HeavyDluxe

Especially on the bidding side of things. Simple 'natural' methods is the best primer... And, after some times getting cold cards the idea/appeal of duplicate is easy to see. I'm glad I still had 'Kitchen Bridge' in my early days as a player. This...

I'm not sure I really agree with this foundationally, but I'm not a kid/youth so stay off my lawn, etc. I do _know_, however, that the only way this is going to happen is if a sufficiently motivated, media-savvy group of youngsters do it. There have been many efforts by old farts to market the game to young people, but all our efforts are clearly tinged with kistch, look like out-of-date parodies of what is current, and smell vaguely of mothballs and Brut aftershave. Nothing is more tiresome in our current media environment than something that is clearly inauthentic.

Yes. I _really_ don't think the rule complexity is a problem... If you look at the interactions in the most popular card (or card-style) games right now - MTG, Keyforge, L5R, Netrunner, etc - there's plenty of complexity and complex interactions. I think the problem is the in the way many people play gatekeeper with those complexities and go out of their way to make the game as demanding as possible on the newbies. My son got into MTG and similar things. They don't really appeal to me much (though Keyforge is fun once in a while), but I've gone with him to a number of game nights just to be part of his thing. The community there is tremendously welcoming. Willing to share, will happily play "nerf'd" decks for a round against you to make it fun, actively encouraging people to come back, etc. It's something we need to learn from... Desperately.

I think Max is onto something... My family attends a summer camp week with a bunch of other nutty, nerdy homeschool families... A few years ago, a couple of us who were interested in bridge started teaching some of the other people to play. All of them love games, and many appreciated games that make you _think_ (like Catan and other eurogames) What hooked them was focusing on the cardplay elements first. I'd put up a single-suit play problem and people started to see the beauty of the game. Move that into minibridge and then help people see the way duplicate norms out great/bad runs of cards and allows people to really pit their wits against one another. Then, finally,move onto the 'additional codebreaking challenge' of the bidding system. That order of operations, combined with the social element of bridge that I think people ARE craving in our disconnected culture, seems to be a winning recipe. We went from two people three full tables in a couple years. No one's competing in the Spingold or anything, but people are enjoying the game and looking forward to playing every year. A smaller handful would play more often if they could, but bridge also has a culture problem. It's hard to break into the social circle of the game at a club level and even I've found (as a slightly more intermediate player) how intolerant most players are of new people. Online is better if you know were to look, but unless you do you're likely to get booted from a table or have a revolving run of partners as people bail on playing with you when you make your first mistake. That latter part of inclusion is something we all do well to watch out for...

Would there be any interest in crowdsourcing such a guide? I put together a ton of notes when I was part of a lesson group years ago, but it was pre-2/1 as truly standard. I'm trying to update that now for my own return and, hopefully, as a help to others if/when I'm done. If others would like to contribute... Many hands, light work and all that.

Might be other ways, but set the table to require permission to sit. Sit down yourself and then click the other seats. You'll get a pop-up on each to RESERVE the seat or to assign a robot to it. At least, it works that way on the new client.

For some of us (not many, but some) life and locality makes it hard to find IRL partners. I live in the boonies and the nearest duplicate club is far enough to make it impractical around work. Finding someone consistent to play with online is a boon... Here's hoping OP finds it.

2NT for me... I'll bid my hand and expect partner to figure out their own. :) I should note that I don't play enough MPs to get really strategic about bidding differences. So, take that with more than a grain of salt.

While admitting there's still plenty good about the BBO mobile-friendly app, I have to agree that it's a little discouraging to NOT have the ability to access voice commentary. I have just come back to BBO after a loooong layoff and was surprised to have to revert to Flash. From a programming standpoint, I can appreciate (kinda) some of the challenges of implementing this feature on mobile. But, I feel like it needs to be there. That said, thanks for all that you do for us... always.

Can't help but think of personal ads as I'm typing this. Anyway, INTish player coming back after couple year layoff due to, well, life and stuff. Interested in improving, so looking for a semi-regular partner (or partners) to work together on BBO 2-3 nights per week (EST). Ideal candidates would be in New England for potential sit-down games at regional events. Miraculously-ideal people would be in VT/NH. When I was playing regularly, learned SAYC and later BWS+gadgetry. Started learning 2/1 before had to leave BBO for a while. Would prefer someone who's interested in starting with a pretty standard approach to 'modern standard' 2/1 and add whizbang stuff from there. I'm open to any alphabet soup you want to play in time (and if it works). The most progress I made as a player was several years ago when I lucked into a group taking lessons from someone on BBO. All the students played the same system, played together regularly, and talked hands through with one another. I learned a lot and would love to find something similar again. I also like long walks on the beach and dislike fake people. :)

If you want a free resource to build on, google "Tallahassee Expert Standard". You'll find a set of system notes from a bundle of players in FL from a few years ago. It served as a good study guide to get me started in 2/1.

I will only add, nicebbo, that if your profile was the same then as it is now, it might've made people a little prickly.

Not to threadjack, but a little more granularity on the sound controls (Flash version) would be great, if possible... I'd like to be able to be chimed when it's my turn to bid or alert, but not have the CHHHK of the cards. Nitpicky, but ....

As the crappiest player on BBOF, take this post with a basketball sized grain of salt. I'd agree that you start with card play first... I wish I had. It's not until you understand what the auction is leading to that the logic in auctions really starts to make sense. I think then you'd want to start bidding, briefly, with some very old-fashioned natural bidding. Then, I would quickly move to 2/1... For once thing, it's not THAT complicated once you have a decent foundation, and I think that it's really 'standard' now anyway. With BWS pending some updates, especially. As I think has been mentioned above, Cohen's "What Should We Play?" series of articles is a wonderful base.

First off, just let say thanks again for the tremendous resource that BBO is for all of us. As someone who's loved this game for a long time (even though I'm quite terrible at it) and lives in the hinterlands, I can't imagine not having BBO. So, thanks. Now, a couple questions... I can provide explanation for why I'm asking if that's important, but I tend to ramble so I'll keep the post short. 1) Is there a way to easily take a BBO movie and step through the auction? Typically the auction comes up in full from the get-go. 2) Is there any way from the hand records page to easily download a bundle of LIN files? For example, is there anyway to bundle up a team match record for download? 3) What happened to the 'Kibitz N/S' (or E/W) option in the flash client? It's obviously not there, but curious as to the why and whether there's thoughts of re-adding it

I think that people who use Bergen hand evaluation would recommend its use for game contracts as well. I know Howard Schutzman (hondo on BBO) recommends Bergen points and I believe uses them for evaluating placement with all unbalanced hands.

Sorry for the delay in replying, everybody. Thanks for your comments/posts. Wound up buying Jack, and currently working my way up the flights (in challenge mode) as outlined earlier. It's certainly a rather spartan bit of software, and there are definitely a couple oddities I wish were different - particular those around reviewing a hand just played. But, for all the major boxes I had ticked, it's been a fine purchase. Thanks for the tips, everyone.

Which, if any, of the bridge-playing computer applications out there would you all recommend for some non-BBO practice? I love BBO, but I like the idea of having hands where I can think and reason things through slowly while I'm learning... The cheap bots on BBO are a little random in the cardplay for my liking, and the better bots are a little too steep for the amount of time/days I want to play. Anyone have any thoughts on the varied programs out there for practice?

Thanks, everyone, for the replies... I know that this forum (and places like BridgeWinners, etc) are the best source for 'real world' advice on how situations are being handled in the bidding/play... But, as someone with only a slight understanding of 2/1, I was looking for a solid primer that would allow me to get a jump start of participating in the discussion. So, let me potentially rephrase my question in light of the feedback... Where would you send a beginner to get a fundamental introduction to 2/1 (perhaps the Gitelman articles fit here)? And, after they have the basics, what are the conventions *you* think are the most fundamental for them to come to grips with next? You all are the best around. Nothing's gonna ever keep you down.

Hi, all... Getting back into playing after a long layoff. When I left, I was playing 'standard' (in the BWS sense) with all kinds of gadgets piled on top. Now, I'd love to spend some of the time getting up to speed the next couple months really learning 2/1. I know this question is probably oft-asked, but I couldn't find a good thread via the search (sorry in advance if I'm just screwing up)... But, I'd love to know what the forum-ites think is the best 2/1 resource (book, etc) for something approaching 'expert standard' bidding these days. I have looked at the BBO Advanced card for starters and done some googling, but I'd love some informed input before I start down the path to destruction. :) Thanks. And great to be back reading y'all's posts. (Mods: If this is in the wrong sub, I apologize and ask that you'd move it)

A huge hurdle for me as a player was when I realized that... The job of the players during bidding is to accurately and systematically describe their hand to their partner, while the pair arrives at the 'correct' final contract. Whether the contract makes or not is a separate issue. As another poster pointed out, you can have "great" contracts that go down on a flukey distribution. You bid your hand, land in a reasonable/right spot, and then let the cards fall where they may. There's always room for judgment based on information you have, but sometimes the 'right' action goes wrong. That's part of the intrigue of the game.

Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle... Look at that. It works, Jeremy. Thanks!

Simple feature request: The ability to color-code or otherwise flag different kinds of friends. For example, I would personally like to be able to distinguish between people who I like to play with (including a small subset who are glad to do so) and people who would never play with me in a million years but who are worth kibitzing to learn.

Wow... this is a neat thing. Sorry for arriving at the thread so late *and* for not being aware of these matches before. FWIW, I think it would be great to mix up the approach... Set up a pool of our learning pairs, a pool of our 'expert' pairs, and then alternate between 'the best' and us mere mortals. I'd love to play sometime, but would need to find a partner and would need notice. Like Jilly, I desperately want to improve, am willing to be a little embarrassed to do it, and would be thanking God that I can't see the kibber comments. :) If we do this again, I will be on a watch for the thread and at least look forward to kibitzing. If there's a need for help with organization, I would be happy to assist there, too, perhaps.

Hi all... Long-time BBO member, back after not playing for two years (or so). It's cool to stop back to the forums and see some 'faces' I recognize still here posting away. There was a time where I was probably an INT+ player, though that is probably a pretty ambitious self-rating now. :) For a while, I was playing regularly with a small group of fellow students online, but that all fell apart just before life called me away from the table. I'd love to get back into playing with some other, more advanced players (to learn) or other players starting up who are interested in being serious about improving. I'm on the eastern shore of the US (EST) and on most evenings. If anyone's looking for a pard, I'm pretty easygoing and will give you whatever I gots (and promise to be easygoing with you, too). Good to be back online, everyone...