Low-level bridge play requires quite a lot of intuition, but high-level play is very much the opposite. Top players have basically a phone book of what every bid, every play means, and expect their partners to follow it exactly. The only communication allowed is through numbers and cards, and they must precisely follow what you have. In competition play, if anyone makes a strange bid or plays a ‘weird’ card, you may stop play to ask their partner what they understand by that, and they must answer correctly or risk having points deducted by the adjudicator if they were perceived to have mislead. It’s very mathematical.
Ironically, I quite enjoy playing with low-level players when it’s a laugh, but high-level players tend to start with OCD and build on top of that.
In competition play, if anyone makes a strange bid or plays a ‘weird’ card, you may stop play to ask their partner what they understand by that, and they must answer correctly or risk having points deducted by the adjudicator if they were perceived to have mislead.
Can you share an example of this? Sounds intriguing but I’m not sure what to search for (“bridge weird card (adjudicator)” ain’t it, apparently).
“Announcing and alerting”, and the adjudicator is the Tournament Director (TD). English Bridge Union rules on this are in their ethics book; basically the entire contents are on what information you must and must not share. I understand most bridge unions work the same way.
Low-level bridge play requires quite a lot of intuition, but high-level play is very much the opposite. Top players have basically a phone book of what every bid, every play means, and expect their partners to follow it exactly. The only communication allowed is through numbers and cards, and they must precisely follow what you have. In competition play, if anyone makes a strange bid or plays a ‘weird’ card, you may stop play to ask their partner what they understand by that, and they must answer correctly or risk having points deducted by the adjudicator if they were perceived to have mislead. It’s very mathematical.
Ironically, I quite enjoy playing with low-level players when it’s a laugh, but high-level players tend to start with OCD and build on top of that.
Can you share an example of this? Sounds intriguing but I’m not sure what to search for (“bridge weird card (adjudicator)” ain’t it, apparently).
“Announcing and alerting”, and the adjudicator is the Tournament Director (TD). English Bridge Union rules on this are in their ethics book; basically the entire contents are on what information you must and must not share. I understand most bridge unions work the same way.
https://www.ebu.co.uk/documents/laws-and-ethics/blue-book/blue-book.pdf