Bidding box
A
bidding box is a device used in
contract bridge for the purpose of making the bidding easier. It is a plastic, wooden or
cardboard box with two slits, each holding a set of bidding cards. The back holder contains 35 cards with symbols of bids (5 denominationsâ€"clubs (), diamonds (), hearts (), spades () and notrump (NT) in seven levels of bidding, numbered 1-7). In the front holder are stored Pass cards (usually 8-10 pieces, commonly colored green), a few Double (X, red) and Redouble (XX, blue) cards, an Alert card (light blue), a Stop card (red), and, optionally, a "Tournament director" card (orange). Each of four players has their own bidding box, normally held at the corner of the table; on
duplicate tournaments, boxes remain stationary on the tables.
Usage of bidding boxes has several advantages over oral bidding:
* It helps maintain the silence on tournaments, so that bidding cannot be overheard on the neighboring tables.
* The bids cannot be misheard, and it is far more difficult to make a bid out of turn.
* The previous bids need not be memorized, which helps players maintain concentration during bidding.
* The auction may be easily reviewed in any moment during auction (every player is entitled to review the previous bids whenever it is his turn to bid or play)
* Unauthorized information cannot be passed by means of the varying tone of voice or choice of different names for bids.
Bidding (auction) is performed so that every player makes a
call (a bid, pass, double or redouble) at their turn to bid, until it is concluded by a sequence of three consecutive passes. With the transition from
auction bridge to modern contract bridge, the bidding has become more and more complex, and
conventional auctions often last through several rounds of bidding. Such long auctions are hard to memorize and review. In addition, oral bidding causes noise in tournament halls, and auctions can be easily overheard on other tables.
Bidding boxes were invented in
Sweden in the late
1960s and first used at a
World Bridge Championships game in
Stockholm in 1970.
[BridgeGuys, Glossary B] Per Jannersten, Swedish bridge player and founder of the largest European bridge equipment manufacturer
Jannersten claims the invention; however, the
patent is disputed by the
Swedish Bridge Federation.
[ International Bridge Press Association Bulletin, Issue 409, page 21.]They quickly became popular in Europe, and after some resistance were accepted in
American bridge clubs.
[Slip of the Thumb with a Happy Ending, Alan Truscott, New York Times, May 3 1987] As of 2006, they are practically an indispensable part of the game, and even many
rubber bridge players use them at home.
When it is player's turn to bid, the player selects the cards from the bidding box and places them in front of himself. With standard, "right handed" (see
laterality section below) boxes, the calls are placed left to right on the table, newer overlapping the older ones, but so that the symbols remain visible. The 35 bid cards are cut so that the symbols form tabs, as in
phone books. When bid cards are used, the entire remaining stack below the desired bid card should be pulled out, (e.g. when bidding 1, cards of 1, 1 and 1 should be taken out also), but the topmost one (desired bid) covering the others. Pass, Double and Redouble cards are pulled out one by one.
The additional (non-call) cards are used as follows:
Alert card signals to the opponents that the
partner's call is not natural (
conventional), i.e. that its meaning might not be what they expected. As soon as a player makes the unnatural call, his partner is supposed to pull out the alert card and display it briefly, ensuring that both opponents see it (with
screens in use, players also alert their own calls, but only to their screen-mate). Sponsoring organizations
regulate which types of calls should be alerted.
*Use of
Stop card is optional with most sponsoring organizations, but if players use it, they must do so consistently for all
skip (
jump) bids. Prior to an own
jump bid, a player displays the stop card and makes the bid, moving the stop card back into the box after 10 seconds. The rationale for the procedure is that jump bids (
pre-empts in the first place) often pose a bidding problem for the opponents, and the left-hand opponent's fast or slow reaction after the bid can reveal whether his cards are bad or good. In order to prevent such passing of
unauthorized information, skip-bid warning mandates the next player to wait for a while with his bid, regardless whether he has a problem or not.
Tournament director card is held high in hand when a player summons the director (referee) after an irregularity happens at the table, so that he can spot him more easily.
At the end of auction (after the requested reviews, if any, are made), every player first pulls out his previous Pass, Double and Redouble cards and returns them to the front holder of the box. After that, all the bid cards from the table are simply stacked up and placed back into the back holder; in this way, the box is returned to the original state and made ready for the following deal.
When bidding boxes are used, the following rules apply
[Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge: Appendix related to bidding box and screen procedures]:# Players must choose a call before touching any card in the box. A call is considered made when a bidding card has been taken out of the bidding box with intent.# A call may be changed without penalty (under the provisions of other bridge laws) only if a player has inadvertently taken out the wrong bidding card, and the player corrects, or attempts to correct without pause for thought, and the player's partner has not made a call.#The skip-bid warning is given using bidding boxes by displaying the stop card, making a call and then replacing the stop card in the bidding box. The left-hand opponent is obligated to wait 10 seconds (while giving the appearance of studying his hand) before making a call.
There are two main types of bidding boxes construction: the more common ones are "free-standing" ones, held on the top of the table. The other, hanging variant is smaller, with two holders closely together, but attached to the side of the table using
C-clamps. The latter has the advantage that it doesn't occupy space on the table, but it can hamper the players' passage to and from the chair, so it gets damaged more easily. The free-standing boxes usually have a cover on the bottom, where the bidding cards can fit within when packed up, while they must be kept separately with the hanging ones.
The bidding cards are made of cardboard or thin plastic; like
playing cards, cardboard ones are more resistant to wearing (especially when plastic-coated), while plastic ones are more resistant to tearing. Manufacturers also offer the bidding card sets for purchase separately from the boxes.
Use of bidding boxes greatly improves the game for people with
hearing impairment. For tournaments where bidding boxes are not available, sponsoring organizations will allow their use for the tables where they play. In the case of limited availability of the boxes, people with hearing problems will have the precedence.
[BridgeGuys: Bidding boxes]Most bidding boxes (more precisely, bidding cards) on the market are suited for
right-handed people; the tabs of bid cards grow up from right to left side of the stack, and the printed symbols are right side up when the card is held with the right hand at the tab. That makes it somewhat difficult for
left-handed people, who naturally bid with left hand: they would normally hold the box at the left side of the table, and the card symbols on standard boxes turn upside down unless rotated in an awkward manner. Also, the natural order of placing the cards would be from right to left. Some manufacturers offer the bidding boxes for left-handed people, which are constructed (except for the placement of suit symbols on the tabs) and used as mirrored right-handed boxes. Tournament organizers generally permit the players to carry their own left-handed bidding boxes.
*
Bidding boxes on Jannersten, bridge equipment manufacturer
*
Screen (bridge)
