Communications Between Partners

In the game of bridge, skill in choosing a bid or play is emphasized. A strict code of ethics and courtesy is part of the game. The purpose of the Proprieties contained in Chapter VII, Laws 72 to 76 is to make the Game of Bridge more enjoyable for everyone, no matter what the situation.

CHAPTER VII
Proprieties

LAW 72 - GENERAL PRINCIPLES

A. Observance of Laws

1. General Obligation on Contestants

Duplicate bridge tournaments should be played in strict accordance with the laws.

2. Scoring of Tricks Won

A player must not knowingly accept either the score for a trick that his side did not win or the concession of a trick that his opponents could not lose.

3. Waiving of Penalties

In duplicate tournaments a player may not, on his own initiative, waive a penalty for an opponent's infraction, even if he feels that he has not been damaged (but he may ask the Director to do so - see Law 81C8).

4. Non-offenders' Exercise of Legal Options

When these Laws provide the innocent side with an option after an irregularity committed by an opponent, it is appropriate to select that action most advantageous.

5. Offenders' Options

Subject to Law 16C2, after the offending side has paid the prescribed penalty for an inadvertent infraction, it is appropriate for the offenders to make any call or play advantageous to their side, even though they thereby appear to profit through their own infraction.

6. Responsibility for Enforcement of Laws

The responsibility for penalizing irregularities and redressing damage rests solely upon the Director and these Laws, not upon the players themselves.

B. Infraction of Law

1. Adjusted Score

Whenever the Director deems that an offender could have known at the time of his irregularity that the irregularity would be likely to damage the non-offending side, he shall require the auction and play to continue, afterwards awarding an adjusted score if he considers that the offending side gained an advantage through the irregularity.

2. Intentional

A player must not infringe a law intentionally, even if there is a prescribed penalty he is willing to pay.

3. Inadvertent Infraction

There is no obligation to draw attention to an inadvertent infraction of Law committed by one's own side (but see footnote to Law 75 for a mistaken explanation).

4. Concealing an Infraction

A player may not attempt to conceal an inadvertent infraction, as by committing a second revoke, concealing a card involved in a revoke, or mixing the cards prematurely.

LAW 73 - COMMUNICATION

A. Proper Communication between Partners

1. How Effected

Communication between partners during the auction and play shall be effected only by means of the calls and plays themselves.

2. Correct Manner for Calls and Plays

Calls and plays should be made without special emphasis, mannerism or inflection, and without undue hesitation or haste (however, sponsoring organizations may require mandatory pauses, as on the first round of auction, or after a skip-bid warning, or on the first trick).

B. Inappropriate Communication Between Partners

1. Gratuitous Information

Partners shall not communicate through the manner in which calls or plays are made, through extraneous remarks or gestures, through questions asked or not asked of the opponents or through alerts and explanations given or not given to them.

2. Prearranged Communication

The gravest possible offence is for a partnership to exchange information through prearranged methods of communication other than those sanctioned by these Laws. A guilty partnership risks expulsion.

C. Player Receives Unauthorised Information from Partner

When a player has available to him unauthorised information from his partner, as from a remark, question, explanation, gesture, mannerism, special emphasis, inflection, haste or hesitation, he must carefully avoid taking any advantage that might accrue to his side.

D. Variations in Tempo or Manner

1. Inadvertent Variations

It is desirable, though not always required, for players to maintain steady tempo and unvarying manner. However, players should be particularly careful in positions in which variations may work to the benefit of their side. Otherwise, inadvertently to vary the tempo or manner in which a call or play is made does not in itself constitute a violation of propriety, but inferences from such variation may appropriately be drawn only by an opponent, and at his own risk.

2.  Intentional Variations

A player may not attempt to mislead an opponent by means of remark or gesture, through the haste or hesitancy of a call or play (as in hesitating before playing a singleton), or by the manner in which the call or play is made.

E. Deception

A player may appropriately attempt to deceive an opponent through a call or play (so long as the deception is not protected by concealed partnership understanding or experience). It is entirely appropriate to avoid giving information to the opponents by making all calls and plays in unvarying tempo and manner.

F. Violation of Proprieties

When a violation of the Proprieties described in this law results in damage to an innocent opponent,

1. Player Acts on Unauthorised Information

if the Director determines that a player chose from among logical alternative actions one that could demonstrably have been suggested over another by his partner's remark, manner, tempo, or the like, he shall award an adjusted score (see Law 16).

2. Player Injured by Illegal Deception

if the Director determines that an innocent player has drawn a false inference from a remark, manner, tempo, or the like, of an opponent who has no demonstrable bridge reason for the action, and who could have known, at the time of the action, that the action could work to his benefit, the Director shall award an adjusted score (see Law 12C).

LAW 74 - CONDUCT AND ETIQUETTE

A. Proper Attitude

1. Courtesy

A player should maintain a courteous attitude at all times.

2. Etiquette of Word and Action

A player should carefully avoid any remark or action that might cause annoyance or embarrassment to another player or might interfere with the enjoyment of the game.

3. Conformity to Correct Procedure

Every player should follow uniform and correct procedure in calling and playing.

B. Etiquette

As a matter of courtesy a player should refrain from:

1. paying insufficient attention to the game.
2. making gratuitous comments during the auction and play.
3. detaching a card before it is his turn to play.
4. prolonging play unnecessarily (as in playing on although he knows that all the tricks are surely his) for the purpose of disconcerting an opponent.
5. summoning and addressing the Director in a manner discourteous to him or to other contestants.

C. Violations of Procedure

The following are considered violations of procedure:

1. using different designations for the same call.
2. indicating approval or disapproval of a call or play.
3. indicating the expectation or intention of winning or losing a trick that has not been completed.
4. commenting or acting during the auction or play so as to call attention to a significant occurrence, or to the number of tricks still required for success.
5. looking intently at any other player during the auction and play, or at another player's hand as for the purpose of seeing his cards or of observing the place from which he draws a card (but it is appropriate to act on information acquired by inadvertently seeing an opponent's card ).
6. showing an obvious lack of further interest in a deal (as by folding one's cards).
7. varying the normal tempo of bidding or play for the purpose of disconcerting an opponent.
8. leaving the table needlessly before the round is called.

LAW 75 - PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS

A. Special Partnership Agreements

Special partnership agreements, whether explicit or implicit, must be fully and freely available to the opponents (see Law 40). Information conveyed to partner through such agreements must arise from the calls, plays and conditions of the current deal.

B. Violations of Partnership Agreements

A player may violate an announced partnership agreement, so long as his partner is unaware of the violation (but habitual violations within a partnership may create implicit agreements, which must be disclosed). No player has the obligation to disclose to the opponents that he has violated an announced agreement and if the opponents are subsequently damaged, as through drawing a false inference from such violation, they are not entitled to redress.

C. Answering Questions on Partnership Agreements

When explaining the significance of partner's call or play in reply to an opponent's inquiry (see Law 20), a player shall disclose all special information conveyed to him through partnership agreement or partnership experience, but he need not disclose inferences drawn from his general knowledge and experience.

D. Correcting Errors in Explanation

1. Explainer Notices Own Error

If a player subsequently realises that his own explanation was erroneous or incomplete, he must immediately call the Director (who will apply Law 21 or Law 40C).

2. Error Noticed by Explainer's Partner

A player whose partner has given a mistaken explanation may not correct the error before the final pass, nor may he indicate in any manner that a mistake has been made; a defender may not correct the error until play ends. After calling the Director at the earliest legal opportunity (after the final pass, if he is to be declarer or dummy; after play ends, if he is to be a defender), the player must inform the opponents that, in his opinion, his partner's explanation was erroneous.

Two examples may clarify responsibilities of the players (and the Director) after a misleading explanation has been given to the opponents. In both examples following, North has opened 1NT and South, who holds a weak hand with long diamonds, has bid 2, intending to sign off; North explains, however, in answer to West's inquiry, that South's bid is strong and artificial, asking for major suits.

Example 1 - Mistaken Explanation
The actual partnership agreement is that 2 is a natural sign-off; the mistake was in North's explanation. This explanation is an infraction of law, since East-West are entitled to an accurate description of the North-South agreement (when this infraction results in damage to East-West, the Director shall award an adjusted score). If North subsequently becomes aware of his mistake, he must immediately notify the Director. South must do nothing to correct the mistaken explanation while the auction continues; after the final pass, South, if he is to be declarer or dummy, should call the Director and must volunteer a correction of the explanation. If South becomes a defender, he calls the Director and corrects the explanation when play ends.

Example 2 - Mistaken Bid
The partnership agreement is as explained - 2 is strong and artificial; the mistake was in South's bid. Here there is no infraction of law, since East-West did receive an accurate description of the North-South agreement; they have no claim to an accurate description of the North-South hands. (Regardless of damage, the Director shall allow the result to stand; but the Director is to presume Mistaken Explanation, rather than Mistaken Bid, in the absence of evidence to the contrary.) South must not correct North's explanation (or notify the Director) immediately, and he has no responsibility to do so subsequently.

In both examples, South, having heard North's explanation, knows that his own 2 bid has been misinterpreted. This knowledge is ``unauthorised information'' (see Law 16A), so South must be careful not to base subsequent actions on this information (if he does, the Director shall award an adjusted score). For instance, if North rebids 2NT, South has the unauthorised information that this bid merely denies a four-card holding in either major suit; but South's responsibility is to act as though North had made a strong game try opposite a weak response, showing maximum values.

LAW 76 - SPECTATORS

A. Conduct during Bidding or Play

1. One Hand Only

A spectator should not look at the hand of more than one player, except by permission.

2. Personal Reaction

A spectator must not display any reaction to the bidding or play while a deal is in progress.

3. Mannerisms or Remarks

During the round, a spectator must refrain from mannerisms or remarks of any kind (including conversation with a player).

4. Consideration for Players

A spectator must not in any way disturb a player.
B. Spectator Participation

A spectator may not call attention to any irregularity or mistake, nor speak on any question of fact or law except by request of the Director.

You will always encounter bridge players who are sticklers, and who will point out any Impropriety which they think has been committed. Each case will always be decided by the Director who oversees the play and the players. His word is Law for any situation, which, of course, can be appealed. If any impropriety has been noted, then the director should be called to make a ruling.

Communication between partners during the auction and play should be effected only by means of the calls and plays themselves. Calls should be made in a uniform tone without special emphasis or inflection, and without undue haste or hesitation. Plays should be made without emphasis, gesture or mannerism, and so far as possible, at a uniform rate or tempo.

It is improper for communication between partners to be effected through the manner in which calls and plays are made, through extraneous remarks or gestures, or through questions asked of the opponents or explanations given to them. When a player has available to him Improper Information from his partner's remark, question, explanation, gesture, mannerism, special emphasis, inflection, haste or hesitation, he should carefully avoid taking any advantage that might accrue to his side.

It is improper to have special understandings with Partner regarding your bids and plays of which the opponents are unaware. The opponents are entitled to know about that fancy new bidding convention you and your partner have decided to try out, and you are obligated to announce it to them before the game begins.

In accordance with the above, it is the gravest possible offense against propriety for a partnership to exchange information through prearranged methods of communication other than those sanctioned by the Laws of Duplicate Bridge. The penalty imposed from infraction or normally expulsion from the sponsoring organization.

These are only a few of the general guidelines covering Propriety and Communication Between Partners at the Bridge Table. To ensure that everyone has a right to enjoy the game, these Laws have had to become part of the whole. Please observe them, but above all, remember the one about making any critical comment about the bidding of your partner and/or playing of the hand. You will only cause him embarrassment, and he will soon lose interest or become overly cautious. Remind yourself that you have done as equally bad or worse. Instead, try to praise him for a good try, and move on to the next hand.

There is nothing worse that a partner can do when he tries to a) solve the last hand and b) digest the observations and criticism of his partner while c) playing a new hand.

Zero Tolerance - As of 1998, the policy of Zero Tolerance has been adopted by the ACBL Board of Directors. In order to abide by this policy, each player should be aware of the penalties.