EBL TD Course 2006

Hesitation and

extraneous information

by Slawek Latala

Law 16.A

...After a player makes available to his partner extraneous information that may suggest a call or play …by unmistakable hesitation… the partner may not choose from among logical alternative actions one that could demonstrably have been suggested over another by the extraneous information...

What kind of information does the hesitation carry in this example?

W N E S

1NT 2 ...2

What kind of partner’s hand can you (as West) expect after hesitation?

a) KJ10xx, Kxx, x, xxxxb) K109xx, xx, Qxx, xxxc) Q9xxxx, xx, xx, xxxd) K10xxx, QJxx, xx, xxe) K109xx, Q10xx, K, xxxx

Is hesitation:

a) encouraging? - H+ b) discouraging? - H- c) unimportant? - H=

H=

Answer the same question in the next cases

W N E S

1 pass 1 pass

1 pass 3 pass

4 pass ...4

Is hesitation:

a) encouraging? - H+b) discouraging? - H-c) unimportant? - H=

W N E S

5 pass 6 all pass

W N E S

pass 11) pass

22) pass 33) pass

34) pass 35) pass

...3NT6

)pass 47) pass

...58) pass 61) 4+2) 5+, 10+3) 5+, 4, 17+4) GF, 5) 2+6) no more, stopper7) pick a game: or 8) 3+

W N E S

1 pass 1 pass

2 pass ...2 pass

3 pass 3NT all pass

W N E S

pass 1 pass 1

pass 1 pass ...1NT

pass 2 pass 2

all pass

What kind of information hesitation carries?What is your decision?

W N E S

pass pass 1 pass

1NT 3 3 3

4 5 5 ...pass

pass 6 pass pass

dbl all pass

Summary When hesitation is 1) H+ 2) H- 3) H=? Define each bid as:1) weak2) average 3) strong

Example

1) – check back2 – 2, minimum2 – 3, maximum2 – 3, minimum2NT – 2, maximum

W N E S

1 pass 1 pass

1NT pass 21) pass

?

W N E S

1NT 2 ...2

average! means? H=

Case 1

Case 2W N E S

1 pass 1 pass

1 pass 3 pass

4 pass ...4

weak! means? H+

Case 3W N E S

pass 1 pass

2 pass 3 pass

3 pass 3 pass

..3NT pass 4 pass

...5 pass 6

strong! means? H-

W N E S

1 pass 1 pass

2 pass ...2 pass

3 pass 3NT pass

weak! means? H+

Case 4

Case 5

average! means? H=

W N E S

pass 1 pass 1pass 1 pass ...1NT

pass 2 all pass

Case 6

strong! means? H-

W N E S

pass pass 1 pass

1NT 3 3 3

4 5 5 ...pass

pass 6 pass pass

dbl all pass