Slow play and what you can do to help avoid it at Summertown

There will always be occasions where we have a particularly difficult hand, or something goes wrong and we have to call the director and end up finishing the boards late. However, consistent slow play to the extent of repeatedly holding up the next table or the pair following simply is not fair on them and can result in spoiling their enjoyment of the evening.

It would help if everyone would abide by the following guidelines:

1) Please arrive in good time, i.e. by 7.15, so that we are all sitting at the tables and ready to start play at 7.30. Apart from being able to begin the evening’s bridge promptly, this is important because the director has to decide on the movement and the number of boards on each table before play starts, and this depends on the number of tables in play. If you arrive after 7.25, please do not necessarily expect still to be accommodated, since the movement will probably already have been set up. After 7.30 is definitely too late, unless there happens to be a half table which can be made into a full table without changing the movement. And of course, if you are on your own, by then the host will have either sat down to play with someone else, or gone home!

2) Please do not shuffle and deal the cards unless told to do so by the Director. We are now normally using pre-dealt boards randomly generated by computer. Apart from helping us to get going more quickly, the advantage of this is that there are printouts of the hands at the end of the evening.

3) Please try to have the correct table money for both pairs ready on the table as soon as possible for the treasurer to collect.

4) Please fill in the table slips with the table number and names of all the players legibly at the beginning of the evening. Add the pair numbers when the TD has announced what those are. Please then leave the table slips in a visible position on the table for someone to collect.

5) Please try to keep up to a reasonable speed with your bidding and play. We allow 15 minutes for two board rounds (22 minutes for three board rounds), which is normally plenty. If you finish a round late, please make every effort to catch up during the next one.

6) At the end of the round the Club Timer will make a long drawn-out buzz. This is the signal to move. Please do not wait for the Director to announce the move.

7) Our Club Timer is set to give four short buzzes when there are four minutes left to the end of the round. Please do not start a new board after it has given the four-minute warning. Call the director who will normally award 50% on the board unless one pair was clearly at fault.

8) We all have to stop and think sometimes, but if your problem is that you’re simply not sure what to do, please try not to take too long over making a call or playing a card. You have to make a decision at some point! Your partner should feel free to give you a gentle nudge if you are taking too long over a decision.

9) Please keep conversation to a minimum until you have finished playing all the hands for each round. Don’t analyse each hand as it finishes. If there is still time at the end of the round, when all the scoring has been done, then by all means have a post-mortem, but in a low voice so that neighbouring tables can’t hear. If the buzzer goes for the move, please move promptly.

10) North and West (usually) should keep an half an eye on the Club Timer and if necessary chivvy the whole table along, or try to prevent outbreaks of conversation if time is running low.

11) When you’re on lead, please make your lead before putting your bidding cards away or writing the contract on your score card. Similarly, when you’re dummy, put your hand down first, then put away the bidding cards and write down the contract. If you see someone beginning to write down the contract before making the opening lead, remind them politely that they should lead first so that everyone else can be getting on with the hand.

12) Please don’t leave the room between rounds if you can at all avoid it. The time to make coffee or wash hands is when you are sitting out or dummy. Don’t keep your next opponents waiting. It isn’t fair to them. The absolute worst time to wander off is when the buzzer has gone for the end of the round and you can see that your next opponents are going to be late. This just delays matters still further. They may be about to claim, will arrive at the table and find you are gone.

13) If you are waiting for boards from the next table which is still playing, please ask one of the pair who has just left your table to pass you the board the next table has finished with.

14) If, as declarer, you can see that you will definitely win all the remaining tricks, or a definite number of the remaining tricks, please claim, but in doing so remember that you must make a statement as to how you will play the rest of the hand, and this must include a reference to how you will handle any trumps still held by the defenders (otherwise they can argue that you had forgotten they were still out). Equally, as defender, if it’s totally obvious that your side will win (or lose) the last, say, two or three tricks, please make a claim (or concession).

15) If a particular table or pair keeps holding you up, draw the director’s attention to it at an early stage so that he can keep an eye on the potential problem.  He cannot be expected to see everything happening in the room!

16) (For more experienced players only!) To play more quickly you don't need to play fast; you just need to play slowly less often. Thinking ahead can help you do this. E.g. suppose the auction goes 1NT (12-14) on your right, you pass on ten points, and LHO makes a transfer bid. You should see that there is every likelihood that you will be on opening lead eventually, so you can already start figuring out what your best lead might be, either against no trumps, or against the suit about to be bid by RHO. Once the auction is over, you can then immediately place a card on the table.

17) Of course, if you are a fast player you should realise that 15 minutes is the standard time allowed for two boards and people are entitled to some thinking time when playing a hand – even if you don’t need it! You at least will have the luxury of some pleasant conversation at the end of the round.