Cheltenham Bridge Club
Release 2.19s
Emergency CBC Contact

CBC's no. is 01242 522502. If an emergency please call Steve Bunker on 07901 173432 or email Steve

BBO Tips and tricks

  • Casual & Competitive Areas. Be aware that BBO operates with two separate areas: Competitive and Casual. When you first log in, you are in the Competitive area, but if you click on Casual you are taken to the Casual area. In the Casual area, clicking the 'Back' or 'Home' buttons will take you back to the Competitive area. You must be in the correct area: all CBC sessions and Team Matches are in the Competitive area, all privately set up games are in the Casual area. When you are in one of these areas, you will only see your online friends that are also in the same area, if they are in the other area, they will appear as if they were offline.
  • Wait in the Competitive area for CBC Tournaments to start! If you register for a CBC tournament (or any competitive event), stay there, and don't go to the Casual area e.g. to play a quick game whilst waiting. If you do, you will not get any notification when the tournament starts, and you will not be taken to your table - you may miss the start and even be replaced.
  • Problems when registering to play in a tournament. If you ever have any problems whatsoever, don't give up! Just send a 'chat' message to the Director (shown on the tournament listing as the 'host') and ask for UNBLOCK. To send a chat message click on the tournament, then click on 'Details', and then click on the name shown as the Host - you will be able to send a message if he or she is online. You may need to hang around for he or she to be online and to answer, but please persevere (send another message). If you can't get anywhere, send an email to admin@cheltenhambridgeclub.com and we will sort it out.
  • Show your real name. Go to the Accounts tab and type it in where it says Real name - this is helpful to others.
  • Bridge Solver. If you use the Chrome web browser to play BBO, then install the 'Bridge Solver' extension available from the Chrome web store. This will allow you to load BBO hands automatically into Bridge Solver from the BBO page for full double dummy solutions (even during play from History). For more details, see the links from this website.
  • Buying BB$ on iPad. Log in to Bridge Base Online from Safari and buy your credit there, rather than using the iPad 'app'. Buying BB$ using the 'app' will cost you more! Approximately £13.99 for 10BB$ on the 'app', rather than about £8.50 when logged in through Safari. Exact figures will depend on the exchange rate at the time of purchase.

  • Playing with or against Robots. This video gives an insight in Robot behaviour.

  • Reviewing Previous Boards. One of the most powerful features of Bridge Base Online (BBO) is the ability to review and replay every bid and every card that has been played, even days after the event. You can find all previous boards whether played in a tournament or on a private table. This document explains how to do this.

  • Playing Tips
    • If you are worried about misclicks, turn on the “confirm cards” and “confirm bids” settings in Account > Settings
    • You can call the Director at any time by clicking the 3 white bars menu at the top corner of the table.
    • If you click on an opponents name, BBO will bring up a panel giving their real name (if they have entered it),
    • You may be able to view your opponents convention card if they have made one. Click the 3 white bars and select EW Convention Card or NS Conventions Card.
    • If you click on the History tab, you will see the list of boards that you have played.
    • In the History tab, you can select any previous board and review. You can click on Other Tables to see how it was bid and played at other tables.
    • To alert your own bids, click the Alert button when it is your turn to bid. You can also type in a brief explanation.
    • During the bidding, at any time, you may click on your own bids to add a further explanation (to opponents).
    • During the bidding, at any time, you may click on opponents' bids to view or request an explanation.
    • During the play of the cards, you can view a recap of the bidding by clicking on the Contract.
    • During the play of the cards, you can view the last trick played by clicking on the face down played tricks.
    • You can claim or concede tricks by clicking the CLAIM button.
    • If your claim is rejected, you must play out the hand but your cards will now be visible to your opponents.
    • If you have any tips that you'd like to share, please let us know below: