Director's Corner

Revokes

When a player fails to follow suit, that usually means they have no more of it. Occasionally, a player fails to follow suit because they miss a card in their hand or, less commonly, because they aren’t paying attention. The first thing this player’s partner may want to do is ask “no X partner?” This is an allowable question at the time of the trick only. The reason to ask is that the penalty for an exposed card is often much less costly than the penalty for a revoke. The opponents are not required nor advised to ask this question!

A revoke is not “established” until the revoking side plays to the next trick, whether leading or following. There is no revoke with the last two cards in hand; it is just corrected. There is no requirement to call the director on yourself or your partner, however it is illegal to attempt to hide a revoke by a claim or concession without showing your cards. The director should be called when the revoke happens. All players should leave their cards in order at the end of the hand, until all players have agreed on the outcome. If you shuffle your cards, you may lose your defense.

The penalty for a revoke depends on who won the trick, whether the revoking side won tricks after the revoke, and the play of the hand. If a player wins the trick with the revoke and that side wins subsequent tricks, two tricks are given to the opponent. If a player revokes on a trick their partner wins, then one trick is transferred. If the revoking side doesn’t win that trick, and wins no additional tricks, there is no adjustment.