Post Mortems

December 2008 POST MORTEMS

Post Mortems are an integral part of Bridge and should be used to improve one’s game but not to criticise one’s partner who, after all, is a part of the team and is usually well aware when a mistake has occurred. However please bear the following in mind.

a) Do not continue it when meeting new opponents or allow it to be overheard at other tables as it passes on unauthorised information.

b) Do not start it until you have finished playing ALL boards in the current round. Doing so may well slow down your rate of play and hold up the movement for everyone else.

TEMPO

November 2008: Tempo

The Laws state that ‘It is desirable, though not always required, for players to maintain steady tempo and unvarying manner’. Consequently players who are consistently slow are complying with the letter of the Law. However, because everyone else wishes to finish the session in a reasonable time, they may not be complying with the spirit of the Club. We all know that some hands require more thought than others but I wish to ask those who are seen to be slow for more than one round to make a positive effort to speed up their play in subsequent rounds and enable everyone else to go home at a reasonable time.

Insufficient Bid

October 2008: INSUFFICIENT BID


This is both complicated to explain and understand and may be difficult to apply. There is a significant change to the insufficient bid law. The scope for allowing an insufficient bid to be replaced without silencing partner has been extended. The old rule of replacing it at the lowest legal level remains, provided that the insufficient and replacement bids are natural. But there is now an added possibility, which comes if a replacement call can be found which has the same meaning, or a more precise meaning than the insufficient bid itself.

Confused? Well, Max Bavin has come up with a useful question that directors should ask which might help to make it easier to decide. Would all hands making the replacement call also have made the original call in correct circumstances? If the answer is yes, then the change is allowed.

Here are a few examples:

West North East South
1C 1S 1D

East/West play Precision Club, so 1C shows 16+ HCP and, without interference, 1D shows 0-7 HCP. Can East replace his 1D bid by double if he has 5-7 points? They play that over interference a pass shows 0-4 HCPs and a double 5-7 HCPs.

Would all hands playing Precision Club that would now double also have bid 1D without interference? Yes, so the change can be made and partner can continue bidding. Note that in this case pass would also be acceptable if East had 0-4 HCPs.

West North East South
4NT 5D 5C

4NT was Blackwood, East missed the 5D bid and 5C showed 0 or 4 aces. East/West play DOPI over intervention (double shows no ace, pass shows one ace). Can East replace 5C by double? Yes, all hands that would double to show no ace, would also have bid 5C without the interference.

Card Pointed the Wrong Way

September 2008 Card Pointed the wrong way

Players are now allowed to point out that a quitted trick card is pointing the wrong way. Declarer can do it at any time; dummy or defenders can do it only until the lead is made to the following trick.

Any Questions

July 2008 Any Questions


I would like to remind everyone of the protocol of prompting questions at the end of the auction. The correct sequence is for the person on lead to place the lead facedown on the table. His or her partner may then either ask questions or indicate that there are none. The person on lead must not prompt by saying ‘Any questions partner?’ as this could give an impression that the person on lead is not sure that partner has fully understood the bidding. I am fully aware that in most cases the person on lead prompts because he wishes to get things moving but if he waits even the slowest partner will finally realise that some action is necessary. Partners who are frequently spoon fed are likely to assume that the action is normal which it should not be.

SHUFFLING

August 2008: SHUFFLING

The 2007 Laws (valid from 1^st August 2008) state that after play has finished each player should shuffle his cards before returning them to the board. This is intended to prevent subsequent players from obtaining unauthorised information by examining the order in which cards were played. It may foil our attempt to provide interesting hands by using the ‘Club shuffle’. Consequently I shall be investigating whether hands are likely to revert to an excessive number of ‘Low No Trump’ distributions.

Hovering over the Bidding Box

June 2008: Hovering over the Bidding Box

There are occasions when a player needs time to think before making a call and, consequently, both partner and opponents are aware that he or she has a problem but they do not, nor should they, know whether the problem concerns a choice of bids or a choice between bidding and passing. However, if the player’s hand hovers over the bidding box and moves between two cards in that box his or her problem becomes obvious. This gives unauthorised information which must not be used by his partner and, unfortunately for his partner, gives authorised information to his opponents which they can use. Consequently this annoying habit should not be used especially as it gives an impression that the hand rather than the brain is doing the thinking.

WHEN TO REPLACE CARDS

WHEN TO REPLACE CARDS IN BIDDING BOXES

A card, when taken out of a bidding box, is placed on the table facing one’s partner. At the end of the bidding the person on lead may ask questions then selects the lead card and places it face down on the table. When all further questions are completed that person turns the card over and then and only then should cards be replaced into their bidding boxes. This approach is used to ensure that players asking questions have full information about the bidding sequence. This action applies to ALL cards including pass cards.

Completion of Transfer

April 2008

COMPLETION OF TRANSFER

A weak takeout response to a 1NT opening bid is not alertable but a response requesting a transfer is alertable. However the completion of that transfer is not alertable unless it contains extra meanings. Consequently when there is no alert to the response, opponents are justified in assuming that the responder’s hand is weak. When there is a transfer without an alert to the completion, opponents are justified in assuming that no extra specific information has been given.

Opening Bids of Two

March 2008 OPENING BIDS OF TWO

The current E.B.U. instructions are that the strength of opening two bids must be announced. Many players announce opening multi-two and weak two bids but it would appear that some assume that strong opening two bids do not need to be announced. Please note that ALL opening two level bids, whether weak, strong or intermediate, must be accompanied by an announcement of the strength of the bid from the opener’s partner. Opening bids which are an accepted convention, such as the Opening Two Clubs, should be alerted as usual.

Explanation of an Alert

EXPLANATION OF AN ALERT

February 2008

The Laws indicate that a player must either ask to have all previous calls restated or say nothing about them when it is his turn to call. They also state ‘During the auction and play any player except dummy may refer to his opponents’ convention card at his turn to call or play’. If there is no convention card, as is normal in our club, players sometimes specifically ask for an explanation of an alert and no other call. Although it is understandable it contravenes the Laws and so should not be done. Everyone should also be aware that specifically asking about an alert and then not bidding puts partner in an invidious position because although he can justifiably assume that your hand has reasonable strength he must make no use of that information. His invidious position is even greater if your hand does not have reasonable strength. Consequently, if you have no intention of bidding, say nothing during the auction.

Removal of the Board

January 2008: REMOVAL OF THE BOARD

Law 7A states ‘When a board is to be played it is placed in the centre of the table until play is completed’. However it is often convenient, because of space considerations, to put it on one side. Before doing this you should check that no-one wishes to object.