[Sky Red]

There is a contested auction with all four players making bids.
Declarer in the pass out seat, picks up the bidding cards and half-way to the bidding box announces that it is intended to make a bid and thus continue the auction.
Opponents call the Director, claiming that the auction has ended.
Declarer’s defence is that she was distracted when the maid arrived with the tea and did not intend to pass.
Has the auction ended?

[shyams]

Sky Red, on 2015-October-08, 04:50, said:

Declarer in the pass out seat (emphasis mine), picks up the bidding cards and half-way to the bidding box announces that it is intended to make a bid and thus continue the auction.

This suggests the "final" contract was doubled by declarer's LHO and the distraction caused her to not notice the double. Is that correct?

[Sky Red]

It is meant to mean that there were three passes and if Declarer had then passed properly there would have been four consecutive passes. Instead of that, Declarer picked up the bidding cards and put them back on the table.

[helene_t]

I don't understand. After three passes the auction is over. Except if it was a passout but in that case there would be no declarer and the fourth seat would have no bidding cards to pick up.

I suppose it went so:
Declarer bids the final contract
LHO doubles.
Dummy passes.
RHO passes.
Declarer got distracted by the maid and picks up his bidding cards.

What does it mean that he got distracted? That he didn't see the double? That doesn't matter, his pass was intentional (unless LHO placed the double in such a way that you could say it was LHO's fault that declarer didn't see it).

[Sky Red]

Can I start again?

Declarer would have been the third pass (and so ended the bidding)
All the other players had previously bid
No one has doubled anything

Main question - can Declarer's actions be deemed to have been a Pass?

[helene_t]

But Sky Red, that just doesn't make sense. If declarer was the third pass, it must have gone:

LHO: something
Dummy: pass
RHO: pass
Declarer: pass

If "something" is a bid or a redouble then "declarer" would not be declarer.
If "something" is a pass then the auction has already finished.

So "something" can only be a double.

[blackshoe]

Blue Book 3Z C 3: Some players do not always complete the auction properly by laying a pass card on the table in the pass out seat. Usually this does not cause a problem. When a player acts in such a way as to indicate they have passed and an opening lead is faced they have passed. An action may be deemed by the TD to be a pass in the pass out seat (e.g. general ‘waft’ of the hand, tapping cards already there, picking up the cards).

Helene's right though - your proposed auction makes no sense.

[Sky Red]

another try

there has been a full round of bidding
Declarer makes a second bid
Declarer's LHO makes a second bid followed by two passes
Now it is Declarer's turn to bid again.
Instead of bidding, Declarer picks up the bidding cards, moves them towards the bidding box but stops half-way there.
Then declarer puts them back on the table with the intention of continuing the bidding

Q Is another bid allowed or by the actions of picking up the cards etc. is declarer deemed to have passed?

[shyams]

Sky Red, on 2015-October-08, 10:52, said:

Q Is another bid allowed or by the actions of picking up the cards etc. is declarer deemed to have passed?

No. I quite sure that's what blackshoe's post above explains

[RMB1]

Sky Red, on 2015-October-08, 10:52, said:

there has been a full round of bidding
Declarer makes a second bid
Declarer's LHO makes a second bid followed by two passes
Now it is Declarer's turn to bid again.

This makes more sense if "declarer" means "dealer"/"first to call" not "the player who will play the final contract"

[barmar]

RMB1, on 2015-October-08, 14:25, said:

This makes more sense if "declarer" means "dealer"/"first to call" not "the player who will play the final contract"

That's what I was thinking.

Maybe he meant the player who wants to become declarer by making another bid. Or maybe they actually DID allow him to bid, so he eventually became declarer, and now the OP is wondering whether this was OK.

[blackshoe]

Whatever you call him, I would rule under the EBU regulation that by picking up the bidding cards he has passed. He cannot then change his mind.

Under ACBL regulations, I would rule differently.

[VixTD]

blackshoe, on 2015-October-09, 10:01, said:

Whatever you call him, I would rule under the EBU regulation that by picking up the bidding cards he has passed. He cannot then change his mind.

I would rule that if their action was intended as a pass, then they have passed. If they thought the auction was over and they were just clearing up the bidding cards prematurely, they have not passed.

The EBU White Book has the unhelpful example of a player who picks up their cards after the auction:

1NT - 3♦ - X - P

having mistaken the double for a pass. The guidance says that they get another chance to call.

I think this is nuts. If the intention was to pass, they shouldn't get another go just because they chose an unorthodox means of passing.

[barmar]

VixTD, on 2015-October-09, 12:12, said:

I think this is nuts. If the intention was to pass, they shouldn't get another go just because they chose an unorthodox means of passing.

The problem is that this practice is so widespread that it's a denial of reality to call it "unorthodox". But it's only so common that it's condoned in the pass-out seat, which is why the regulation allows the do-over in this case.

The regulation is similar in spirit to the Law that explains how many incomplete designations from dummy should be interpreted. Ideally we would like everyone to make complete designations, but the lawmakers long ago realized that some things are hard to force people to do, so they made an accomodation.

[VixTD]

barmar, on 2015-October-09, 12:51, said:

The problem is that this practice is so widespread that it's a denial of reality to call it "unorthodox". But it's only so common that it's condoned in the pass-out seat, which is why the regulation allows the do-over in this case.

I'm not inveighing against the practice of picking up bidding cards to indicate the final pass of the auction (although I'd rather people didn't). What I don't like about the White Book example auction is that if opener had laid down a pass card at their second turn there would have been no going back, but they are allowed a second attempt only because they "called" by picking up their bidding cards instead.

[weejonnie]

Again not sure what is happening - however

LAW 39 - CALL AFTER THE FINAL PASS
A. Calls Cancelled
All calls after the final pass of the auction are cancelled.
B. Pass by Defender or Any Call by Declaring Side
If offender’s LHO calls before rectification or if the infraction is a pass
by a defender or any call by the future declarer or dummy there is no
further rectification.
C. Other Action by Defender
If offender’s LHO has not called subsequent to the infraction and the
infraction is a bid, double or redouble by a defender the lead restrictions
in Law 26 may apply.

So even if declarer is trying to continue after the final pass and makes a call nothing happens (and it would appear that if they did make a call then the defender has a 'free shot' to make a call to help the side without penalty.)