Congrats to our players who have reached or will soon reach a milestone. We have never had a game with an upper MP limit greater than 1500. We are as thrilled as many of you are as you approach that "magic number." As a result, and so as not to disturb any existing games, Mon Sep 9 will host a 0-2000 game starting at 9:15am eastern. To paraphrase something one of our regular players said at a recent game ...

"By the end of the month so many more players will have passed the 1250 and then the 1500 MP amount. Would you please consider finding a way to accommodate me and others in this "predicament" by hosting a 0-2000 game?"

The Bridge Connection continues to attract players from all over the place and we hope to keep that swell moving with the addition of this new game. Please see our Testimonials page located here for an idea of the direction this club is heading ... it's now up to you to kindly help us make this new 0-2000 offering attractive to the throngs of potential new players. May the majors be with you ... to quote a well-known limerick (not!) by one of our Directors ...

The MPs continue to rise
A 0-2000's wise
We trust lots will play
Much MPs to pay
Success should thus crystalize

Colin and Michael ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 

There are many reasons why when pairs play at our club the first few times, they are hooked ...

1. We "insist" slow play during the auction or play is a Director call. Many clubs tolerate "nasty" chats demanding opponents play/bid faster. You have probably seen how nasty these can be. We ask at the start of each game for compliance with this directive.
    
2. We "insist" that players alert and announce the whole story. Hence, for example, when playing Jacoby 2NT, we politely remind players to say something like 4+ card support and opening points rather than something as vague as support
    
3. We politely coax pairs who become/are regular together to publish a convention card and, if necessary, offer to assist with the process
    
4. We play a minimum of 20 boards and often 21 or 22. Many clubs are still mired in the 18-board game for some unknown reason. There are some out there with as few as 12 AND they charge the same (or close to it ) as we do. 

May the majors be with you ,,, Colin and Michael ♠ ♥ 

Click here to have a look at the details ... our online games will happen for those not playing at the tournament. Tournament being held at the EY centre near the airport. On that page there is a link to the tournament flyer which contains details about accommodation for out-of-towners.

Find the complete details by clicking here ...

Due to our commitment to offer elevated MP games to a hungry player base, we will have a 0-1500 game on

• Sun Sep 1 for the  POPUP Labour Day event 50% Red 50% Black
• Sun Sep 15 for the International Fund 200% Black
• Sun Sep 29 for the NABC fund raiser 200% Black
• Sun Oct 6 for the Silver Linings Week 150% Silver

C&M

Please have a look at this document to see how this works. We will make a note of your's and the first timer's BBO usernames. When that person becomes a regular, we will refund you one regular game fee. 

We thank you for your support, the 4th anniversary of our online bridge quickly approaching. Our first TBC-V game was held on BBO on April 16, 2020 ... how time flies when you get lots of majors ♠ ♥ ...

When playing as a substitute, you  are not eligible for earning a rebate ...

Colin and Michael

The lower-left corner of the screen has a bluc box with white letters. This is where you can pick a target for a chat you want to make. One of the options there is Opponents Anything related to your systems should be done using that option please rather than the Table option.

C&M

To give our players interested in gaining Red MPs online, we will be running some games on Sunday at 9am eastern offering these elevated points. They will be run on one Sunday in Feb/Mar/Apr/May/Jun/Sep/Nov. These 7  POPUP games will run in 7 of the 12 months with ½ Red and ½ Black MPs. 

Please keep on eye on our calendar as to when any special games will be run.

It gets even better ... a number of times throughout 2024, there will be some additional special weeks offering some Silver, Red, and Gold MPs. During the weeks these elevated MPs are available, all games that week will be elevated with an extra 1 BB$ charge.

Michael (and Colin)

The Bridge Connection, ACBL, and BBO "insist" that players have a convention card accessible to opponents. Please:

•  see this location for some details on filling these out
• see here for  some guidance on wnat needs to be alerted and announced

Please let us know when you end up playing a pair who does not show a card. Let us know (using our contact page located here) if one is missing. Be sure to include the BBO usernames for the pair involved. We (and your opps) thank you for your co-operation.

To see opponents' card, click the hamburger and their card should be accessible there.

Colin and Michael

Colin has uploaded a short document (click here) that shows one (of many) examples of psyche bidding, which is not allowed at The Bridge Connection ...

It was brought to our attention by one of our regular players that there was a psych during an auction recently. A simple reminder that psyches are not allowed at this club. This is amplified by the fact that all our games are limited, the highest MP ceiling being 1500 on the Thursday morning 9am event. If you believe someone has psyched at the table, please inform whoever is Directing so we can investigate. If you would like further information on what psychic bids are all about, please email us and Colin will reply.

Colin and Michael

As we gain more and more experience at the table, during the auction it is wise to understand what bids need alerting and announcing. There are 2 components to this game in a nutshell:

1. Learning more about how to play the game - involves getting more and more hours in and refining your bridge skills that lead to more consistency and perhaps better results.
2. Learning more about how to play the game - how you handle yourself at the table, becoming more versed on etiquette, alerting/announcing, and generally how to carry yourself at the table.

Colin and I are enjoying watching so many players mature as time wears on. We believe the first skill in this numbered list moves ahead with leaps and bounds. What we believe is needed now is the item described in the second numbered point.

Please see this document which may assist our getting to the point where our players have an enhanced understanding of what to alert/announce and how to do it on BBO. After ingesting that material, please reach out to Colin or yours truly for further clarification/suggestions as you see fit.

Michael & Colin

The Bridge Connection games cost 5 BB$ per person and some ome special games are 6 BB$ ...

Consult this document to see how to pull this off. It walks you through installing an extension in the Google Chrome browser. Enjoy ... if you have ever used the Play it Again engine on our website, this will be nothing new ... Michael A.

There are two ways we communicate with players and the Ottawa bridge community:

One list involves email to our members. There is no chatge to join, and f you are

• not a member, click here to start the registration proocess; once on that page click Register to start, and the Member Registration Code you use is m3mb3r
• already a member you will be asked for your username and password

The second way uses a more general list and sends information out to the greaater bridge community.To join this more general list, please proceed to our contact page located here. When you send us a note from here, please indicate you would like to be added to this list.

Our suggestion is to join The Bridge Connection (no charge). If so inclined, have a look here please. The code you will need is m3mb3r. There is no charge for joinging The Bridge Connection.

Some videos on looking at the results on our website:

1. Have a look here to see where/how one can view results for a board, similar to that which you now see on the Bridgemate after a score has been accepted by E/W. 
2. An intro to the results engine available on the web site can be seen here.
3. Discussion of goings-on at the table that detracts from the ability to play all the boards in the 3 hours alloted time can be seen here.