House Rules, A to Z


	"Fun, competitive duplicate bridge at a very convenient location"

	A - Active Ethics: Players are expected to provide clear and complete explanations of their partnership agreements whenever asked, and to ALERT and ANNOUNCE bids as needed. Do not make the opponents pry information out of you. Go the extra mile in providing information cheerfully. Full details of the ACBL policy are at: http://web2.acbl.org/misc/activeethics.htm.
	B - Bidding Boxes: The club provides bidding boxes and their use is mandatory except for visually impaired players.
	C - Cell phones: Turn off all cell phones during the game. If your cell phone rings during the game, it is an automatic penalty of 1/4 of a board (typically 2 or 3 MP).
	D - Director! : Whenever an irregularity occurs, call the director immediately. The correct form is "Director, please." Do not attempt to make your own rulings. Meet our Directors here.
	E - E-mail: Most dealings with the club can be accomplished by e-mail, including reservations, cancellations, and suggestions. Special buttons on this website automatically open an e-mail message - try . Or you can send mail to NewtWellDB-game@yahoo.com. If you would like to receive e-mail announcements of special events, add your name to the Club Mailing List by clicking on this link.
	F - FUN! Having fun is the main reason for playing this game. Enjoy the game and make it enjoyable for others. But, paradoxically, serious bridge is more fun for many players, and thoughtful play is encouraged.
	F is also for our Stratified MP Flights: C is 0-500; B is 500-1500; Limited A is 1500-2500, may change next year; Super-A is above 2500 and can only get a Free Play for winning overall.
	G - Guests of Temple Reyim: We rent this space from Temple Reyim, but should consider ourselves their guests and must treat the premises respectfully. The primary use of this building is as a house of worship and we must always defer to the temple's needs. Our morning games also share use of the building with a pre-school, and we must not park in the five spaces closest that corner of the building where children are dropped off and picked up.
	H - Hand Records: Whenever possible, hand records will be printed and provided in conjunction with special games. These hand records will also be posted to the web site after the game.
	I - Inquiries welcomed: Inexperienced players, or anyone with specific questions on bidding, play, or rules, should always feel free to ask the director or other experienced players for help. Experienced players are encouraged to provide mentoring to newcomers.
	J - Jewish Holiday: The bridge club cannot use Temple Reyim when there is a conflict with any of the main Jewish holidays. We publish "No game" warnings in QuickTrick and on this website. Sometimes we may find an alternate location at which to hold our Tuesday night games.
	K - Kosher food only: Our lease agreement with Temple Reyim provides that the snacks we provide or any food brought into the facility must be Kosher. Players who want to provide goodies for everyone's enjoyment are encouraged to do so, but must obey this restriction.
	L - Late Plays: Late plays will be permitted only in very unusual circumstances. In order to end the game in a timely fashion, we generally do not allow any late plays. If you have not begun bidding a board when the move is called, you cannot play that board. Both sides will receive a score of "NP" (not played) which will translate into the same percentage score as the boards you did play. If a pair runs so late as to get a second "NP" during the session, the director may award them an "Av-" for all such subsequent failures to keep up.
	M - Move Along: It is rude to other players to be habitually late. Do not discuss the last hand if you are running behind.
	N - Non-playing Director: Whenever possible, the director will not be playing in the game. The exception will occur when his participation is required to create a full table -- but not a half-table.
	O - Official ACBL Laws: The rules for play in this club will be as described in the "Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge" as most recently revised (current revision is 1997). If you doubt a ruling, the director will be glad to cite the specific law that applies. Directors occasionally get it wrong, and will apologize when this happens and restore equity when possible. Note this guideline from the Preface to the Laws: "The Laws are primarily designed not as punishment for irregularities, but as redress for damage."
	P - Partnerships: Most players prefer to come to the club with their partnership arranged in advance, but the club also seeks to cater to those players who walk in without a partner. For some games, we have a standby player who will fill in if a partner is needed, and the director will play if absolutely necessary. The director seeks to avoid half-table movements and will play to fill out a table, but not to create a half-table; therefore, we cannot absolutely guarantee that a walk-in player will be able to play. In the unlikely event that you show up and I cannot find you a partner, I will give you a Free Play to use at any future game. New players seeking partners should go to the Partners button on the home page and put in a request so that the director can help you find a partner. Experienced players willing to help new players, or who are at loose ends for a particular game can also use this button to make their availability known to the director. Alas, we only run a Partnership Desk, not a dating service. ;-).
	Q - QUIET!!: The room in which we play can easily get noisy if we do not keep our voices down. If you finish a round early and want to earnestly discuss a matter with your partner, take the conversation out into the hallway. Also, discussing hands in tones loud enough to be overheard by other players may give illegal information to those who have not yet played that hand.
	R - Reservations: Reservations are not required except for a few special games when we expect attendance that might exceed our maximum table capacity. Use the Reservations button on the home page to make reservations, or, if you are a regular player with a standing reservation for a particular table, use that button to cancel your reservation for a particular game when you cannot attend.
	S - Smoking: This is strictly a NON-SMOKING GAME. Our lease with Temple Reyim requires it. If you must smoke you must go outside the building, well away from the doors and must pick up your smoking materials so as to not litter the grounds (the lease also requires this). We have had complaints from the pre-school teachers about smoking odors near their area, so smokers should only smoke outside the main doors.
	T - Timeliness: We will endeavor to start all games within five minutes of the published starting time. Please arrive early, so that we can promptly determine how many tables will be in play. The rounds will be called at regular intervals, 15 minutes for 2-board movements and 22 minutes for 3-board movements. The director will warn players when the round is about to end. If these gentle methods to keep the game moving do not work, we may need to install the type of time clock used in sectionals with its annoying buzz when there are two minutes left to go in a round. If we got in the habit of playing more quickly, we would have time to play either 26 or 27 boards instead of only 24.
	U - Unauthorized Information: Hesitations, mannerisms, and similar variations from steady tempo and demeanor create unauthorized information which can then restrict the choices available to your partner. The opponents should call the director if there is reason to believe such a problem has occurred and the director may disallow actions taken that could have been suggested by the unauthorized information.
	V - Victors get FREE PLAYS: Whenever there are ten or more tables in play, both the N-S and E-W winners receive a Free Play. The Free Play tickets are good for any standard game, but surcharges for special games still require a little cash. Whenever there are eighteen or more tables, we will split the game into two sections with each section winner getting a free play. Free plays are also awarded each month to the leading Masterpoint winners in Flights A, B (300-1000), and C (0-300).
	W - Web site: That is where you are now. All this good stuff is at http://www.acblemba.com/newtonw/ and is due to the skilled design of Ava Schutzman.
	X - Xtra Effort: Xpect the directors to provide xtra effort to make the game run smoothly and be a fun xperience for all players. We xpedite the scoring by using computer scoring and pick-up tickets when possible. We xtract all the useful results information and publish it to the Results section of this website promptly after each game.
	Y - Your Suggestions are welcomed: You can go to the Suggestions button to make suggestions for improving any aspect of the club, or to complain about anything you don't like. In a larger sense, this is really your club. Please help make it better.
	Z - Zero Tolerance: Abusive behavior toward partner or opponents is strictly prohibited as is profanity. The guideline is to avoid doing anything that mars another player's enjoyment of the game. More details are at the official ACBL site at: http://web2.acbl.org/misc/zerotolerancepolicy.htm.