Player movement in Howells

[pilun]

My regular partner likes to sit West and South. This is fortuitous in the modern world of increased feedback. Some programs - like Pianola - give feedback on a player's performance as declarer, or defender on lead. This can be accurate if the program knows where each player is sitting. Thus the assumption in Howells and arrow-switches that the North player will move to East and vice versa.

Is this something that clubs and Associations need to encourage?

 

In some clubs I use Swedish Bridgetab with android tablets, much better than bridgemates in the club environment. (Though not for major events) Bridgetab displays the seating by player name, not direction, so South presses 4H by Frank, not 4H by East. Fine in a Mitchell but a Howell problem. Frank started as North and chose to move to West, so Hilda is actually sitting East.

 

Is this an issue worth addressing?

Like bidding box on the left or right ... Do countries have guidelines?

Also, have Northerners switched to South as scorer yet? (South sees the world from the correct perspective)

[blackshoe]

Most Howell movement cards I've seen tell North to seat East if he's changing directions.

 

Other than that I'd say no, no, no, and mostly no (I know one pair, in their early 90s, who regularly sit NS and S does the scoring).

[pran]

The relevant law is

A. Initial Position

The Director assigns an initial position to each contestant (individual, pair or team) at the start of a session. Unless otherwise directed, the members of each pair or team may select seats among those assigned to them by mutual agreement. Having once selected a compass direction, a player may change it within a session only upon instruction or with permission of the Director.

B. Change of Direction or Table

Players change their initial compass direction or proceed to another table in accordance with the Director’s instructions. The Director is responsible for clear announcement of instructions; each player is responsible for moving when and as directed and for occupying the correct seat after each change.

Note that all players are obliged to follow instructions given by the Director when selecting their seats.

[blackshoe]

"Instructions given by the Director" includes instructions written on movement cards given to players or on the table.

[barmar]

In some clubs I use Swedish Bridgetab with android tablets, much better than bridgemates in the club environment. (Though not for major events) Bridgetab displays the seating by player name, not direction, so South presses 4H by Frank, not 4H by East. Fine in a Mitchell but a Howell problem. Frank started as North and chose to move to West, so Hilda is actually sitting East.

We use BridgeTab as well. It shows the player names in their expected compass directions (based on the North=East default). When you're entering the contract, you just tap on the compass direction, it's not a big deal if the wrong player is in the seat.

 

The only time when it's critical which player is in a specific seat is in an individual.

[pescetom]

My regular partner likes to sit West and South. This is fortuitous in the modern world of increased feedback. Some programs - like Pianola - give feedback on a player's performance as declarer, or defender on lead. This can be accurate if the program knows where each player is sitting. Thus the assumption in Howells and arrow-switches that the North player will move to East and vice versa.

Is this something that clubs and Associations need to encourage?

 

In some clubs I use Swedish Bridgetab with android tablets, much better than bridgemates in the club environment. (Though not for major events) Bridgetab displays the seating by player name, not direction, so South presses 4H by Frank, not 4H by East. Fine in a Mitchell but a Howell problem. Frank started as North and chose to move to West, so Hilda is actually sitting East.

 

Is this an issue worth addressing?

Like bidding box on the left or right ... Do countries have guidelines?

Also, have Northerners switched to South as scorer yet? (South sees the world from the correct perspective)

Here these things are policed effectively by the players themselves, even where Laws and Regulations do not reach - like placing the bidding box on the right.

South is always scorer although Regulations just say either of North-South.

And either of East-West is responsible for moving boards even though the Laws say it should be North unless Director instructs otherwise (guess I should do this somehow).

[blackshoe]

I've had left-handed players, sitting on my right, place their bidding box on their left, right next to mine. I haven't yet had one of them complain I was taking up "their" space. Yet. :-)

[pescetom]

I've had left-handed players, sitting on my right, place their bidding box on their left, right next to mine. I haven't yet had one of them complain I was taking up "their" space. Yet. :-)

Everyone here including the left handed players seems to accept placement of box on the right, the boxes aren't differentiated either. Our tensions about table space are almost invariably linked to phones.

[Vampyr]

Everyone here including the left handed players seems to accept placement of box on the right, the boxes aren't differentiated either. Our tensions about table space are almost invariably linked to phones.

 

Unusual that phones are permitted to be visible while playing.

[jhenrikj]

On the contrary, in some competitions we demand phones to be visible all the time (shut off of course).

[RMB1]

On the contrary, in some competitions we demand phones to be visible all the time (shut off of course).

+1

 

And left on the table if the player has to leave the playing room.

[pescetom]

Unusual that phones are permitted to be visible while playing.

 

 

On the contrary, in some competitions we demand phones to be visible all the time (shut off of course).

 

Our regulations forbid the presence of phones or "electronic devices" unless the Organizer decides otherwise, but not many Organizers are going to thank a Director who tries to enforce this. Having phones with you but not visible changes little of course. Demanding phones to be visible but shut off sounds good on paper, but how does one ensure that they are shut off? Disabling mobile or wifi is not enough and even if the phone is checked to be off it only takes a button press to revive it later. Plus having the phones turned on makes it much easier to match them up with their forgetful owners at the end of the tournament. And then there are wearable devices such as smart watches and spectacles which pose all the same and other problems.

 

It's a tough area and I don't see any easy answers. Probably for a major competition it would be feasible to forbid the physical presence of all such devices and provide some sort of area for their storage at player's own risk, but I can't see that working in a club.

[pran]

Our regulations forbid the presence of phones or "electronic devices" unless the Organizer decides otherwise, but not many Organizers are going to thank a Director who tries to enforce this. Having phones with you but not visible changes little of course. Demanding phones to be visible but shut off sounds good on paper, but how does one ensure that they are shut off? Disabling mobile or wifi is not enough and even if the phone is checked to be off it only takes a button press to revive it later. Plus having the phones turned on makes it much easier to match them up with their forgetful owners at the end of the tournament. And then there are wearable devices such as smart watches and spectacles which pose all the same and other problems.

 

It's a tough area and I don't see any easy answers. Probably for a major competition it would be feasible to forbid the physical presence of all such devices and provide some sort of area for their storage at player's own risk, but I can't see that working in a club.

Last time I saw a regulation on mobile phones at Norwegian events it recognized the possible need for a player to be reachable by phone in certain situations but demanded that the phone in case should be deposited with the Director or under his control. He would then relay possible messages to the player in question.

[pescetom]

Last time I saw a regulation on mobile phones at Norwegian events it recognized the possible need for a player to be reachable by phone in certain situations but demanded that the phone in case should be deposited with the Director or under his control. He would then relay possible messages to the player in question.

I don't know about others but we have no real problem of people engaging in voice calls. What other players resent is taking up table space. It's the potential role in collusive cheating that makes devices a real problem, although there again I see no reason to think it is actually happening.

[barmar]

I don't know about others but we have no real problem of people engaging in voice calls. What other players resent is taking up table space. It's the potential role in collusive cheating that makes devices a real problem, although there again I see no reason to think it is actually happening.

I assume that's why some of the RAs require it to be visible on the table. The other players would be able to tell if you're actually doing anything with it.

 

I suppose a player could put a decoy phone on the table, and keep another one in their pocket in vibrate mode, although I'm not sure how much information could be conveyed through the vibrations.

[barmar]

I've had left-handed players, sitting on my right, place their bidding box on their left, right next to mine. I haven't yet had one of them complain I was taking up "their" space. Yet. :-)

We have one right-handed player in our club who simply finds it easier to reach across his body than twist his hand to the right, so he moves the box to his left. No one complains, except if you're following him in the movement it's a minor PITA having to move the box back to its normal place every round.

[jhenrikj]

I assume that's why some of the RAs require it to be visible on the table. The other players would be able to tell if you're actually doing anything with it.

 

I suppose a player could put a decoy phone on the table, and keep another one in their pocket in vibrate mode, although I'm not sure how much information could be conveyed through the vibrations.

 

We do random searches. Anyone found with a phone in his pocket is fined 2VP.

 

The main objective is to prevent the players to bring the phone to the bathroom if there are running scores or BBO.

[lamford]

I assume that's why some of the RAs require it to be visible on the table. The other players would be able to tell if you're actually doing anything with it.

 

I suppose a player could put a decoy phone on the table, and keep another one in their pocket in vibrate mode, although I'm not sure how much information could be conveyed through the vibrations.

The Complete Works of Shakespeare can be conveyed with enough vibrations in just two pockets. More relevantly, a vibration in the left pocket could indicate that a slam makes for that side, in the right pocket that game makes for that side.

 

I'm picking up good vibrations

She's giving me excitations

Good bop bop, good vibrations

Bop bop, excitations

 

The Beach Boys