Frequently used Laws of
Duplicate Bridge
1. Insufficient Bid (Law 18, 27) - for example : 1♠ - (1♦)
When a player makes an insufficient bid, and at once realising that fact, immediately makes his bid sufficient in the same nomination, there is no call for the Director.
However if the offending player hesitates and thinks about what to do, the Director must be called immediately.
In such case the following rules apply.
-
If LHO has already made his call the insufficient bid has been accepted.
- If the LHO has not bid as yet he
has the option to accept the insufficient bid. If LHO does so he may make his bid and the insufficient bid stand.
For example : 1♠ - (1♦) - 1♥
-
If offender's LHO does not accept the insufficient bid the
offender has two options :
- The offender makes a sufficient bid of the
same nomination.
In such case there is no further
restriction and bidding continues as normal.
- The offender makes a sufficient bid of a
different nomination or bids Pass or DBL.
In such
case offender's Partner must Pass throughout the remainder of
the auction.Also if the offending side becomes the Defending
side, Declarer may direct the Offender's Partner to lead or
not to lead the withdrawn (insufficiently called) suit, at his first
opportunity to lead (usual the Opening lead). The restriction remains
in place for as long as Offender's Partner retains the lead.
2. Penalty Card (Law 50)
A card prematurely exposed by a Defender is a penalty card. A
penalty card must be left face up on the table immediately before the
player to whom it belongs, until a rectification has been
selected.
- Major Penalty card
Any
card of Honour rank (A K Q J 10), or any card exposed through
deliberate play (lead out of turn, a corrected revoke) becomes
a major penalty card.
- A major penalty card must be played at the first legal
opportunity, whether in leading, following suit or discarding
(but the obligation to follow suit takes precedence).
- When a Defender has the lead while his Partner has a major
penalty card, he may not lead until Declarer has stated
which option he selects :
- to require the Defender to lead the suit of the penalty card, or
to prohibit him to lead that suit as long as Defender retains the
lead. In this case the card is no longer
a penalty card.
- not to require or prohibit a lead, in which case the
Defender may lead any card
In this case the penalty card
remains a penalty card.
- Minor Penalty card
A single card below the rank of an Honour (below the 10) exposed
unintentionally (as in playing two cards to a trick, or in dropping a
card accidentally) becomes a minor penalty card.
- When a Defender has a minor penalty
card he may not play any other card below the rank of an
Honour until he has first played the penalty card. But he is
entitled to play a Honour card instead. Offender's Partner
is not subjected to lead restriction.
(But
information gained through seeing the penalty card is unauthorised
information, in which case the Director may award an adjusted
score.)
Declarer's side
Any card from Declarer's or from Dummy's hand does not become a penalty card, and Declarer is not required to play a card dropped accidentally.
However Declarer must play a card from his hand if it is :
- held face up, touching or almost touching the table, or
- maintained in such position as to indicate that it has been played.
Defending side
When a Defender gains the lead while his Partner has a major penalty card, he my not lead until Declarer has stated which of the following options he selects :
- to require the Defender to lead the suit of the penalty card for as long as
he retains the lead.
In such case the penalty card is no longer a penalty card
and may be picked up.
- to to prohibit him from leading the penalty card suit for as long as
he retains the lead.
In such case the penalty card is no longer a penalty card
and may be picked up.
- not to require or prohibit a lead, in which case >Defender
may lead any card. In this case the card remains a penalty card.
Premature play of a card by a Defender
When a Defender plays his card to a trick prematurely before his Partner has played to that trick (or when Defender leads to a trick while his Partner has as yet not played a card to the previous trick), Defender's card automatically becomes a major penalty card. In such case Declarer may direct the Offender's Partner
- to play his highest card in that suit
- to play his lowest card in that suit
- not to play a specific suit (e.g. the trump suit) when Partner can not follow suit.
3. Opening lead out of
turn (Law 54, 53)
When the Opening lead is made out of turn, Declarer has three options
:
- Declarer accepts the lead
Dummy spread his hand as usual, then the second card to the trick is
played from Declarer's hand.
- Declarer accepts the lead and prefers to
become Dummy
In this case Declarer spreads his hand, and Dummy becomes the
Declarer. (Provided Dummy had not already faced part
or all of his hand on the table.)
- Declarer does not accept the
lead
In this case the lead is made from the proper Defender, while the
lead out of turn card becomes a major penalty card. The major
penalty card laws now apply.
4. Lead out of turn (later in the play : Law 56, 54D)
Any lead faced out of turn may be treated as a
correct lead. It becomes a correct lead if Declarer or
either Defender (as the case may be), accepts it by making a
statement to that effect, or if a card is played from the hand
next in rotation to the irregular lead.
If there is no such an acceptance of play, the
Director will require that the lead is made from the correct
hand. In this case the incorrectly lead card becomes a
major penalty card.
5. Revoke (Law 61, 62, 63, 64)
An offender may correct his revoke at any time before he or
his Partner plays a card to the next trick.
- If the revoke was made by the defending side the revoke
card becomes a major penalty card.
- If the revoke was made by Declarer or by Dummy the
revoke may be corrected without penalty.
The revoke is established (and can no longer be corrected)
after the offender or his Partner has played a card to the
next trick.
Penalty for an established
revoke
- If the trick on which the revoke occurred was won by the
offending player (with the revoke card), at the end of play
that trick plus one trick of any subsequent trick won by the
offending side are transferred to the non-offending side.
- If the trick on which the revoke occurred was not won by
the offending player (with the revoke card), at the end of
play only one trick of any subsequent trick won by the
offending side is transferred to the non-offending side.
Source : The Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2007, BridgeNZ (2004) Ltd, 60-D Woodland Rd, Jonsonville Wellington © 2007 World Bridge Federation
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