Ten most common infractions

[swanway]

EBU

There are a number of members in our club who have no desire to become Directors. However, they have shown an interest in learning more about the 10 most common infractions that occur in the club. I don't know why ten was the figure they decided on!

 

I have made a list below of the ten laws that I think are the most common infractions. I would appreciate any suggestions or comments regarding this list.

 

1. Revoke

2. Opening lead out of turn

3. Other leads out of turn

4. Call out of rotation

5. Unauthorised information

6. Insufficient bid

7. Minor and Major cards

8. When is a card played

9. Missing cards

10. Claims

 

I am sure there are some obvious ones that I have missed, that is why I need your help

[RMB1]

Although they do not want to be directors are they interested in these situations as directors or as players?

 

For those interested in understanding directing, I would add movements at the top and combine unauthorised information, misinformation and claims in to one item "gathering the facts for a UI/MI/claim ruling".

 

In priniciple, the rest are all read-from-the-book rulings but the problem with reading from the book is starting at the right place. There are important bits in earlier laws that can easily get overlooked.

 

For revokes you have to start at Law 60 and having applied Law 62/63/64 you may then need Law 50 on penalty cards.

 

For leads out of turn you have to understand what is going in advance of giving the ruling, as there are several apparently unrelated laws to apply.

 

For calls out of rotation, you must make sure you read/apply/be aware of Law 28 and 29 before applying Law 30/31/32.

 

The EBU or local directors can arrange seminars/courses on these topics - without it being a formal club TD course.

[Cyberyeti]

Exposed cards

Correcting "pulled the wrong card out the bidding box" scenarios

 

are 2 commonish ones I can think of.

[chrism]

Slow play

Rudeness

[Fluffy]

Review of a trick that has aleady been done is number one with a big advantage. Insufficent bids would be the most useful for players around here. Also important is change of thoughts (misscalling a card or playing a card you didn't want to) but I would believe this one doesn't hold in EBU.

[helene_t]

1 Failure to bring system cards - almost universal.

2 Failure to count cards before playing - - two or three times per board.

3 Inspecting cards already quited - about once per board.

4 Failure to shuffle after play - similar.

5 postmortemning or other chitchat during the bidding and play - similar.

6 Change of mind after a bidding card has been taken out of the bidding box - similar.

7 Picking up bidding cards before the opening lead has been faced - about once every two or three boards.

8 Asking questions out of turn - similar.

9 Dummy playing cards on own initiative - similar

10 Announcing calls that should have been alerted - about once every five or six boards.

11 Playing on after a disputed claim - maybe once per night per table.

12 Failure by the declaring party to correct MI before the opening lead - similar.

 

? Use of UI - difficult to assess.

 

MI must logically be more common than (12) but not that common I think.

[nige1]

Common infractions are incomplete disclosure, mannerisms, tempo-changes. and illegal card-designations,

[pwg7]

One attempt at this is: "The Director is Called" by John McIlwrath

http://www.bridgeshop.com.au/director-is-called-mcilrath-s.html

[McBruce]

...

 

4 Failure to shuffle after play - similar.

 

...

 

I should like to add a sub-item:

 

4a) Shuffling own cards several dozen times or more, while TD is waiting to move board to next or sharing table... :)

[Bbradley62]

Re-arranging your cards to separate like-colored suits after you become void in the suit that had been separating them.

[Vampyr]

Also important is change of thoughts (misscalling a card or playing a card you didn't want to) but I would believe this one doesn't hold in EBU.

 

What do you mean? In the EBU you might miscall a card, but I thought that this was the case everywhere. I think it is in the Laws, but as I don't have my hard copy with me and couldn't find it. On the other hand, a played card is a played card. This has nothing to do with the EBU; it is L45C.

 

Re-arranging your cards to separate like-colored suits after you become void in the suit that had been separating them.

 

If I saw someone doing this I would be watching his partner's play very closely.

[Bbradley62]

If I saw someone doing this I would be watching his partner's play very closely.

I usually turn to the partner and ask "does that mean he doesn't have any more of that suit?"

[barmar]

7 Picking up bidding cards before the opening lead has been faced - about once every two or three boards.

This is not an infraction in ACBL territory, it's the normal procedure to pick up bidding cards as soon as the auction ends. The common related infraction is for the player in the pass-out seat to pick up their cards as an indication that they're passing, rather than placing a Pass card on the table first. Even worse is when other players prior to the one in the pass-out seat pick up their cards, on the assumption that everyone else is going to pass.

[Vampyr]

This is not an infraction in ACBL territory, it's the normal procedure to pick up bidding cards as soon as the auction ends.

 

Ah, so you missed the first line in the OP. Easily done.

[blackshoe]

This is not an infraction in ACBL territory, it's the normal procedure to pick up bidding cards as soon as the auction ends. The common related infraction is for the player in the pass-out seat to pick up their cards as an indication that they're passing, rather than placing a Pass card on the table first. Even worse is when other players prior to the one in the pass-out seat pick up their cards, on the assumption that everyone else is going to pass.

For a while, I would call people on this, they'd put their bidding cards back, and when it came to me, I'd pass. Then they'd pick 'em up again. Usually they'd laugh about it. What they didn't do is learn not to pick up the damn cards early. Eventually I gave up.

 

I wish the ACBL had the "don't pick them up until the lead is faced" reg. Better yet, leave 'em out until everyone has had their opportunity to ask for a review - so until third hand plays to the first trick.

 

All that said, the OP did say "EBU". B-)

[Trinidad]

I wish the ACBL had the "don't pick them up until the lead is faced" reg. Better yet, leave 'em out until everyone has had their opportunity to ask for a review - so until third hand plays to the first trick.

That is a little bit difficult. The dummy needs to be on the table, on top of the bidding cards.

 

But there is a good alternative:

• 
   
  
• The cards stay on the table.
  
• Declarer's LHO asks his questions.
  
• LHO makes the lead face down.
  
• RHO asks his questions.*
  
• When RHO has all his answers, LHO faces the lead, the bidding cards are taken away and dummy is tabled.

Rik

 

*As long as RHO's questions don't reveal any misinformation (MI) in the answers to LHO's questions (or questions during the auction), LHO is stuck to his choice of lead and cannot change it. Obviously, when there was MI, the TD applies the Laws and LHO might be allowed to change his lead (and the last pass may be changed to reopen the auction if the MI occured during the auction).

[Vampyr]

That is a little bit difficult. The dummy needs to be on the table, on top of the bidding cards.

 

I guess it depends on the size of the table. If there is room behind dummy to put the quitted tricks, then there is room for the bidding cards.

[blackshoe]

I guess it depends on the size of the table. If there is room behind dummy to put the quitted tricks, then there is room for the bidding cards.

^This.

 

It doesn't matter though. The ACBL isn't going to change things in this regard any time soon.

[Bbradley62]

But there is a good alternative:

• The cards stay on the table.
  
• Declarer's LHO asks his questions.
  
• LHO makes the lead face down.
  
• RHO asks his questions.*
  
• When RHO has all his answers, LHO faces the lead, the bidding cards are taken away and dummy is tabled.

Rik

Since Law 41B stipulates that Declarer's RHO may ask for a review of the bidding until he has played a card to the first trick, would it make sense to leave the bidding cards out until that play is made?

[blackshoe]

Since Law 41B stipulates that Declarer's RHO may ask for a review of the bidding until he has played a card to the first trick, would it make sense to leave the bidding cards out until that play is made?

That was my suggestion, to which Rik objects. :ph34r:

[Trinidad]

Since Law 41B stipulates that Declarer's RHO may ask for a review of the bidding until he has played a card to the first trick, would it make sense to leave the bidding cards out until that play is made?

If you would have copied my whole post, including the first sentence, instead of 90% of it, you would have understood why, IMO, this would not make sense for simple, practical reasons.

 

The dummy has in front of him/her:

• 
   
  
• The opponents' CC (A4: 29 x 21 cm or A5 (21 x 14.5 cm)
  
• His bidding cards (about 40 x 12 cm)
  
• The cards from the dummy, they are supposed to be placed at the very same place where the bidding cards are normally placed. (about 35 x 35 cm, depending on distribution)
  
• The play of the card in trick one
  

 

Then I am not talking about private scorecards, bidding boxes, bridgemates, pens, glasses (full, empty or reading), etc..

 

I don't know how large your tables are, but where I play it is usually hard enough to put down the dummy without having the bidding cards still lying there.

 

And fortunately, it is not really necessary either to leave the bidding cards out during the play. The key thing is that they are available during the entire clarification period, including the time that 3rd hand normally has for asking questions (after the faced down opening lead).

 

Rik

[helene_t]

Oh I forgot a very important one: as a defender, holding a card ready to play before it is your turn, thereby telling everyone that "my choice won't be affected by what is played from dummy, for example because I have a singleton".

[barmar]

Oh I forgot a very important one: as a defender, holding a card ready to play before it is your turn, thereby telling everyone that "my choice won't be affected by what is played from dummy, for example because I have a singleton".

I don't normally do this, but I did it a few days ago and dummy gave me a stern look. My excuse was that dummy had a singleton in the suit that was led.

[Vampyr]

That was my suggestion, to which Rik objects. :ph34r:

 

To be fair, the Netherlands is a very small country, so they probably have room only for tables that are about 2' x 2'.

[Trinidad]

To be fair, the Netherlands is a very small country, so they probably have room only for tables that are about 2' x 2'.

That is why Obama thought the NSS meeting in The Hague was very "gezellig".

 

Rik