about to lead from the wrong hand, either adversary may require that
the lead be made from that hand.
63. Dummy is not subject to the revoke penalty; if he revoke and the
error be not discovered until the trick be turned and quitted, whether
by the rightful winners or not, the trick must stand.
64. A card from the declarer’s hand is not played until actually
quitted, but should he name or touch a card in the dummy, such card
is played unless he say, “I arrange,” or words to that effect. If he
simultaneously touch two or more such cards, he may elect which to play.
CARDS EXPOSED BEFORE PLAY.
65. After the deal and before the declaration has been finally
determined, if any player lead or expose a card, his partner may not
thereafter bid or double during that declaration,[14] and the card is
subject to call.[15] When the partner of the offending player is the
original leader, the declarer may also prohibit the initial lead of the
suit of the exposed card.
66. After the final declaration has been accepted and before the lead,
if the partner of the proper leader expose or lead a card, the declarer
may treat it as exposed or may call a suit from the proper leader. A
card exposed by the leader, after the final declaration and before the
lead, is subject to call.
CARDS EXPOSED DURING PLAY.
67. After the original lead, all cards exposed by the declarer’s
adversaries are liable to be called and must be left face upward on the
table.
68. The following are exposed cards:
(1) Two or more cards played simultaneously;
(2) a card dropped face upward on the table, even though
snatched up so quickly that it cannot be named;
(3) a card so held by a player that his partner sees any
portion of its face;
(4) a card mentioned by either adversary as being held in his
or his partner’s hand.
69. A card dropped on the floor or elsewhere below the table, or so
held that it is seen by an adversary but not by the partner, is not an
exposed card.
70. Two or more cards played simultaneously by either of the declarer’s
adversaries give the declarer the right to call any one of such cards
to the current trick and to treat the other card or cards as exposed.
70_a_. Should an adversary of the declarer expose his last card before
his partner play to the twelfth trick, the two cards in his partner’s
hand become exposed, must be laid face upward on the table, and are
subject to call.
71. If, without waiting for his partner to play, either of the
declarer’s adversaries play or lead a winning card, as against the
declarer and dummy and continue (without waiting for his partner to
play) to lead several such cards, the declarer may demand that the
partner of the player in fault win, if he can, the first or any other
of these tricks. The other cards thus improperly played are exposed.
72. If either or both of the declarer’s adversaries throw his or their
cards face upward on the table, such cards are exposed and liable to be
called; but if either adversary retain his hand, he cannot be forced to
abandon it. Cards exposed by the declarer are not liable to be called.
If the declarer say, “I have the rest,” or any words indicating the
remaining tricks or any number thereof are his, he may be required
to place his cards face upward on the table. He is not then allowed
to call any cards his adversaries may have exposed, nor to take any
finesse not previously proved a winner unless he announce it when
making his claim.
73. If a player who has rendered himself liable to have the highest or
lowest of a suit called (Laws 80, 86, and 92) fail to play as directed,
or if, when called on to lead one suit, he lead another, having in his
hand one or more cards of the suit demanded (Laws 66, 76, and 93), or
if, when called upon to win or lose a trick, he fail to do so when he
can (Laws 71, 80, and 92), or if, when called upon not to play a suit,
he fail to play as directed (Laws 65 and 66), he is liable to the
penalty for revoke (Law 84) unless such play be corrected before the
trick be turned and quitted.
74. A player cannot be compelled to play a card which would oblige him
to revoke.
75. The call of an exposed card may be repeated until it be played.
LEADS OUT OF TURN.
76. If either adversary of the declarer’s lead out of turn, the
declarer may either treat the card so led as exposed or may call a suit
as soon as it is the turn of either adversary to lead. Should they lead
simultaneously, the lead from the proper hand stands, and the other
card is exposed.
77. If the declarer lead out of turn, either from his own hand or
dummy, he incurs no penalty, but he may not rectify the error unless
directed to do so by an adversary.[16] If the second hand play, the
lead is accepted.
78. If an adversary of the declarer lead out of turn, and the declarer
follow either from his own hand or dummy, the trick stands. If the
declarer before playing refuse to accept the lead, the leader may be
penalized as provided in Law 76.
79. If a player called on to lead a suit have none of it, the penalty
is paid.
CARDS PLAYED IN ERROR.
80. Should the fourth hand, not being dummy or declarer, play before
the second, the latter may be required to play his highest or lowest
card of the suit led, or to win or lose the trick. In such case, if the
second hand be void of the suit led, the declarer in lieu of any other
penalty may call upon the second hand to play the highest card of any
designated suit. If he name a suit of which the second hand is void,
the penalty is paid.[17]
81. If any one, except dummy, omit playing to a trick, and such error
be not corrected until he has played to the next, the adversaries or
either of them may claim a new deal; should either decide that the deal
stand, the surplus card (at the end of the hand) is considered played
to the imperfect trick, but does not constitute a revoke therein.[18]
82. When any one, except dummy, plays two or more cards to the same
trick and the mistake is not corrected, he is answerable for any
consequent revokes he may make. When the error is detected during the
play, the tricks may be counted face downward, to see if any contain
more than four cards; should this be the case, the trick which contains
a surplus card or cards may be examined and such card or cards restored
to the original holder.[19]
THE REVOKE.[20]
83. A revoke occurs when a player, other than dummy, holding one or
more cards of the suit led, plays a card of a different suit. It
becomes an established revoke when the trick in which it occurs is
turned and quitted by the rightful winners (_i.e._, the hand removed
from the trick after it has been turned face downward on the table),
or when either the revoking player or his partner, whether in turn or
otherwise, leads or plays to the following trick.
84. The penalty for each established revoke is:
(_a_) When the declarer revokes, he cannot score for tricks and
his adversaries add 100 points to their score in the honour
column, in addition to any penalty which he may have incurred
for not making good his declaration.
(_b_) When either of the adversaries revokes, the declarer
may either add 100 points to his score in the honour column
or take three tricks from his opponents and add them to his
own.[21] Such tricks may assist the declarer to make good his
declaration, but shall not entitle him to score any bonus in
the honour column in case the declaration has been doubled
or redoubled, nor to a slam or little slam not otherwise
obtained.[22]
(_c_) When, during the play of a deal, more than one revoke is
made by the same side, the penalty for each revoke after the
first is 100 points.
The value of their honours is the only score that can be made by a
revoking side.
85. A player may ask his partner if he have a card of the suit which he
has renounced; should the question be asked before the trick be turned
and quitted, subsequent turning and quitting does not establish a
revoke, and the error may be corrected unless the question be answered
in the negative, or unless the revoking player or his partner have led
or played to the following trick.
86. If a player correct his mistake in time to save a revoke, any
player or players who have followed him may withdraw his or their cards
and substitute others, and the cards so withdrawn are not exposed. If
the player in fault be one of the declarer’s adversaries, the card
played in error is exposed, and the declarer may call it whenever he
pleases, or he may require the offender to play his highest or lowest
card of the suit to the trick, but this penalty cannot be exacted from
the declarer.
87. At the end of the play the claimants of a revoke may search all the
tricks. If the cards have been mixed, the claim may be urged and proved
if possible; but no proof is necessary and the claim is established
if, after it is made, the accused player or his partner mix the cards
before they have been sufficiently examined by the adversaries.
88. A revoke cannot be claimed after the cards have been cut for the
following deal.
89. Should both sides revoke, the only score permitted is for honours.
In such case, if one side revoke more than once, the penalty of 100
points for each extra revoke is scored by the other side.
GENERAL RULES.
90. A trick turned and quitted may not be looked at (except under Law
82) until the end of the play. The penalty for the violation of this
law is 25 points in the adverse honour score.
91. Any player during the play of a trick or after the four cards are
played, and before the trick is turned and quitted, may demand that the
cards be placed before their respective players.
92. When an adversary of the declarer, before his partner plays, calls
attention to the trick, either by saying it is his, or, without being
requested to do so, by naming his card or drawing it toward him, the
declarer may require such partner to play his highest or lowest card of
the suit led, or to win or lose the trick.
93. An adversary of the declarer may call his partner’s attention to
the fact that he is about to play or lead out of turn; but if, during
the play, he make any unauthorized reference to any incident of the
play, the declarer may call a suit from the adversary whose next turn
it is to lead.
94. In all cases where a penalty has been incurred, the offender is
bound to give reasonable time for the decision of his adversaries.
NEW CARDS.
95. Unless a pack be imperfect, no player has the right to call for one
new pack. When fresh cards are demanded, two packs must be furnished.
When they are produced during a rubber, the adversaries of the player
demanding them have the choice of the new cards. If it be the beginning
of a new rubber, the dealer, whether he or one of his adversaries call
for the new cards, has the choice. New cards cannot be substituted
after the pack has been cut for a new deal.
96. A card or cards torn or marked must be replaced by agreement or new
cards furnished.
BYSTANDERS.
97. While a bystander, by agreement among the players, may decide any
question, he should not say anything unless appealed to; and if he make
any remark which calls attention to an oversight affecting the score,
or to the exaction of a penalty, he is liable to be called upon by the
players to pay the stakes (not extras) lost.
[1] Frequently called “simple honours.”
[2] Law 84 prohibits a revoking side from scoring slam, and provides
that tricks received by the declarer as penalty for a revoke shall not
entitle him to a slam not otherwise obtained.
[3] Law 84 prohibits a revoking side from scoring little slam, and
provides that tricks received by the declarer as penalty for a revoke
shall not entitle him to a little slam not otherwise obtained. If a
declarer bid 7 and take twelve tricks he counts 20 for little slam,
although his declaration fails.
[4] He may consult his partner before making his decision.
[5] See Law 14 as to value of cards in cutting.
[6] This error, whenever discovered, renders a new deal necessary.
[7] A correct pack contains exactly fifty-two cards, one of each
denomination.
[8] One trick more than six.
[9] A declaration becomes final when it has been passed by three
players.
[10] For amount scored by declarer, if doubled, see Laws 53 and 56.
[11] When the penalty for an insufficient declaration is not demanded,
the bid over which it was made may be repeated unless some higher bid
have intervened.
[12] The question, “Partner, will you select the penalty, or shall I?”
is a form of consultation which is not permitted.
[13] The penalty is determined by the declarer (see Law 66).
[14] See Law 50_a_.
[15] If more than one card be exposed, all may be called.
[16] The rule in Law 50_c_ as to consultations governs the right of
adversaries to consult as to whether such direction be given.
[17] Should the declarer play third hand before the second hand, the
fourth hand may without penalty play before his partner.
[18] As to the right of adversaries to consult, see Law 50_a_.
[19] Either adversary may decide which card shall be considered played
to the trick which contains more than four cards.
[20] See Law 73.
[21] The dummy may advise the declarer which penalty to exact.
[22] The value of the three tricks, doubled or redoubled, as the case
may be, is counted in the trick score.
ETIQUETTE OF AUCTION.
In the game of Auction slight intimations convey much information. The
code succinctly states laws which fix penalties for an offence. To
offend against etiquette is far more serious than to offend against a
law; for in the latter case the offender is subject to the prescribed
penalties; in the former his adversaries are without redress.
1. Declarations should be made in a simple manner, thus: “one heart,”
“one no trump,” “pass,” “double”; they should be made orally and not by
gesture.
2. Aside from his legitimate declaration, a player should not show by
word or gesture the nature of his hand, or his pleasure or displeasure
at a play, bid, or double.
3. If a player demand that the cards be placed, he should do so for his
own information and not to call his partner’s attention to any card or
play.
4. An opponent of the declarer should not lead until the preceding
trick has been turned and quitted; nor, after having led a winning
card, should he draw another from his hand before his partner has
played to the current trick.
5. A card should not be played with such emphasis as to draw attention
to it, nor should a player detach one card from his hand and
subsequently play another.
6. A player should not purposely incur a penalty because he is willing
to pay it, nor should he make a second revoke to conceal a first.
7. Conversation during the play should be avoided, as it may annoy
players at the table or at other tables in the room.
8. The dummy should not leave his seat to watch his partner play. He
should not call attention to the score nor to any card or cards that he
or the other players hold.
9. If a player say, “I have the rest,” or any words indicating that the
remaining tricks, or any number thereof, are his, and one or both of
the other players expose his or their cards, or request him to play out
the hand, he should not allow any information so obtained to influence
his play.
10. If a player concede, in error, one or more tricks, the concession
should stand.
11. A player having been cut out of one table should not seek admission
in another unless willing to cut for the privilege of entry.
12. A player should not look at any of his cards until the end of the
deal.
THE LAWS OF THREE HAND AUCTION.
The Laws of Auction govern the three-hand game except as follows:
(1) Three players take part in a game and four constitute a complete
table. Each plays for himself; there are no partners, except as
provided in Law 7.
(2) The player who cuts lowest selects his seat and the cards with
which he deals first. The player who cuts next lowest sits on the
dealer’s left.
(3) The cards are dealt in four packets, one for each of the three
players and one for the dummy.[23] The dummy hand is not touched until
after the final declaration has been made.
(4) The dealer declares, and the bidding continues as in Auction,
except that each player bids exclusively on his own account.
(5) The penalty for a declaration out of turn is that each of the
other players receives 50 points in his honour score. A declaration
out of turn does not affect the right of the player whose turn it is
to declare, unless both he and the other player, either by passing or
declaring, accept the improper declaration.
(6) If a player declare out of turn, and the succeeding player either
pass or declare, the third player may demand that the mistake be
corrected as is provided in Law 5. In such case the player who first
declared out of turn is the only one penalized.
(7) The player making the final declaration, _i.e._, a declaration that
has been passed by both of the others, plays his own hand and that of
the dummy against the two others, who then, and for that particular
hand, assume the relationship of partners.
(8) It is advisable that the game be played at a round table so that
the hand of the dummy can be placed in front of the declarer without
obliging any player to move; but, in the event of a square table being
used, the two players who become the adversaries of the declarer should
sit opposite each other, the dummy being opposite the declarer. At the
end of the play the original positions should be resumed.
(9) If, after the deal has been completed and before the conclusion
of the declaration, any player expose a card, each of his adversaries
counts 50 points in his honour score, and the declarer, if he be not
the offender, may call upon the player on his left to lead or not to
lead the suit of the exposed card. If a card be exposed by the declarer
after the final declaration, there is no penalty, but if exposed by
an adversary of the declarer, it is subject to the same penalty as in
Auction.
(10) If a player double out of turn, each of his adversaries counts
100 points in his respective honour score, and the player whose
declaration has been doubled may elect whether the double shall stand.
The bidding is then resumed, but if the double shall be disallowed, the
declaration may not be doubled by the other player.
(11) The rubber continues until two games have been won by the same
player; it may consist of two, three, or four games.
(12) When the declarer fulfils his contract, he scores as in Auction.
When he fails to do so, both of his adversaries score as in Auction.
(13) Honours are scored by each player separately, _i.e._, each player
who holds one honour scores the value of a trick; each player who holds
two honours scores twice the value of a trick; a player who holds three
honours scores three times the value of a trick; a player who holds
four honours scores eight times the value of a trick; and a player who
holds five honours scores ten times the value of a trick. In a no-trump
declaration, each ace counts ten, and four held by one player count
100. The declarer counts separately both his own honours and those held
by the dummy.
(14) A player scores 125 points for winning a game, a further 125
points for winning a second game, and 250 points for winning a rubber.
(15) At the end of the rubber, all scores of each player are added
and his total obtained. Each one wins from or loses to each other the
difference between their respective totals. A player may win from both
the others, lose to one and win from the other, or lose to both.
[23] This hand is generally dealt opposite to the dealer.
THE LAWS OF DUPLICATE AUCTION.
Duplicate Auction is governed by the Laws of Auction, except in so far
as they are modified by the following special laws:
A. _Scoring._ In Duplicate Auction there are neither games nor rubbers.
Each deal is scored just as in Auction, with the addition that whenever
a pair makes 30 or more for tricks as the score of one deal, it adds as
a premium 125 points in its honour column.
B. _Irregularities in the Hands._ If a player have either more or
less than his correct number of cards, the course to be pursued is
determined by the time of the discovery of the irregularity.
(1) When the irregularity is discovered before or during the
original play: There must be a new deal.
(2) When the irregularity is discovered at the time the cards
are taken up for overplay and before such overplay has begun:
It must be sent back to the table from which it came, and the
error be there rectified.
(3) When the irregularity is not discovered until after the
overplay has begun: In two-table duplicate there must be a new
deal; but in a game in which the same deals are played at more
than two tables, the hands must be rectified as is provided
above and then passed to the next table without overplay at
the table at which the error was discovered; in which case,
if a player have less than thirteen cards and his adversary
the corresponding surplus, each pair takes the average score
for that deal; if, however, his partner have the corresponding
surplus, his pair is given the lowest score and his opponents
the highest score made at any table for that deal.
C. _Playing the cards._ Each player, when it is his turn to play, must
place his card, face upward, before him and toward the centre of the
table. He must allow it to remain upon the table in this position until
all have played to the trick, when he must turn it over and place it
face downward, nearer to himself; if he or his partner have won the
trick, the card should point toward his partner and himself; otherwise
it should point toward the adversaries.
The declarer may either play dummy’s cards or may call them by name
whenever it is dummy’s turn to play and have dummy play them for him.
A trick is turned and quitted when all four players have turned and
ceased to touch their respective cards.
The cards must be left in the order in which they were played until the
scores of the deal have been recorded.
D. _The Revoke._ A revoke may be claimed at any time before the last
trick of the deal in which it occurs has been turned and quitted and
the scores of that deal agreed upon and recorded, but not thereafter.
E. _Error in Score._ A proved error in the trick or honour score may
be corrected at any time before the final score of the contestants for
the deal or deals played before changing opponents has been made up and
agreed upon.
F. _A New Deal._ A new deal is not allowed for any reason, except
as provided in Laws of Auction 36 and 37. If there be an impossible
declaration some other penalty must be selected.[24] A declaration
(other than passing) out of turn must stand;[25] as a penalty, the
adversaries score 50 honour points in their honour column and the
partner of the offending player cannot thereafter participate in the
bidding of that deal.
The penalty for the offence mentioned in Law 81 is 50 points in the
adverse honour score.
G. _Team Matches._ A match consists of any agreed number of deals, each
of which is played once at each table.
The contesting teams must be of equal size, but each may consist of any
agreed number of pairs (not less than two). One half of each team, or
as near thereto as possible, sits north and south; the other half east
and west.
In case the teams are composed of an odd number of pairs, each team, in
making up its total score, adds, as though won by it, the average score
of all pairs seated in the positions opposite to its odd pair.
In making up averages, fractions are disregarded and the nearest whole
numbers taken, unless it be necessary to take the fraction into account
to avoid a tie, in which case the match is won “by the fraction of a
point.” The team making the higher score wins the match.
H. _Pair Contests._ The score of a pair is compared only with other
pairs who have played the same hands. A pair obtains a plus score for
the contest when its net total is more than the average; a minus score
for the contest when its net total is less than the average.
NOTE.--Some players in America are adopting the English rule, which
allows the dealer to pass, without making any declaration. The usual
expression is, “No bid.” Each player to the left may then pass in
turn, and if no bid is made the deal passes to the left. The lowest
declaration is one club, as spades have a constant value of nine and
are always “royals.”
The English rule is to score 50 for little slam and 100 for grand slam,
and some American players have adopted that rule.
[24] See Law 50. The same ruling applies to Law 54.
[25] This includes a double or redouble out of turn. See Law 57.
TEXT BOOKS.