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I played at a club tonight, at the end of the final round, our opponents had a board to play, catch up. One opponent (North) needed to move his car to let other players leave so I offered to bid the hand for him. I picked up 2254 14 count, partner opened 1C 1C (P) 1D (1H) 1S (P) 2H **player walked back in and took his hand. As I left the table North was playing in 2♥ Oops :lol: But on a more serious note, here is a board from tonight. [hv=pc=n&e=sk6h4dak62ckq6542&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=p1hp2c(gf%20clubs%20or%20balanced)p3c(assume%203%2B%2C%20not%20suitable%20for%20nt%2C%20no%20better%20call)p?]133|200[/hv] 2clubs is clubs or balanced, 3C assume 3+, hand not suitable for nt, no better bid

Ok, so, I open 1N, now what?

I understand how this can be intimidating behaviour, and I know exactly the type of player pescetom is referring to. Whether it's deliberate, arrogant behaviour or simply casual or nervous play, it can cause uneasiness, especially to newer players.

The attitude of (many) highest-level players to (some of) the Laws is well known. Again, I'm not really aiming this at Mike, who isn't saying "it's okay", just "it doesn't affect anything." Less "not aiming" (but certainly not criticizing) at sfi, who seems to be saying "what's the harm", rather than "it's not right, but." Given the last few years, I am very surprised that more people do not try to remove these "unconscious" violations of Law (which are there for a very good purpose, and not just "what was the result on this hand?") from their play. But the attitude of (many) highest-level players to c-ers is "we know who they are, and you and I know it's not you and I, right?" And to give them a lot of credit, they're usually right. Frankly, if they can remember every trick on every hand - especially the last one - then what's the difference if the cards get switched over just playing with them? What makes 65C so much more "a violation needing redress" than 65B? But of course we know the answer - everybody can remember the entire play, and the one person who accidentally swapped cards will remember it differently. Doubly so if it wasn't entirely accidental. I mean, you'll probably get outvoted, and even the Director will realize that your line makes no sense, but what's the harm in trying? (Yes, it's something you'd better only do once in a blue moon, because as soon as you get a reputation for that sort of thing, suddenly you're no longer "you or I"...) And yes, one of the "tells" of cheaters is that they pay more attention to "stuff nobody pays attention to" than most, and are much more careful about things like trick placement, etc. But that's yet another thing many people don't have the energy to spare looking for when playing "at that level". Hence the cameras and the kibitzers, I guess. But isn't this something that could just be made so much harder to do if all the on-the-level players stopped giving them cover? And what is the chance that "playing with" the cards reviews a quitted trick? We should be checking for glims at the table now? Oh yes, "clearly" everyone at that level can call all the spots of all the cards they played, and hasn't quite forgotten if they played the 6 or the 4 last time. So it's not a problem the way it is for those players - you know, the ones that can't play bridge, but we didn't get our 70% boards against this time - when they start emulating their idols. And that *is* a problem. Yes, this is something that happens throughout bridge, at the highest level and down. It is not something anybody should be defending, past "they shouldn't do it, no, but it's a pretty trivial thing." And I think that when the opponents do it to me, "easily intimidated" or no, I will ask them to do it right, and if they object, I am petty enough to use the Director to win that fight [*]. And in answer to the inevitable, "because I am a director, it distracts me from my concentration when people knowingly and deliberately violate Laws." How true that statement is compared to the previous I will leave to the judgement of the Gods. [* Edit to add] But I am Secretary Bird, so I have a somewhat biased view of the world.