Ten Commandments for Slow Players

• Lead first and write it down later
• Move promptly: if move is called get to the next table swiftly.
• Score swiftly: enter details before the end of the hand if you can and then put in the rest of the detail and offer the Bridgemate to your opponent. eg ‘We got 45%,’ is usually enough rather than going through how many bid which particular game.
• Catch up: if you are late arriving then you have an obligation to try to catch up.
• Time yourself: in Chess they have clocks but even in bridge you should be aware if you have taken 11 of the available 15 minutes to deal with the first board of two.
• Limit your post-mortem until you have finished all the boards for the round.
• Alert: don’t ask every time there is an alert.
• Claim: consider claiming if you have a reasonably easy end position.
• Use your opponent’s thinking time: you may be able to plan your own play better.
• If your opponent is going to cash a long suit in dummy, decide on your discards. I bet you’ve watched someone agonise over their first discard and then when another winner is played do exactly the same again. It can hardly be a surprise.