Conduct & Etiquette

The Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge 2017 apply to all Club play.  Players should maintain at all times a courteous attitude towards their partners and opponents. 

They should carefully avoid any remarks or action that might cause annoyance or embarrassment to another player or might interfere with the enjoyment of the game.

Every player should follow uniform and correct procedure in calling and playing, since any departure from correct standards may disrupt the orderly progress of the game.  

The following are considered to be breaches of propriety:

(a) The use of different designations for the same call by a partnership.

(b) Any indication of approval or disapproval of a call or play.

(c) Indication of the expectation or intention of winning or losing a trick that has not been completed.

(d) A comment or act during the auction or play drawing attention to the number of tricks required to make or defeat a contract.

(e) Volunteering information that should be given only in response to a question.

(f) Looking intently at any other player during the auction or play, or at another player’s hand for the purpose of seeing his/her cards, or observing the place from which s/he draws a card.  (But it is not improper to act on information acquired by inadvertently seeing an opponent’s card.)

(g) Varying the normal tempo of bidding or play, for the purpose of disconcerting the other players.

(h) Leaving the table needlessly before a move is called.

As a matter of courtesy, a player should refrain from:

(a) Paying obviously insufficient attention to the game (as when a player obviously takes no interest in his/her hand, or fraudulently requests a review of the auction).

(b) Making gratuitous comments during the play as to the auction or the adequacy of the contract.

(c) Detaching a card from his/her hand before it is his/her turn to play or playing a card     from dummy out of turn.

(d) Arranging cards played to previous tricks in a disorderly manner or mixing his/her cards before the result of a deal has been agreed to.

(e) Making a claim or concession of tricks if there is any doubt as to the outcome of the deal.

(f) Prolonging play unnecessarily for the purpose of disconcerting the other players.

(g) Summoning the Director in a manner discourteous to him or the other contestants

(h) Should a player disagree with a Director’s decision when he has been called to rule on an infringement, said player has the right to appeal but play at the table must continue according to the Director’s decision. From the moment a Director makes his decision the player has thirty minutes to advise the Director that an appeal will be lodged.

Hesitations 

A long pause or hesitation before bidding, particularly if the bid is a pass, may be regarded as unauthorised information given to a partner.  The Director will give an adjusted score if it is judged that the partner’s action was modified by the hesitation.