Mis-Bids and Mis-Clicks

1. Mis-click on play of a card

The Law is clear on this: " A card played is a card played".

Bridge Club Live rules are that a mis-click during play (i.e. you selected the wrong card to play) cannot be altered. Players are not allowed to leave the table to play a different card.

2. Mis-click of a Call

The Law (L25a) provides that under certain particular conditions an accidental call may be changed. A player may correct a mis-click provided a) the mis-click was accidental AND b) partner has not yet called after the accident.

Bridge Club Live rules are that while a mis-click (i.e. you selected the wrong bid compared to what you had in mind) may be corrected, we advise that if you can live with the call you should do so, as this makes for a smoother game.

Having said that, if you are genuinely “horrified” to see the bid that you have made and are thinking “Did I really bid that?”, then we respect the online laws and allow a player to leave the table and correct the mis-click.

So if you clicked 7 no trumps when you really did intend to pass, then this clearly falls under “genuinely horrified” and you may leave the table and pass instead. Again, the Law is clear that if you mis-clicked 3H when you meant to bid 3S, you may well be just as horrified but it won’t be as obvious to the opponents.

By all means leave, and apologise profusely, explaining it was a genuine mis-click. If this results in an incident report then, in practice, you may well get a sticky from the TDs asking what happened, but it will be handled according to the Law.

Please note that if partner has already made his bid, you may not announce that you have mis-clicked otherwise you would be passing unauthorised information to your partner, which is illegal, nor may you attempt to correct it.

It is extremely improper to deliberately make one bid, leave the table and return to make another bid, or to make another bid because you have now changed your mind. The onus lies with the bidder being honest that the bid that he or she made was not the bid that he or she intended at the time it was made.

Note that the definition of a mis-click is quite specific in that the bid that you had in mind is not the one you see on the table.

The following are examples of what should NOT be considered as a mis-bid/mis-click:

1) Your partner has opened 1NT and your right hand opponent doubles. However, you did not see the double and bid 2 hearts which would normally be transfer, but your bidding system is that after a double, all “systems off” ie 2 hearts here should be considered by your partner as natural.

You cannot change this call as the bid that you had in mind was 2 hearts which is what you see on the table. Write this hand to a lapse of concentration, and do not leave the table.

2) You misread the bids on the table and think partner passed when in fact he has bid 1 spade, and you pass when you have an obvious 2S bid. Again this cannot be corrected as this was down to your own misunderstanding.

3) You’re thinking to yourself “I’ll bid 4th-suit forcing” in an auction 1H 2C 2D and bid 2H. This bid cannot be changed as you weren’t thinking “I shall bid 2S”. In other words you must be clear in your own mind what bid you were going to make and that the bid on the table is not that one. It is possible that you thought that Hearts was the 4th suit, rather than Spades. This would be a mistake, rather than a mis-click, and thus it cannot be changed.

Remember, bridge is only a game and let’s make it a friendly one at that ;-)