Etiquette

Introduction

Most of the etiquette points listed below are not emphasised by our directors at Balwyn North.  We like a smoothly run event without conflict, and most of our players achieve this really well.   In more serious clubs the expectation is that you will know the rules, obey them and treat the game seriously.   It is still possible to obey all the rules of etiquette and be pleasant, competitive, considerate and welcoming to all.
Feel free to ask any of our Directors a question and we will try to get you a correct answer.
The most important aspect is “Play Bridge and make friends”

Background

This discussion on bridge etiquette is not inspired by some bad things that we have seen or heard at our club. We have been deliberately lenient because we believe that talking things through can help so much learning in the game. Our concern is that many of our players are playing face to face at affiliated Bridge Clubs now and we would not like them to be embarrassed or get a bad name by using bad etiquette at the table.

On-line bridge enables the use of very bad actions that should not be used when playing face-to-face bridge. In your little bridge person-cave you can use abusive language (to partner or opponent), decry your bad luck, vigorously celebrate the trumps breaking 3-2 in a manner that would offend both opponents and partner. We will cease giving examples because we are sure most of our people would not behave that way even in the privacy of their own person-cave.

Note that it is very important to not speak unless it is a time when talking is required and to try to avoid all facial expressions and body language. The perfect reaction is to have a continual expression of ‘I am really enjoying this’ on your face and actions that indicate that nothing you do will spoil this.

Talking at the table

When you or your opponents arrive at the table:

• It is good manners to introduce yourself.  If you know the people, a little bit of discussion is appropriate but remember that time is of the essence.
• There may be a short discussion on what bidding system you play or what conventions that you use. Openness and honesty are essential. You are not meant to hide anything from your opponents. There is no problem to answer “I don’t know” to any question.
• Once play commences try to keep talking to a bare minimum and usually to get the lead in the right hand or sorting out who is to bid first.
• Keep your feelings to yourself. No Statements like ‘wow this is a really hard one’, ‘I haven’t had this situation before’ , ‘Sorry partner I may not get this right’, ‘I never know what to lead in this situation’, ‘I don’t want to be on lead’. You are allowed to think but don’t think out loud!

Announcements

Announcements are made by the partner of the bidder and NOT by the bidder.
The 2 Announcements that must be made are:

1. When your partner opens 1C:
You must indicate the minimum length of the club suit or anything special about the bid.  The usual announcements are:

• “3 plus” –  for better minor
• “2 plus” – for short club
• “4 plus” –  for ACOL-like systems where 1C is always 4+ or
• “16+ any distribution” for strong club systems

2. When your partner opens 1NT
You must indicate the strength of the 1NT bid:

• 15-17
• 15-18
• 16-18
• 12-14 or whatever you play

Also, you can announce if your 1NT can have a 5-card major. In this case you would say:

• “15-17 and may contain a 5-card major”

If you say nothing about the length of the majors it is assumed that it will not contain a 5-card major.

Alerts

Alerts are made by the partner of the bidder and NOT the bidder.
Each bid that is considered unnatural must be alerted.  This is done by the partner playing the alert bidding card and saying the word “Alert“.

Note that it is important NOT to describe the bid unless an opponent asks you to.
An opponent can ask anything about the bidding when:

• it is his/her turn to bid
• the bidding is completed, and it is their turn to lead
• it is not their turn to lead and the leader has selected his lead and placed it face down on the table

If you are not going to bid in the auction it is suggested that you don’t ask questions during the auction.

It is preferable for the person on lead to ask, before selecting a lead, “could we have a review of the bidding please”?  In this case each of your opponents will describe in turn what each bid made by their partner means.
A long read of the rule book indicates what happens when the descriptions are wrong and when the error is pointed out. The best thing is to try very hard to get it right and to call the director when an error is confirmed. This is a very difficult decision for the director to make usually.

Hesitations

Many people hesitate before they bid and/or before they play a card.
Please try to bid and play smoothly as there are many ways that people seem to take advantage of a hesitation during the game.
 Here is a very good example of this.  The bidding goes (opposition are in brackets):

(1H)    1S       (2H)    –Long hesitation —    P

(P)     2S

The opponents are excellent players, and they used the opportunity to explain the etiquette of hesitation by saying that he would like to call the director to ask him to rule on the fact that we may have bid because my partner’s hesitation meant that they was close to a bid. The director came. Our opponent described the situation very fairly and made sure that he was not calling us a cheat but that we may not know the consequence of bidding after a long hesitation followed by a pass. The Director took over and firstly asked us if we did make a long hesitation. We replied yes. He then asked to look at my hand, reviewed the bidding and ruled that we had bid irrespective of the hesitation.
It was handled beautifully – no anger, no accusations, no bitterness, and a great learning opportunity

Hesitation in play can be very annoying. If you notice someone who hesitates often when they have a singleton it is very hard not to cause an issue and raise it at the table. Sometimes you notice later that a player hesitated with two low rags. It is sometimes understandable if they are giving count to each other but not many people do that. To avoid suspicion please play smoothly.

Use of bidding boxes

Bids should be neatly stacked in front of each player. They should be placed so that each separate bid is visible for each player. This includes passes and doubles. I have a personal preference to play all pass cards rather than tap the table to indicate a pass.
All bids must be visible on the table until the opening lead has been played.
After the opening lead has been played, the stack with the final contract is compressed and placed on the card carrier for the hand with only the final contract showing.  At this time, all other bids can be put away.

Managing tricks and cards

• All players should keep tricks on show until the result is confirmed. There are some people who regularly misplace winners and losers in front of them and then query the result. All cards must be kept in the right direction until both sides agree the result. We may need to reconstruct the play from the cards. Don’t fold them up too early and be careful of placement.
• Once all 4 cards in a trick are ‘quit’ no one can look at them again.
  ‘Quit’ means that they are all turned over after the trick. If someone still has their card facing upwards, they can ask for all cards to be turned over to be studied again. Some people turn their cards over too quickly. I take my lead from declarer. I don’t turn my cards until declarer does so.
• So many people look at the last trick to see who won. Try not to do that. It is not correct.
• Be very careful at the end of the hand to not throw cards into the middle so that they may get mixed with other hands.

Body Language to avoid

• Do not nod or shake your head when partner makes a lead. Always play your cards the same way. Do not accentuate a signal and try to make eye contact with partner.
• Do not ‘hover’ over a card or suit in dummy. You wait to be told which suit and which card to play. This is a most common error.
• Do not draw your card or bidding card before it is your turn to play. It gives so much away to the opposition that your action is determined.
• Dummy cannot ask any questions. Dummy cannot ask to see any cards.
• In some situations, dummy cannot even highlight a revoke in the opposition’s play.
• In serious clubs only North / South can touch the boards. East/west trying to be helpful is not required.
• Do not touch anyone else’s cards during play without asking.
• Don’t show excessive emotion for success or failure.
• Don’t get narky, don’t gloat; be humble and ‘be sincere even if you don’t mean it’.
• Please play your cards close to your chest. Some people give you no option but to see some of their cards.
• Please do not hold loud post-mortems at serious competitions. Some people have voices that carry. Some people have great memories and remember discussions that they heard recently. Don’t broadcast your successes for others to copy

How to call the director

The Director should be called whenever there is a question at the table that the players cannot answer. Calling the Director should be done properly.  A loud, angry call of “DIRECTOR” usually sets an angry tone at the table.
The proper call is “Director Please” in a voice loud enough to be heard.
A good Director will arrive at the table and ask one person to explain the problem. With normal good manners let that person explain the situation. If you disagree with the explanation, you can make your case when the chance is given to you. The Director may ask questions, may ask 1 player to come away from the table with him to ask questions that could give away information or go and study the hand records if necessary. The Director will decide on the spot or retire to consider the situation while you play another hand. Eventually the Director will decide. In big tournaments there is a possibility to appeal that decision to a tribunal (all very serious).

Please take the Director’s decision as final in all cases.
Don’t be concerned if a Director is called. You make mistakes and the Director’s job is to allocate the correct penalty if there is one. There are many people with a different view on the laws from the one in the rule book.

Time wasting

This is very difficult in a situation like ours where frequently we can do some important tutoring during or after a hand.
In serious Bridge try to avoid the following time-wasting situations:

• Move promptly when the director asks you to move
• Settle quickly at the new table – introductions and pleasantries to be kept to a minimum
• Ensure that the boards are passed efficiently. Place the boards so that the new table can pick up completed boards if one has not yet been completed.
• When playing, try to do most of your thinking in the 30 seconds after you see dummy. Then play as quickly as you can. It is tactically sound to play quickly and not give the defence too much time to think deeply.
• All hesitations are not good. Hesitation in bidding and play is often so unnecessary. There is time when you must think, but I watch people with absolutely no reason to bid, think for 30 seconds before passing.  Thinking about the card to play when you hold nothing is also frustrating.
• Keep up with the game. Know when it is your lead and your bid.
• Minimise post-mortems after each hand:
  • Our Club does not give out hand records – so a little bit of discussion is considered ok
  • In clubs where they give out hand records – just note the hand number and do a post-mortem later.
• Many pairs are regular slow play offenders. If you are one such pair, you are probably guilty of all of the above problems. Try to improve on some of them so that you do not hold up play.