“Terms of play”: how the tables are run
The standing rules of the board room and the counter hall, set down so that no guest need guess.
“Rules are for the guests' benefit”
I do not enjoy rules for their own sake, and I have tried to keep the ones below to those that I would be unable to do without. Each of them exists because the lounge could not run smoothly otherwise, and each can be explained in a sentence. If you find one that cannot, please tell me.
The rules fall into two groups. The first concerns the tables, where fairness and pace matter most. The second concerns the rest of the house, where the matter is chiefly one of comfort. Both groups apply to everyone, including the staff, the founder and anyone who has been coming since the first week.
Authority at a table rests with the dealer, whose rulings during a hand are final. Authority in the house rests with me, and I shall exercise it as gently as I can. I have never asked a guest to leave without first giving them the chance to put right whatever has gone wrong, and I do not expect to start.
Nothing here is played for money, goods or favours, and no prize of any kind is given. That is the most important rule of the house, and it is the one on which every other depends. The chips are counters, the tournament is an entertainment, and the board by the double doors is the only trophy.
I should explain how a rule changes. A guest may suggest one, or the dealers may ask for one, or I may notice that something keeps going wrong. I think about it for a week, write it down and then put it to the staff at the end of an evening. If it survives that, it appears on this page, and the previous version is discarded.
Where a rule is broken, I begin by assuming that it was an accident. The first response is a quiet word at the table. The second, if there is one, is a conversation at the door. I have asked three people to leave the house in my time here, and each of them returned within the month and behaved perfectly.
“At the tables”
- Every guest must be 18 or over, and identification may be requested at any time.
- Chips belong to the house, carry no cash value and are never bought, sold, swapped or taken home.
- Nothing is wagered, and no prize, voucher or favour is given at any table.
- Only the dealer touches the cards, the wheel and the dealer's chips.
- Players act in turn and wait until a hand is complete before discussing it.
- Telephones are silenced and kept off the baize while a hand is in progress.
- Advice is offered to another player only when it has been asked for.
- A player who leaves the table tells the dealer, who minds the chips for one level.
- Photographs of the tables, the dealers or other guests need their permission first.
- Disagreements are raised quietly with the dealer and, if necessary, with the manager.
- Guests do not remove cards, chips or equipment from a table, and do not rearrange them without the dealer's say.
“In the counter hall and the passage”
- Parties are asked to arrive within fifteen minutes of the booked time or to telephone.
- Allergies should be mentioned when booking and again to the waiter before ordering.
- The house is for adults only, and no one under 18 can be admitted at any hour.
- Smoking is not permitted indoors; the covered area at the side of the building is available.
- Coats and bags are left on the hooks in the hall, and the staff mind them with care.
- Food and drink are served by the house, and none may be brought in from outside.
- Furniture, panelling and fittings are original and old, and are treated accordingly.
- Raised voices, abusive language and unwelcome attention to staff or guests are not tolerated.
- Property left behind is kept at the front desk for a month, then passed to a local charity.
- The house may refuse admission or ask a guest to leave, and will give its reasons if asked.
- Mobile telephones are best used in the hall, where there is a bench and a good signal.