Basic Bridge Protocols

What every player should know about the laws of bridge

While the basic rules of bridge are relatively simple, the laws that govern some of the intricacies of the game are more complex. This especially applies in situations where an irregularity, something outside the rules, has occurred. The purpose of this section is to cover some of these basic procedures, so you'll know what to do if these situations arise. Before getting into the heavier stuff, however, I want to review procedures for disclosing information to the opponents.

Alerts and Announcements

When a bid made by your partnership has an unusual or unexpected meaning, it is necessary to bring this fact to the attention of the opponents. These bids are called alertable and are marked in red on the ACBL convention card. Anything not having its own place on the card can also be assumed to be alertable. The alert is given by the partner of the player who made the bid. When your partner makes an alertable bid, the corect procedure is to say "alert," and, if using bidding boxes, to tap the alert strip or show the alert card. Do not offer further explanation of the bid until and unless one of the opponents asks for information. If one of the opponents does ask, you must provide an explanation of the bid's meaning, according to your partnership agreement. First, note that the name of the convention is not sufficient (though, if it is a well known convention, you can start with this and see if that tells the opponents what they need to know). Second, the opponents are entitled to know your partnership agreement, but they are not entitled to know any additional information about your partner's bid that you can deduce from your own hand. For example, if partner makes an artificial bid showing, say, exactly one major suit, and you can tell from the auction and your own hand that this suit must be spades, you need (and should) only tell the opponents that partner has one major, do not reveal that you can tell which it is. For the proper procedure for inquiring about the opponents' bids, see the next section.

In addition to the alertable bids, some bids are announced. These are marked in blue on the ACBL convention card and indicate that when one of these bids is made, the bidder's partner should make an announcement to the opponents. There are only a few announced bids and they are:

Opening of 1NT - When partner opens 1NT, announce the point range. In standard this is usually 15-17.
Transfer Bids - When partner makes a Jacoby or Texas transfer, announce this to the opponents by saying "transfer."
Short Minors - In some systems (or system variants) an opening bid of 1 or 1 might not promise at least a 3-card suit. In this case, when partner makes one of these bids, inform the opponents by saying "could be short."
Forcing 1NT - In some systems, most notably 2/1, a response of 1NT (possibly only by an unpassed hand) to 1 or 1 is a one-round force. If partner makes this bid, inform the opponents by announcing "forcing." In some partnerships this bid, when made by a passed hand, is forcing unless opener made a real stretch to open. In this case the bid is termed "semi-forcing," and this should be announced to the opponents. (P.S. don't get me started on how "semi-forcing" doesn't really make sense. I know, I comment on it often).
2 waiting over 2 strong - This one is actually not in blue on the convention card, but I've found it customary to announce "waiting" if this bid is a waiting bid, rather than a negative one.

It should be noted that these announced bids are not alertable. One of the common "mistakes" made in these procedures is that players alert their partners' forcing 1NT responses rather than announcing "forcing." Nothing bad will happen if you this, except that the bridge-rules-know-it-all sitting on your left or right will snicker inwardly.

Inquiries about Bids' Meanings

Since each player is entitled to know what the opponents' bids mean, everyone will, at some point, want to ask the opponents for an explanation. This is often the case after an alert, but questions can be asked about any bid. Here are some rules / guidelines to follow when asking or being asked about a bid.

When asking about a bid:

Ask only at your turn to call. This is actually a solid rule. If it's partner's turn to call and he's not asking about the bid, wait until your turn. There is no limit on how far back in the auction you can refer when asking a question.
To inquire about a bid, the best way to ask is to say "please explain." Other common queries are along the lines of "what does the <name of bid here> mean?" Do not ask "how do you take this bid?" This will probably get you an answer, and for how to respond to it, see the next section, but technically this is asking for information to which you are not entitled. Also, if you want to know about a bid, it's best to speak up. One partner of mine (I won't mention any names) often "asks" about a bid by looking at the opponent he wishes to ask (with an inquisitive look) and waiting for an explanation. This manner of doing thinks is not (if done politely) rude or necessarily improper, but if the opponents are looking at their own cards instead of you, it may take them a while to notice you have a question.
Don't ask about a bid if your actions do not depend on the answers you may get: for example, if you know you're going to pass. You can always ask about the bid at the end of the auction. The reason for this is that there is potential to send unauthorized information to partner ("pssst! partner, this bid looks interesting, pay attention!") or could wake up the opponents to the fact that one of them has misbid. It also takes up time. An exception to this general rule is that at informal games where learning is the main focus, questions should be encouraged.

When an opponent asks about your partner's bid:

Explain your partnership agreement regarding the meaning of the bid. I usually start with the convention name, if it is a well-known convention. Note that this is not technically sufficient. It is often functionally sufficient as the opponents will know the meaning if they know the convention. However, if further information is requested, provide it. For lesser known conventions, it's often not even worth mentioning the convention name, just give the explanation
The opponents are entitled to know your partnership agreement. If you don't have one, say "no agreement." If you cannot remember your agreement (try and avoid this), say so. Do not guess what the bid means as this can lead to unauthorized information for partner and misinformation for the opponents, both of which you want to avoid.
If an opponent asks "how do you take that bid?" or any equivalent statement, answer as though they simply asked for your agreement. If you have no agreement and say so, or your explanation of the agreement does not satisfy them, try to repeat or rephrase. If they still want to know how you are interpreting the bid in this particular situation, as opposed to what your agreement is, politely inform them that they are not entitled to that information. If they continue to persist, call the director.

It should be noted that this kind of thing also applies to defensive signals. Say you lead an honor to a trick and your partner signals with the 6. The opponents can ask what your signals are, and you should inform them (standard or upside-down, usually). If they persist, wanting to know what the 6 means, the proper answer (for standard signals) is "if the 6 is high it's encouraging and if it is low it is discouraging." You need (and should) not reveal anything further, such as if you know whether the 6 is high or low from partner's hand.

Unauthorized Information (UI)

What is unauthorized information? When playing, you have access to information from your owbn hand and from what other players say and do. Authorized information is informaion you receive from one of the following:

Your own hand.
Legal calls or plays made by your partner.
(Almost) any action taking by either opponent.

Unauthorized information is everything else. When deciding on a call or play, you may only use authorized information to make that decision. It is not a violation of bridge law to send or receive UI, only to use it in making bridge decisions.

If you play bridge, you will send and receive unauthorized information to/from your partner. You can, and should, try to minimize it, but you will never get rid of it completely, so don't panic if it happens. The important thing is what you do when it does happen.

If you are in possession of UI, first know that there is a good chance the director will be called, if this hasn't happened already. The law regarding UI says: a player may not choose, from available logical alternatives, one demonstrably suggested by the UI. So, when considering a call, think about all the calls you might reasonably make. If one of the them is suggested over another by the UI, don't make the suggested one. This can be hard to do, a good general guideline is "pretend you didn't hear/see the UI." The director might end up making an adjustment, but if you follow this rule, it is highly unlikely that you could end up in real trouble.

Tips to minimize UI:

Don't reach for the bidding box or detach a card from your hand until you've decided what to do.
Take time to think when bidding if you need to, but try above all to avoid hesitating and then passing.
Think about your next action even when it's not your call. This gives you more time to figure out what you want to do. However, don't do this to the exclusion of following the auction. It's also important to know what everyone else is doing.

Misinformation (MI)

Misinformation is the incorrect explanation of a partnership's agreement to the opponents. Note that this is not the same as an incorrect explanation by one opponent of what their partner actually holds. If one of the opponents misbids, you can have the latter without it being MI, so long as the explanation you got was correct with respect to the opponents' agreement. If you think you have received MI from the opponents, call the director immediately. The director may simply monitor the auction and allow play to proceed. If, at the end of the hand, you think you may have been damaged by the MI, call the director back and let him sort it out.

If your partner has misexplained one of your bids, you must inform the opponents. The question is when to inform them, and the answer depends on who ends up declaring. If your side declares, inform your opponents of the MI immediately after the auction ends and before the opening lead is made. They may call the director then, if so, follow any instructions you receive. If your side ends up defending, do not reveal the MI until the end of the hand. The reason is that explaining the MI sooner will provide unauthorized information to partner (that your bid earlier did not mean what he thought it meant). Again, the opponents may call the director at this time, and if so, follow any instructions you receive.