[BunnyGo]

So I'm back in Michigan, and have now been reminded about the players I left. I was playing with a random partner tonight, a rank novice (third or fourth game ever) who did quite well.

Defending a 3nt hand at the last table of the night, I was trying to telepathically will my partner into endplaying dummy for the setting trick (declarer had plenty of winners but had so badly butchered the hand she couldn't get to them).

As my partner was thinking, declarer tables her hand. I call the director, who comes over, and I explain, "my partner is on lead, and declarer has claimed by tabling her hand." This is agreed to by all. Director says, "yes so play has stopped." and I say, "yes, and any lead but a heart sets the contract now." At which point I start getting chewed out by the director that I cannot say this since my partner is on lead.

After firmly--but politely--disagreeing with her, she proceeds to ask my partner what she would have led. My novice partner, having never had a director call like this mumbles"...not a diamond, but probably not a heart either." The result was at least down one, but she was so terrible about it. I wish, just once, she'd actually know a rule when I called her.

Earlier in the night we had the auction:

(P)-1C-(P)-1H
(P)*-1N-AP

Before opener's second pass, third seat shouts, "I PASSED? You bid 1 club?!" I call the director, and she says that they must bid as if there were no outburst but there's nothing else to do (this is the same player--and his partner--who've been verbally abusing their opponents, and I mentioned this too). She says, I know of no other rule for rectification. So after the hand I walk over to the director and say, "it's a pretty big and glaring breach of the rules, I'd be surprised if a procedural penalty were not in order." She seems to not know what one is.

In any case, it was a bad warm up for this weekend. See some of you in Philly!

[gwnn]

I don't get it, why would anyone start shouting like that? What does it mean? When someone passes and then starts acts strangely it usually means they have length in opener's suit, but why would they say this? Anyway, they're on lead right?

[WellSpyder]

BunnyGo, on 2012-July-19, 22:42, said:

... I was trying to telepathically will my partner ...

My sympathies over the poor directing - as I think you realise there is nothing you can really do except vent as you have here (or play somewhere else and hope the standard of TD-ing is better).

But I was struck by an irrelevant thought when reading the extract above. I suspect everyone may do this - I know I do! But it's a pretty odd thing to do really, isn't it? I mean if it doesn't work what is the point? And if it does work it is clearly illegal!

[gwnn]

I had a guy in my club who said that telepathy works and some bridge players do it but the real telepathy experts are not interested in such mundane matters as bridge. The same is said about the million dollars from James Randi, somehow I don't believe either claim. It depends how good your pokerface is, if you can act the same whether or not you're sending out telepathic messages, it is almost surely legal to do it, because it is almost surely impossible to receive and interpret them to any degree of confidence.

[BunnyGo]

If you believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.

[BunnyGo]

gwnn, on 2012-July-20, 02:24, said:

I don't get it, why would anyone start shouting like that? What does it mean? When someone passes and then starts acts strangely it usually means they have length in opener's suit, but why would they say this? Anyway, they're on lead right?

It meant he had a 3=4=2=4 hand with 2 aces and a jack....who knows what he was thinking. Sadly it rattled my partner enough that with AT, xxx, QJxxx, Qxx she raised me to 2NT after 1C-1D-1N. Then I misguessed the hand because I figured he had to have something (length or strength) for his jackassery. Still got 4/7 MPs, but it pissed me off as this pair (together or apart) are always jackasses who think they know how to play.

[billw55]

gwnn, on 2012-July-20, 03:08, said:

I had a guy in my club who said that telepathy works and some bridge players do it but the real telepathy experts are not interested in such mundane matters as bridge. The same is said about the million dollars from James Randi, somehow I don't believe either claim. It depends how good your pokerface is, if you can act the same whether or not you're sending out telepathic messages, it is almost surely legal to do it, because it is almost surely impossible to receive and interpret them to any degree of confidence.

If I had reliable and demonstrable telepathy, I bet I could come up with ways to make a lot more than a million bucks, and without exposing myself so publicly as with Randi's challenge. Would I use it casually in a bridge game? No, it would be a clear violation of laws 73A1 and 73B2.

/hijack

[Vampyr]

When directors are very poor, it is necessary to complain to the club management. If enough complaints are received, the director in question may be replaced -- or sent on a training course.

[blackshoe]

Of course, if the director is the club management...

[shintaro]

blackshoe, on 2012-July-22, 07:21, said:

Of course, if the director is the club management...

You can then go and play elsewhere

[blackshoe]

Of course — if there's an "elsewhere" handy.

[Vampyr]

blackshoe, on 2012-July-22, 09:04, said:

Of course — if there's an "elsewhere" handy.

If there isn't, then create an "elsewhere". Setting up a members' club seems a good solution.

[ahydra]

I took an alternative approach - becoming a TD myself and asking to direct occasionally. I really wish I had had the confidence to complain about the very poor directing at my previous club though, for the sake of all the players there.

ahydra

[Vampyr]

ahydra, on 2012-July-22, 18:56, said:

I took an alternative approach - becoming a TD myself and asking to direct occasionally.

This will not help you as a player, though, and will not be that useful in a club with a sole proprietor/director. This person will not want to pay a director when he could do it himself for free, unless he wanted to play sometimes instead of directing.

[iviehoff]

gwnn, on 2012-July-20, 03:08, said:

I had a guy in my club who said that telepathy works and some bridge players do it

But it was largely stamped out at top level by the introduction of screens.

[Phil]

iviehoff, on 2012-August-01, 09:51, said:

But it was largely stamped out at top level by the introduction of screens.

Only if the screens contain lead or aluminum foil.

[JLOGIC]

The first one is terrible, director should know better.

The second one, sorry Bunny I love you but I think you're out to lunch to expect a procedural penalty at a club game for something like that. Procedural penalties are bad for business.

I guess the point was that the director didn't even know what one was, fair enough that's bad, but honestly I've never seen a procedural penalty given at the club and if a club director didn't even know they existed that would probably be fine in practice.

[BunnyGo]

JLOGIC, on 2012-August-01, 16:39, said:

The second one, sorry Bunny I love you but I think you're out to lunch to expect a procedural penalty at a club game for something like that. Procedural penalties are bad for business.

I know...was just venting. Had it not been for the other call, I'd've not brought it up.

[Zelandakh]

JLOGIC, on 2012-August-01, 16:39, said:

The second one, sorry Bunny I love you but I think you're out to lunch to expect a procedural penalty at a club game for something like that. Procedural penalties are bad for business.

I guess the point was that the director didn't even know what one was, fair enough that's bad, but honestly I've never seen a procedural penalty given at the club and if a club director didn't even know they existed that would probably be fine in practice.

At my local club, a pair got a penalty of, from memory, more then 2 tops for one of them verbally abusing their (first-time and I would assume also last-time) partner the whole afternoon. The person concerned actually does this every tournament, sometimes the opps too for that matter, but not quite so often (3 or 4 times per session rather than every round).

[JLOGIC]

Zelandakh, on 2012-August-02, 03:51, said:

At my local club, a pair got a penalty of, from memory, more then 2 tops for one of them verbally abusing their (first-time and I would assume also last-time) partner the whole afternoon. The person concerned actually does this every tournament, sometimes the opps too for that matter, but not quite so often (3 or 4 times per session rather than every round).

Is this considered a procedural penalty?

In USA this would be called a "Zero Tolerance" penalty, but that is just an ACBL term I guess, maybe it is technically the same thing but I was viewing them differently.

I agree that penalties for behaving badly should and do happen. Again, it's a business thing, giving penalties for that kind of thing is no doubt good business, even if it doesn't act as a deterrent (because at least people will feel like something is being done about it).

I would be shocked if someone got a procedural penalty for something like blurting something out in the middle of the hand that gave potential UI, these people are often just clueless and don't mean anything, as evidenced by the fact that the person who did it in this hand had a random 9 count...

People doing stuff like this happens to me almost every time I play at the club lol, YMMV.