nemojames3

I finally got it working first time with internet explorer. Definately not working with firefox (windows) on 2 different computers here.

thanks for all the advice. The problem I have is I am learning in a small village where I am often shouted at (literally) for doing things that I know are right according to what I read and have learnt at BBO. The stoppers thing is set in stone here so I assume they play an older style which has been passed down. yes I am very keen and guess I will just have to keep learning here until I get good enough results where they might accept any change to the system. Since posting this I have started to bid more NT without stoppers (on BBO) and have been surprised at the results although I notice you have to be careful about when to cash in high cards. I notice sometimes I try and establish suits too early and the whole thing runs away from me.

I was playing in a robot tournament and came across this bid which often happens and I don't understand. Most players went to 2NT as the image shows so I assume that must be correct. My problem is I have been told not to bid NT unless I have at least 1 stopper in every suit. In this case diamonds are weak so I didn't bid 2NT. It turned out that North was strong in diamonds but North might just as easily been void with only 6 points. Does that mean if you have enough points it is ok to bid NT without a stopper in every suit? http://www.nemojames.com/temp/2nt.jpg

latest firefox

no definately not, and I must have tried 10 times without getting any kind of message. It just back to the profile window.

I have just realised I have two different BBO accounts. The username I use for BBO is nemojames It is a jpg I first tried with a file sized 740 kb and now have reduced it to 18kb but still no luck. At no time have I been shown any sign of it uploading or acknowledgment

I am pretty certain it file is not being uploaded so there there is nothing to approve. Seems like a bug to me

I tried to upload my profile picture but nothing happens with no error messages. I reduced the size down to 17 kb but still no luck.

that sounds like a good idea. Should that be set to 100% ?

There lies another problem. I am learning what must be the hardest card game in a country (croatia) that has one of the hardest language (which I am also learning). So if the explaination were in English I would probably struggle but in Croatian I get an instant headache. I do have some books and excellent computer programs but I will take a look at the ones you mention.

thanks for you help everyone. I think the problem is I am learning in a small village where everyone has been playing for many years. Half the time whatever I do in this situation my experienced partner will tell me it's wrong and then another experienced played will tell me I was right so I never know where I am half the time.

It would be great to be able to view recent partners. If someone leaves halfway through a game I have no way of adding them to enemies list unless I can remember their username which is unlikely. I suspect such a feature might make people think about behaving badly on BBO

Sorry but still confused Marlowe says #2 => Having decided, which suit to lead, if the suit is headed by a unsupported Ace, lead the Ace but on my first post it says avoid 1 Leading an unsupported ace if you have another safe lead. ALSO fluffy says to lead the ace if you have ace king but I was recently that with ace king you are supposed to lead the king first

so is underleading the same as "leading away from"

I am confused as to when an Ace both on the first play and throughout the game and am reading lots of conflicting information. Here is one thing I read When leading to a suit contract, AVOID: 1 Leading an unsupported ace if you have another safe lead. 2 Underleading an ace (don't lead a small card from a suit headed by the ace). 3 Underleading broken honor combinations (KJxx, Q10x) unless it's in partner's suit. By "unsupported ace" I assume they mean another honour card ? I don't know what "underleading means" or another phrase I have heard is "don't lead away from the ace" Anyway the first and second points seem to contradict each other.

That's excellent, thanks. BBO is such an excellent site I am surprised the FAQ's are so bad. There is not a word of all this in the friends section.

wow what a useful feature. The only thing is I can't for the life of me find anything to do with categories and colour coding. Where do I find it?

I have just started on BBO and really enjoy it but every time I look for a table I have to hunt around for someone who uses the same conventions as me which can be hard as by the time I have read their profile someone has jumped in before me. It is made harder as so many people don't seem to fill in their profiles anyway. I assume the friends thing is good for this but not sure of the protocol. I have looked at the FAQ and still have further questions. Is it like facebook where when you add a friend they have to accept your friend request? If you are playing with someone and you seem to be compatible do you just add them or should you ask their permission first?

ok thanks everyone. I will persevere then although at the moment it seems impossible without asking everyone if they would mind going away and having a cup of tea while I plan the play in each hand. Obviosuly counting the winners is easy enough it is then going on to work out where to get the extra tricks that at the moment seems impossible.

OK I can see that if you have enough sure winners you should just take those winners and not worry about the overtricks. It is the bit after that where you are short of sure winners and need to make up extra tricks which seems trickier and more time consumming to me. Once it is establised I don't have enough sure winners can't I just proceed on the basis that I need to win as many tricks as possible ?

I am a complete beginner although have been using bridge baron for a while and so have a general idea how to play. The other software I am using to teach me tells me that as soon as the dummy is shown I have to count all the sure winners and work out how many extra tricks I need. How important is this as it does seem a bit of a chore when all I want to do is get stuck in. Surely if you just aim to win as many tricks as possible then calculating them in advance is not neccesary ?