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HOW TO REGISTER AND USE BBO
Registering with BBO
1) In an Internet web browser (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome etc) Go to www.bridgebase.com
2) Click ‘Play bridge now’ (red button in centre)
3) Click ‘Become a member (free!)
4) Type in a User name. It will need to be unique and it will show ‘Unavailable’ in blue if your chosen User name is already taken. Try adding a number or choose an unusual nickname if your preferred username is unavailable.
5) Type in a password and then type in the password again. The password may only contain letters and numbers. Type in your email address, this will be held by BBO but will not be made public.
6) Type in your real name if you want that to be displayed to other BBO users, otherwise leave this blank. Leave the ACBL number field blank. It should look something like this:
7) Click the checkbox for ‘I agree to the Terms of Service’
8) Click Register. BBO will then send you an email to the email address you provided. In the email will be a link which will say 'Click here to confirm'. Once you have clicked that your account will be setup and you can then login.
Setting up a Table, and Joining Manchester Bridge Club Games
1) Go to www.bridgebase.com, click 'Play Bridge Now'. Enter your User name and Password and then click Log In. You should now be logged on and it should look like this:
BBO has multiple different ways to play.
Find a specific tournament
To search for a specific tournament, for instance a private game organized by your club, click COMPETITIVE, then All Tournaments.
There is a Search box at the top. Type the host name, or some keyword from the tourney title.
How to register to a tournament
Now that you found your tournament, click on it. You will reach this screen.
Type your partner’s username in the Invite box, and click the Invite button. You both need to be online
Find your friends
Friends and players you follow are listed in the People panel.
If you already have friends and bridge partners using Bridge Base Online, ask them what their BBO username is. Once you know their handle, you can add them to your friends list online.
Online friends will be listed to the right of your screen, in the People panel, in the Friends tab. Click a name and you will be able to chat to them.
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Playing a Private Game
1) Click ‘Casual’
2) Click ‘Start a table’
3) At the top choose whether you would like IMPs or Matchpoints scoring.
4) Reserve seats for the people who you wish to play with. To reserve a seat click on North, South, East or West and then enter the BBO username of the person. If it is just you and a partner then leave East and West blank. If the person’s name appears in blue then they are logged in, if it is in red they they are not currently logged in although you can still proceed and the seat will be reserved for them.
5) Kibitzers are spectators. You can choose whether to allow them or not. If you are setting up a table just for friends then you may wish to use the Invisible option, this will mean that other people will not see the table and so will not try and join.
6) Then click ‘Start Table – Relaxed game’ or ‘Start Table – Competitive game’. Both are free. At least in theory Competitive game should be a slightly higher standard.
7) The game should then start and any free seats will be filled up automatically.
General
You can retain your anonymity by playing one of games on the home page: Just Play Bridge, Just Declare, Matchpoints, IMPs are free games for individuals where your partner, and opponents, are robots who play a strong no trump and 2/1. You will not get significant comparisons on how you do in these games, but your partner and opponents are very quiet and do not mind if you take a long time to make a bid or play a card, and will not object if you stop in the middle of a hand to make a coffee.
Playing with real people on BBO is a little like the Wild West. The key is to find and make friends and gradually expand your network so that you can always find a game when you log in. The main difference to face to face bridge are:
Alert your own bids
Chat with both or one opponent privately.
Announce your basic system at the start
How to ask for an undo
How to make and accept claims
General Advice is:
- Play with friends and friends of friends, as they will tend to remain at the table and play. The average BBO player has the attention span of a mayfly and can easily just leave a table at any time.
- Most people speak some degree of English on BBO and it is not impolite to request that they chat in a language that you can understand, especially when explaining their bids.
- Tell your mentor that you will be playing: they may be able to watch and give advice.
- When you host a table, choose the Relaxed Club rather than the Competitive Club.
- When you host a table, check the Permission required to play option. Then, if a player gets disconnected you can wait for them to return without lots of people ‘jumping’ in.
- When you host a table, allow all kibitzers and permit them to chat at the table. This will allow friends to comment and chat to you.
- If you arrange to play with friends, then use a Vugraph table (or use the Deal Source menu at the table to select vugraph boards). These provide just two comparisons but more realistic results.
- In general, always have a look at how many comparisons were used in calculating your score. The more comparisons, the more realistic your result is. You can refresh these during play to get more accurate results as well.
- If you go to Competitive->Tournaments, you can find a number of tournaments, many of which are free to play. You can play 3 of the Daily Free tournaments per week and the Weekly Free Instant Tournament (under “Solitaire”->”Weekly Free Instant Tournament”) completely free of charge. These are popular and so you can get many comparisons, although you can only play them alone, that iis with a robot partner and against robots.
- There are also pairs tournaments here, where you will need to register with your partner to play or find someone from the partnership desk.
- Challenges are a great way to compare your play with others. More experienced juniors and ex-juniors (that is everyone who is not a junior ;) ) are usually happy to play and even if you don’t have a chance to discuss the results, you can have a look at the comparisons on your own.
- Kibitzing is a great feature on BBO. You can watch some of the best players in the world or watch some players you know. It is good to vary between kibitzing seeing all four hands and just watching one player and comparing what they do to what you would do.
- You can organise bidding practice with your partner against robots. This option also includes a lot of useful features: you can set your opponents’ bids to “pass” only or specify how many points you and your partner will have, etc ( Paul is an expert on this). While somewhat unrealistic, this is a good way to hammer in your agreements.
It's tempting at times to overstate one's skill level. Sometimes players also understate their level because they're timid or just don't realize how good they really are. It's very helpful to be as accurate as possible in advertising how well we play bridge. Following these guidelines when stating your level of expertise will make for a more pleasant bridge playing experience:
Private This indicates you do not wish a skill level to be displayed when people view your profile information.
Novice Someone who recently learned to play bridge.
Beginner Someone who has played bridge for less than one year.
Intermediate Someone who is comparable in skill to most other members of BBO.
Advanced Someone who has been consistently successful in clubs or minor tournaments.
Expert Someone who has enjoyed success in major national tournaments.
World Class Someone who has represented their country in World Championships.
Of course, you may at times find that you disagree with another's assessment of his expertise. If this is the case, it is not appropriate to mention this to him via private or public chat. You may be correct, but it may also be that he's just having an off day.
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