Last Laws Home Local Next

Restoring Equity after a Revoke

by David Stevenson, Liverpool, England, UK

--------------

When you revoke, sometimes the Law makes you lose no tricks, sometimes one, sometimes two, and occasionally more. Why is this? Is it fair? The Law on revokes tries to do two things:

  1. Punish the offenders to stop them doing it again
  2. Make sure that the non-offenders do not lose from the revoke (called restoring equity)

However, the aim is not to punish too harshly, so often there is no punishment on top of restoring equity. The rules for the basic number of tricks to be transferred are (summary taken from Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified by John Rumbelow & David Stevenson):

--------------

PROCEDURE WHEN A REVOKE IS ESTABLISHED

How many tricks did the OFFENDING SIDE win from the revoke trick onwards (INCLUDING the revoke trick)?

Tricks are transferred as shown to the opponents at the end of the hand

* Note: this refers to "a card that could have been LEGALLY played to the revoke trick", not necessarily reasonably!

--------------

This a lottery: sometimes the revoke makes no difference but two tricks are transferred! Best is not to revoke, then you will not suffer! If the revoke penalty is insufficient compensation for the non-offenders then there is RESTORING EQUITY. Suppose 3NT was making an overtrick but it goes 3 off because a defender revokes and kills dummy's long suit. Now the revoke cost declarer four tricks, and the Director will give those four tricks back: he has "restored equity".

--------------

Editor's note:

--------------
Last Laws Home top Local Next
Last
article
Laws
menu
Main
index
Top of
article
Local
menu
Next
article