When to Call the Director
FACED OPENING LEAD OUT OF TURN (LAW 54)
If an opening lead is made from the wrong hand, CALL THE DIRECTOR.
They will give you the 5 options.
No action should be taken until all the options have been given and considered.
The options are considered by the DECLARER ONLY, without consulting their partner.
LEAD OUT OF TURN (LAWS 53, 54, 55, 56.)
If there has been a Lead out of Turn, CALL THE DIRECTOR.
They will decide whether the Lead has been accepted or not.
They will then give you the options.
No action should be taken until all the options have been given and considered.
INSUFFICIENT BID (LAW 27)
CALL THE DIRECTOR. They will give you the options.
No action should be taken until all the options have been given and considered.
REVOKE (LAW 63)
If a revoke is thought to have been established, CALL THE DIRECTOR.
The Director will decide whether the revoke has been established.
If it has NOT been established, the Director will tell you what the Law says about Penalty Cards and subsequent play.
If the revoke has become established, then play continues.
At the end of the hand, if the Director has deemed that the Revoke had been established, THE DIRECTOR IS CALLED BACK to make rectification.
CALL OUT OF ROTATION (LAW 29)
If a call is made out of rotation, CALL THE DIRECTOR.
This may be quite complicated, so please be patient while the Director explains.
UNAUTHORISED INFORMATION (LAW 16)
Unauthorised Information can be given accidentally in many ways.
When a player considers that an opponent has made such information available and that damage could well result, they may announce that they ‘Reserve the Right to summon the Director later’.
If the opponents dispute the facts, CALL THE DIRECTOR IMMEDIATELY.
When a player has substantial reason to believe that bidding or play has been affected by the Unauthorised information, CALL THE DIRECTOR at the end of the hand.
OTHER COMMON DIRECTOR ‘PROBLEMS’:
PLACEMENT OF BOARD LAW 7
If a player doesn’t want the board in the centre of the table, CALL THE DIRECTOR.
It is needed so that all players can check the Board Number and the vulnerability.
DUMMY (LAWS 42 and 43)
Dummy is very limited as what they may do.
In brief, Dummy plays the cards as the Declarer’s agent and must generally keep quiet except to prevent any irregularity by Declarer.
If they exceed their limitations and you feel damaged, please CALL THE DIRECTOR.
CLAIMS (LAWS 68, 69 and 70)
If a Claim of tricks won (or lost) is made, play ceases.
Players may NOT ask for the hand to be played out.
The Claim MUST be accompanied by a full description of how the hand would be played in order to win the claimed tricks.
If the Claim is then disputed, either because the Claim is incorrect, or, if no description is given and there is an alternative play that would not give the same tricks, CALL THE DIRECTOR.
ANNOUNCEMENTS (ORANGE BOOK 5A and B)
Announcing is compulsory (5B2). Announce only partner’s calls, never your own.
Announce the range of a 1 No Trump opening bid. Say, for example, ’12 to 14’. If relevant, also say, ‘May contain a singleton’.
Announce if your partner responds with Stayman or a Transfer after a 1 No Trump opening bid. Say, ‘Stayman’ or ‘Hearts’ or ‘Spades’ (NOTE: Alert, don’t announce, 2 Spades if it is a transfer to Clubs).
Announce the strength of your partners opening 2 of a suit. Say ’Weak’, or ‘Strong non-forcing’ or ‘Strong forcing’. If it is a Precision 2 Clubs, announce ‘Intermediate’.
If it is a strong Acol or a Benji 2 Clubs, ALERT, don’t announce.
In general, DON’T ALERT ANY BID OVER 3 NO TRUMPS.
INSPECTION OF TRICKS (LAW 66)
So long as their side has not led or played to the next trick, any player (except Dummy) may, until they have turned their own card face down, require that all cards just played to the trick be faced. Thereafter, the cards of quitted tricks may not be inspected.
CONDUCT AND ETIQUETTE (LAW 74)
A player should maintain a courteous attitude at all times.
If you are concerned about your opponent’s conduct, CALL THE DIRECTOR.
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