[pilowsky]

New Yorker Article on Cheating in World Bridge
change in Tempo
scowling
angry looks
wincing
running the clock
etc etc

[sfi]

pilowsky, on 2019-October-05, 16:40, said:

change in Tempo
scowling
angry looks
wincing
running the clock
etc etc

These sorts of things happen at every club. They are far removed from the organised cheating described in the article.

[FelicityR]

Cheating at bridge. Never! We're British [Well, not after that alleged incident in 1965...]

But we have our fair share of corrupt politicians, government officials, sportspeople, tradespeople, bankers and financiers, antique dealers, second-hand car dealers, married men and women, benefit claimants, etc, etc, etc. in this so-called civilised country of ours who balance things out cheating-wise somewhat.

Where there's money there's always a 'fiddle' (an act of defrauding, cheating, or falsifying.) as my husband says. And he's about right there.

[pescetom]

I don't think it is a realistic or constructive poll. At very least you have to define cheating (there is a big difference between the organised collusive cheating described in that excellent old article and the more typical things you list) and then you have to ask yourself with what certainty people can say yes or (especially) no.

As a reference, here is what the WBF considers cheating, in descending order of gravity:
(1) Collusive cheating – pre-arranged methods of arranging
unauthorised information by a partnership:
(2) Obtaining information relating to hands – actively seeking
information regarding hands not yet played:
(3) Inadvertent cheating – obtaining information regarding a hand not
yet played and then acting on that information when the hand is played.

[pilowsky]

I am a little surprised by some of the responses. Obviously, the egregious type of cheating seen at the high end of the game is terrible. What ruins the game for club players (most of us) is the petty cheating. The transfer of information that happens at virtually every session. What is the point of having complicated conventions that we take pride in learning if when your partner fails to notice you can just jump up and down and say REVERSE. It is the equivalent of a club tennis player not saying when the ball is over the line or the golfer tapping the ball in the hole: Of course it is cheating. It sucks the fun out of the game.

[pescetom]

pilowsky, on 2019-October-06, 22:27, said:

I am a little surprised by some of the responses. Obviously, the egregious type of cheating seen at the high end of the game is terrible. What ruins the game for club players (most of us) is the petty cheating. The transfer of information that happens at virtually every session. What is the point of having complicated conventions that we take pride in learning if when your partner fails to notice you can just jump up and down and say REVERSE. It is the equivalent of a club tennis player not saying when the ball is over the line or the golfer tapping the ball in the hole: Of course it is cheating. It sucks the fun out of the game.

If you are surprised, maybe you should read what you wrote and ask yourself why others might be perplexed. If you wanted to discuss petty cheating it might be better to say so in the poll and to avoid linking an old article about serious cheating.

Having said that, of course there is petty cheating in my club, unfortunately. I've never seen one where there wasn't.

[Vampyr]

pescetom, on 2019-October-07, 01:12, said:

Having said that, of course there is petty cheating in my club, unfortunately. I've never seen one where there wasn't.

Yes but that players who do this are so poor you will probably get good results from them anyway. In some cases, naturally, a ruling might be necessary.

The one I hate is when I make a skip bid and RHO passes before I have removed the “stop” card.

[rmnka447]

I play at 3 clubs and the amount of "cheating" is pretty minimal. All the clubs have zero tolerance policies. Most of the players have played at the clubs for some time. If someone engages in any of these behaviors consistently, they will be told about it and action taken if they don't desist.

[helene_t]

I don't think that people consciously cheat that much. There are no money and very little prestige at risk.

When I have felt pressure to behave unethical myself it has (almost) always been because I was embarrassed of a mistake I made (maybe hoped that a revoke was not discovered?), or because I was playing with an abusive partner and was afraid that I would be harassed if I did not make use of the UI he/she transmitted. Since abusive partners are very common at club bridge, I am probably not the first or last player to have been in that situation.

But obviously it happens very often that people behave unethically because of poor ethical judgment or because of not knowing their obligations. Undisclosed partnership understanding and use of UI are quite common. And a few think that leading declarer astray by tanking with a singleton is a legal tactic.

And some people just can't control their display of emotions so they may sometimes gain by making opps or even the TD uncomfortable.

[Vampyr]

helene_t, on 2019-October-07, 18:36, said:

When I have felt pressure to behave unethical myself it has (almost) always been because I was embarrassed of a mistake I made (maybe hoped that a revoke was not discovered?), or because I was playing with an abusive partner and was afraid that I would be harassed if I did not make use of the UI he/she transmitted. Since abusive partners are very common at club bridge, I am probably not the first or last player to have been in that situation.

I hope you reported that player to the club management and the local disciplinary body.

[TylerE]

The problem is many club players don't consider coffeehousing cheating.

[Cascade]

rmnka447, on 2019-October-07, 16:44, said:

I play at 3 clubs and the amount of "cheating" is pretty minimal. All the clubs have zero tolerance policies. Most of the players have played at the clubs for some time. If someone engages in any of these behaviors consistently, they will be told about it and action taken if they don't desist.

Nice club.

[Zelandakh]

rmnka447, on 2019-October-07, 16:44, said:

I play at 3 clubs and the amount of "cheating" is pretty minimal. All the clubs have zero tolerance policies. Most of the players have played at the clubs for some time. If someone engages in any of these behaviors consistently, they will be told about it and action taken if they don't desist.

Unfortunately it is much more typical for the players who bring attention to such actions or who call the TD for infractions to be regarded by the members negatively and not those that are actively cheating. Basically my experience of bridge clubs is that they come in two types, those that take themselves incredibly seriously but see themselves as superior with an attitude something akin to a Victorian gentleman's club and "friendly" clubs where anything goes from the core members (but visitors will get ruled against routinely on any dispute). Trying to find a friendly club game that sticks to the rules is like searching for a unicorn, so I do rather envy you if your club is really as you write (unless it is actually of the first type).

[blackshoe]

Unicorns have a nasty habit of impaling people on that damn horn.

Regarding ZT policies, the clubs here put up posters about ZT when the ACBL made the posters available for free — posted for a while, I mean. Haven't seen one in some months. ZT is nominally in force here, but part of the ACBL's ZT policy is that the fact that it is in effect has to be announced at the beginning of every session — and it isn't, here. I haven't seen a ZT penalty in ages. Doesn't mean there haven't been any, but if there were, I haven't heard about it.

[661_Pete]

Failing to alert is seen by some as cheating, but surely it's only cheating if you have an undisclosed agreement?

Anyway - is my play here at all suspect? I don't as a rule overcall a 4-card suit, but nothing on my card says I can't. Especially as happened on a recent hand, where I overcalled 1♠ over 1♣ - making it more difficult for oppos to bid the red suits.

The opponents got to play the hand nevertheless and when spades were first led, my partner following, declarer muttered to her "you must be out now". Of course she shouldn't have made that remark, but nothing illegal about it.

Well, I took my cue from that and when I next came on lead, tried another spade hoping for a ruff. But of course it wasn't to be: declarer had simply assumed I had five spades. Anyway I came off the loser in this little exchange, so "Not Guilty Your Honour"!

[blackshoe]

Cheating is acting unfairly or dishonestly in order to gain an advantage. Like most irregularities in bridge, failing to alert is only cheating if you do it deliberately, trying to gain an advantage. Failing to alert means there is an undisclosed agreement, but that doesn't mean that anyone is cheating.

You can see two hands, so you know how many spades are in the other two hands. If partner started with a singleton, is declarer's bidding and play so far consistent with however many spades he must have started with? If so, then partner may have started with a singleton. If not, then he didn't. In the former case you might take the shot. In the latter, you should probably try something else.

[AL78]

I don't think there is much, if any cheating at my local club. The closest I can think of is a partnership where one has a tendency to bid super-aggressively, occasionally psyching, and one of the strong players theorised that his partner fields them. It has never been proved.

[pescetom]

661_Pete, on 2019-October-18, 14:13, said:

Anyway - is my play here at all suspect? I don't as a rule overcall a 4-card suit, but nothing on my card says I can't. Especially as happened on a recent hand, where I overcalled 1♠ over 1♣ - making it more difficult for oppos to bid the red suits.

The opponents got to play the hand nevertheless and when spades were first led, my partner following, declarer muttered to her "you must be out now". Of course she shouldn't have made that remark, but nothing illegal about it.

Well, I took my cue from that and when I next came on lead, tried another spade hoping for a ruff. But of course it wasn't to be: declarer had simply assumed I had five spades. Anyway I came off the loser in this little exchange, so "Not Guilty Your Honour"!

I'd be surprised if there is no section on your card about overcall style, and I wouldn't be happy if it was empty. In any case the fact that you didn't gain from non-disclosure does not in itself make you not guilty On the other hand, some would argue that it is "just bridge" to occasionally overcall on a 4-card suit (or for opener to reverse into a 3-card suit for that matter) so the issue of whether and how to disclose is real here.
I think this question is worthy of specific discussion and suggest you ask in the Laws and Rulings forum.