# Common Conventions

## 7-from-8 stalls

After Alice gives an 8-clue stall to Bob, Bob is allowed to give a 7-from-8 stall to Alice.

### Rationale

We don't want to get into a pattern where Alice is forced to clue Bob at 8 clues, and Bob discards. This would concentrate the good cards in Bob's hand and make it more likely that Bob eventually becomes locked.

### Further ideas

If Alice's clue to Bob was a gapped rank clue touching rightmost, this is treated like a Starting Hand Stall. Bob must give a 7-from-8 stall, and Bob's next discard if Alice does nothing is slot 1.

## No stall after 1's OCMs

1s OCMs never require a stall afterwards.

# New Conventions

## Selfish clues

If Alice gives a selfish clue to Bob, filling in a playable card through a card in Alice's hand, Bob is temporarily locked. Bob should give Locked Hand stalls.

Sometimes, it is known that Alice could have achieved the same effect by locking Bob with a rank clue, then using Unlock Promise on the following turn. If a Selfish clue doesn't make sense as a lock clue, it should be interpreted as a Selfish Bluff.

## Lock signals

The following all communicate a lock:
- Any discard that risks the game
- Any scream discard: Discarding a card when a known-playable card is held (when partner is not loaded)

# Ideas

## Different Starting Hand Stalls

### Rationale

The purpose of a starting hand stall is generally:
- Target a card to discard using two clues; the card was untargetable with the initial clue.
- Rarely, a player might have an opening hand that needs to be locked, which is impossible at 8 clues.
- A card might not be color-cluable initially, but it can be targeted if a rank clue is given first (possibly along with a Toxic interpretation).

### Analysis

Slot 1 can always be targeted to discard if it doesn't match slot 5; just clue slot 5. However, in the hand `X Y Z Y X`, `X` can't be targeted to discard, because a discard clue focusing slot 4 is blocked.

Slot 2 can always be targeted to discard by cluing slot 1 alone. If slot 2 matches slot 1, slot 1 can be discarded using the method above.

Slot 3 can always be targeted to discard by cluing slot 2; it doesn't matter if that clue touches slot 1 as well.

Slot 4 can be targeted by an unblocked slot 3 clue that doesn't touch slot 5, or a starting hand stall followed by the blocked clue of slots 1 and 3.

Slot 5 can be targeted by an unblocked clue of slot 4, but seems difficult to discard in the general case.

The focus priority of the Starting Hand Stall convention is 5, 1, 2, 3, 4; targeting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 respectively.

### Convention

A starting hand stall is defined as any clue touching slot 5, or a gapped rank clue.