General Tips

1. Use a Convention Card Editor. We recommend Bridge Winners. Keep a current card for each parter. Clone one you like and edit and save it under a new name for a new partner - much easier than starting from scratch. You will need to post a card for online play for every partner, otherwise, you must play SAYC.

#1. 4/25/20. Tips for playing in our Virtual VBBC games

1. If you have never played online before, watch some of our tutorials and check the lead story on our website for game times … we now have 13 per week.
2. Signup for a free BBO Account. Some people pick a BBO UserName that is somewhat recognizable; others prefer an anonymized name … your choice. Because we are a club, a recognizable UserName is more member friendly. We also recommend you not set your name to "Private". 
3. Try a practice game with your partner on BBO. Play a casual game or a game with robot(s). Feel free to talk on the phone while learning in a non-competitive game. Obviously, this is prohibited in a competitive game.
4. You may signup for a Virtual VBBC game beginning two hours in advance of the start time. Click for tutorial.
5. You and your partner should both be online at least 10 minutes before the game starts. Sometimes the BBO platform will simply cancel your entry. You may need to change your laptop or iPad settings to prevent them from "going to sleep" and inadvertently logging off BBO. Nevertheless, you will not be charged until the game actually starts.
6. If you get disconnected from BBO, try to log back in ASAP. Unfortunately, this does occur, so plan ahead and have a backup device that connects to a different internet source, such as a cellphone or an iPad connected to your phone via a personal hot-spot. If you remain disconnected for more than a minute or two, the director may put a substitute in your place, but once you log back in, you will be re-seated.
7. The time limit per round is seven minutes for limited games and six minutes for open games. A new round will not start with less than three minutes on the clock.  If you are new to online games, you will need all of this time. If you are an experienced online player and a normally fast player, you may think that is slow, but remember that newer players eventually become faster, and we need their participation in order to generate the revenues to support our club and the higher master point awards associated with larger games.

#2. 4/29/20. Stratification 

Since the Virtual VBBC games offer Masterpoints, they will be posted to your ACBL playing history. Your total points for ACBL Virtual Games eligibility will be the sum of your ACBL Masterpoints plus any BBO points you may have earned in the past. Each game is automatically stratified so that the A strata consists of the top third of the highest ranking players from each pair; the B strata is made up of the next highest third; etc.