PhilG007, on 2016-May-13, 12:12, said:
Laws...Schmaws! With all due respect, PhilG, as you earned some by playing a few challenges, I fear you are drifting back into Troll Mode again! Have you ever watched the team trials here in the USA or in the UK from behind the screens? I kibb'ed live a couple times here as the US trials are often near Chicago as I have friends playing who let me watch. Players on both sides of the table of Hurd's ability make OBVIOUS claims like this all time and they aren't disputed. Everyone at that level knows that trump will be drawn in one or two rounds and the ♦ will be pitched on the K♠ and then there remain enough trumps in both hands to ruff any losers. They can see this as quickly as one can tie his shoes.
If I make a claim like this in the sectional here tomorrow it might be disputed. If declaring I'd bang down a top trump first and if both follow I'd claim stating that I am pitching a ♦ and don't need the hook, and that I can then cross ruff. If trump split 2-0 I bang down another top ♣ and make the same claim. But lets say, I simply spread my hand and claimed and some opp disputed as is their right, and they call the director. She'll ask me to explain my line of play and agree that I have 13 tricks once she looks at it a bit.
As for laws, yes, of course they matter. But they don't matter in a practical sense at the W/C level because no one is going to dispute this claim and if some one does, the claim will certainly be allowed.
As for the OP he stated in his initial post that he was a beginner. Obviously, he missed the fact that a ♦ can be pitched. A couple respondents told the OP this and this is where this thread should've come to a quick end. I hope my post will have brought this thread to its ending.
A shame to watch so many threads here lately deteriorate into nonsense and often drawn out by trollish behavior into dozens of unnecessary additional posts. ... neilkaz ...