BRIDGE NOTES: Buffing by making psychic bids

During a quiet and congenial rubber bridge session at posh Defence Club in Karachi, a psychic bid turned it into a noisy affair with defending partner accusing each other for falling a prey to a bogus bid made by opponent. However, when the dust settled down after sometime the hangover persisted marring subsequent deal. But the psychic bid by the West reminded of early Culbertson times of 1931 when making psychic bids became a fashion among the bridge players.
The olden times were not to blame so much as in every other card game bluffing was considered as a tool to mislead the opponents. But as the time passed by the use of psychic bid became less and less popular as a player who make a psychic bids not only deceives the opponents but also his partner.
In tournament bridge the practice of making psychic bid is drastically discouraged as most of the conventional and control showing bids are on the borderline of psychic bids but all these bids are alertable. Besides any bids, which convey a different meaning then the intended ones are supposed to be alertable.
After accusation and counter accusation, finally partners as well as opponents agreed that psychic bids would not be made without alerting. The hand in question, which created a stormy situation on the table, is reproduced below for its distributional value of the player who made psychic bids one after the other and ultimately settled for heart suit which caused serious heart burning for opponents who missed a sitter game in spade suit on obvious lead of heart or spade suit.
(1) Psychic bid.
(2) Cue bid showing a strong hand.
NORTH LED DIAMOND KING: The opening bid of one diamond by South was a sound bid with five card diamond suit and North also had a powerful hand with diamond and spade suits almost with the game strength in combined hand. But the psychic bids of 1NT by West over 1D created a sort of confusion in the mind of North who went on doubling every bid made by West.
More particularly when West betrayed his psychic bids by shifting from one suit to another and ultimately bid hearts, on which North made a regulation doubled once again not knowing what was to be done to counter the moves by West. As can be seen that North-South held 27 high card points plus one major suit fit between them to reach a game.
When the dummy was laid down the West found himself in a hopeless situation but he tried his best to make the most of a bad bargain. He ruffed king of diamonds in hand and played ace and small heart. South having won the king of hearts moved another diamond, which the declarer ruffed in hand and played a small club and finessed the jack of clubs which held. Then he played the ace of clubs from dummy and came back to hand by ruffing third diamond. At this point he played the king of clubs and conceded one spade trick only to the opponents thus making two over tricks to add injury to insult between opponents.
DEALER EAST
NORTH-SOUTH VULNERABLE

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North       West          East         South

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S AJ74      S 3           S 9865     S KQ102

H Q6        H AJ9875      H 1042        H K3

D KQ104     D void        D 8632     D AJ975

C Q32       C K97654      C AJ         C 108

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THE BIDDING:

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East     South    West      North

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Pass     1D       1NT(1)      Db1

Pass     Pass     2D(2)       Db1

Pass     Pass     3C          Db1

Pass     Pass     3H          Db1

Pass     Pass     Pass

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