hallway

Peter - I was too stunned - it is all I can do to remember my own hand. Yes, we were Vul 4H making, + 620, they were not 5DX down 3, - 500 :'( Now we have, lying in wait and sandbagging and sacrificing - mmmm vague memories of teacher writing on the whiteboard ' the right to know how to defend ' How does one ? btw what does 'full disclosure' mean ?

OF COURSE !! Dwayne ;D you are our very own Official Director - he who shall be obeyed ! ::) You will be officially sworn in at 8.45 PM (NZ time) on Saturday 6 September 2003 . On behalf of the Team - welcome Maureen Hall Team Manager - (she who has to be obeyed B)) [glow=red,2,300]The Team from DownUnder[/glow] aka The Terrible (just a hint ) Tuataras (who have been around for 225million years - survivors 8) )

This is an urgent call to all Aussie's & Kiwi's wherever you are. Check those family trees - is there an Aussie ancestor ? a Kiwi connection ? [move]ALL are WELCOME [/move] Please contact Maureen Hall (BBO/BBF - hallway) email: hall@timaru.com you will receive a warm welcome and a Membership Kit. It is OFFICIAL our first match takes place this Saturday.

I thought I understood the concept. ::) ( btw Understanding in no relates to Applying :( ) But there is obviously more to it than I imagined B) So a guide as to: (a) how to sacrifice (B) how to bid against a recognised sacrifice © how to defend would be much appreciated . My idea was that when both partnerships were showing a fit in the bidding that one then factored in the cost/gain of bidding beyond one's contract. Much is said/written about Bridge's principle of Full Disclosure so what actually happened came as a shock. >:( In a tournament (real life) two boards left to play . The hand started out in a straightforward manner. 1H (P) 2H -me - 4 card support <10pts (P) 3H (P) 4H - 4 h's 7pts in AQJxx of Diamonds ........ I relax THEN ( 5D) whipped off my glasses gave them a quick clean but no it still says 5D :) I enquired of RHO the meaning of her P's bid she replied , "my P wants to play in Diamonds" to which I succinctly replied , "codswollop" whereupon she amended her description to, [glow=red,2,300]it's a sacrifice ![/glow] remembering our instructions to refrain from unnecessary chat I clamped my teeth shut and thought what I thought !! among which was the simple glaring fact that 5H down 1 = bottom board , 5DX down 3 still = bottom board. I chose to X the 5D simply because I saw no reason why I should have to sit and watch my P struggle to make 5H. I give Declarer her due she played the cards very well - sat up a little straighter when she discovered just where the Diamonds were !! and she held out for 3 down. And yes when I signed the sheet there it was 4H by W making 4 all the way down - no one made 5 and no one mislaid 1. 5DX down 3 = bottom board. :'( Full Disclosure ? Talk about sacrifices - we were certainly the lambs to the slaughter. Help please

It was just the chat that I could not solve. I knew about the tildes - it is in the Help file. I have practiced the subbing - a breeze. During our second 'M's practice' we practiced calling the Director - didn't happen - but soon realised why, so up to speed on that too. Yes, now that I know Uday has the chat issue in his sights I am happy to report to all and sundry that we [glow=red,2,300]The Team from DownUnder[/glow] are ready to play BRIDGE Team Manager - initial training completed Official Director - appointed Team - studying hard and working on those CC's (bit like sitting an exam really ::) - do we really know all this stuff :- ) We have already issued the AA1 team with our challenge - WE are ready to play BRIDGE with a VERY VERY special THANKS to our friends up north who HELPED me through my Learning Curve with patience and understanding. :-* :-* :-* - SEE YOU AT THE TABLE

THANK YOU Dwayne :) I now have you listed as the official Honorary Director (without honorarium - sry :) ) of the The Team from DownUnder (aka The Terrible Tuataras) and as such you will be made privy to our schedule of official Matches as and when they are to take place. You have taken a great weight of our shoulders because some of our upcoming opponents are of the higher echelon of player (with Blue Book knowledge). ::) We are undaunted, though, because we have a handicap for them to overcome BUT now they will know that we cannot/will not be cowed in matters of Law. A 'level' playing field 8) Thank you :)

I have read, re-read and indeed have read again all I can find on the subject in the Help files ::) and I cannot find :-[ any information that will tell me how to: answer all the team members questions filling my screen with chat bubbles WHILST filling in the Create a Table Form. It just 'dings' when I try to respond . The only way I could deal with them was to close the Create a Table Form ??? :- :'( Which, of course, meant I then had to start over filling it in again and again and again ::) Now I KNOW there must be a way - somebody PLEASE tell me (ps - btw I am not the only one who wants to know - I'm just the one asking the question - one of the nice things about being an Aged Void is that one cannot be expected to be an IT whizz :) )

Well as no one has answered my question for me I can only presume that I did not make myself clear ! :-[ Woe is me - the joys of aging !! I had read in the Help File - and I quote:- director does not know what to do or there is a dispute Send a chat message to a BBO host, a "Yellow". To me 'Director' = the person with the Blue Book (well it is at my Club), the s/he who must be obeyed. In a Match between two Beginner/Intermediate Teams there simply is NO such being. :'( so my query was in OUR case do we have to have a fair dinkum Director on hand ? or do we harrass the already overworked Yellows for every little thing ? OR SHOULD I have assumed Director = Team Manager - in which case we shall manage ourselves and yes ANY question to do with the Law would result in a - Yellow Help Please IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO future generations of Beginner/Intermediates to know the answer . I am teachable - it just takes time to sink in :)

We were 'sitting' quietly in the Kibitz box awaiting our next assignment when My partner disappeared - panic - her name was no longer on my screen and Her partner disappeared - panic - my name was no longer on her screen (That it happened simutaneously to the both of us , of course , we did not find out until later in the day.) While we frantically tried to find one another the poor TD's stress levels rose to a dangerous level :-[ Now we are finding these tournaments seriously good fun - addictive almost so could you please tell us what happened ? does it happen often ? what do we do next time it happens ? Oh, while still in the Kib box during the course of the disappearance our messages weren't getting through to each other. We eventually found one another when I set up a new table. Thank you.

I can quite see that the Team Captains can between them take care of any 'housekeeping' issues but in the case of a team match between two Beginner / Intermediate Teams do we have to appoint a Director to be present or can we call upon a Yellow to the rescue in the unhappy event that one appears to be needed ? Thx Maureen :)

Somewhere in this Forum Steve offered us (Beginner/Intermediates) a very good, succinct piece of advice when he simply said 'practice, practice,practice'. With [glow=red,2,300]Bridgemaster 2000[/glow] and all the other Tools (John listed in his Help for Newcomers post) that one can access through BBO our bridge skills must improve BUT to make the most of them by combining them into a coherent whole we have to PRACTICE. Just playing with friends is fine but there can be a lack of focus. Playing in the Imps tournaments does one no harm but then there is that feeling of being a 'lamb to the slaughter' . If you haven't already you MUST try the [glow=red,2,300]Total Points Club[/glow] to be found in the Public Club Room (MainBridge Club/Public Club/Total Points Club) Read the Club News. The beauty of playing there is (a) it is a competition - so no chat, get focused (B) you are playing against players of many skill levels so you really need to spread the focus - bidding/declarer play/defence © you can monitor your progress - you know immediately where you are at - you have to think about the consequences of your bidding - is this an offensive hand or a defensive hand ? (I'd read the words, here one has to try to convert them into action :) ) (d) Lady Luck can ride with you and you can get the cards that will carry you through - so the playing field is levelled somewhat and there is at least an expectation that one might progress to further rounds. 8) (e) It is seriously good FUN :D Wayne used to say to me 'are you enjoying your bridge?' ... 'wellllll' .... and he'd say, 'bridge should be fun' and I'd stare at the screen thinking, 'Fun ?? rattling my aged brain at 7am is fun?' 'doing battle on a Monday with those vicious persons at the Club is fun ??' Well, I can now say (12 months later) that with BBO and all the tools and help that are provided here that 'Oh, my word YES Bridge is seriously good FUN'. And yesterday playing in a Total Points Club Tournament Nuala and I had a great time and I like to think it did our Bridge a power of good too. So if , like us, you need to Practice that is a great place to do it. Do a bit of homework first though - read the user notes so you will know what to do /where to go - Nu kept getting lost which did my stress levels no good at all ::) I'd be saying 'where are you ' and she'd be saying 'I can't find you' :- -it was a worry ! Whatever else, before you leave the Club take time out to say a heartfelt Thank You to the TD / AD 's that run the tournaments - something like 5 times a day 7 days a week - voluntarily !! - a huge effort which we (Beginners & Intermediates) can benefit so much from. In fact whenever any of us are on BBO we should not forget for a single second the enormity of what Fred has provided for us - gives to us here. All of that together with the dedication of his Team, the unstinting effort by the 'Yellows', the Teachers, the BBF Moderators and their friends, the TD's / AD's of all the Tournaments is what makes BBO the safest, most congenial, most beneficial site on the planet for us all to enjoy and improve our BRIDGE. So, see you in the Total Points Club sometime. P.S. Any Kiwis reading this - you are needed for the Team of The Terrible Tuataras to play Team Matches - we are down to compete in a Teams Handicap (that means they give us a head start :) ) Tournament - good practice! Click on my User Name (left hand column this post) and leave me an IM.

Hi fellow ANZACS, There has been a suggestion that Northern Hemisphere bridgers are superior to Southern Hemisphere bridgers ;) The glove is down Well that sure did prick my ANZAC pride - yours too ?? time then to rally to the FLAG and put a TEAM together: ANZAC Basic League: For Beginners to Intermediate ofcourse we could send out some Expeditionary Forces say the Aussie Hoppers, the 'Flying' Kiwis, the Cuddly Koalas (they could give them a bit of a fright !) or the Mighty Moas (carry quite a kick) Send me an IM to register your interest and I'll be happy to pick up the glove.

Hi All Could we please have a Beginners Guide to Team Matches . It would seem to me that when playing in a Team Match one would need to apply a different approach to bidding ?? I'm not quite sure I understand how the scoring works :- Some useful guidelines would be much appreciated. Thanks

Ben, The answer to your question is (just playing basic Acol) - No I don't open lightish hands in 1st seat unless the strong/long suit is a Major. 3rd seat - yes I would have. I took J's - 3C (jump o/call) to be 6-10 with 6 card suit (I had the notion that 4C would have been a pre-empt) with a void in Clubs (someone, somewhere said that a void in partners suit is a detriment ) I thought it prudent (with 11hcp) to at least show the diamonds (only 5 of them but I thought - nice !) When John rebid 4C I just thought - oops - misfit - he might have 2-2-2-7 - pass Having read the above posts I see that by not opening 1D it deprived us of bidding room.

My biddings not the only dilemma :P Why is it that when I print out the above the bidding sequence changes on the printed page ? ;) lol I thought the lad had had a dram too many ;D

A Laird's dilemma - my my ::P perhaps I can solve this one 8) - clear the Chat bubble by simply depressing the Esc key on your keyboard. now just leave those poor Directors alone - they have their work cut out just keeping me on the straight and narrow ;)

This thread all started over my 'worry' with Claims. Last night I was invited to partner a Senior player (out of town) . Kept my skill level 'private'. All was going smoothly. Then RHO (a person of importance) Claimed. Flashed the cards muttered something I could not hear. So ... I asked (nicely, quietly) 'Could you please table the cards so I can see them' with a very quelling look he did so So ... I asked (nicely, quietly) 'Could you please repeat that line of play I am sorry I didn't catch what you said?' he very snappily did so So ... (because I really thought I was going to get a spade trick)... I said ' I don't... and before I could get any further he picked up the cards as if to play them. So ... I said (heart in mouth the only word I could remember from this thread being 'adjudicate' (aka call the Director ?) ' I believe the cards have to stay tabled.' Whereupon to my utter amazement without a single word of dissent he put them down again and said, ' I concede a Spade contract down 1.' During the past week I have canvassed any bridge players I've bumped into up town 'If I claim and you object what do I do ?' Answer - (same every time) - just play on mmmm interesting he was going to play on but didn't quibble when he thought I knew better mmmmmmm very interesting. Thanks for your help.

No , Ben , surely John is referring to 'being nice to newcomers' when because of Club size all grades play together. (My home Club only has 80 odd members fields apprx 10 tables weekly so all skill levels must perforce play together) Because of the very real threat to Club Bridge from Online Bridge imo it is becoming necessary in the smaller Club enviroment to be kind, helpful and encourage new players if Clubs want to retain membership numbers. Let them learn to enjoy and become fascinated with the game before 'throwing the book at them' If I were to discard a diamond having overlooked a lurking heart (new players ARE nervous and even younger ones are inclined to 'Senior Moments' :) ) Now a Senior player having every expectation of my having that Heart could be so kind as to say 'having none' ? Oops :-[ (cringe) there it is - woe is me. Whereupon he could (assuming no hovering Directors) let me pick up the offending D or leave it tabled to be played asap. OR ofcourse he could (take advantage ? of my greenhorn status) and say nought play on and at the end establish a revoke and claim damages. (Fair enough no quibble with that) but :- wouldn't letting it run GIVE him an advantage over all other e/w 's ??? If I am punished isn't he rewarded ? - when all other E/W's weren't given that chance ?

Thank you one and all. Michael, I have to confess I have not read the Laws of Bridge (other than the overview given during our initial lessons) - overly challenged just trying to learn the basics of playing the game , decided to leave having an intimate knowledge of The Book to the Directors. In the beginning it was the Opps who would say 'you CAN claim !' To which I would joyously reply, 'Thank you'. Then , (remembering Wayne's adjunct to table one's cards and say how/why) the day came when I laid down my cards and said ' Clai - Rejected !!! ( :) I froze) and LHO said ' Well, pick up your cards and play them' - quick smart it certainly was . We have never needed any second urging since ::D (not that it happens often - thank goodness) BUT even the opps do it. One P has taken Wayne's 'I love Aces' to almost cultish level and you can be assured that should the Opps claim and she still has an Ace in her possession she doesn't let go of it lightly :-[ The Declarers just pick up their cards and on we go. And as some of them are quite fond of calling the Director, and in this respect have never done so, we have presumed that playing on is the thing to do. :-[ I shall print out this thread. though I must say it still 'doesn't sit well' - being able to play the cards in a different sequence than one would have done had there been no Claim and one therefore had not seen where the cards lay :-

"The hands are not covered up if the claim is rejected" Well, John, I can quite see that for yourself and peers it is neither here nor there. After all at the end of the bidding you have a pretty clear idea of where all the cards lie, after dummy goes down you may 'shuffle' one or two, by the end of trick two it's pretty much an open book. For the <average< player such is what we dream of B) In FtoF bridge if I claim only my hand goes down , opps do not get to see each others and should one of them say no, boy do mine come off that table quick smart . For you totally immaterial. Amongst the grass roots it's a different matter ............ Declarer Claims. Lays their cards down. I look - 'he's got that Q - I thought P had that !' P rejects claim -Declarer grabs his cards - I muse upon the mystery of why did I think P had that Q ? The hand is played out Declarer gets the tricks he'd claimed in the first place and P says 'you should have played the AceD' to which I reply ' mmm....Sorry, .. :-...I thought you had the QC' :- however, Online if the cards do not flip back when a claim is rejected and one has before one not only one's own cards and dummy's cards and Declarer's cards but one's partners cards also AND the time to contemplate !! even I cannot ignore the obvious - yes trick (-) is indeed the one and only chance that AD will get to shine. I DID NOT LIKE THAT !!! it gave me the heebie jeebies truth is I would not have played it then and to do so under these circumstances - well in my vocabulary there is only one word that fits the bill - it starts with C and it sure aint competing :-[ :-[ :-[ Fred, Uday - you've made it so the cards can flip when the claim button is activated PLEASE make them flip back when the claim is rejected. (Even better would be to mimic real life and not let opps see each others hands during the claim process) consider this Club bridge is declining and will continue to decline in the face of Online bridge (my generation may not like the thought but times change) Look at your membership data base - what % of the membership are currently in the Expert + category?. Well that % will steadily diminish as the membership base expands. Put your modesty aside - you guys/gals are the TIP of the iceberg. IMO the software should be geared for the masses. Please do not lead us into temptation.

To all the Newcomers to Bridge - Hi There B) This post is just for you. This is to let you into a little secret we (our group of grass roots bridgers) discovered. You have to be honest with yourself for this to work. What is your biggest challenge ? - bidding right :-- soooo much to try to remember. So easy to Pass ??? Wrong ...... B) ....... your biggest challenge is overcoming the fear of being Declarer . It is that fear that shuts down all those memories of the System info your teacher/s have so patiently plied you with. Fred said that your brain stores all the info it receives - he's right 8) Which is fine if you happen to be a Fred or one of his peers. ::) For us, grass roots bridgers though, the trick is to learn how to unblock the pathways to those memories. ( BTW I have an unrivaled expertise when it comes to unblocking the Opps suits for them B) ) Well right here on BBO you can acquire the means to put the process in motion. :) If you haven't already got one , before you log off go to the BBO Lobby - Online store and purchase a [glow=red,2,300]Bridgemaster[/glow] disc. This is the nuts and bolts you will need. Now for the Secret If this can work for us believe me it will work a hundredfold better for you . You know as well as I do that every sportsperson warms up before competing - surprise, surprise Bridge too is a sport - mental gymnastics ! Nevermind the biceps - warm up the brain. :D So here's what you do: Have a light meal (I said light you do not want the brain distracted ordering gastric juices around ???) an hour before you go to the Club. Take your liquid refreshment of choice to the computer and bring up [glow=red,2,300]Bridgemaster[/glow]. Relax Practice using random hands for 20 minutes. It's a miracle :D 8) You no longer care if you are Declarer . Instead of 'hiding' that Ace behind the 2 of clubs (amazing what the mind can achieve subconsciously ) you'll be double checking to see that you have counted every single one of those hcps and length and ..... you will WANT to bid. Now the challenge is to untangle all that flood of info into some sort of order and apply it ............. :'( I don't know how ........but I'm sure you'll figure it out.

yes, I know this subject has been aired before. BUT I see the BBF membership has risen to 760 > so some of the newcomers may not be fully aware of what is seemly and what is not. I accept all Undo requests as a matter of course. However, of late a number of these (there have indeed been several) have been to alter the play of the cards - not cricket folks :'( It's hard enough for me to win a trick as it is without having it taken off me and the cards then played so it 'bites the dust' ??? Q to Dummy's 2 of a five card suit Yes ;D my King reigns supreme 8) Undo Q to Dummy's Ace :'( poor chap he's going to get roughed up :'( IMO undos should only be requested to remedy genuine misclicks (not even used to repair the ravages of wayward mice B))

Claims I accept Claims as a matter of course. Surprised therefore when my screen said 'Claim Rejected' What happened , said I Play on, said Opps Claim again, said I Just play, said they B) I can see all the hands B) said I LOL even I can figure out a reasonable defense when I have all the hands before me :B) Seems my Partner declined the Claim. Is the one who Accepts always rewarded with a view of all the hands ? or was this just a friendly Gremlin at work ?

No fluff John - had there been it would not otherwise work in ALL other programmes :B) (I had checked though !!) Obviously my type - Genius Netscroll Optical PS2 - with 'hot keys' enabled gets itself in a tizz on BBO. It behaves perfectly now on the default driver - I just can't use the 'hot keys' on it - which is no bother really. And noooo I did not have both drivers optimised at the same time :) I don't know whether we can buy the brand JohnG/Rain recommend here in NZ - will have a look.

There is a saying that for every one that speaks up there are a dozen who suffer in silence. If this be true then there are quite a number of BBO Users who are plagued by their WAYWARD MOUSE (CURSOR) I WAS one of those and have played with and kibitzed others who have encountered similar problems. Do you have an Optical Mouse ? Does it work perfectly on all others Applications, Programs? If the answer is Yes read on - On BBO Does the cursor 'stick' ? Do you sometimes have to click more than once to get a card to move/a bid to register? On a bad day does it even take on a mind of it's own and when you select a card it tries to play a Kibitzer !! :D? or maybe it tries to grab a card from the Opps hand ?(wise mouse it knows you really do need that Ace to make your contract ;D ) If you are saying yes to any of these aggravating / making playing a nightmare situations then the answer is simple Uninstall the Optical Driver oh sure you'll lose the 'hot keys' but hey you managed for years without those . It will still scroll just fine . Now just sit back, relax and enjoy BBO just the way Fred intended