Playing above your grade?
You hold:
xxx
x
QTx
KQJTxx
The bidding starts 1H on your right, raised to 2H and passed round to you.
What do you bid? You are vuln, the opposition aren't.
I suspect most NGS J and above will bid 3C, indeed some will have bid 2C the previous round.
And most NGS 7 and below will Pass.
But of course the bidding wasn't really like that!
Partner has 'hesitated' before passing; the Heart bidders want to reserve their rights.
How do you rule when the bidder was NGS 9?
(A club poll of peers was inconclusive;
but the post-session analysts all bid.)
Comments
Did you find out why the NGS 9 actually bid? An NGS 9 is an above-average player, remember - and there are many reasons why a player is NGS 9 rather than a higher rank. They could be fully conversant with balancing or never have heard of it.
"I have a solid six card club suit and my partner obviously has some points or the opponents would have made a game try." would result in a different decision from "Well I knew my parter had a few points because he didn't make an obvious pass"
Of course at the time you just get an agreement that there was a break in tempo and ask to be called back if the opponents feel they were damaged.
It is an interesting problem:If you feel that you have to go to a beyond NGS J before most would bid then prima-facie evidence is that passing is a LA. (or rather that bidding is not 'carefully avoiding' taking advantage of the hesitation) However collecting any evidence will help.
Alan
You must take some account of the ability of the player (and the NGS doesn't seem a terrible way to do it):
Law 6B1(b) "A logical alternative is an action that a significant proportion of the class of players in question,
using the methods of the partnership, would seriously consider, and some might select."
When you say "A club poll of peers was inconclusive" what do you mean by that? Might it be that it showed that passing was a logical alternative, or do you mean that only one person passed and that you aren't sure if that met the threshold?
The polling could have been inconclusive because a substantial number would have bid 3 !c on the first round. If WJO's are in use even at Red, the hand seems to fit the bill. But in many clubs a substantial number will play vulnerable jump overcalls to show stronger hands (and 3 !c may commonly be Ghesswhich, of course :) ).