Alerting
The general
principle is to alert calls that the opponents may not fully understand, or may
reasonably misinterpret. The following
summary is not intended as a complete guide - the full set of Alerting Regulations can be found on the ABF Website.
Alerting Procedure
Alerts
are compulsory - you cannot ask the opponents not to alert. The requirement to alert applies even though
the convention, treatment or other agreement may be listed on the system card.
All
doubles, redoubles, cue bids and calls at the 4-level or higher are
self-alerting. Do not alert these calls
as they are deemed to have alerted themselves.
A
cue bid is defined as a bid of a suit shown by an opponent or of the
denomination bid by an opponent.
Skip
bids are not given any special status - generally they should be alerted if
conventional and not alerted if natural.
Bidding
style is not alertable. Some players
bid ‘up the line’, some prefer to show a major ahead of a 4 or even a 5 card
minor, some skip a 4 card major in making a NT rebid, etc. Be aware of these different approaches and
protect yourself by asking where necessary.
There
are three stages of the alert procedure, viz .
The pre-alert
stage before bidding starts.
Before
the round starts you should draw the opponents’ attention to any unusual
agreements you have which might surprise them, or to which they may need to
arrange a defence (e.g. unusual two level openings, transfer pre-empts,
canapé style bidding, etc.) Pay
particular attention to unusual self-alerting calls (e.g. very unusual
doubles, unusual cue bids of the opponents’ suit, etc.). Highly unusual
carding (e.g. leading low from doubletons) should also be pre-alerted at
this stage.
Alerts during
the auction.
Alert
all conventional bids and passes below the 4-level. A natural bid is alertable if it is forcing or non-forcing in a
way the opponents may not expect, or if its meaning is unexpectedly affected by
other agreements (e.g. canapé sequences, jump responses to an opening
bid or overcall that are weak, a 1H opening that denies 4+ spades, etc.). Alerts are
made by audibly saying, “Alert'” and, if written bidding is in use, circling
the call on the bidding pad. (If
bidding boxes are in use, an alert card should be placed across the relevant
call.)
Delayed
alerts.
At the end of
the auction, the declaring side should draw attention to any unusual
features, particularly any unusual self-alerting calls. Takeout/negative-type doubles and penalty
doubles do not require a delayed alert, but support doubles, single suited
doubles and other conventional doubles do.
Defenders must not give delayed alerts. Delayed alerts should be indicated by a small plus sign (+) in
one corner of the appropriate square of the bidding pad as evidence of the
delayed alert. (If bidding boxes are in
use, the declaring side should verbally indicate which unusual calls require a
delayed alert.)
Updated January 6, 2004
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