Wantage Bridge Club

Code of Conduct, Procedure and Etiquette

Code of Conduct

Bridge is an extremely enjoyable game. Courteous behaviour is an exceptionally important part of that enjoyment. This guide serves as a brief reminder of how to behave at the bridge table. We are sure that all players naturally follow this code of conduct but there are times when concentration and pressure can take their toll and it is for these situations that we issue this as a reminder.

·       Greet others in a friendly manner prior to start of play on each round, introducing yourself to visitors.

·       Be a good "host" or "guest" at the table.

·       Unless you are playing a basic ACOL system, both players should have an identically completed convention card. Please make it readily available to your opponents.

·       Make bridge enjoyable for yourself, partner and opponents.

·       Give credit when opponents make a good bid or play.

·       Take care of your personal grooming.

·       Ensure that your mobile phone is turned off.

·       Enjoy the company as well as the game.

Remember that it is rude to criticise your partner or opponents in public, to be less than polite at the table, to gloat over good results or object to a call for the tournament director or to dispute or argue about a director’s ruling.

Please call the director if you think you may have been affected by bad behaviour. You will be helping others as well as yourselves.

Etiquette and Procedure

·       Always count your cards before looking at them. If you don’t have 13 cards, call the Tournament Director (TD).

·       Leave the board in play on the table, pointing in the right direction, until the hand is finished. This makes it much more difficult to put the hands back in the wrong slots afterwards!

·       Please enter all players’ EBU numbers into the BridgeMates as soon as requested by the TD or Scorer.

·       North (or South) should enter the board number and contract/played by into the BridgeMate as soon as bidding ends (but after making his lead if on lead). 

·       The opening lead should be made face down and any questions answered before putting your bidding cards away and before that player’s score card is filled in. Similarly, if you’re dummy, after the opening lead has been faced, put your hand down first, then put away the bidding cards and write down the contract.

·       Unless dummy has left the table, declarer should never touch dummy’s cards, even to rearrange them. This avoids arguments about whether a card has been played or not.

·       Dummy should not touch a card/play a card until asked to.

·       As declarer, if you can clearly see that all the remaining tricks are yours, claim them rather than play on. However when claiming you must specify clearly your line of play, including a statement about drawing any remaining trumps.

·       At the end of a board, make sure that all players are agreed on the result before putting the cards away. North (or South) should enter the score into the BridgeMate, and East (or West) should check and if correct, accept it. East (or West) should do this with the BridgeMate turned round in such a way that all players can see the subsequent percentage and results if desired.

·       Please refrain from discussing the hands as others, still to play the board, may overhear you.

·       It is North’s responsibility to make sure that boards are passed on to the correct table (or relay as appropriate) at the end of each round.

·       If the next round has been called and you are still to score up please do so speedily and refrain from spending time checking other people’s scores on the BridgeMate.

·       When playing a Howell movement, both pairs should check the Howell card at the beginning of each round to make sure that they are playing at the correct table, against the correct pair, and using the correct boards.

·       The laws of bridge do not permit players to touch other players’ cards without the express permission of the director [especially when sitting out].

Bidding and play

These points help to make sure that everyone bids and plays as fairly as possible.

• Don’t touch the ‘bid’ cards in the bidding box and then take out a card from the other section, or vice versa. In fact, try not to touch the box at all until you are sure of your bid.
• Use the ‘STOP’ card when making a jump bid (including opening bids): place the STOP card on the table, place your bid on the table, wait for about 10 seconds and then put away the STOP card. The next player shouldn’t bid whilst the ‘STOP’ card is still on the table. This automatically creates a short pause for thought, avoiding the inference that a player who passes quickly has nothing to think about.
• During the bidding, you can only ask an opponent for an explanation of a bid made by their side when it’s your turn to call. And you must ask the partner of the player who made the bid, not the player who made it.
• Don’t ask questions about the bidding while it is continuing, unless you need to know the answer in order to decide what your next call should be (because if you then pass, your partner might draw an inference about your strength, or your interest in the suit bid). Otherwise, wait until the auction is finished.
• The opening lead should always be made face down with the enquiry ‘Any questions, partner?’ Once it has been made it can’t be changed, but it shouldn’t be turned over until partner has asked anything he/she wants to know. For this reason, all 4 players should leave the bidding cards on the table until any questions have been asked and the opening lead has been faced.
• If there has been a misunderstanding during the bidding by declarer or dummy, this should be explained to the opponents before play starts. If the defenders think they have been damaged, they should call the TD. However, defenders mustn’t say anything about misunderstandings in their own bidding until the play of the hand has finished, when they should call the TD.
• If there is any hesitation in the bidding or the play, the partner of the player who hesitated must be very careful not to draw any inference from this and must bid/play as he/she would have done if there had been no hesitation. This is particularly the case if a player hesitates during the bidding and then passes.
• Don’t say anything about the hand while the auction is in progress, or during the play – unless asked for an explanation of a call, or lead/signalling/discard system, by an opponent.

Calling the Director

Finally, do call the Director at any time if there’s a problem during the bidding or the play – he or she is there to help, so don’t try to sort things out yourselves. The Director has been trained to help you when something goes wrong and will use the guidance set out by the English Bridge Union to make sure that any problems are dealt with fairly and consistently. Please call the Scorer if you have a problem with your BridgeMate or spot an error.