Allegro

I volunteered to play as a sub in exactly ONE tourney and will never do it again. The rounds were 22 minutes long with 2 boards per round. Result was, we finished in 7-8 minutes and I read a few chapters in a novel while the minutes ticked on. The other result was that I had to stay at the computer for 88 minutes, an outrageous amount of time for a total of 8 boards. I have been playing bridge on BBO for several months and except for that one time as a sub, I have not played in a tourney primarily because I don't want to have to sit in front of my computer for 2-3 hours to play far fewer boards than I can play at a regular table. The messages above only validate my reluctance to participate.

Thanks so much for all the thoughtful replies. I have printed out some of the suggested material and can begin the learning process.

I am an advanced bridge player who often cannot find good partners on BBO because I don't play 2/1. I would like to learn it, but can't find an explanation of how it works and all of what's included. I already play SAYC Full, Inverted minors, NMF, 4th SF, Capp, RKC, etc. I'd like to study 2/1 by myself and then ask for help when I need it, but I would like to find some sort of directory on the Internet to get me started. Thanks.

[Did that dude mean to be sarcastic? Or did he/she genuinely want to be nice and say gtp (when you miss an obvious play). On the whole I believe people are nice. The bad ones are all banned anyway! ] No, the defender wasn't being sarcastic, just happpy to have gotten a good score, but unfortunately, at my expense. It seems to stem from a lack of bridge etiquette or from very poor manners. Or general thoughtlessness. One would expect advanced+ bridge players to use their common sense. It would be useful if this sort of thing were covered in the guidelines. BTW, rude players may be banned but I have encountered 3 of them this week. I play about 2 hours a day, so that's not a bad percentage, but when it occurs at your table, the game loses some of its lustre. Thanks...

One of the first things I learned in rubber bridge (before I learned duplicate) was not to gloat when a mistake in bidding or play by the opps gave my side a positive result. When I began to play dulplicate, this was even more important since the opps were usually strangers. The "rule" was and still is to wait to share happiness with partner about the positive result until we had left the table. Aside from the occasional rude, abusive player, the thing that bothers me the most about online bridge is when an opp, usually dummy, says "VWDP" when his partner was handed the contract or overticks by a bonehead play by me or by my partner. This happened to me tonight when I gave the opps an overtrick by a poor discard. Since its effects were immediately clear to everyone there, and I was embarrassed, I apologized to partner. Yet dummy, who is "advanced," congratulated partner as if he had played brilliantly. Are "bridge manners" different Online from in clubs or tournaments? I should add that this breach of manners happens quite often on the Zone than here. I play here most of the time now.

But I did.... 1D 1S 2C 2H 3C 3H 3NT

I hold and open: S x H J D AKxxx C AJ98xx Opps pass 1D 1S 2C 2H 3C 3H 3NT RHO X for a S lead. I go down 3 (vul.) Partner left midway thorugh the play. He held: S QJxxx H Qxxxx D Qx C Q If I don't bid 3NT, which was unwise, should I bid 3S? Should P have bid 3D instead of rebidding H?