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Play tough but fair
Play tough, be competitive, but be a good sport.
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Be pleasant to the opponents (and partner!). Welcome new opponents to your
table. Don’t conduct lengthy post-mortems.
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Don’t stare at opponents, their cards, or where in their hand they play a card
from.
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If you think an experienced opponent may have done something inappropriate,
speak privately to the official recorder.
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Slow players – make the effort to catch up; it’s not fair to use more than your
share of the clock, and finishing late disrupts the schedule. Claim if it’s
clear.
Make beginners welcome
New players are the future of the game we love.
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Make a special effort to explain your bidding fully to less experienced
players, and remember they may not know the methods and conventions you are
using.
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When claiming, state your line clearly and explain it if required. Less
experienced players may not see it as quickly as you.
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If opponents don’t yet know the bridge code of behaviour, explain (politely!) –
even better, refer them to this code.
Tell the opponents what they need to know about your system
Your opponents are entitled to know as much about your system and
style as your partner does ... the only secret in bridge is what cards you
hold.
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Provide two fully completed system cards
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Make every effort through alerts and explanations to tell your opponents what
they need to know about your system.
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No trickery, no tip-offs
You must not try to help your partner or fool your opponents by
anything but the bids you make and cards you play … bridge is not poker!
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Don’t tip partner off – and ignore partner’s tips. Ethical players will try to
avoid revealing mannerisms, and make a point of ignoring any information they
accidentally get from partner’s hesitations or mannerisms.
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Don’t deceive the opponents by hesitations or mannerisms. If you accidentally
hesitate without a problem, apologise: “sorry – I didn’t have any reason to
hesitate. I was asleep!”
Correct misexplanations as soon as you can
If partner accidentally misinforms the opponents, you can’t give a
correction during the bidding (because you mustn’t tell partner the correct
explanation).
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If your side becomes declarer, you must give the correct
explanation before
the opponents make their opening lead.
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If your side ends up defending, apologise and give the correct explanation at
the end of the hand. Call the director if opponents may have been damaged –
that’s why he’s there!
Hesitations
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You are allowed to think! But if you do take a long time over something,
it shows you had other choices. Your partner must not use that information to
influence what they do later.
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If partner hesitates, you can still pass, double or bid whatever you want (but
without – even subconsciously – using the knowledge that partner apparently had
other options).
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