March 2014 - 47

Newer Players

Upgrading Your Game
BY LYNN BERG



lberg@cfl.rr.com

Stop!
When is it OK to break tempo or
pause? There are times when you
should, times when you must and
times when you may.
It's always legal to pause during the
bidding or the play. For example, good
bridge players pause when the opening
lead has been made and the dummy
faced. We often hear that declarer
should make a plan, but the defense
should have a plan, too. What did you
learn from the opening lead? If an
honor has been led, you can often place
at least four of the top five cards in the
suit. Fourth-best lead? Use the Rule of
Eleven to locate cards and distribution
around the table.
Is the dummy what you expected
from the bidding? If not, you should
revise your assessment of the opposition's holdings, as well as refine your
idea of what partner might hold.
There are also occasions when a
pause is required during the bidding. If
the bidder to your right skips a level of
bidding - weak or strong - you should
pause (mentally, a slow count to 10 is
about right) while looking at your cards
as if interested in them. It matters not
whether the stop card is displayed or
for how long: You give unauthorized
information to your partner with an
unduly quick or slow action. The opponents are well within their rights to
get the director involved if you break
tempo and partner acts on the information imparted in that way.

Sometimes you really have a problem
in the bidding and you want to take
some time to figure out what to do.
That's 100% legal. You may take the
time you need. Once you have "broken
tempo," however, you may have limited
partner's options, because his knowledge of your difficulty has perhaps
given him information about your
hand. Your partner must be very careful to bid his hand as if there had been
no unusual pause.
If the opponents think your hesitation, rather than your bidding, has
influenced partner, they can call the diBridge is not poker.
Hesitating with a singleton
or pretending to have a play
problem when you don't isn't
just unethical, it's illegal.
rector to have the facts acknowledged.
After the board has been played, they
can call the director back to the table
if they think they've been damaged by
your partner's choices. They may ask
to have the outcome reviewed in light
of the hesitation.
If you would like to know more about
this topic, go to the ACBL website and
type "hesitation" in the search box.
You'll be led to the many cases of appeals at NABCs.
Outcomes after hesitations are often
sources of great controversy. If your
partner has had to stop and think,

avoid being unusually cautious or unusually daring. It's less likely to happen
in a club game, but don't be upset -
don't feel threatened or punished if the
director has been called when there is
a tempo break. There's nothing wrong
with taking time to make a difficult
decision.
Some hesitation situations come up
during the play of the hand. Especially
if you are on the dummy's left, try to
plan ahead how you will play after declarer leads. You should always strive
to play in tempo. Waiting to decide
until it's your turn tells the declarer
you have a problem - it can be a clear
giveaway of the location of a missing
honor.
Please remember that bridge is not
poker. Hesitating with a singleton or
pretending to have a play problem
when you don't isn't just unethical, it's
illegal.
Audrey Grant is famous for saying,
"A card should be played the same day
it's dealt." While it's true that on any
given play or bid you may take extra
time if you need it, remember that
generally, seven minutes are allocated
for each deal. You should keep in step
with the tempo of the game. If you are
slow, you create problems for the pair
following you, as they must try to make
up for your tardiness. We're all entitled
to play without rushing.
◾

March 2014 Bridge Bulletin

47
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2014
