[Chris L]

I took a call from someone directing at a local club last night. The evening had been underway for 20 minutes or so. On the first round, with cards dealt at the table, one member of the NS pair at a particular table had 14 cards and the other 12. Each member of the partnership faithfully recorded the cards they had on the relevant curtain card and proceeded to bid and play the hand, with no one at the table noticing the irregularity, and arrive at a result. The error was discovered at the next table, when NS counted their cards (without looking at them). NS at the first table were asked to correct the misboarding but said they couldn't as the hands were exactly as played.

Without having a law book to hand and not wanting to hold up their evening, I said that the result on the first round should be cancelled, with NS getting 40% and EW 60% and then someone at the first table should be asked to select a card at random from the 14 card hand to add to the 12 card hand, with new curtain cards provided, and the board could then be played normally for the rest of the evening. It occurred to me afterwards that maybe the board should have been re-dealt instead.

[pran]

Chris L, on 2014-August-29, 00:45, said:

I took a call from someone directing at a local club last night. The evening had been underway for 20 minutes or so. On the first round, with cards dealt at the table, one member of the NS pair at a particular table had 14 cards and the other 12. Each member of the partnership faithfully recorded the cards they had on the relevant curtain card and proceeded to bid and play the hand, with no one at the table noticing the irregularity, and arrive at a result. The error was discovered at the next table, when NS counted their cards (without looking at them). NS at the first table were asked to correct the misboarding but said they couldn't as the hands were exactly as played.

Without having a law book to hand and not wanting to hold up their evening, I said that the result on the first round should be cancelled, with NS getting 40% and EW 60% and then someone at the first table should be asked to select a card at random from the 14 card hand to add to the 12 card hand, with new curtain cards provided, and the board could then be played normally for the rest of the evening. It occurred to me afterwards that maybe the board should have been re-dealt instead.

1: Your ruling related to the first table was absolutely correct.
2: So long as neither North nor South at the second table had looked at their cards before rectification your instruction on how to rectify the deal was fully acceptable.

[ehhh]

As bonnie said to Clyde, "You done good".