ArcLight

How would you interpret this auction? You deal and pass with a weak hand holding 6 baby clubs and a stiff spade p 1D X p 2C 2D 2S p ? What does pards 2S bid mean? How strong are they? Do you pass pard in 2S with a weak hand?

I too would like this feature. Currently, it's annoying to have to inspect tables and if you do find a good one, it gets filled while you are looking at it.

I'm not going to wait 10 minutes to review some hands, I want to see right then and there how the opponents play, as that can affect the next hand. I'd rather not inconvenience everyone, but I have no choice given the deliberate limitation of the software. I play to have fun, and it's not fun for me to not see dummy, or wait 10-15 minutes to review some hands. I'm surprised that so many are resistant to even having the ability to see all 4 hands as dummy an option, that can be off by default. Why do any of you care how my partner and I like to play? We want to see dummy. We enjoy the game less not seeing dummy.

I'd be fine with that. Dummy should be silent anyway.

We contacted BBO and they said to discuss this issue on the forums. My partner and I don't like to not to be able to see Dummy. We don't want to be punished because some others are obnoxious. We are asking that this be made optional (default is dummy can't see the defenders hands) so that those who want to follow the opponents play, and review their bidding during the hand can do so. It would be relatively inexpensive to implement this request.

So the vast majority (whatever that means) don't have to have the dummy sees all 4 hands option turned on. That seems like a pretty simple solution. Have teh edfault mode set to 'Can't see' the 4 hands. 1 - it's easy to code that option 2 - it's not confusing to players 3 - it would make some of us happy, and not make anyone unhappy because the host can control this option and who sits. 4 - As it stands now I delay the table about a minute after every hand while I review the opponents bidding and carding. That is a far worse annoyance than an occasional dumb comment. We really Really REALLY *HATE* the new BBO format. We would go elsewhere if there was a viable alternative, which there isn't. But we liked BBO prior to being forced to using the new software. Is that how you want people who have been using BBO for 10+ years to feel? Don't you want you customers happy if what they are asking for is trivial to code, and can be an option that most don't use?

We only let experts sit, and we never have these types of problems. In addition, I'm asking for this to be an OPTION, not mandatory. In pure random vs random games, you can have it off, but make it an option. It's not a difficult task to have the 2 defenders visible to dummy. It would be easy to code and would make (let's say) 25% of the pairs happier while those that hate that option don't have to use it, nor sit at a table that has it on. I don't understand all the resistance. My partner and I REALLY want to see all 4 hands as dummy, and neither we nor our opponents make dumb comments. If an easy to implement feature makes some of your client base happy, and doesn't harm the others, isn't that a good thing?

Diana, Thank you for the link, this explains a lot. Unfortunately, I don't agree with Fred. At our table, we don't allow obnoxious comments. We warn players not to make more comments like that. But it negatively impacts our enjoyment to not see all 4 hands. And few dummies make these types of comments, so the large majority of players have to suffer to stop a few comments here and there. I think that's a poor trade-off. What I now have to do is after every hand I force the entire table to wait for me as I reveiw the opponents carding. I look for how they play, signal, discard, underlead aces against suit contracts, and their bidding. So all 3 players (4 counting me) have to wait an extra minute. Isn't that worse than allowing dummy to see all 4 hands?

Our table is set up by my partner and I. We don't allow opponents to make obnoxious comments, and we don't make them ourselves. So its not 3-1. Its 4-0 at our tables. How do you know it's unpopular to see the dummy anyway? There was no scientific survey, no proof, just hearsay that people repeat. I'm sure there are some obnoxious dummy players, but why spoil the fun of 90% of players because 10% are obnoxious? Just warn them not to make further comments, upon threat of being removed.

I think it was a bad decision, as this is annoying in practice. But far worse is not being able to kibitz as dummy, seeing all 4 hands. I want to see if opponents underlead aces against suit contracts, how they card, how they signal. As it stands now after each hand I have to pause and go through the prior hand to review how they carded, and this delays the game. I don't have a great memory that I can remember all the carding, so without being able to watch all 4 hands, I have to delay the game while I review. It must have been a conscious decision to disallow dummy from seeing all 4 hands, and I think it's a bad choice. At least make it a host option. I doubt many players will refuse to sit at a table because dummy acn see all 4 hands. If I want to cheat, I can have a kibitzer text me the opponents hands. How many cheat like that, at least in casual games? 1 in 1,000? For my partner and I, the new interface really lessens our enjoyment of the game.

Sorry for the late response. Why would this be unpopular? Was there a survey and the majority of players asked for this? It surely was a conscious decision by the developers, but I don't like it. It makes the game far less enjoyable for me. I want to see how the opponents card during play. And I want to see how they play. As it stands now, I have to delay my opening bid until after I review the card play of the prior round. Why would anyone object to dummy seeing all 4 hands during play, cheating? At the expense of not being able to follow the play? I don't think there is a large majority of players would refuse to sit at the table where dummy can kib. If I really wanted to cheat, couldn't I have a kibitzer text me the hands? Why ruin the game for > 99% of the players to stop the fraction of 1% who cheat?

The biggest problem with the new version is that as dummy I can't view the opponents hands during the play. I want to see how they play, how they card, how they lead. It's boring to me to not see them play, so I end up web surfing instead, and don't always hear the 'bong' when the new hand starts. That's the other problem, the sound effects. With the old software when a new hand started and it was my turn to bid, the game made a loud sound that I would never miss. No so with the new software. Why can an option be added to allow dummy to view all 4 hands? And why can't the sound be changed as an option?

And please, please add an option that the host can set that allows the dummy player to view the opponents hands during play. That's a real killer for me. I want to watch how they play. Without it, I go web surfing and may miss when it's my turn to bid. The old software had a much better chime when it was time to bid. This is the biggest negative of the new BBO software, to the point that I'd play elsewhere if there was a reasonable alternative.

6 seconds is too long, esp[ecially if several people want to sit at your table and you have to look at each profile and then X it out. It's rather annoying. It adds extra time so that by the time I get to the third player they may have left. End of the world no. But pretty annoying. Suggestion - let it be a user definable parameter, with 6 seconds as the default, but it could be reduced to 0.

I have avoided using the new software because I didn't like it but now that I am forced to use it I have a few suggestions. 1 - When I am Dummy I want to look at the opponents hands and see how they card. Do they make Ace underleads? Do they make questionable bids? Do they card in weird ways? The new software doesn't allow me to see the opponents hands, so it's far less interesting to me to watch. I end up web surfing instead. Easy fix - allow an option when setting up the table to keep opponents hands visible to dummy 2 - I don't like the new sounds. On numerous occasions I didn't realize it was my turn to bid. The old software had a distinctive sound and it was obvious when I had to bid even if I was web surfing. Suggestion - change the sounds and make the "Your Turn To Bid" sound much louder and distinct. 3 - With the old software it was easy to see who was kibitzing, and what player profiles are. Now to see kibs I have to go to the side then click on some tabs. Even then the list doesn't refresh. It would be nice if there was a place on the main screen that if you moved your cursor there would show kibitzers, updated every 5 seconds. But more importantly its annoying that profiles stay up for 6 seconds after I move the mouse off the player. If 3 people want to sit at the table, its annoying to have to manually close each box. Suggestion - when you mouse off the player - the screen should close immediately. I'm sorry to say but I much preferred the old software. BBO had good reasons for retiring it and moving to this format, I'm not knocking them for that. But I really dislike this current version.

6 seconds is rather annoying, I want the screen close when I move the mouse off. In practice I find that I have to manually close the window rather than having the profile obscure the screen. And if people want to play at your table and you are looking at their profiles its slower and more annoying to have to manually close each profile. End of the world, no. But still annoying.

Or better yet, auto refresh itself, say every 5 seconds.

Thats still a little annoying because you have to remember to do that. I'd prefer that it auto refresh. In fact I'd prefer that from the main screen you could mouse over a corner and see who is kibitzing.

I wasn't aware of that, thank you for letting me know.

I have always used the old interface because I didn't like the new one. I realize BBO had good reasons for shutting down the old version. Now that I'm forced to use the new version I really dislike it, but with a few small options it would be acceptable. I listed those above: see the opponents hands as dummy, mous eover window closing when moving the cursor off of it, better sounds. Nothing hard to code here, its already coded.

It stays open too long to be practical. If I want to get a quick look at profiles I have to X them out because otherwise they stay up too long. A feature that closes the window faster (say 0.1 seconds rather than what it currently is) would be appreciated.

The new software looks very nice, and is probably safer and easier for BBO to maintain. But my partner and I dislike some of the features. 1) As Dummy I can't see the opponents hands. I like to see how they card so I can form an opinion of them and make notes to help me decide if I want to play with them in the future. With the old version I could see both opponents hands, now I can't. This causes me to lose interest in the hand. Suggestion - have an option the host can set that allows dummy to see the opponents hands. I'm not worried about cheating, and this would be at the hosts discretion. 2) Its rather annoying looking at player profiles now. I can no longer mouse over them. I have to click on them and the box stays up and I have to close it. If people want to sit at my table its much slower to look at their profiles too, as I have to one by one click on them, then close them. Suggestion - Please implement a better was of looking at potential players, such as a mouse over feature. 3) Its difficult to see who is kibitzing. I can no longer hover the cursor over the corner box, I have to navigate to another screen Suggestion - implement a mouse over area like the old BBO had where I can easily see who is kibitzing. 4) The sounds were better with the old software. It was clear when it was my turn to bid. Now I'm sometimes not aware that everyone is waiting on me. Adding a mouse over feature and allowing the Dummy would be great enhancements.

I too am disappointed with the new software. You can see who is kipping my clicking on one of the tabs to the far right, then clicking on Kibitzers. Buts its far less convenient than the old way.

The problem with CLicking rather than Mousing over is its slower, and then you have to click on the X to close the box. I'd much prefer being able to mouse over rather than clicking.

When I started I went through all the Mike Lawrence software, its excellent. And I read a lot of books on basic card play and defense. I did not concentrate on conventions, using just a handful of the basics (take out doubles, Stayman, Blackwood, transfers) It helps to play a lot, just be aware that if you play with bad players you wont improve as much and may learn bad habits.