ACBL03A – Ogust Alerts and Other Alerts        Ward Trumbull

                                                                                                             Sep 6, 2007                                                                                            

                                                                                                                   Page 1 of 2

FACT:   Bridge rules require that players must alert their partner’s

               bid whenever they make a bid invoking certain conventions

               and/or make response bids to such invoking bids.

FACT:   They can alert the opponents to these special bids by saying

                “alert” or other word/phrases which denote an alert, such as

                “waiting”, “transfer”, “could be short”, etc..

FACT:   After alerting the opponents to partner’s special bid, you are not

               required to immediately explain that bid unless the opponents ask

               you to.  Some players wait until the bidding is completed before

               they ask.

WRONG:   Only experienced duplicate players use alerts.

WRONG:   You don’t use alerts in social bridge because:

                         1. Nobody does.

                         2. The opponents don’t use alerts.

                         3. The opponents don’t know that convention.

                             That’s why you alert.

                         4. The opponents ask that you don’t use alerts.

                             Their playing gamesmanship, and if you don’t

                             use alerts, they win.

FACT:   In this class I teach several bids that must be alerted.

                        1. Opening One Club           6. Support Double

                        2. Transfers                         7. Ogust

                        3. Jacoby Step Response    8. Gambling 3 Notrump

                        4. Michaels                          9. Drury  

                        5. Trumbull 2 Clubs            10. Lebensohl 2 NT

                ACBL03A – Ogust Alerts and Other Alerts           Sep 6, 2007                                                                                            

                                                                                                                   Page 2 of 2

FACT:   The following common bids are not alerted.

                        1. Takeout Double                7. Limit Raise

                        2. Negative Double               8. Jump Shift

                        3. Stayman                           9. Weak Twos

                        4. Gerber/Blackwood          10. Preempts

                        5. Roman Key Card G/B     11. Western Cue

                        6. Unusal Notrump              12. Opening 2 Clubs                                  

                                                                          (not Trumbull 2 Clubs))

OGUST ALERTS                                

             When playing Ogust, both partners are required to alert.

                 Weak 2 Bidder                             Partner                             

            ------------------------------     -----------------------------------------

            2 diams/hearts/spades             2 notrump      (invoking Ogust)

                   “Alert”

If ask:  “Partner wants me to

             describe my hand.”

            3 clubs/diams/hearts/                “Alert”

               spades/notrump                                              | mini-1  |

                                                                             | mini-2  |

If ask:                                            “Partner has a  | maxi-1 |   hand.”

                                                                             | maxi-2 |

                                                     “He/she has  |  5-7   | HCP”

                                                                           | 8-10 |

                                                     “and has/hasn’t 2 of the top 3.”

                            or for 3 NT           “He/she has the ace,  king and

                                                       queen of his/her suit.”