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BBO has changed the Virtual Club listings. You should see the the game you are looking for listed when you go to Virtual Clubs - North America 2 hours before game time.
If you don't see the game go to Virtual Clubs and scroll to the bottom of the long list for all virtual clubs. For Four Aces search vacb233700. For Peak Bridge search vacb251645.
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When all players have finished a round the clock goes to the next round automatically. That is why sometimes you see a round end early.
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Sit Outs are now allowed in BBO Virtual Games. On BBO it will show a 0, but will be converted to No Play by ACBL. When at a Sit Out table, DO NOT BID.
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How does ACBL stratification work?
ACBL pair games on BBO are stratified. Pairs play based on the pair average.
This means that when each pair game starts, players are assigned into one of three "strata" (A,B,C).
The game ultimately produce three sets of winners -- one for A, another for B, another for C.
How do we determine which strata is appropriate for each player? We begin by assigning each player a computed "stratification" score (higher is better). This score is assigned based on several factors including ACBL points, BBO points, BBO "Star", and a couple of other things.
We then take the top third of the field and put it into the "A" stratum. We take the next third and put it into "B". The last third goes to "C". We then evenly divide the A, B and C players across the various sections and directions (NS or EW).
Thus, strata are relative, and depending on the nature of the field, a player might find himself in B, C, or A.
At the end of the game, a pair who is in B has 2 chances to win (A, B). A pair in C has 3 chances ( A, B, C). Masterpoint awards reflect this. Winning in A yields more points than winning in B. Winning in B yields more points than winning in C.
At the end of the day, the stratifications attempt to level the playing field by allowing "C" and "B" players to be compared to other "C" and "B" players (while allowing them to win the "A" if their game is good enough). Stratification never lowers the points you might win, and sometimes raises them.
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BBO Convention Cards
All Bridge Base Online (BBO) ACBL tournaments require that all pairs post a Convention Card (CC). If a pair fails to do so, they are required to play Standard American Yellow Card (SAYC) for the remainder of the tournament. (This requirement does not apply to non-ACBL games.)
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