FOULED BOARD

Mistakes happen unintentionally and sometimes a board is fouled, meaning that the cards of one or more players have been mixed with the cards of another player. Sometimes the boards, through inattentiveness, have been incorrectly replaced into to the pocket of the board. This circumstance has been discussed and several regulations govern this occurrence.

Fouling a board, for whatever reason, is a major misdemeanor in bridge competition, because the scores prior to and after the fouling can not be compared. The results have then come into question. It is the obligation of the director to determine at what point in the competition the fouled board was fouled. This is a very difficult task and the outcome of the competition may result in determining the exact moment, since the director must matchpoint the results is some fair manner in the two fields thus created. One field is when the board was not fouled, and the second field is the number of tables which played the fouled board before attention was brought to the attention of the director.

The formula, created by the World Bridge Federation, for scoring fouled boards and those score results needing adjusted scores was adopted by the ACBL in 1990. The formula is as follows:

M	=	Final Matchpoints on the board
N	=	Number of scores on the board
S	=	Matchpoint score in the group
n	=	number of scores in the group

The requirements or specifications demand that this formula applies to groups of 3 or more scores on a fouled board. The formula also applies to a group of 3 scores when it is the largest group, otherwise the scores in a group of 3 are awarded matchpoint scores of 70%, 60%, and 50%.

Equal scores in groups of 3 and 2 share the arbitrary matchpoint awards.

A single score is awarded a matchpoint score of 60% in each direction.

Matchpoint scores are rounded to the nearest 100th with .005 rounded up.

ACBL clubs, which score by hand, are permitted to use the earlier formula, a method which is not obsolete.

To guard against the possibility of fouling a board, no more than one hand should be removed from the board at a time during the determination period by the director. This situation is especially important when the opponents are not present during the determination period.

In board-a-match team play, the correct manner of handling a fouled board is a matter of regulation, which has been changed from time to time. Under the 1976 regulations of the ACBL, the scores, both North/South and East/West, are divided into two fields, before and after the fouled board has been discovered, and each field is matchpointed independently, and the percentage of possible match points for each pair then is determined. For each team that played the fouled board in different positions, the percentages are added and the board is won if the total is 120 or more, halved from 80 to 120, and lost with 80 or less. Results for teams that played the fouled board in identical form are computed in the usual way, since the fouling occurred either before both halves of the teams had played it, or after both halves of the teams had played it.

A board with two hands having an incorrect number of cards, for example 12 cards in one pocket and 14 cards in another pocket, is not fouled since no result can be achieved on this deal. The Law 13: Incorrect Number of Cards applies and the pair(s) who looked at their incorrect hands should receive average minus.

LAW 13 - INCORRECT NUMBER OF CARDS
When the Director determines that one or more pockets of the board contained an incorrect number of cards,  and a player with an incorrect hand has made a call, then when the Director deems that the deal can be corrected and played normally with no change of call, the deal may be so played with the concurrence of all four players. Otherwise, the Director shall award an artificial adjusted score and may penalise an offender. If no such call has been made, then:

A. No Player Has Seen Another's Card

The Director shall correct the discrepancy as follows and, if no player will then have seen another's card, shall require that the board be played normally.

1. Hand Records

When hand records are available, the Director shall distribute the cards in accordance with the records.

2. Consult Previous Players

If hand records are not available, the Director shall correct the board by consulting with players who have previously played it.

3. Require a Redeal

If the board was incorrectly dealt, the Director shall require a redeal (Law 6).

B. A Player Has Seen Another Player's Card(s)

When the Director determines that one or more pockets of the board contained an incorrect number of cards and after restoration of the board to its original condition a player has seen one or more cards of another player's hand, if the Director deems:

1. The Information Gained Is Inconsequential

that such information will not interfere with normal bidding or play, the Director, with the concurrence of all four players, may allow the board to be played and scored normally.

2. The Information Will Interfere with Normal Play

that the information gained thereby is of sufficient importance to interfere with normal bidding or play, or if any player objects to playing the board, the Director shall award an artificial adjusted score and may penalise an offender.

C. Play Completed

When it is determined after play ends that a player's hand originally contained more than 13 cards with another player holding correspondingly fewer, the result must be cancelled (for procedural penalty, see Law 90).

Where three hands are correct and one hand is deficient, Law 14, and not this Law, applies.

It is ACBL policy that the players who created the fouled board and who make it necessary to apply the formula should be penalized one full board. A fouled board in duplication that applies to one section only, and does not invoke the formula, is not so penalized.

 

 

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