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I understand about waiting time, although I do think that five minutes should be the standard as to how long to wait before removing a player from a table in either the MBC or a tournament. My question is this: These short ISP service disruptions occur about thirteen times a day. Is service disruptions that often normal, or do I likely have an equipment problem? I tried resetting the router. Should I do that again. Or, should I call my ISP and have a technician sent to my house, which is what people are telling me to do? Or, should I switch ISPs? Thanks

I love BBO, but this is my main problem. My ISP has complete outages about five minutes at a time and about thirteen times a day. I've had similar problems with all my past ISPs as well. Every time I get bugged out from my ISP, I get logged out of BBO. I talked to a yellow about this, and she said that the problem is strictly on my end and recommended that I call my ISP and have one of the their service technicans come out to my house and check out the wiring and equipment and fix/replace anything that my need it. My advice would be, and this would be the one thing that IMO, if it can be done, would really help my experience with BBO. That would be to somehow fix the servers (Again, if this is not possible, I understand.) that instead of getting logged out immediately when the ISP bugs out as it does now, that I can stay on BBO for about three to five minutes from the time my ISP goes out (even with lags and such, which is OK as it would serve as a warning) and then get logged out after that time passes. I am planning on eventually either calling my ISP to have a service technican come to my house, or to change ISPs completely within the next few weeks to months. I'm just wondering what you would advise. Thanks!

Well, I deposited BB$, and without even playing in a tourney, the ads are gone! (They do still appear in the log-in screen, though.) Maybe I just have to keep my BB$ account at/above a minimum amount. Again, I do like seeing the BBO bridge ads as that sometimes can give good updates and it'd be nice to know whether BBO is getting sponsors, and it'd be nice to see if/that BBO is getting sponsors. I just can't run BBO with Adchoice ads on my computer. Thanks! :)

I asked yellows this, posted this on the support forum, and really need this question answered. How to I just get regular BBO ads to appear instead of Adchoices ads and how to stop getting Adchoices to appear on the ad side of the BBO screen? BBO runs very sluggishly on my computer when Adchoices ads appear (which is about 80% of the time), but just fine when the normal-looking BBO bridge ads appear. On top of that, one of the Adchoice ads freeze, freezing not only BBO but also the flash player and requiring at least five to ten minutes just to get back on BBO. Other adchoice ads are just gross, or have moving annimations that seem to slow the servers, and most of them don't seem appropriate for a bridge website. I'm fine with the normal bridge ads. I think it's great if/that BBO is having sponsors. But, I do have to have to put a stop to adchoices ads appearing on the ad screen instead. Any advice and input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Against a player who never BINGOs, all I have to do is not even to Bingo in the 25 minutes, but get so I only need to get one square to do it, in the entire 25 minutes. I don't run into them often. Against a player who BINGOs fifteen minutes in, I need to BINGO in fourteen minutes or less, which is still pretty easy with decent cards. Against a player who BINGOs ten minutes in, I need to BINGO in nine minutes or less, which seems OK enough with good cards. This is my question: Most of the opponents I run into in BINGO reward BINGO in less than five minutes. Since it appears that the tourney is essentially over once your opponent BINGO (or enough opponents BINGO in more player tourneys), since its impossible to beat or tie them: The strategy seems to be, in order to beat somebody who BINGOs in five minutes is to BINGO in four minutes. Since that seems the strategy to aim for with the opponents I get, what is the best strategy to accomplish this? A. Open only really strong hands? B. Try to use no more than six (or at most) seven hands (excluding passouts) to get a BINGO? B1) And, if this is the case, then should I commit to one line and stick with it, instead of going to alternate lines? C. Just play as fast as possible? D. Make unusual bids at times to get a square? E. Just hope and prey that this opponent doesn't BINGO in less than five minutes? I do tend to only open stronger hands, unless good partscore squares are available. I do like to go for alternate lines, which seems like good strategy for getting BINGOs in less than ten minutes, but bad strategy for getting BINGOs in less than five minutes, since you can't play as many hands. But, what is the best strategy to aim for, in BINGO, to try to get a BINGO in four minutes or less, even it such strategies might backfire if it fails. I'm not worried about taking ten minutes to BINGO instead of fifteen. BUT, I'm worried about taking four minutes to BINGO instead of six. It seems like whatever strategy I'm using to try to BINGO in less than five minutes is failing, and what I do need to do to consistently accomplish this? Thanks!

I've recently been having frequent problems with accidentially zooming in with my mouse. Here is my problem: I don't know how I'm doing this. I keep doing this by accident. However, I don't know to undo this and I can't seem anything on the Options Menu or Keyboard options to adjust the zoom to undo the accidential zoom with my mouse. Is there way you can undo accedential mouse zooms without having to know how to use the mouse to undo them? AFAIK, we must close, reopen, and log back into BBO to get the zoom back to the default level of 100%. It's just annoying to either do all this work or have to navigate and play BBO on 200% to 250% zoom levels for accidential mouse movements that I don't know how to undo. I just think that: A: There should be a way to undo accidential mouse movements. B: That software in 2015 should be able to tell the difference between accidential mouse movements and intentional mouse movements. Thanks!

In BINGO, I read that it is often good strategy to underbid in BINGO to get the low-level squares you need, but: When, if ever, and how often, is it good strategy to overbid in BINGO. When would the risk be worth the award? Example: You need a 3H and a 4H, and you figure a game is close. Is it better to try for the 4H square, even at the risk of one down, to get the 4H square and more points towards redeals, knowing the risk of going down, or is it better to just go for the 3H square? Thanks for your input. .

Suppose between your hand and dummy, in the key suit, this is the layout: Declarer Hand: KQJ9 Dummy: 1085 Suppose in order to make the bid, you don't have to run the suit for zero losers, but you MUST win the first trick of the suit. You can NOT let the opponents take the ace on the first trick of the suit. If they do, you're down. But, if you win the first trick, even if the opponents take the ace later, you make the bid. What is generally the best play to accomplish this on this 4-3 fit? Now, the tougher question: On the same above holding, if you say, overbid the hand, and now actually have to take four tricks in the mentioned suit to make the bid (Meaning: You must run the suit for zero losers), what would be the best bet? An endplay of some sorts? A squeeze? Is it even possible? What would be the best bet here? And, is it really as odds-against to work at is seems?

I love playing the IMP robot duplicate tourneys, with one minor issue. When I play the hand well, I make an overtrick while the rest of the Field just makes, scoring +650 while most of the Field scores +620, for a 1 IMP gain. When I misplay the hand, I go down one while the rest of the Field makes exactly, scoring -100 to the Field's +620, losing 12 IMPs. But, it doesn't seem like the 1 IMP gains make up for the 12 IMP losses. So, I'm getting punished more for the bad plays than awarded for the good ones. Am I just misplaying the hands at the wrongs times or what? Really, here are my points. A. Are some hands likely worth bigger swings than others, at IMPs, even against GIB? B: Will a 12 IMP loss be more likely to drop me in the standings than a 1 IMP gain is to boost me, even in Robot IMP tourneys? C: Shouldn't every board be of equal weight, even in IMPs? D: What should I do? I also play in the MP tourneys, which is slightly more boring (still fun enough though), but I do tend to fare slightly better in them. Thanks for your input. I'm just frustrated that when I play a hand well that the Field doesn't, I don't get awarded much (at least not in the IMP ones), but I misplay the hands, it's disasterous. It just seems like being -100 to the Field's +620 is a much bigger adverse effect than being +650 to the Field's +620 is being a good one. I just don't think it's fair that my bad plays are punished more than my good plays are awarded because of the timing of the bad plays vs. the timing of the good plays. Thanks!

Using the regular version of BBO, in the main screen, there is, in addition to the news icon, an ad icon that shows verious bridge-related ads (like that cruise and BBO updates and the like. I have no problems whatsoever with the news icon and menus. But I do have one with that ad thing in the top right hand corner of the screen. Usually, it requires a load from Internet Explorer, which takes three minutes to load, while AOL and BBO both going to "Program Not Responding" until that window has completely finished loading. Some of the news windows do to, but I do like that icon and will click on the thing if it seems interesting enough. But, that ad icon, I often click on it accidentally. Even if clicked on accidentally, it still takes three minutes to load, with AOL and BBO both vertually unusuable (and the rest of the computer severly slowed down) until that window is done loading. And, I don't find most of the things from that ad icon that intersting, but I click on it by accident often. I don't like having my computer freeze up for three minutes waiting to load a window I didn't intend to load. I know I'm being picky, but it too much to ask to replace that ad icon to a larger "BBO News Icon", which just pops up a menu that takes 15 seconds to load as opposed to (usually) a IE window that takes 3 minutes to load, and shows the news and advertisements that I could click on that could be an interest to me. Failing that, I'll settle for a changing ad screen like it is now, but just have the BBO News menu pop up, instead of an IE window for that particular ad, if I would click on it. I am just tired of having my computer freeze up for three minutes for an accidental click. Sorry about the pickiness and thanks.

Whenever all my other windows run normally, BBO seems to run fine. However, whenever my AOL window (And, this is a broadband connection) goes into "Program Not Responding" mode (which usually adds three minutes (sometimes more: Often as many as ten minutes), BBO also goes into PNR. It would seem nice while surfing to at least be able to look at BBO results or such while waiting for a slow internet connection to go, but it does not. Now, while this stuff seems normal on dial-up connections, I don't get why BBO always goes into PNR whenever my ISP window does when it's a Broadband connection and I can even log into BBO without logging into AOL. So, it is likely a problem on my end? Or, is it a BBO problem. It just seems weird that while BBO runs fine whenever AOL runs fine, and I can log into BBO without even opening the AOL window, that whenever the AOL window lags, the BBO window also lags simutaniously. Thanks!

My observations lately have been this: Normally, thin games in the GIB MP and IMP tourneys seem to usually make (at least if you play well). However, if you use Stayman and Transfers and the GIB opponents double for the lead, it seems to pay off to just settle for the partscore (even if points-wise, game is a favorite), as they often make the lead, hit the Ace, then return the lead for a ruff (or another trick), and the trumps and other key suits also seem to break badly often. It seems like thin games usually make when there is no interfearance, but when the opponents double Stayman and Transfers for leads, you're lucky that a partscore makes (and obviously, esp in MPs, going one down in partscore beats going three down in game. So, it is true to be more conservative in game bidding when the opponents double conventional bids for leads? Thanks!

I know PNRs are common if you're using a compute with malware problems and using an ISP with the same problem, but I when I log on to BBO, it goes into PNR mode for (and I'm not exaggerating) FOUR whole MINUTES at ONE time!!!. Usually, this happens immediately upon logging on to BBO, and happens most often when I just rebooted or turned on my computer. Essentially, what this does it turn a 20 second log-in time to a four-and-a-half minute (!) log-in time. I don't think, even with the malware my computer has and the ISP also having a simular problem that this lag should ever approach one minute at a time, let alone exceed three full minutes at one time. So, I think there might be some problem with the BBO server that if it goes to PNR, it does it for way longer than it should. Anybody else having this problem? (I'm not talking about going to PNRs frequently, but I'm am talking about staying at that mode for long periods at one time.) It seems to me they should do something to try to get this lag (when it comes up) reduced by at least 90%. It shouldn't ever take more than 20 seconds, not three minutes. OTOH, my ISP (AOL Broadband): I'm having the same problems with it. And, I also notice that whenever my ISP goes into PNR, so does0 BBO, and BBO won't come back until my ISP does. So, might it be better to close AOL (I can log onto BBO without logging on to AOL with my current Broadband device)? I still think there is something wrong with BBO's drivers for this lag to ever take this long, even with my ISP and malware problems, but I could be mistaken. ETA: I contacted a yellow (Georgi) and she showed me some links that connected BBO to a backup server which she said should help solve this problem. I'm giving it a try. Thanks!

Assuming you equally need both 2S and 4S on the Bingo Card: Say, you figure in the bidding that 2S is absouletly cold. 4S also figures to be a huge favorite to make, unless the trumps break 4-0, in which case 4S would go down. Should I be content to play safe and pass out in 2S, or bid 4S? Does it depend where the cards are in the BINGO card, or how often does it appear? Does it depend on where I stand in Redeals? Perhaps if 3S is also in the Bingo Card, should I bid that to invite? In MPs, IMPs, and TPs it is obvious to try to bid games if it seems that only a bad trump break or a bad lay of the cards would set it. Everybody else will, and you need the bigger scores. But, in BINGO, it seems to me like the popular belief if you need both partscores and games on your BINGO card, get the partscore now (even if game seems to be cold), just take the partscore, even if the higher points for making game would be helpful in getting a redeal, as getting a square covered is 100% guarenteed instead of 90% guarenteed. But, redeals can be valuable, especailly early. But, going down in game when I could have played in and made partscore seems more costly in Bingo than in the MP, IMP, and TP tourneys. Opinions on this, please? Should game bidding be far more conservative in Bingo than in other tourney types? I post this because I've been going down in many contacts going for game due to bad trump breaks and such when I could have played at lower levels, and this to be the main thing preventing me from doing well in BINGO tourneys. Is this bad strategy in BINGO as it seems to be?

No. As I stated in another thread, my AOL program also has the same problem.

Well, I've been trying to fix the malware issues on my computer. I have five different programs that's supposed to block and clean malware, some of them I pay a monthly fee for, and none of them have worked nearly as good as advertised on my computer. But, I will ask this: Is it probably just the malware that's causing the Program Not Responding errors with BBO that I was complaining about in the other thread, that is turning a 30 second log-in time to a three minute + log-in time, effectively sextupling the log-in wait time? I could see malware causing PNREs to double, maybe even triple the log-in time, but multiply it by six to seven? But, I don't see others complaining about it in that thread, so maybe it is my computer.

I have a slight preference to the regular version, but the Web version has the BINGO and seems to be slightly faster with the GIB tournaments. My biggest beef with the Web Version: I have ATT Dialer and AOL Broadband. It's supposedly faster than AOL Dialup (I have to see evidence of this. Despite claims that this Internet is 90% faster than my old Internet, Malware (Spyware, background programs, registry errors, hard drive errors, etc.) seems to slow down the loading times just as much, if not slightly more now as before, even though they didn't claim that "It's 90% faster with a clean computer). BTW, I feel that AOL and ATT lied to me about their about their Internet speed. While it faster, it's not to the extent they advertised. I knew I main problem was Malware and drive errors slowing down my surfing speed, and they didn't say 90% faster provided a clean computer. They said it would be 90% faster. And, I was very excited about having to scan and clean my computer once every week instead of once every two days, thinking that malware and drive errors would not slow down my surfing speed nearly as much as before. But, while my download time without malware slowing is much faster on a clean computer, the clutter and drive problems slows down surfing speed as before, and I have to now scan and clean once every day. Example: It before took 30 Seconds to load a website on a clean computer, but add two minutes to that time on the state my computer is 80% of the time (always with problems). Now, the base 30 seconds might be down to 3 seconds, but the problem time is still 2 minutes for a total of 2:03 instead of 2:30. And, if my math is correct, 2:03 (123 seconds) is much more than 10% of 2:30 (150 seconds). But, the main problem is that I frequently have "Program Not Responding" errors with my ISP. It usually happens upon logging on (I usually log on to BBO first.), and when I try to load too many websites in a short time, but it sometimes happens randomly at any time. With the regular Version and Broadband, I don't even have to be logged in to my ISP. Now, I will say that when I am logged on with my ISP, and it goes PNR, it sometimes BBO would do the same sometimes, but sometimes it'd run. But, with the Web Version, I have to be logged on to my ISP. And, the Web Version is tied to my ISP window, so if my AOL goes into PNR Mode, not only would BBO be put on hold while this happens (And, three usually happens for about three minutes at a time, and sometimes two times consecutively), but I have to log back on, and that another minute or two. In any GIB race tourney, being down for as much as five minutes or more at a time is a killer. I will say that once I got the new Internet, when I'm not having problems with PNR Errors, I do get more hands in Robot Race and Best Hand tournerys now than before. I previously would only get in about 12-15 hands, excluding passouts. Now, I do often get in 20-25 hands, excluding passouts. So, my suggestion is this: 1. I know I have to be logged onto the Web Version for BINGO, but based on what I said above, would you recommend the Web Version for tourneys like Best Hand, Robot Race and the like, or would I be better off with the old version for this? 2. Would I be better off just playing in tourneys where time is less of a factor, such as Random Hands, MP Duplicate, or IMP Duplicate? And, I do with I could play BINGO with the old version, but I can be understanding if this is not a possibilty. I'm planning soon on ditching AOL Broadband and go to the ATT Internet. I was supposed to at the time I got my current Internet, but my Internet Explorer was broken at the time the ATT guy came to install it, so he had to hook me up with AOL Broadband instead. Will that likely improve my BBO performance?

True. If they could enter another tourney as soon as they BINGO, while other tables still play. I do this myself. I should have phrased that better. Sorry. I think the added strategy of just trying to get close to BINGO in the event you get bad cards and nobody else is BINGOing either, the fact that the Clock would actually comes into play more, and the increased (while stlll slim) chance of ties for places still within the point reward range, without too much change from how they're run now, is what makes this change worthwhile.

Sorry to bump this thread. My opinion on redeals still stands (You start with one, and earn additional redeals for each 500 points), but here is a new one. Change the 25 Minute Clock and reduce it to a 15 Minute Clock, in both Bingo Race and Reward. This is how I see this being better. 1. It is still enough of a long shot that enough players will BINGO to allow anybody not BINGO in even 15 minutes to be in the rewards that it will not change anything major. At least in Reward, the majority of the time I sign up, you're out of the rewards in 10 minutes. However... 2. It does make it slightly more likely that not enough players will end before the clock expires to allow somebody who fell just short of BINGO to still place in the rewards. This is, IMO, a good thing because... > A. It actually adds to the strategy of trying to get the least squares needed to BINGO (to go from B to BI to BIN to BING), as it will down to getting to BING (or even BIN) more often to get in the money or points. > B. It allows more ties, which makes it more attractive to join, esp. in Race (where it actually is more likely to come down to the strategy listed above. If there is a multi-way tie for the last place because, FE., it's a seven player tourney, only two players have botten BINGO, but three players have gotten to BING, there is a three-way tie for third place, and all three players get the full points. I know the money in Reward is still split. However, this chance would make it slightly more likely to be in the money or points, because ties are more likely now, and therefore making it more attractive to join with the slightly better odds. > C. The Clock actually will come into play more often, again because of the strategies listed above. You see that BIN will keep you out of the points, but as long as nobody else BINGOs before the clock runs out, you still place with BING, but still need a square just to get to this, it makes the fun rush to try to get that needed square, tie the others in BING, and get in the points! 3. As it stands now, the only thing the Clock is usually good for, esp. in Reward, is that if you have a player that wants to play out the tourney and mess around, or just get away from the computer without withdrawing, the ones who BINGOed 20 minutes ago are still waiting for their rewards. If nothing else (Meaning: Even with the 15 minute clock, enough players get BINGO to ensure that anybody who doesn't will not place in the points, which will still happen the majority of the time), esp. in Reward, you know if you BINGO in five minutes, the results and rewards will come in no more than 10 minutes, not 20. 4. As far as getting as many hands in as possible in 25 Minutes (if it's still possible to place without BINGOing, if they want to continue playing even if they have no chance to win, etc.): Well, can't they still do that in Best Hand or Robot Race (in which it always comes down to the last second, at least to some extent)? You can keep Best Hand and Robot Race at 25 Minute, while changing the BINGO clock to 15 Minutes. This is what I see as the biggest argument for keeping it the way it is, and I'm countering it. The only good argument I can think of for leaving it the way it is is that a 25 Minute clock makes it easier to try to see how many squares you can fill before you finally gst a BINGO than my proposed 15 Minute clock. I can see this one, but it think the higher chance of making the points because of more ties for places still in the rewards alone easily trumps getting more hands to just see if you can cover more squares without getting a BINGO. So, anybody else think that changing BINGO's 25 Minute Clock to a 15 Minute Clock is a good idea? Or, am I in the minority? I could see one argument against me: With any luck, you should be able to BINGO in 25 Minutes and not place if you can't. But, I could argue that if you can't, but not enough players also can't, you should get something for being close. Do you agree with my suggestion about changing BINGO's 25 Minute Clock to 15 Minutes, or leave it like it is. If you think it should stay the way it is (Other than just, "That's the way it's always been and it's worked fine enough so far"), please let us know your side. Thanks!

I should point out I've had GIB pass out my takeout doubles several times on inapproprate hands, and usually I get poor results (usually opponents making doubled) when it does happen. Occasionally, I do get a +500 with no game on with GIB correctly passing out a takeout double (Of course, other tables are having the same happen so it's not a cold top when it does.) Usually initial takeout doubles do get taken out approately. It's reopening doubles that are for takeout that GIB tends to leave in error. It still won't stop me from making reopening doubles. But, what the kind of hands GIB does passout takeout doubles makes me reluctant to for myself to pass out penalty doubles. I recall one hand (Don't recall the specific hand or details) where I went for, IIRC, -1100 for taking out a penalty double, ending up in a weak 4-3 fit with no play whatsoever (They ended up drawing our, trumps and cashing their side winners at the end.) when passing out the double would have left them in a 4-2 fit against a 5-2 break, likely giving us at least a +800. But, giving the hands GIB pa out takeout doubles, and the way GIB declares much better than it defends, and the way it usually bids, I thought the contract would likely make and our contract would be two down at worst. Of course, one I thing I can't complain about is GIB's overbidding (or perhaps my misbidding) of slams. I have been pushed to nonmaking grands before (most often bidding 7 of a suit over 6NT, or 6NT or a slam in a high-ranking suit in which I wanted to be in a slam in a lower-ranking suit), but I've also gotten lucky with GIB pushing me to a grand I did not want to be in, then needing a finesse to win and good suit breaks, and getting the lucky layout, and won a couple of GIB duplicate tournaments this way. :)

With all the complaining about GIB, I would like to say there are GOOD things about GIB tournaments. One if that I play at a good pace in all of them. In all of them, once you finish a hand, you go right to the next hand. No waiting for other tables to finish like in clocked round tourneys like ACBL, Sky Club, etc. But, the main thing is that: No matter how badly I mess up the bidding and play (I've been known to do this several times in several of the GIB tourneys), the GIB Partner just stays silent. :) No unwanted lectures or lessons. Just nice silence like nothing happens. Your score (whether it's MPs, IMPs, or TPs) still takes a huge hit whenever do anything you go down in a cold game, go down in slam, misbid your hand so badly that you do something like end up in an unmakable 3H contract while 4S is cold, having the opponents make an overtrick in a doubled contract, go for -1100, or any other bonehead move etc, so I don't need the insult to injury, and I don't get it with GIB. :) In fact, I've never had the GIB chat anything to GIB. Keep it like this, please. :) Since I've (and others) been known to complain about GIB, I just would like to make a post to appreciate the GOOD things about GIB tourneys.

I usually do withdraw once I see there is no possible way to make the points or money (and thanks for determining that), and it count as a nocount instead of a incompletion if I withdraw. I have also withdrawn from several Best Hand and Random Hand tourneys once I see there that I am so far behind that there is pretty much no way, short of getting, bidding, and making slams every hand the rest of the tourney (although it still counts you score if I do). But, I've also withdrawn from a few duplicate tourneys (again, once I see there is no possible way to place), and my profile (which it only shows in the Web/Bingo Version) still shows a 100% completion rate. I guess it's just dropping out of human partner/opponent tournaments like ACBL, Sky Club, BBO Land, etc. (which I very rarely sign up for anymore). I know there could be some fun made out of a BINGO tourney (I still prefer Robot Race for the "too see how many hands I can play in 25 minutes" deal. I guess I could see how many squares I could fill before getting a BINGO, but I don't see it really worth the time wasted playing in a tourney you don't have to finish and have absolutely zero chance of placing. Otherwise, it does seem like a waste of time to finish the tourney if it won't count againt you in the Tourney Completion Stats (just you don't get credit for completing it). ETA: I would like to see the 25 Minute clock be reduced to a 15 Minute clock (esp. in Reward, but in Race too), just to add the fun strategy that involves getting to need the fewest squares to BINGO to place, as the last place for the money or points would come to down more often. (I'm aware money awards are split, but you get the full masterpoints for the place of the tie if you make the points this way). This would also slightly increase the chance of making the points, making the tourneys (esp. the 25c Bingo Race) more attractive to join. And, esp. in Reward, if you only need one square to BINGO and actually not get enough opponents to BINGO to knock you out of the money and points (That is enough of a longshot even with a 15 minute clock, esp. in Reward!), you deserve to be in the money/points. And, the clock actually comes into play more often.

From what I understand, if somebody BINGOs ahead of you: You obviously can't beat them. You can't tie them (which would be good thing as I will explain below), as in this event, it scores players who have gotten BINGO by who gets BINGO first (First is first, second is second, third is third, etc). IOWs, there are no ties here. (I think even if two people get BINGO the exact same time to the tenth of a second, which is extremely unlikely, the computer breaks the tie.) It seems to mean that you can only lose (or, IOW, already lost) to such players? Therefore, from what I notice and understand: Say there are four players in a BINGO tourney (meaning, you have to finish second or better to make the points). If you see in the Scoreboard that two players have already got BINGO, even if you only need one square to BINGO and there are still 20 minutes left in the 25 Minute Clock, you still might as well withdraw (unless you want to finish the tourney for reasons like seeing how many hands you could get in {I like Robot Race tourneys better for this, winning or losing}, seeing how many squares you and fill without getting BINGO, or other reasons not relating to result). What I do like (perhaps my favorite thing) about BINGO tourneys, esp. Bingo Race, even if it does rarely come down to it, is when you don't BINGO within the 25 Minute Clock, but you, say, only need one square to BINGO at the end of the tourney, and still make the points because of it (and I have had this happen a couple of times in Race)., you tie everybody else who does the same (even if you get the square needed to get to 'BING' in the last minute), and everybody involved in the tie gets full points (100% for first, 70% for second, 50% for third, etc.), instead of the duplicate tourney placings for tie (Ex: 51.67% for three-way for second [(70 + 50 + 35) / 2)]. That I do like. But, it there any point (mathamatically possiblity of making the points/money) if enough oppoenents have beaten you to a full BINGO, to continue playing? I have been withdrawing from BINGO tourneys whenever I see this happening. Am I doing something I might as well be doing, or am I still giving up a chance (even if it is a slim one) to make the money/points. I'm asking this because I don't want to withdraw from a BINGO tourney with even a 1% chance of placing in the money or points, but I don't to waste time continuing playing in a tourney that I have zero chance to place. Just making an observation and wanting to verify if it's correct. Thanks!

That thread is a nice one, but doesn't seem to help me with my cards. It says not to open with less than 18 points to avoid hands likely to be passout battles: Seeemingly good stragegy, and I don't open anything less than a 16, but, I still usually get them anyway. My GIB LHO always seem to have opening value hands while my GIB Partner always seem to have rubbish, so the bidding is opened (because my LHO always seems to have opening values) and there is NO chance for game. While it seems to be good advice, it's discouraging reading based on the cards I usually get dealt in those. That thread seems to say that playing partscores are bad. And, usually, I seem to have to defend them, and my defense against partscores sucks, and GIB seems to play slower when the opponents declare. And, although the stakes are lower, partscores hands don't see to be any faster than game hands (If anything, they're slower). I know the rare times I actually DO get dealt game hands, I tend to do better, but that's moot point with the cards I usually get in them. BUT, I do have somewhat better luck in Random Hands (which seems to be the only money reward tourney I have much good luck in). The thing I like about Random Hands is that I could make a NV game in Board 1, than a Vul game in Board 2, maybe get a small plus (making parscore or setting opponents) in Board 3. Board 4 comes, I see the opponents are about to make a vul game, I could just log off of BBO or even get away from or turn off my computer, thinking and hoping my 1200 score is enough to get me in the money (which it often is), and not need to play the full 25 minutes like in Best Hand (where the money cutoff is usually around 4000-5000). I think I'll stop playing Best Hand and stick with Random Hands. I seem to do OK in the 25c Robot Race (much better than I do in Best Hand), but people rarely sign up for those at the times I want to play them.

I need the answer to this one. I read through the threads, I don't see the answer to this. What is the best way to win in Best Hand tourneys when you just keep getting dealt partscore hand after partscore battle? And, PLEASE tell me what I have read about Partscore Battles in Best Hand (Hope not to get dealt too many of them: Partscores in Best Hand = Bad), is NOT true??? It seems like 70% of the hands I get dealt in Best Hand are Partscore Battles, and I rarely place in those. In the last one, I was getting -140s defending making partscores EVERY hand and came from being first out of seven to MISSING THE POINTS. Shouldn't being -140 in a hand many tables would be -170, -200, and maybe even a occasional -500 or -620 or -730? Are -140s REALLY THAT BAD in Best Hand? Seriously, what is the best way to win in Best Hand when you just keep geting dealt partscore cards? A: Play fast, don't think, and don't care if you get a plus or not? And, try to get in as many hands as possible? Seems like bad strategy to me, although it is a timed tourney, and it is fun to get in more hands. Still, wouldn't pluses be better than minuses. And, aren't some of the things that often happen when rushed, like going down in cold contracts, still bad even in Best Hand?. B: Overbid and bid a game that's an extreme longshot to make? If you think you're already likely down in 3H, why would you want to bid 4H? It seems like a better strategy would be to take a likely small plus or small minus for an unlikely bigger plus and likely bigger minus. C: Play carefully and try to get a plus (like you would in IMPs)? This SEEMS like a good strategy, and you would gain against anybody getting a minus (even if it's going down in a slam), but it just doesn't seem to hope as me much as I should. D: Try to be declarer (or better yet, have the GIB partner declare), and try at least to avoid DEFENDING partscores? This DOES seem like a good strategy, as I do seem to have better luck declaring or dummying partscores than defending them, especially in Best Hand. You also usually get through the hand faster when you declare and fastest when you dummy, but slower when you defend. But, it just doesn't seem to help me enough to win. And, I do often end up playing hopeless contracts when using this strategy, though, so it's not totally backfire-proof. E: Perhaps really open all hands you would open in other tourneys (12+ point hands), . Perhaps this makes it harder for the opponents to compete, so if I do have to play partscores, I can at least be more likely to declare and dummy more of them, have a proper bidding auctions like I would in other tourney types, and get more plus scores in those. F: Perhaps only open REALLY STRONG hands (18+ points! Well, if you count passouts as full hands, you could set a record in getting in the most hands, which could cause fun in a tourney even if you don't place in the money. It still seems to make it easy for the opponents to open or get in if either of them has an opening hand, just like the standard not open <15pt hand rule. G: Double and pass out takeout doubles against the opponents agressively in Best Hand if you do have to defend? Given the way GIB declarers (and how I seem to defend), this is probably a losing strategy to me, but at least is does give one unlikely chance for a large plus like you could get if you make a game or even a slam. If you get them, those +500s, +800s and +1100s can come in really handy, but is it worth the risking a more likely bad minus score like a -670? H: Hope and pray not to get dealt too many of such hands if I could control it? This just comes down to ramdon luck. And, if THIS is true, then I need to stop playing Best Hand. Battles for Partscores seem to be my trademark Best Hand deal (What I most often get dealt in those.) It does, unfortunately, seem like it'd a winning strategy if I COULD control it, as I do seem to do better in Best Hand the rare times most of the my hands are game hands with an occasional slam hand, and very few partscore hands, even when I do overbid or misplay the games and go down in them. I: Just stop playing Best Hand And, stick with Random Hands, Robot Race, Bingo, or Duplicate, where partscores CAN be a good thing, or play tourneys whose trademark hands that are not the tourney type's losing hands? J: Other. I need the answer to this one. I read through the threads, I don't see the answer to this.