Trinidad, on Oct 26 2009, 07:40 PM, said:
bluejak, on Oct 26 2009, 05:37 PM, said:
So you have said unambiguously that if he says he is thinking about the rest of the hand he is lying and dishonest.
Thinking about the rest of the hand is not an excuse. You can play your singleton in tempo and not quit the trick.
So, if the purpose of thinking before playing the singleton was not:
- To mislead
- To think about the rest of the hand
- To disconcert the opponents
what bridge reason was there then to think before playing the singleton?
I have no idea.
But if I am asked to rule, I shall find out. What I shall not do is what is recommended here, namely
- assume he cannot be thinking generally without me investigating, and
- assume anything he tells me is a lie and proves he is dishonest
As with any other judgement,
I will go into it with an open mind and find out what is happening.
barmar, on Oct 26 2009, 09:11 PM, said:
Although a player SHOULDN'T think about the rest of the hand when it's his turn to play a singleton, he may IN FACT have done so. So it's a bridge reason for the hesitation, but a bad one. Players are strongly advised to do their thinking at more appropriate times, so you don't get into a situation where the only evidence in your favor is a self-serving statement about your reason.
Players are advised by whom?
Our job as TDs is to rule on things that happen, not to pretend we are gods who decree that players must do things the way we think and get all self-righteous when they do not.
It is clear from the Laws that you may think legally if it is does not mislead and is not for the purpose of disconcerting an opponent,
and we should rule on that basis, and not on the basis of advice that we are to assume players are lying nor that we disapprove of players who think when they want to and not when we tell them.