Irene Rules!

Crown7.wmf (10758 bytes) Irene Rules!

	Common Bidding Errors and Corrections
	Claims and Concessions of Tricks
	General Principles behind Duplicate Laws and Director Calls

Common Bidding Errors: Legal and Illegal Changes of Call (Rule 25)

Under what conditions can you CHANGE your call? (A "call" is either a bid or a pass.)

A. Immediate correction of an "inadvertency"

	Until his partner makes a call, a player may substitute his intended call for an inadvertent call, but only if he does so, or attempts to do so, without pause for thought. There is no penalty for a change of call that is legal.
	Example is that you make a physical error, that is, you pull out a bunch of cards and the wrong bid ended up showing; vs., changing your mind about what to bid. You change your bid when you notice this.

B. Delayed or Purposeful Correction (e.g., deliberate change of mind) with Substitute Call Condoned

	Until LHO calls, a call may be substituted. It can be accepted by LHO without penalty.
	If offender's LHO has called before attention was drawn to the infraction, and the Director determines that LHO intended his call to apply over the offender's original call at that turn, offender's substituted call stands without penalty, and LHO may withdraw his call without penalty.
	Example: You are West. Dealer, North, opens 4D. Partner East thinks. Then North says, "I made a mistake" and substitutes a 3D card. East bids 3NT, and the auction continues. In this case, the director should have been called immediately (by either you or East) when North changed his bid. However, as it occurred, East would not have been able to bid 3NT otherwise, and was happy to do so -- "condoning" the infraction.

C. Delayed or Purposeful Correction with Substitute Call not Condoned

	If the substitute call is not accepted by LHO, it is cancelled, and:
	If the first call was illegal, the offender is subject to the applicable Law (with possible lead penalties).
	If the first call was legal, the offender must either allow his first call to stand, in which case the penalty is that his partner must pass at his first opportunity; or, the offender can make another legal call, in which case the auction proceeds normally (though the offender's partner may not base his own calls on information gleaned from the withdrawn call), and the penalty is that the offending side can receive at best an "Average Minus."
	Example:

Claims & Concessions

In my experience, more unnecessary director calls involve claims than other rules.

A CLAIM is any statement that a player will win some number of tricks not yet played.

A CONCESSION is a statement that a player will lose a specific number of tricks; but, a defender's partner can immediately veto the concession.

After any claim or concession, play ceases. If there is disagreement, the director MUST be called -- immediately. (Additionally, unauthorized information penalties may apply.)

A couple of observations about claims:

	*You don't HAVE to do them. If you have the slightest amount of doubt, play the hand out; it's never* in your advantage to make a bad claim (by the Laws).**
	Always pull trumps before making a claim. If not, you'll be at a disadvantage.
	If you as declarer show your hand, you should state your line of play (or again, be at a disadvantage).

Contested Claims

The director first asks the declarer to restate his claim and line of play.

Next, all hands are tabled face up, and the defenders state their objection.

If there are one or more trumps outstanding when the claim is made, the Director shall award 1 or more tricks to the defenders if:

	claimer made no statement about trump outstanding;
	was likely, or could have been, unaware of it; and,
	a trick could be lost to the outstanding trump by any normal (feasible, not irrational) play.

Director will not accept from claimer any unstated line of play (e.g., finesse vs. drop), the success of which involves finding either opponent with a particular card, unless that opponent has already showed out of the suit before the claim was made.

You are protected against yourself -- concessions are disallowed if the trick can't be lost by any legal play of the remaining cards.

General Principles behind Duplicate Laws and Director Calls

Why there is a director!

To ensure fairness and accuracy with our participation in this wonderful, nationally-sponsored avocation (addiction?) of ours

How should you call the director?

	"Director, please!" is the only correct way to call the director (though you will probably get my attention if you call "Irene").
	Please try to call using a pleasant tone of voice. I understand you have to be heard across a crowded room, but please do your best to keep intensity and/or hostility out of your voice. It keeps things more pleasant for everyone involved.

When should you call the director?

During the Bidding

	When an irregularity in the bidding occurs, please call immediately.
	Any player can call.
	When there has been a significant interruption of the bidding tempo -- that is, a long hesitation by a player -- it MAY be appropriate to call the director then, so that your rights can be protected. (If you don't call immediately in some of these situations, you lose the opportunity to change your mind and call later.)
	If you have just become a defender, that is, the auction has ended, there are some instances when you must wait until after the play of the hand is over to call the director. This is so you will not alert your partner to a mistake he has made of which he is still unaware.

During the Play

	If you are declarer or a defender, you may call at any time.
	Dummy is not entitled to call the director until after play is over. Only the declarer or defenders may call the director during the play. Afterwards, dummy may do so, if, for example, he has noted an infraction that was missed by the declarer.

Why should you call the director?

Instances like these will be the focus of this series, but here are some common situations that merit a director call:

	Rude behavior, either to you or to any other person at the table
	A bid out of turn, or significantly out of tempo
	Incorrect alerts or explanations of bids
	The wrong defender makes the opening lead
	Cards are dropped, or more than one card is played to the same trick by a player
	Failure to follow suit, when one can (called a "renege"), as soon as it's noticed

Why should you NOT call the director?

On occasion, it is OK to use your judgment, and not call. I'd like our club to be known as a friendly and supportive environment, so new players may be treated with "kid gloves." If a new player to duplicate makes a minor infraction, you may choose to continue with the play and explain to him or her about it after the hand, so they learn, and do not get even more flustered. In this case, however, you must tell me after the hand (after that round, please) so that I know the person needs to be educated and the same thing doesn't continue to happen at other tables. And then, the new player only gets one "free ride" from you!

For the rest of us: please, never issue your own ruling at the table, even if you are sure of your knowledge of the laws. This is partly common courtesy; you are there as player among equals, and should have no more status than the others at your table. It can be construed as rude and intimidating to newer, less experienced players who may feel that they are being "bossed around" by the more experienced players. It's important to me that my club be uniformly felt to be a welcoming, friendly and supportive place to compete; so please, do not assume that you are doing everyone a favor and saving time by not calling me. I'm here to help!

'Til next time - send those topics and questions in!

Irene