CORRECT PROCEDURES

when playing
DUPLICATE BRIDGE

Judith OHara 2017

 INTRODUCTION
Laws are revised every 10 years or so.
The new Laws (in 2017) have tried to be easier to understand.
They are slightly fairer to both sides that bid out of turn or make
insufficient bids.
If a mistake has been made, either during the bidding or play, please
call the Director, who is there to help you put things right.
You should not correct infringements, as you will not know the
Laws well enough.
I have made no attempt in this document to cover all aspects of the
2017 Law Book.
You are responsible for following the correct Procedures as follows: p1
 Your cards will arrive, pre-dealt, in a board. You may receive anywhere from 2-5
boards at the same time, depending on the movement being played.
The first board you play MUST be placed on the centre of the table correctly.
This single board must stay at the centre of the table at all times. It must not be
turned sideways. The orientation must always be correct (ie North always must face
the player who is sitting North). This is to prevent hands being returned to the
board in an incorrect pocket after play is finished; in other words, to prevent a board
being switched. (A switched board means the remaining players may not end up
playing the correct hands for the rest of the session and those responsible for the
switch may well be penalised by losing some hard-earned points made on that board).
[ LAW 7: A ]

Only ONE board at a time should be on the table during play.

p2 PLEASE BE CAREFUL!
 Now the AUCTION begins.
Having placed the board correctly on the table, each player removes his hand.
Before looking at the cards, count them to make sure you have 13 in your hand.
If not, call the Director immediately. [ LAW 7: B 1 & 2.]
If all is correct, you must look at your cards. The bidding of the hand now takes place. If
all four players pass, each hand must be shuffled, NOT DEALT, and returned to the
board. There must be no re-deal. [ LAW 22: B.] When 3 consecutive PASS cards, in
rotation, have been placed on the table after a bid, the bidding ends. Not before! The
last bid becomes the contract. [ LAW 22: A & LAW 17: D 2 & 3.]
If a player misses his turn to bid during the Auction, call the Director, who will sort matters
out in a fair and equitable manner according to the Laws.
The period of CLARIFICATION now starts. The opening lead is placed on the table
FACE DOWN. Players may now ask their opponents about the meaning of any call or
bid they have made during the auction. [ LAW 17: D1.]
The Auction period ends when either opponent faces an opening lead. [ LAW 17: D1.]
p3
 During the Auction, you can also ask what an opponents bid means, but you can
only ask the partner of the opponent who has made the bid and only when it is
your turn to call. [ LAW 20: F 1.]
Correct explanations must always be given (to the best of ones knowledge).
This is one of the strictest rules of the game.
It is advised that you do not ask questions about your opponents bids during the
Auction, unless you intend to bid. If you do ask questions, be aware that you are
giving your opponents the opportunity to talk to each other, as they can take full
advantage of what is explained to you. (SABF recommendation.)
Incorrect information is called MISINFORMATION and in itself carries
penalties. [ LAW 21.] If, at the end of the play of the hand, you feel that you have
not been given correct explanations, either during the Auction or period of
Clarification, you may call the Director. You do not have to do so, but you may p4

be entitled to an adjusted score!

A player whose Partner has given a mistaken explanation may not correct the
information during the Auction, take advantage of the unauthorised information,
nor show in any manner that a mistake has been made. [ LAW 20: F 5(a).]
 If Declarer is aware that misinformation has been given to opponents by his side
during the auction period, he must call the Director immediately, before the play of
the hand. The Director will know how to handle this situation.
Defenders, in the same situation, must call the Director after the hand has been
played. An adjusted score may need to be given. [ LAW 20: F 5 (b).]
After the play of the hand, the thirteen cards must be shuffled before placing them
back in the correct pocket of the board. [ LAW 7: C. ]
It is Norths responsibility to ensure that:
1. The correct opponents are sitting at the table.
2. The correct boards are being played.
3. The boards are correctly orientated during play.
4. The following information must be entered in the Bridge Mates:
The correct Contract
Played by the correct player
The correct opening lead
The correct score at end of play.
5. It is East or Wests responsibility to check the Bridge Mates to ensure that
all the above information has been correctly entered and accept the result.
p5 The Director will help you change the result if a mistake has been made.
It is so important to take note of the following:

The only information to be passed on during the auction comes from legal calls and bids made from the bidding boxes. Facial
expressions, body language and comments should not be used to express approval or disapproval of partners or opponents
calls; nor should hesitations nor bidding too quickly! Tempo is important. [ LAW 73.]
Conventional bids must be announced or alerted. If a bid is announced, such as 1 announced as may be short or may be
as short as 1, it is because the club bid is not a natural bid. Some conventional bids may be announced but others must be
alerted. The partner of the person bidding does the alerting. Details of the alerted bid should not be given, unless asked for
by the next person to call. During the auction, you may only ask about an opponents bid when it is next your turn to call.
After a hand is played you should not announce the results attained by other players, discuss the contents of hands (either
points held, distribution of cards or any other information concerning the board) or pass on to players at other tables
information they can use before it is their turn to play the hand. People can and do overhear your conversations. To do so,
infringes the Laws and you may be penalised. After playing the hand, you may only look at your partners or an opponents
hand if you have been given permission to do so by either the Director or your opponents.
Remember: You have a limited time to play all your boards.
When a player receives extraneous information about a board he is playing or has yet to play, as by looking at the wrong board;
by overhearing results, calls or remarks; by seeing cards at another table; or by seeing a card or cards belonging to another
player at his own table BEFORE THE AUCTION BEGINS the Director should be notified immediately, preferably by the
recipient of the information. [ LAW 16 D:1.] The Director will then give an appropriate ruling.
Failure to comply with a Directors instructions or to comply promptly with tournament regulations will be penalised. [ LAW 90]
p6
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 It is important to call the Director to assist you when any irregularity happens at the table, during any part of the bidding
or playing of a board.

Who may call the Director?

During the Auction or at the end of play, any player may do so.

During play, Defenders or Declarer may do so. Dummy may not initiate a call for the Director during play, unless another
player has drawn attention to the irregularity first.

Such irregularities include:

Playing the wrong hand or board

Giving & Receiving Unauthorised Information
Bids & Calls Out of Turn
Leads Out of Turn
Insufficient Bids
Revokes
Players wanting to change their calls / bids
Players wanting to change their leads
Penalty Card Play
Incorrect Claim or Concession of Tricks
Mistaken Explanations or Calls
Disagreements about Tricks Won

p7
 Dummys Absolute Rights:

1. Dummy may keep count of tricks won or lost.

2. He may give information, in the Directors presence, as to fact or law.
3. He plays the cards as declarers agent as directed and ensures that
dummy follows suit. He must not indicate which card to play in dummy nor
question declarers instructions. Please note the following:

LAW 45: B 1-5

If declarer in playing from dummy calls high, or a word of like meaning, he is deemed to have called for the highest
card of the suit led.
If he instructs dummy to win the trick, he is deemed to have called for the lowest card that is known will win the
trick.
If he calls low, or a word of like meaning, he is deemed to have called for the lowest card of the suit led.
If declarer designates a suit but not a rank he is deemed to have called for the lowest card of the suit indicated.
If declarer designates a rank but not a suit, if leading, declarer is deemed to have continued the suit with which
dummy won the preceding trick, provided there is a card of the designated rank in that suit.
If declarer calls for a card that is not in dummy, the call is invalid and declarer may designate any legal card.
If declarer indicates a play without designating either a suit or a rank (as by saying play anything or words to
that effect) either defender may designate the play from dummy.

p8
Dummys Qualified Rights:

1. Dummy may ask declarer (but not a defender) when he has failed to follow suit to a trick whether he has
a card of the suit led.
2. Dummy may try to prevent any irregularity.
3. He may draw attention to any irregularity, but only after play of the hand is concluded.

Dummys Limitations:

1. Dummy may not initiate a call for the Director during play, unless another player has drawn attention to an
irregularity at the table first.
2. Dummy may not call attention to an irregularity during play.
3. Dummy may not participate in the play, nor communicate anything about the play to declarer.
4. Dummy may not exchange hands with declarer, nor leave his seat to watch declarers play of a hand.
5. Dummy may not look at the face of a card in either defenders hand.
6. A defender may not show dummy his hand.

If any violations of the above occur, the Director should be called.

p9
By calling the Director and asking for help, there will be equal opportunities given
to all players to play on a level playing field and achieve the results they deserve, due
to good bridge knowledge, competent playing skills and a reliable memory, all of
which are used during the play of a board.

It is a challenge, but one that is most enjoyable.

Why play Duplicate Bridge?

You get to pit your skills against other players, who will be playing exactly the
same hands as you and your partner.
You will find out how well you are playing, in comparison to others, sitting in your
position at other tables, during a session.
Just by playing Duplicate, your bridge will improve.
Its not for everyone, but its certainly worth giving it a try!
IT REALLY IS FUN! p10
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