Indianapolis Bridge Center - Club Regulations

Indianapolis Bridge Center
8030 Castleway Drive
Indianapolis IN 46250
(317) 845-5887

Club Regulations

NOTE: This page is under construction.

Alerts and Announcements
We follow the ACBL tournament regulations for Alerts and Announcements. Click here to view them on the ACBL Website.

Allowed Conventions
For open games we follow the ACBL General Convention Chart. Click here to view it.
For games that are limited by masterpoint we have some additional restrictions. Click here to view them.

Bidding Box Regulations
Click here to view the ACBL Bidding Box Regulations

Psychs
A Psych is a bid that is deliberate gross departure froma players announced/agreed methods. Psychs are a legal part of Bridge. They must be as much of a surprise to the psycher's partner as they are to the opponents. When the partner begins to suspect that some bids may be psychs then those bids become "concealed agreements" which are not legal.
Psychs are permitted in open games at the IBC. In order to determine if a bid is a Psych or a "concealed agreement" the director needs to know if the Psych as been used before, particularly with the same partener. Therefore the IBC requires that ALL Psychs be reported to the director by the psyching player (the opponents should also report the Psych). The report must be made vocally before the start of the next round. In addition a written report must be given to the director by the psycher at the end of the game. Click here to view the full IBC policy on Psychs
Note: Psychs are NOT permitted at the IBC in club games that are limited to Non-Life-Masters or to players with 500 masterpoints of fewer.

Slow Play -- "Bridge is a timed event."
Slow play is the second biggest cause of complaints at most Bridge clubs. (The first is the room temperature.) Slow play disrupts the game and is rude to the other players. We all occasionally get a difficult hand that takes a bit longer to bid and play. That is NOT what we are talking about here. In those situations though we may finish that round a bit late we are expected to get caught up the next round. What we are talking about is players who regularly and repeatedly do not finish rounds by the time the timer reaches zero and who do not catch back up.

The Indianapolis Bridge Center does not give "Late Plays." If a board has not been started by the two-minute warning you will be given a "No Play." "Started" means that the bidding must have been started. The "two-minute warning" is when the clock beeps with two minutes left, or the Director announces "do not start a new board" or "move for the next round", whichever comes first. The penalty for starting a board after the two-minute warning is a full board.

Slow pairs will be warned by the director and given a couple of rounds to get caught up. Continued slow play will result in a 1/2 board penalty. A first "no play" is one type of warning. Another type of warning is the director saying "Please catch up." Failure to catch up or a second "no play" for a pair will certainly result in such a penalty.

Players (or pairs) who are chronically slow may be given a warning that extends beyond a single game and they will be subject to penalty for any "no plays".

Late Arrival
The Indianapolis Bridge Center makes every effort to start our games at the published times. In order to do this we appreciate it if you are at the club with your entry fee paid and in your seat at the starting time. If you are standing in line to pay the director, or getting a cup of coffee, or grazing the food tables then it is difficult for us to start the game.
If you arrive late the director doesn't include you in the count of the number of tables and won't be including you in the movement that they set up. They may not be able to adjust the movement to include you.
If you see you are going to be late (or even just barely on time) please give us a call (845-5887) and let us know you will be coming so we can keep a place for you. If you arrive more than a couple of minutes late you may not be able to complete all of the boards in the first round - please expect to get a score of average-minus on those boards, not a no-play.

Cell Phones
Cell phones should be turned off during games and classes at the Bridge Center. If you must keep you cell phone on because of work requirements or because you are expecting an urgent call please let the director know before the game starts. He/she will let you know how they want you to handle it.
Under NO circumstances are you permitted to talk on your phone in any room where a game or a class is going on. Go to an empty room or outside before you start to talk. Do NOT answer the phone and say "Just a minute" while you are in the playing room.
If you must keep your cell phone turned on:
--- please set it on vibrate rather than ring.
--- please keep it on your person rather than in your purse or coat pocket 4 tables away or in the closet
--- please stop the ringer/vibrator immedeately
--- Leave the playing-room/classroom before you start to talk on the phone.

Zero Tolerance

Score Corrections

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