jumps to 2NT or 4NT or higher NT bid that is unusual
  • 1NT overcall by a passed hand that is unusual
  • Preemptive jump overcalls
  • Non-jump Unusual NT
  • Very light Overcalls (less than 6 HCP)
  • Jump overcalls which are intermediate or strong
CUEBIDS:
  • General strength/fit showing
  • Control showing
  • An offer to play in a suit named naturally by an opponent
  • 2 suited cuebids such as Michaels
  • Asking cuebids such as Western
  • Any jump cuebid
DOUBLES:

1. Type One are when partner has made no call other than PASS, it's EARLY in the Auction and BELOW the level of 4S, OR it's the USUAL Negative Double below 4S, after partner has opened one of a suit.

NOT ALERTABLE ALERTABLE
Takeout
Lead Suit Doubled
Penalty
Unusual Non-Penalty

2. Type Two are when partner has made any call other than PASS or the double is: of NT, or a call ABOVE 4H, or  It's LATE in the auction.

NOT ALERTABLE ALERTABLE
Penalty (Penaltyish) Non-Penalty
 
Bids Which are Not Permitted

1. Conventions and/or agreements whose primary purpose is to destroy the opponents' methods.

2. Psyching of artificial or conventional opening bids and/or conventional responses thereto. Psyching conventional suit responses, which are less than 2NT, to natural openings.

3. Psychic controls (Includes ANY partnership agreement which, if used in conjunction with a psychic call, makes allowance for that psych.)

4. Highly Unusual Methods.  Any system which exhibits one or more of the following features as a matter of partnership agreement:
  • A Pass in the opening position promises the values generally accepted for an opening bid of one, and the player who passes will or may hold values a queen or more above average strength (i.e. an average hand contains 10 HCP).
  • By partnership agreement an opening bid at the one level may be weaker than pass.
  • By partnership agreement an opening bid at the one level may be made with values a king or more below average strength.


5. By partnership agreement an opening bid at the one level shows either length or shortage in a specified suit; or either length in one suit or length in another


6. Relay (tell me more) systems.


7. CONVENTIONAL RESPONSES, REBIDS AND A CONVENTIONAL DEFENSE TO AN OPPONENT'S CONVENTIONAL DEFENSE after natural notrump opening bids or overcalls with a lower limit of fewer than 10 HCP or with a range of greater than 5 HCP (including those that have two non-consecutive ranges) and weak two-bids which by partnership agreement are not within a range of 7 HCP and do not show at least five cards in the suit


8. Brown Sticker Conventions.  The following conventions or treatments are categorized as "Brown Sticker"

  • Any opening bid of 2C through 3S that could be weak AND does not promise at least 4 cards in a known suit  (Excepted from this rule is Multi 2D showing a weak 2 in a major)
  • An overcall of a natural opening bid of one of a suit that does not promise at least 4 cards in a known suit
  • Any weak two-suited bids at the two or three level that may by agreement be made with three cards or fewer in on of the suits.
  • Psychic bids protected by system or required by system