Duplicate can be an intimidating environment for new players, particularly those accustomed to playing social bridge. Duplicate is a social game, to be sure, but it is also a competition and thus it incorporates a set of rules. Violations occur frequently: a bid or lead out of turn, exposed cards, insufficient bids etc. are everyday occurrences. Proper procedure when an infraction occurs is to call the director. Players who have committed one of these violations need not become upset, it is no different than a foul being called in basketball or a penalty flag thrown in football -- it just indicates that a (potential) infraction has occurred. Proper etiquette is for the player who calls the director to announce to the table what irregularity they have (or think they have) witnessed. This is followed by a polite, but firm (so they can be heard) "Director, please". There is no need for shouting, jumping up and down etc. The director will appear, and the player who called shall state what has occurred. There should be no interruption until that player is finished, unless the director asks a question. The director will gather information from both pairs, and act just as an umpire or official would and determine if an infraction has occurred, and what the penalty is. Offsides in football is a 5 yard penalty, an established revoke in bridge can be a one or two trick penalty (depending on circumstances). There is no need to become defensive or embarrassed if you happen to commit an infraction -- even experts revoke, bid out of turn etc.

Mechanical errors, such as revokes, have clearly defined penalties. Some infractions are harder to quantify, such as incorrect bidding explanations/failures to alert. The ACBL has not helped itself by creating a hard-to-follow alert procedure, and then frequently changing it. The rule of thumb I follow is to alert bids that are non-standard. One common mistake I see at the club is with regard to incorrect explanations. Here's an example:

RHO opens 1NT and you hold: Kxx AQTxxx Kx Jx. Playing natural overcalls, you decide to bid 2H and the bidding continues:

RHO	You	LHO	Partner
1NT	2	Pass	2
Pass	?

Now suppose that before your partner bid 2S, he alerted 2H as a transfer. Would your bid change? It seems logical to do so, partner thinks we have spades but we have hearts! However, to do so would be a violation. This is known as "unauthorized" information and cannot be used to make a bid or play. Your partner's explanation is for your opponent's benefit, not yours, you cannot use this information when choosing a bid. You must bid as if partner had not alerted. This can lead to some unfortunate results but perhaps that will help you and your partner agree on your system.

Sue/I play weak NTs and we encounter mixups on NT overcalls frequently. At the club, we are somewhat lenient, particularly to newer players, as we do not wish to get a good result in that manner. I try to inform those players after the hand is over about the use of unauthorized information. In a tournament, it would actually be unfair to the other pairs competing to not call the director. The director will hear from both sides and determine if there was unauthorized information, and then if that information was used improperly. An adjusted score may result. It is worth noting that the director should be called when the unauthorized information has (allegedly) occurred. Waiting until the hand is over and then calling the director because you got a bad result is considered poor form. Again, there is no need to feel slighted or singled out if the director is called to your table, experts have bidding mixups too. At a recent Nationals, a highly ranked pair played a 1-0 fit --- at the 5 level!

Unauthorized information can also arise from hesitations during the bidding and play. As you might guess, this information should not be used by the hesitator's partner (the opponents are free to use this information at their peril) when making a decision. This does NOT mean a player is not allowed to think, or that if someone hesitates they should automatically get a bad result. Again, if a possible infraction has occurred, the director should be called to make a ruling. A good rule of thumb is to avoid making unusual bids after partner hesitates. A slow pass or a slow double also makes life difficult for partner, and is most likely to result in an adjusted score. If I feel that I have taken extra time before making a bid, I will err on the side of bidding rather than passing (or doubling). That gives my partner greater flexibility with his next call. It is also useful to think ahead in the auction, planning rebids based on partner's response. You will find you are able to bid in tempo when you've planned your options in advance.