Hi,

This situation came up for me in round eight at GP Toronto this weekend. (And though I can't remember your names, I'd like to thank the floor judges who helped me negotiate this.)

My opponent won the first game of our match. In the second game, we both threw back our seven card hands, and then our six card hands. Before we drew five, I called for a judge.

I stepped well away from the table and said that I would like to offer my opponent an intentional draw in the game, knowing that this would mean that we would begin game three with seven cards each.

I had been informed by a local judge that he would consider telling my opponent what would happen (that we would both draw seven) bribery since I am offering my opponent the opportunity to redraw a full seven card hand. The floor judges told me simply to offer the intentional draw. (As I recall, the judge told me to say something very similar to “Would you like to intentionally draw this game and move to game three?”) My opponent did not know the implications of the offer and we again called for a judge to explain what would then happen. (As a postscript, my opponent declined because he thought the matches were three games, rather than first to two wins, and did not want a drawn match should I win the third game, but I only found this out after the match when I asked why he declined the offer.)

The above said, I could also see an interpretation whereby my telling my opponent that we would go back to seven cards would not constitute Bribery, but rather giving derived information. Which interpretation is correct, or should I always err on the side of caution, merely offer the draw and call a judge to explain the implications of an intentional draw in a game?

Further to the above, if I know my opponent knows the implications of an intentional draw (say because my opponent is a judge), would merely making the offer of an intentional draw constitute Bribery?

The more I think about this, the more curious I get.

It is perfectly legal to ask a player if they'd like to ID a game. You can even list facts about starting a game prior to asking, such as “players draw 7 cards when they start a new game.”

I think the question within the question is asking if there is an easiest way to ask for an ID while explaining the desired outcome (both players drawing 7 cards). Can a player ask “do you want to ID this game so we both draw 7?” - is this considered Bribery because its an incentive? Or is just explaining how the rules work?

Relevant MTR quote:

The decision to drop, concede, or agree to an intentional draw cannot be made in exchange for or influenced by the offer of any reward or incentive.

You are not offering anything to your opponent in exchange for the ID.
Policy dictates how many cards each player starts with, not the players
themselves. There is nothing illegal about explaining how policy works to
your opponent. If you are concerned about getting correct info from your
opponent, you can ask a judge to explain.

I don't see any bribery here. This is similar to saying, “If we intentionally draw the match, we'll both make top 8”. You are not offering to put them in top 8, you are stating a fact of the outcome.

You are explaining policy information. You are not bribing your opponent. You are not offering your opponent cards. The only entity that is giving your opponent the cards is the game rules.

Thanks for the clarification everyone. I like to get too wrapped up in technical language rather than see what is obviously in front of me.