FLORIDA SENIOR GAMES BID TOURNAMENT

REQUIREMENTS - All tournament participants are expected to conduct themselves in a respectable manner. Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated and offensive behavior may result in elimination from the tournament. - Reasonable “trash talking” is okay but “talking across the board” and any obvious gestures and/or intonations are not allowed. - Cell phones are to be set to vibrate please.

ASSUMPTION Tournament participants possess a complete knowledge of basic and thoroughly enjoy the fun and competitiveness of the game. As such, game rules documented here will address the guidelines for this tournament but not how to play the game or strategy.

START OF GAME 1. The Tournament Moderator will announce seating by team numbers assigned during registration. Two teams will be seated at each table in the play area. 2. Any one of the 4 players will shuffle the card deck and place the deck to his/her right to be . The cards can never be cut more than two times at any time during the tournament. 3. After the cut, the player who shuffled the cards will deal one card at a time face up, starting to the left, until the first diamond is revealed. 4. The player who received the first diamond will be the official dealer for the round. The deal then rotates clockwise until four hands are completed. 5. One player will be designated as the Table Scorekeeper. This player will enter the required information on the score sheet (round number, team number, team names, dealer). THE DEAL 1. Each player will have a chance to deal in each round. 2. The dealer must provide 12 cards face down to each player and put 6 cards in the kitty. A six-card kitty format means that there are 2 jokers in play. The Guarantee is the Little Joker. 3. The dealer cannot put any of the first four cards, last four cards nor consecutive cards in the kitty. 4. If any card is exposed during the deal, the same dealer will gather the cards, re-shuffle and re-deal. The deal does not “walk”. It is important to stay focused so as not to delay the game. 5. Players must not pick up their cards until the deal is completed and the kitty is placed face down in the center of the table. 6. Players must ensure that they indeed have 12 cards in their hand before bidding begins. - If all players have their twelve cards, the bidding will start with the player to the left of the dealer and continues clockwise. - If any player has more or less than 12 cards, the dealer has to re-deal.

FLORIDA SENIOR GAMES BID WHIST TOURNAMENT

THE BID 1. The minimum bid will be 4 and the maximum bid is 7NO. Bidding will be progressive, which means no ‘half-stepping”. 2. Once a bid is called, it cannot be changed. Players must always be aware of the score and keep in mind that the objective is to win the round. 3. The player who presents the highest bid, wins the bid for that hand and gets the kitty. - For a bid, the winner of the bid must declare the trump suit before picking up the kitty. - For a no-trump bid, the winner of the bid must declare either uptown or downtown before picking up the kitty. 4. Sporting the kitty is not allowed 5. The player who wins the bid will decide which of the kitty cards will be kept in his/her hand and then discard six cards face down. No other player will touch or exchange cards from the kitty. 6. During the bidding phase, the scorekeeper will record what happened (each bid, the final bid, winner of the bid).

THE PLAY 1. Play starts when the winner of the bid says aloud what the bid is and leads a card to the board. 2. Once play starts, no one can ask what the bid is. They can of course refer to the score sheet at any time. 3. Players must follow suit. If not, then a renege may be called. - If the bidding team reneges, the points for that hand are given to the opposing team. - If the non-bidding team reneges, the bidding team has the option to take the points or play on. Points are then rewarded based on the results. 4. During the play of a no trump bid, players holding jokers must play the joker(s) the first time a suit is led that he/she does not have in their hand. If not, this is considered a renege. 5. Players can not play “Ooops Whist”. A card laid on the table is a card played. 6. All books made must be chain-stacked by the bidder. 7. Closed books can not be reopened except when a renege is called. 8. All hands are played out to determine the points to be awarded. (Exception: Teams can agree amongst themselves to stop play of a hand when a bid is obviously set. Remaining cards are exposed to ensure no renege). 9. Making “odds” will not be allowed. 10. At the end of each hand, the score keeper will update the score sheet with the points awarded. 11. At the end of four hands, the round is over and the scorekeeper will total the scores for each team. 12. The team with the most points wins the round. The scorekeeper will sign the score sheet for his/her team as appropriate (Winner or Loser). The score sheet is then presented to the other team for review and signature as appropriate (Winner or Loser). Players must ensure that they agree with the scoresheet before signing. 13. If at the end of four hands a tie exists, one tie breaker hand is played in order to determine the winner of the round. 14. One member of the team rotating from the game table will take the score sheet to the Tournament Moderator. 15. Teams will continue to play until all rounds are completed.

SENIOR GAMES BID WHIST TOURNAMENT

THE SCORE 1. Scores/Points are awarded based on the bids 2. When a bidding team makes their bid or more, the equivalent points are awarded. In other words, “you get what you make”. The non-bidding team gets zero. 3. When the bidding team is set, the non-bidding team is awarded points equivalent to the bid. The bidding team gets zero. 4. No trump bids count for double points. 5. In the event a tie breaker hand is played, the points are not added to the original four hand total. 6. Scores cannot be disputed after the score sheet is signed off and submitted to the Tournament Moderator for official tally.

Any issues during the tournament that can not be resolved by the teams playing are to be called to the attention of the Tournament Moderator. The ruling of the Moderator will be final.