THE AUCTION PERIOD

Auction Period Starts

The auction period on a deal begins for a side when either partner withdraws his cards from the board.

The First Call

The player designated by the board as dealer makes the first call.

Successive Calls

The player to dealer’s left makes the second call, and thereafter each player calls in turn in a clockwise rotation.

End of Auction Period

1. The auction period ends when, subsequent to the end of the auction as in Law 22A, either defender faces an opening lead. (If the lead is out of turn then see Law 54.) The interval between the end of the auction and the end of the auction period is designated the Clarification Period.
2. If no player bids (see Law 22B) the auction period ends when all four hands have been returned to the board.
3. When a call has been followed by three passes the auction does not end if any of those passes was out of rotation, depriving a player of his right to call. When this occurs the auction reverts to the player who missed his turn, all subsequent passes are cancelled and the auction proceeds normally. Law 16C applies to the cancelled calls, any player who has passed out of rotation being an offender.