POSTED JUNE 28th
*It’s a Game Changer!*
Effective June 30, 2020
Introducing: Open Dinner Bell Speedball Games
When: Tuesday and Thursday 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
What: 12 Boards, 5 min/board
Cost: $4.00 USD
The Switcheroo: Tuesday Morning @ 9:30 a.m. Swapped the Open game for a 1000 MP Game
(Open game has been cancelled)
The Change Up: Sunday Games
New Open Game @ 12:30 p.m.
Followed by 500 MP Game @ 1:15p.m.
Thank you for your support.
We welcome your feedback and suggestions.
*NEW* - Hand Analysis & Discussion with Martin Hunter
Effective June 29, 2020
Martin has graciously offered to conduct a post-game analysis/discussion session following two bridge games each week, using BBO and/or Zoom Chat. This is a tremendous opportunity for MOBridge members to learn from one of our very own world-class bridge players, using real game examples that you’ve just played.
The two games are:
Monday’s 0-1000 MPs
Friday’s 0-499 MPs
This exciting new offering will start this week. Here’s how it will work:
1. During or following the game, you may send Martin the hand that you would like to discuss the bidding and/or play of. Martin will select the hands that can be covered in the time allowed.
2. Each session will commence at 3:45 and will run for an hour.
3. We will use the hand records available on the MOBridge website.
4. If you are interested in participating (feel free to attend as an observer!), send an email to Martin at martinhunter@rogers.com and you will receive further instructions, including an invitation to a Zoom Chat.
Annual General Meeting July 21, 2020
As announced last week, MOBridge will be conducting its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday July 21 at 6:30 pm. The following supporting documents have been posted to our website under the Members Only tab:
• Agenda
• 2020 Board of Directors Candidates
• Proxy
Online Game Reminders
It is not okay to announce to the Table, or explain to the Table, any bid/call. Players have to use the Alert option, or if an opponent asks privately they can respond privately to THAT opponent only. Do this by going to the Chat box in the bottom left corner and selecting Private and the opponent’s name (BBO ID). This will allow you to chat only to that one person. Others at the table will not see your discussion.
The Directors want you to know that they are aware of:
• DISCONNECTS immediately and will then work on getting a sufficient substitute player so that the round may continue in a timely fashion.
• BOARD ADJUSTMENTS that have been applied (when a board has not been completed) automatically by BBO or when director involvement is needed to determine a result. Please note, do not wait for the adjustment, players should proceed to the next board.
Please keep an eye on the clock. 7/6 minutes per board is plenty of time when we don't have to sort, shuffle before putting back … there are no bids out of turn, leads out of turn, insufficient bids, insufficient cards in hand, etc. These are the most common calls in a Club Game. Once all players are finished a round, we move to the next (so if you can claim, please do so). Also, if a bad claim is accepted, it can be adjusted … call the Director immediately.
And…remember we have the most compassionate Directors around. They’re here for us and on our side!
POSTED JUNE 21st
Notice of Annual General Meeting
(AGM)
MOBridge will hold its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday July 21, 2020 at 6:30 pm, using ZOOM technology – details to be provided at a later date.
This meeting is open to all paid-up MOBridge members.
The plan for the evening is as follows:
- 6:30 to 7:00 pm Annual General Meeting
- 7:15 pm Bridge game on BBO
The following documents, in support of the meeting, will be posted on the website, in the coming week:
- Agenda
- Proxy form
- Minutes of the 2019 AGM
- 2019 Annual Report
- Call for Directors - qualifications posted
- 2019 Final Financial Results (in Financial Results Section)
In order to conduct our meeting, we require a quorum of 10% of members. If you cannot attend, we request that you complete the proxy form, to be made available later this week.
President’s Update
June 20, 2020
Fellow Members,
As I write this update, Mississauga is still in Stage 1 of the relaxing of Covid-19 restrictions. While we seem to have seen the worst, as new daily cases are decreasing, the current concern is for a “second wave” to occur. Even under Stage 2, we will not likely open given the restrictions on interpersonal contact. The ACBL has cancelled all in-person tournaments through the end of the year, and those clubs who have tried to open have found little success. As always, we continue to monitor the situation very closely to ensure no one is put at risk.
This week look for the announcement of our Club Annual General Meeting (AGM),– July 21st. We will hold a virtual AGM (Agenda on the website) using ZOOM at 6:30 pm. Our regular BBO virtual club game will follow and will be open to all for this date. We need a quorum of 50 members, so please make every effort to attend, and if you are not available, please complete the proxy form and return to our email box prior to the meeting.
With the real likelihood of a continuation of the suspension of Club operations, definitely through July, probably through August and maybe for the balance of the year, over half of our members have been playing online at the Bridgebase.com site. Our virtual club table count has consistently been above the 100 tables a week we need to remain financially stable. But, we are very concerned about the other half. We have not seen many of our friends from MOBridge in months. Please join us virtually. What’s holding you back? The pricing is similar to club rates. The games are fun and we offer more events than previous to our suspension of play. If you need help getting started, there is ample information available on our MOBridge website – BBO & ONLINE INFORMATION tab. And if that is still not enough, one of our members will coach you through the process. Come and enjoy your favorite game!
Last Thursday, the Board of Directors held our June virtual meeting. In addition to the above, key items decided were:
- Agreed to accept an extension to the current lease – we expect to have details at the AGM;
- Recommending a slate of 4 Board nominations to fill vacancies. (Any member may nominate someone at the AGM as well); and
- Agreed with Marty Bergen to provide access to his educational materials through our site. It will be available by the end of the month if all goes well.
Next weekend is the Endless Summer ACBL (2nd regional) tournament. We will continue to run our games in parallel, so you have multiple options.
STAY SAFE!
On behalf of the Board,
Paul Inglis
President
POSTED JUNE 21st
New Online Regional Tournament
Celebrate warmer days and moonlit nights with the Endless Summer Tournament – your next chance to win gold and red MPs online!
ACBL’s regionally rated online event is going to be bigger and better than the last one. The Endless Summer Tournament spans four days (June 25-28, Thurs-Sun) and will be held on BBO.
There are pair events for every level on the schedule. Start times are staggered and spread throughout the day, so you’ll have several opportunities to play. Entries are $15 per player, per session for all events.
Online Game Reminders from the Directors
Robots & Substitutions
BBO/ACBL have introduced the use of robots for substitutions. We will try to get appropriate human subs whenever possible but sometimes this is difficult. The Director will announce to the game if there is robots playing. Adjustments will be made to the robots score so they will not win. Anyone playing against a robot will get their result or average whichever is better.
Looking for feedback
We are considering introducing an Open dinnertime speedball game on Tuesday and Thursday nights, 6 to 7 pm, 12 bds/5 minutes per board at $4/session. We would like to see a minimum of 5-6 tables. Please let us know if you are interested in such an offering.
Our Thursday 2500MP game is struggling. We are a long way away from the 20 tables we have been getting at many MOBridge games. What would you like to see? Please let us know.
Alerts & Announcements
Alerting is the method used to openly explain your partnership agreements to your opponents. It is a fundamental principle of how bridge is fairly conducted. There has been some confusion around, and in fact, absence of, alerts and announcements, particularly in the online world.
On BBO, when alerting a bid, type the ‘full’ explanation first and then select your bid. This way, both the bid and the explanation appear to the opponents at the same time. If you forget to alert your bid, click on your bid on the table display. A box is shown, into which you can now give an explanation. There are many online sources that show step by step instructions for alerting on BBO.
Please click here for a detailed explanation of ACBL’s Alert Procedure.
POSTED JUNE 8TH
MOBridge Online Update – June 7
MEMBER ACHIEVEMENTS MAY 1 - 31, 2020
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!
| New Sectional Master |
New Regional Master |
| Edward Cloutier |
Satjeet Ahluwalia |
| Ann-Marie LeBlanc |
Zachary Suski |
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| New NABC Master |
New Life Master |
| Luigi Giammarco |
Dennis Kolody |
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| New Bronze Life Master |
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| Dan Tomlinson |
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POSTED JUNE 1ST
MOBridge Online Update – May 31
We hope you had a great Silver Linings Week and added to your MP coffers. There were sure a lot of us playing…take a look at that spike in table count for last week! Watch this space for more ACBL/BBO special promotions and events.
Online Game Reminders from the Directors
1. There is a known issue with MPs awarded on BBO limited games. The correction has been made on ACBL Live but it may take a few weeks to be corrected on BBO. Please be assured that the results are correct on your ACBL record. Thank you for your patience as we work through the glitch.
2. Players have to self-"ANNOUNCE" as well as self-alert. To do so, players use the same ‘Alert’ method on BBO for bids that should be announced such as transfers.
3. If you're looking for a game, register into "Partnership". You may get picked up or you may see another person there looking for a game, and you can pair up. If you do register in Partnership and don't find a game, stick around for a few minutes after game start (if we need to fill a table (replacing a sit-out), we'll send an invite to you first).
4. When alerting a bid, type in the "full" explanation first and then select your bid. This way, both the bid and the explanation come into the Opponents at the same time. This saves time.
5. We can't stress enough for players registered to be back at registration at least 5 minutes before game time. Please don't wait until the last minute.
POSTED MAY 27TH
MOBridge Online Update – May 26
PLAYING IN LIMITED GAMES – In order to play in limited games on BBO, every player must have an ACBL number. This is the only way for BBO to be able to verify if you are eligible. If you are not interested in becoming a full-time member you can get a temporary membership for $9.95 which is valid for 30 days in the face to face (F2F) club but will not expire in the BBO virtual club. Open the link below, register and pay. Once you have your ACBL number you can log in to BBO / click ACBL World / click Update ACBL Number, at the bottom of the page. You will then no longer be blocked from limited games.
https://my.acbl.org/membership/join?club=207860
Please note you do not require an ACBL number to play in Open virtual club games and you will not receive Masterpoints.
PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME IN YOUR PROFILE. This is a VIRTUAL Club. That means it is comprised of players who play in these games all the time. Anonymity is not an option. It is the same as going to MOBridge and playing. You don’t get to wear a bag over your head at the club and the same applies here.
If you go to your ACCOUNT tab and look for the heading that says PROFILE, click on that and where it says REAL NAME, please enter your real name. Thank you for your cooperation.
CONVENTION CARDS. Everyone should have a completed convention card. BBO offers a couple of standard templates that are very easy to modify. There is also a video on the BBO website outlining the steps to complete a card. It only takes a few minutes. In addition, if you provide a brief summary along with your carding in your profile under the “other” heading your opponents will be most grateful.
BE AWARE that BBO has algorithms in place to detect unusual results. Should persons be identified by this software, they will be monitored online and measures will be taken to ensure that such unethical practices cannot continue. If unethical behaviour is found and confirmed the player will risk being expelled from the ACBL. And that means all ACBL games, online or otherwise.
Please continue to provide us feedback and we will strive to meet your bridge needs.
Partnership Desk – Please send us an email if you are looking for a partner or consider joining the partnership desk for any of our games. You will often find other club members looking for a game or the Director may call on you to fill a half table.
Our results and game hand records are now available on the MOBridge website. Please remember that your MP awards are 1.5 times the reported BBO award (with the exception of the Silver Linings Week promotion – which is 3x). You can also find club results on ACBL live. https://my.acbl.org/club-results/207860
There are many more exciting things planned for the near future so come on out and play. We will be more than happy to help you get started. Please email the club at mail@mobridge.club and someone will reach out to help you.
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