[mycroft]

barmar, on 2016-April-15, 10:00, said:

That's where the difference between a regular partnership and a pickup becomes truly significant. If you've been playing together for years, and haven't made any recent changes, you're not going to forget such basic system agreements.

I would temper that with "infrequent system agreements, even if basic".

I had 2♣-p-2♠ on Wednesday night. The last positive I can remember was over a year ago, with a different partner. Yes, I remembered, as did partner; but these are the kind of "basic system agreements" people either forget about or get wrong because they "never" come up.

Also, the number of times regular partnerships have bid their strong NT defence against my weak NT (Partner, of course, remembers) is legion. In one memorable case, they forgot one week, then did it again the immediately following week playing against us again.

With the 2♣-p-(pause) 2♦ and a regular partner, I'd guess if I was forced to that partner either:

• plays different requirements for 2♥ ultranegative with me and others, and is trying to remember whether QQ is - or --.
  
• has a positive heart hand and can't remember how to bid it.
  
• I guess, borderline minor positive that would be automatic positive in the corresponding major.

I do agree that there are "standard cases" that are accurate a high enough percentage of the time that they are considered "suggested"; when your hand is the other way, it feels wrong to be ruled against. As long as when you *do* have the "standard hitch" and partner does the Right Thing, they don't rule against you the other way, it's all good.

In other words, "he doesn't have his hesitation" is not always a defence to use of UI from the hesitation.

[blackshoe]

barmar, on 2016-April-15, 11:07, said:

That's true. But we develop our ideas of what players could be thinking about based on the history of what people actually have thought about. That's where the guidelines about what the TD shold assume when making a ruling come from: people mostly hesitate because of X rather than Y, so the hesitation suggests X.

And that's the point of having written guidelines. An individual TD might not have enough experience to know that tendency, but the collective experience of many TDs was sufficient that the guidelines can be compiled.

Where are these written guidelines for the ACBL? Tech Files? Duplicate Decisions? And do they really tell the TD to assume certain things in particular auctions?