Guidance on the Rules of Table and Play Etiquette
INTRODUCTION
Barrow Bridge Club has, since its inception, valued its reputation for providing its members with the opportunity for playing competitive and quality bridge in a welcoming atmosphere.
These notes add to the statement of Club Rules and they are largely written for the guidance of new members. They rest on common sense and derive from 'The Laws of Contract Bridge' where more precise definitions of these guidance notes can be found.
THE ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR
The Director is there to help in the organisation of an event, keeping the play running smoothly and quietly and in the case of something going wrong, making sure the rules are applied fairly. No rulings may be made at the table by any person other than the Director.
The Director:
1)organises the movement;
2)places the boards on the table at the start of the event and in some Teams
movements, moves the boards;
3)calls for players to move at the end of a round;
4)must be called, even if you are sure about a procedure, after infractions such
as:
a)a revoke;
b)a lead out of turn, particularly the opening lead out of turn;
c)an exposed card, i.e. dropped inadvertently so that it can be seen by other
players (a minor penalty card), or deliberately played (a major penalty
card);
d)an insufficient bid, e.g.: 1H - P - 1D, or a change of bid; and
e)any other problem which could affect the result of a hand, e.g. a mistaken
explanation, the giving of unauthorised information or failure to alert.
AT THE TABLE
North is your host and is responsible for all that goes on at the table, including ensuring that play is conducted as quietly as possible
North should handle the boards and the Travellers.
North writes on the Travellers and should be allowed to do so undisturbed. After East has checked the score, the Traveller will be shown to other players. It is undesirable for West and South to be crowding North while this is going on. If you sit out for a round, do not, write anything on the Traveller.
North is responsible for:
1)writing club membership numbers in the Bridgemates;
2)scoring; East must check;
3)checking that the correct opponents have arrived; East also checks;
4)ensuring that right boards are being played; East also checks;
5)keeping the played board in the centre of the table; and
6)moving the boards at the end of the round.
East is responsible for:
1)ensuring that they are at the correct table for subsequent rounds and that they
are playing the correct boards;
2)checking that North's entry 1n the Bridgemate is correct.
3)checking to which table they should move next. (It is advisable for the table card
to be placed near East). It is worth taking note at the beginning of the session
which pair you are following and then keeping track of where they have gone;
and
4)all players must count their cards, face down, before looking at the hand.
THE BIDDING
Make your bid in silence. Any comments like "not sure if I'm doing the right thing here" are completely out of order. Don't allow your hand to hover the bidding box while you are making your decision; it is unsettling for the other players. Decide on your bid and then remove and place the bid on the table. All conventional and artificial bids must be alerted. (Within the Orange book directives).
HANDLING CARDS
You may only handle your own cards. Never touch anyone else's and in particular, do not touch the Dummy hand. Declarer may arrange Dummy's cards if necessary but should say 'arranging' whilst doing so; otherwise a card which is touched by Declarer becomes a 'card played'.
THE OPENING LEAD
This must be made face down with the words 'any questions partner?' There are two very good reasons for this practice:
1)it will reduce the problem of the opening lead coming from the wrong hand, with
all the problems that this entails - calling the TD and having to understand the
complicated ruling, involving 5 options for delcarer; and
2)it allows partner to question the opposition about any alerted bids which may
have been made during the auction.
If the opening leader wishes to ask any questions, these may be made before selecting the lead from her/his hand. If you have given an explanation to your partner's bid, or partner has given an explanation and it is wrong, you must correct the explanation before the lead is faced. This applies to declarer only. If you are Defending, say nothing until the end of the hand. In both instances, call the Director.
DUMMY'S RIGHTS
Dummy has very few rights.
Dummy is there to carry out Declarer's instructions as 'agent' and must not touch a card until it is nominated by Declarer. If your hand hovers over a card, you are suggesting that Declarer should play it; this is not allowed. Nor may you question a play. Once a card is nominated it is a played card, unless without pause for thought Declarer changes the inadvertently nominated card. In this case the Director must be called for a ruling.
Dummy may not call the Director until the end of play of the hand.
Dummy may not speak about the play during the play except to ask Declarer (if he/she has not followed suit) "having no * partner?".
TABLE ETIQUETTE
1)Always greet new opponents arriving at your table;
2)Never have protracted discussions with your partner at the table;
3)Save post mortems until the end of the round, if there is time, Quietly Please;
4)Don't discuss the play and result of a board so that another table might hear;
5)Never discuss a hand you have just played while joining another table, they
may not have played it;
6)Be sympathetic of partner's errors - yours may be next!;
7)Never tell your opponents what they should have done.
SLOW PLAY
A board should be played in 7/8 minutes and persistent slow play spoils the game for the other players, particularly those waiting at the table. The Director has the discretion to penalise persistent slow play by awarding an adverse score to the offenders.
Your Committee hope that these few notes of guidance will assist in the understanding and enjoyment of the game of Bridge and how we would like to see it played in the Club. It is hoped that even greater enjoyment will come from further experience and understanding.