WACHUSETT BRIDGE CLUB

PROCEDURES REGARDING MIS-CLICKS

JANUARY 2022

Since the advent of online ACBL club games there has been confusion – and even disagreement among experienced Directors – concerning mis-clicks. There are no Laws of Duplicate per se which deal with mis-clicks, because there are no such things under normal circumstances at in-person games.

The best course of action is to avoid mis-clicks altogether and you CAN do that. While logged in to BBO: (1) go to the Account tab; (2) then go to the Settings tab; (3) then set the sliding switch for Confirm Bids to the ON position. You can do the same to confirm cards played, but that’s up to you.

OK. You have done that but still mis-click. Here’s the latest procedure to be followed.

ONE: First and foremost DO NOT announce the fact that you have mis-clicked while bidding is in progress. EVER. But if you are asked about the bid by Opponent you can THEN simply respond "Mis-click."

TWO: IF your side becomes the Declaring side, announce the fact that you have mis-clicked immediately after the last pass of the auction. Just “chat” that fact to the Table at that point. You are obligated to provide NO other information besides stating which of your bids was a mis-click. DO NOT try to explain further or offer any information regarding your intended bid, e.g. “My 3 Club bid was a mis-click.” Period.

THREE: IF your side becomes the Defending side, DO NOT inform anyone until the last trick has been played. This will insure that the offending player’s Partner is not inadvertently given any clues to the defense of the hand. Stating a mis-click at that point is simply a courtesy and will not change results unless the offender has failed to follow any of these procedures.

If these rules have been followed, including setting BBO to confirm bids, then there will be NO ADJUSTMENT OF ANY RESULT. That is similar to the Laws of Duplicate which prohibit any adjustment to scores when a player simply makes a Mistaken Bid.

If ANY of these rules have NOT been followed, then the offending party will receive an Average Minus on the board for failure to follow the instructions of Director (existing Law 90). The score for the non-offending side may or may not be adjusted depending upon specifics of the hand.