[Free]

I've read about penalty's using big penalty cards and small penalty cards. What is the difference, and when are they used?

Note: perhaps there's another translation in english...

[mink]

Most penalty cards are "big" (major) ones. "Small" (minor) penalty cards only occur if a defender drops a card in the range 9-2 with no intention to play it. Such a minor penalty card is only required to be played if the holder wants to play a low card of that suit. That means that he can play any honor, ruff or discard another suit tough he has a minor penalty card.

Karl

This is the text of law 50:

Quote

B.  Major or Minor Penalty Card?
  A single card below the rank of an honour and exposed inadvertently (as in playing two cards to a trick, or in dropping a card accidentally) becomes a minor penalty card. Any card of honour rank, or any card exposed through deliberate play (as in leading out of turn, or in revoking and then correcting), becomes a major penalty card; when one defender has two or more penalty cards, all such cards become major penalty cards.
C.  Disposition of Minor Penalty Card
  When a defender has a minor penalty card, he may not play any other card of the same suit below the rank of an honour until he has first played the penalty card (however, he is entitled to play an honour card instead). Offender's partner is not subject to lead penalty, but information gained through seeing the penalty card is extraneous, unauthorised (see Law 16A).

[Limey_p]

Yes. A lead out of turn (by defender) is always a major penalty card. When you pull two cards out of your hand, the one not played can be a minor penalty card ...