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BGonline.org Forums
Another Tough Chouette Ruling
Posted By: Phil Simborg In Response To: Another Tough Chouette Ruling (mfic)
Date: Friday, 23 October 2009, at 12:43 p.m.
Let's talk about consistency. I believe the rules should be explicit and should be followed. Consistently.
But this is only possible if the rules truly cover what the "intent" of the rule is.
We have a rule that says that if you roll early, the roll does not count. That is very clear. But that is not a "complete" rule in that it does not help us with "contingencies."
If a player reaches for his dice, puts his hands over the dice, and it's a forced move, and his opponent has every right to assume that the dice were picked up or about to be, and he rolls a good number, and the player then says his dice were still down, should the fast roll be penalized?
What if he reaches for his dice but doesn't put his hand over them?
What if he slides the dice and it looks like he's picking them up but doesn't?
Yes, I do agree that everyone should be careful not to fast roll--I can assure you that I NEVER DO. But if a player "induces" another to fast roll, should the rule apply? I don't think the rule should apply, and I don't think the rules cover this properly.
What harm is there in covering this? In being more descriptive? What harm would there be in saying that "even if the move is forced and if there is no contact" the player must wait until the dice are up?
We have MANY RULES that are not explicit. Another example: the Crawford Rule. You cannot double on the Crawford game. But some people do, and there is disagreement, even between tournament directors, on whether a double that is accepted should count. Why not state that the double does not count even if mistakenly given and mistakenly accepted?
The rules say no "capricious" handling of the cube. Why not state that if you reach for or touch the cube or give any indication or statement that you intend to cube, YOU MUST cube? Why leave so much open for interpretation?
Sorry, but I fail to see where I am inconsistent. I believe in strict enforcement of the rules, and where I have a problem is where the rules are not complete and do not protect people from players who "accidently" or intentionally abuse the rules in order to take advantage of their opponent.
Another example: an opponent of mine "accidentally" put his checker on the bar during a bear-off where he was losing badly and had no chance of winning the game. From the bar, it would give him a double-shot that could win him the game. When he did this, we were chatting as the game and match were as good as over, and not only did he put the checker on the bar, his hand sort of covered this so I could not see it.
If I had picked up my dice, he would have been able to hit me and win the match. That is what the rules say should happen. The rules do not cover a contingency like this. No one can "prove" that he did this intentionally.
What the rules SHOULD say (IMHO) is that the Tournament Director has the responsibility and authority to ensure fair play and good sportsmanship to the best of his good judgment, and may overturn or revise any rule for this reason.
Accidentally or not, I should not lose the game because of this checker on the bar.
Now, back to the fast roll situation in the Chicago Chouette. Player B saw Player A make his forced move and in keeping with the rythmn of the game that was going on, he fully expected the dice to be picked up. Yes, he should have made sure the dice were up before rolling. That is what the rules say. But he had no reason to believe they would not be and in the "established atmosphere" of the game he rolled and when he hit, everyone expected it to just be a hit.
For Player A to wait to pick up his dice this one time, intentional or otherwise, and then want the other player to roll over because he hit, is a terrible "shot" and clearly unfair. If Player B had not hit, certainly the roll would have counted.
As happens in most controversies in our chouette, my opinion was asked, and I stated that the technical rule is that the roll goes over. As I was not the "director" I had no "authority" to change the ruling. But I did make a statement: I said that I thought this was a very unfair shot and if Player A wants to insist that the dice roll over, that is his right, and I told him I wished him a lot of luck finding a chouette that would play with him in the future. Everyone at the table, INCLUDING HIS PARTNER IN THE BOX, agreed with me, and the roll counted.
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