| SUPERVISED PLAY – TWO SESSIONS PER WEEK |
 We run two Supervised Play (formerly Learn & Play) sessions per week – Wednesday mornings at 10am on RealBridge, and on Thursday evenings at 7.15pm at the Club.
All sessions must be booked in advance. The Thursday evening session at Oxford Bridge Club must be booked by 5.30pm on the Wednesday and the session will be cancelled if we have fewer than two tables. We will email anyone who has booked but please also check the website calendar before setting out for the club.
We play 12-15 boards at a relaxed pace and you can ask the Director/teacher for help at any time. The sessions last about 2 hours. Results and hands are uploaded onto the club website after the event, though no masterpoints are awarded (and it doesn't affect NGS).
RealBridge allows you to play online with full video and audio in a realistic virtual table setting. You can see and talk to your partner and opponents just as though you were at the club. For more information on RealBridge visit this link. Please see below for information on how to check that your device will work on RealBridge.
Club sessions are held at 147 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7AN. There is free parking on side streets near the club with just a short walk to the club. Refreshments are provided and everything will be done to maintain a Covid-secure environment.
Each session costs £5. No partner is needed as there should be someone to play with (the exception will be where we can't make up two full tables). ALL sessions must be booked in advance.
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| PLANNING TO PLAY ONLINE - TEST YOUR DEVICE |
 If you would like to play online you will need to do a camera and microphone test. This just takes a few minutes. You only need to do this once for each device you intend to use.
Log out of any other applications then click the link https://play.realbridge.online/camera.html and follow the instructions.
Please don't book a ticket until you've checked that your device works with RealBridge.
For Chrome users - once logged in to RealBridge, a quick way to check your camera (video) and microphone (audio) settings is to click on the 'padlock' symbol on the browser bar (just to the left of the website address - play.realbridge.online). This opens up a window with dropdown menus that allow you select "Ask/Allow/Block" for the Camera and Microphone. Set this to "Allow" for both.
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| HOW TO BOOK |
ALL sessions must be booked in advance with payment made at the time of booking. There is however a facility at the club to pay using a debit or credit card (no cash please). Each session is £5.
When booking online you can book and pay for just yourself or for yourself and your partner. If you book just for yourself please do remind your partner that they need to book and pay for themselves. For online sessions you can book online up to 9.45am before the Wednesday session. For the Thursday evening session please book by 5.30pm on the Wednesday evening beforehand.
Please ensure that you enter correct email addresses as these will be used to send you your booking confirmation and, if applicable, the RealBridge link to play online. You will receive a reminder email 60 minutes before the session is scheduled to begin. ***For RealBridge sessions this will contain the link to the RealBridge session***. You should click on the link to join the session at least 10 minutes beforehand.
Please note, if you book within 60 minutes of the start time of an online session you will receive no reminder and so must click on the grey button in the confirmation email saying "View online event". This will take you to a page with the link to RealBridge.
There is no need to have a partner. In this case, you can book a single ticket for yourself. We are operating a Host system so we will be able to pair you up with someone to play with.
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| NO PARTNER? |
Don't worry! There will always be a Host available so if you don't have a regular partner, it doesn't matter, there will be someone for you to play with. On the day, the director will either pair you up with another single player or with the Host. If you can find a regular partner though that is the best situation - this way you can develop your bidding strategy and defence over time as a team.
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| PLAYING ON THE DAY |
Play will start at 10am promptly on Wednesday morning, and at 7.15pm on Thursday evening. If playing online, please click on your RealBridge link no later than 10 minutes before the session starts. This gives the Director time to get everyone seated and sort out partnerships.
For online sessions - enter your full name as you are known at Oxford Bridge Club. Please make sure that your name and its capitalisation is exactly as it is known to the EBU.
Where it says 'ID number' please enter your EBU number. Please avoid leading and trailing spaces and do not enter any zeros before the number.
Then click the grey Login button.
You will then then arrive in the 'lobby'. Please wait here until the Director advises you where to sit, or if you see your partner at a table you can click on the seat opposite them.
Once 'seated' you will be taken to your table and will be able to chat with your partner and opponents while you wait for play to start. You will be automatically moved to play with the next pair of opponents at the end of each round of play.
If you need to call the Director you can do so by pressing the 'Director' button. The Director will then come to your table and you'll be able to chat to them. During Supervised Play sessions feel free to call the Director whenever you have a question about bidding or any other aspect of play.
If you have any problems with video or audio, try hitting the refresh button which is two arrows on top of each other. If that doesn't work, close down your whole browser and log in again from your RealBridge link.
If playing at the club please arrive 15 minutes early so the Director can seat you and find you a partner if needs be. It also gives you time to make a cup of tea and get settled.
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