sater1957

Fair enough. If you redo this stuff under flash, perhaps I can interest you in adding the possibility of external dealing programs. I don't know if you know the posibilities of my old dealer program (google dealer van staveren) but it has better possibilities than the current ones in the Windows version. The drawback however is more complex user input, so I will not recommend it as the default. Hans

When I make a partnership bidding table loading a LIN file, I get the first hand. To bid the next I have to go to movie, slect the next hand and click "Send" again. It would be a lot easier if the "Redeal" button would perform this. Hans

Well, almost. I can convert a PBN file to LIN, can load the LIN using the MOVIE feature, and I do send. First hand great. But how to get the second, third etc hand? The obvious answer would be the REDEAL button, but that gives the message that the hands have run out and are replaced by random. This happens both with a LIN file from my PBN and a "regular" LIN file out of my hands directory. I managed to make it work by going MOVIE between all hands, selecting the next board, and doing SEND again, but there must be an easier way. Hans

Ok. Got it now. That you can only do this before logging in is not very intuitive, but I tested it, and it works. Just to give something back for the effort, in case you want to generate certain types of hands and are looking for a program to do it, just search "dealer van staveren" on google and be my guest. Hans van Staveren

Ok. It must be non-intuitive, but I cannot find it. I assume now it must be done using the MOVIE button somehow, but even then I can only load LIN files, and I cannot find software to convert PBN to LIN. (ViceVersa is there). Could someone help me get there? Hans

I happen to be the author of dealer, a program designed to generated constrained hands, using a mini programming language. Now what I would like is to generate hands in PBN format with my dealer program, and load them into BBO for a partnership bidding table. As far as I can see I cannot do this. BBO will allow me to constrain hands, but the mechanism in BBO is too weak for me. Is it possible somehow to upload hands for this? Hans van Staveren

OK, when I say this happened several times, I actually meant something slightly different, apologies. What I meant is that in general in individuals you have only general agreements, no specifics, so that if some complex bidding sequence you are stuck, you try a bid you hope partner understands. Now you get a question about what the bid means. Possibility one: you tell exactly what you hope partner understands, basically you tell your holding. Possibility two: you tell the truth, no understanding. The laws of bridge tell you to do number two, but the "majority" of BBO players expect you to do number one. This same expectation leads players to believe you have to alert when your bid deviates from the "system". Anyhow, I'll live with it, but I still think the explanation balloon should have a "no agreement" button. Hans

For some reason contributors to this thread seem to think I am a totally random bidder screwing up an individual. This is far from the case, I bid very disciplined. However, there are 14 point hands that "look" like a 1NT opener, just as there are 15 point hands that look like a balanced 13. Judgement at bridge is needed, at least as much as counting points. I was just saying that I opened one of these 14 pointers with 1NT, and that the whole table and the TD seriously asked why I did not alert it. What was I suppose to type in the explanation box? This is 15-17 but I have 14? Or worse, should I lie, and say it was 12-14? Remember, partner will assume I have 15-17, and that is my intention, since my valuation of the hand say it is more 15 than 14. Hans

I have been onboard for quite a while, so this is not knew. Just this morning it happened again, and the incredible indignation you run into when you explain that you do not have to alert when you deviate from your system gets to you every now and then. I had a discussion with Fred Gitelman about adding a "no agreement" button to the question balloon, because that is probably 80% of the time the right answer. That might make the degree of acceptance of not getting an explanation to a bid larger. But then, I have always been a dreamer.... Hans

According to the laws of bridge opponents are entitled to all your agreements, but you deviate as long as your partner does not know. Now in the nature of individual tournaments on BBO partner never knows anything. So why if I open a 1NT on 14 points does everyone at the table, including the TD(!), make nasty comments at me, as if I am some sort of cheat? For some reason there seems to be a general idea that at BBO you have to tell everyone at the table what you have, instead of what you promise. Could this be because of some online help at BBO, or is it just a different circle of players from the offline world? Hans van Staveren

When you use a computer with Windows XP with multiple people it looks like BBO remembers everybodies settings in their personal storage. Could it also remember the BBO user-id for all persons? Currently when my GF and I alternate the use of our computer we have to type a username almost anytime. We have the same password so we do not have to type that :-) Hans

I just played a 9-board team match. When the match started the host announced something about pre duplicated boards. Indeed the boards were sort of set. This was partly to my advantage, but the host clearly knew the boards himself. He bid and made 7S in a extremely suspicious way. (Triple Grand Coup). Board 9 was the same as board 1, I suspect the host only loaded 8 boards and the software restarts at beginning. To start with I never even knew you could do this. If I start a team match I do not get the option of loading boards. But even if you could do this it is not bridge. Hans van Staveren

I like the money bridge feature. Well thought out. One immediate suggestion though.... Make the human always declarer. Just switch positions between human and bot after the auction. In my opinion it makes no sense for the human to watch the robot play. If the idea is to match the skills of the two humans let the bots do as little as possible. Hans van Staveren

First a disclaimer. I am a very qualified TD, so maybe a rule-nut. When you are asked for an explanation there is no checkbox for "no agreement", while, especially in individual tournaments, that is usually the correct explanation. Now I know that I can type "no agreement", but that tends to evoke emotional reactions from players who think you are cheating. Even during standard at the table bridge with fixed partnerships, it is not uncommon for the correct explanation to be "no agreement", and I think it would be beneficial for the BBO world if that is formalized by having a "no agreement" button on the explanation pop-up. Hans van Staveren sater1957 on BBO Qualified EBL Tournament Director