Convention Cards

[billw55]

I doubt if it's often done in order to gain advantage. In fact, it's not often done at all, is it? I've never had someone refuse to hand me their convention card.

To be clear, he did not refuse. It was simply not immediately convenient for him, so invited me to ask instead. I am a very low ranking player so he may even have thought I was unaware that I could ask, and was trying to be helpful. Probably if I had asked again for the CC, he would have rummaged it out (as I recall it was partly obstructed, such as under a scoresheet or the like).

 

I really don't want to leave the impression that there was anything deliberate or underhanded on his part.

[barmar]

I am a very low ranking player so he may even have thought I was unaware that I could ask, and was trying to be helpful.

That seems unlikely. 99% of the time, people ask -- you would have to be a total newbie to not have encountered this numerous times. Players who request the CC are typically MORE experienced.

 

I think it was really just that he didn't feel like digging it out, and was confident the UI wouldn't make a difference. If a player did this, and then called the director because he felt your partner took advantage of the UI from the question, that would be an incredibly dickish move, IMHO.

[ArtK78]

When I first started playing duplicate bridge, a husband and wife who ran a local bridge club took an interest in me. They explained the proper procedures such as how to properly fill out a convention card and asking to see an opponent's convention card. So, although I was truly a low ranking player (less than 10 masterpoints at the time) I knew enough to ask to see an opponent's convention card.

 

Of course, as I have mentioned before, this was in the days when convention cards were made of stone. So it was more inconvenient to lug them around and show them to your opponents. :)

[Vampyr]

I doubt if it's often done in order to gain advantage. In fact, it's not often done at all, is it? I've never had someone refuse to hand me their convention card.

This might have happened in the ACBL though... I remember one player at the Nationals in Hawaii who would snatch her convention card away from me as soon as I put it down on the table, and place it out of my reach. So she did hand me her convention card, in fact multiple times.

 

It was not that unusual to find people who expected you to look at the card and then return it to them.

 

But no, I guess actually refusing is very rare.

[WellSpyder]

I guess actually refusing is very rare.

Not entirely unknown, though. I still remember playing in a European Pairs championship many years ago against perhaps the most famous French international of all time (maybe equally well-known for his cigars as his bridge) who seemed delighted to tell me that he didn't have a convention card because they just played normal bridge. He looked round at his crowd of kibbitzers for approval and seemed to get it. I just thought he was a ch**t, but being rather less experienced at the time I did nothing about it.

[Zelandakh]

If a player did this, and then called the director because he felt your partner took advantage of the UI from the question, that would be an incredibly dickish move, IMHO.

 

I think you would be covered under Law 23.

[gwnn]

Not entirely unknown, though. I still remember playing in a European Pairs championship many years ago against perhaps the most famous French international of all time (maybe equally well-known for his cigars as his bridge) who seemed delighted to tell me that he didn't have a convention card because they just played normal bridge. He looked round at his crowd of kibbitzers for approval and seemed to get it. I just thought he was a ch**t, but being rather less experienced at the time I did nothing about it.

Not having a convention card is obviously a common occurrence (how common depends on the event), but they were talking about having a convention card and refusing to show it. I don't see the point of it, why would I complete a CC and bother bringing it if I was going to hide it or never show it to anyone?

[gnasher]

I think you would be covered under Law 23.

No entirely. Their breach of the rules doesn't entitle us to just ignore Laws 16 and 73. If partner misused the UI, we might still suffer (and deserve) an adjusted score.

 

The proper procedure is for partner to take an action that is legal under Law 16 (ie not suggested ... by the UI), then the director to adjust the score on the grounds that partner's actions were unfairly constrained.

[barmar]

It was not that unusual to find people who expected you to look at the card and then return it to them.

It's considered normal behavior in the ACBL. You ask for the CC, look for what you're interested in, then give it back.

 

As has been mentioned above, the reverse side of the CC is often the player's personal score.

[Phil]

It's considered normal behavior in the ACBL. You ask for the CC, look for what you're interested in, then give it back.

 

One thing I did not include in the initial rant was that quite often CC's are little cheat sheets of partnerships. There is a H and W partnership around here. He is a systems nut. She complies. Much of her cc is nothing more than a compendium of what his homemade sequences mean. I guess she thinks the front side of the convention card is the right place for them.

 

During a match, I have wanted to take her cc and keep it for the duration to prevent a look-see. :D

[Fluffy]

No entirely. Their breach of the rules doesn't entitle us to just ignore Laws 16 and 73. If partner misused the UI, we might still suffer (and deserve) an adjusted score.

 

The proper procedure is for partner to take an action that is legal under Law 16 (ie not suggested ... by the UI), then the director to adjust the score on the grounds that partner's actions were unfairly constrained.

 

Then this is party time, partner makes a decision but its revoked if wrong, we get a free double shot! :)