Declarer miscounts the last trick

[OldGranton]

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I have almost reached Beginner level.

 

I'm reading "Acol From Scratch" by Nigel Jones.

 

In "Dummy's Rights", I see the statement:

 

- Tell declarer if they have miscounted the last trick

 

(a) What does "last" mean? Does it mean the trick that has just been played - for example, the fifth trick? Or does it mean the "final" trick - which is the thirteenth trick?

 

(b) What does "miscount" mean? Does it mean, for example, that the latest trick taken by declarer is pointing the wrong way?

 

Thanks.

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[Vampyr]

It means the trick just played, and it does mean pointing the wrong way. "Miscounteded" is a really odd word to use.

[1eyedjack]

"Miscounteded" is a really odd word to use.

It certainly is!! :)

 

"Last" is also ambiguous, as it could be interpreted as "final". "Latest" might be better.

[OldGranton]

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It means the trick just played, and it does mean pointing the wrong way. "Miscounteded" is a really odd word to use.

 

Thanks for your response.

 

My last visit to a bridge club was around 1997. The club was a friendly club. I told my partner that his trick just played was the wrong way round. The Director (sitting on my right) mentioned that some other clubs might cut my head off. I apologized. (I can't remember which side had declared, but I have a strong suspicion that I was dummy)

 

From that date until now, I've played no bridge, so I'm completely out of touch with the rules.

 

Immediately after reading your post, I searched for the rule. The following post is from 2003 (it was the first one in my search results):

 

http://blakjak.org/bobbio/iblf/BRIDG~89.HTM

 

If you do a Ctrl+F search for "wrong", you will see several entries. One of these says:

 

- No-one, dummy or not, is allowed to point out that another player has a card pointing the wrong way.

 

So, as late as 2003, the rule was as the tournament Director stated above. Have the rules now changed?

 

Thanks.

.

[ahydra]

This should really be in the Simple Rulings section.

 

According to the 2007 Laws, Law 65B says:

 

Declarer may require that a card pointed incorrectly is pointed as above (i.e. correctly orientated according to who won it). Dummy or either defender may draw attention to a card pointed incorrectly, but for these players the right expires when a lead is made to the following trick. If done later Law 16B may apply (i.e. there might be UI).

 

My clarifications in brackets. (Huh, TIL that dummy could do this. I thought that "dummy cannot point out an irregularity until after play has finished" (L42B3))

 

Of course, a new Law Book is about to be published so who knows whether that will change.

 

ahydra

[blackshoe]

The new Law 65B3 will apparently read

Players may draw attention to a card pointed incorrectly, but this right expires when a lead is made to the following trick. If done later Law 16B may apply.

 

The current Law 65B3 reads

Declarer may require that a card pointed incorrectly is pointed as above. Dummy or either defender may draw attention to a card pointed incorrectly, but for these players the right expires when a lead is made to the following trick. If done later Law 16B may apply.

So after the new laws go into effect, declarer will no longer be able to tell another player, after a lead is made to a following trick, to point his card correctly. This seems rather silly if the point to the prohibition is to prevent a player from passing UI to his partner, since declarer passing UI to dummy has no effect on anything. Perhaps the implication is that the fact that one defender has a card turned wrong is UI to his partner, even if declarer points it out. That doesn't make sense either.

 

In effect, this change takes away one of declarer's prerogatives, but doesn't change anything else.

 

I would hope, but not expect, to see something from the LCs saying "these are the changes we made to the laws, and these are the reasons we made those changes". "Not expect" is too mild. I would be very surprised if the committees did anything like that at all.

[mycroft]

Note that the law changed to its "current" wording in 2007, so after both your experience and blakjak's commentary.

 

Prior to that, Law 65B3 did not exist, and dummy's only right was to "attempt to prevent declarer from committing an irregularity", and turning the card wrong was an irregularity. So, technically, if you caught him before the card was *placed*, you could warn him it was the other way. So, again, at the time you were at the club, you were given the right information.

 

Practically, nobody really cared about it, as long as it was the current trick (which is what Law 65B3 was trying to say, and probably closer to what the new Law 65B3 will say). The issue is that we don't want to have declarer (or defender!) tanking wondering how to take the 9th trick in 3NT only for dummy to say "partner, you won the fourth trick" (i.e. don't do anything stupid, we're good).