ladydoc

I think you were over reacting, bmonger. Calm down and think about the game. let it go.

Your suspicions are very justified. There was a player, not naming him specifically who used this method several years ago, though he hasn't been on much in the past year under the names. He was using his BBO name, another male name, and two female names. Notice I'm staying away from identifying him, under his numerous aliases. He was very nervy, even taking on some of USA's star players and of course winning. He came to an end when a sysop, BBO help, was notified , came to the table and booted the ISP number, wherein both the cheater and his alias were booted. And with that one move, BBO became less cheater friendly. So, if you do have the suspicions and see a friendly sysop, ask them to check for you. Some will.... without actually making any accusations. If it's a family game and a husband is simply playing with his wife, it won't embarrass them. If you notice the same "kibber" comes on whenever there's a difficult guess to make on a finesse, then you are right in your suspicions. I've seem that couple on almost daily. I think most are aware of who they are. There are two sets (cheater id and helper id ) that I'm aware of. And of course, there probably are more.

I agree with your three club bid. Partner's bid wasn't forcing (or he would have redoubled). You are raising his suit only, and he has no major.

Hi Kaitlyn, I'd like to play with you, so if you see me on, then ask me. I can play all your conventions, and also prefer udca. Also, if you're looking for a nice table, join 2shaina... who is Always pleasant, and even if you kib there she'll invariably stand so you can sit. Gluck, Shirley

It is not possible on BBO at the present time to have a perfect legitimate game, except in the ACBL tourneys, which are monitered (I hope). For years the people with the highest skill ratings on BBOskill got them by playing with themselves as partners. If you wish the name (names) I can tell you who they were, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The reasons people would do this 1. economical, ... those are the 'teachers' who give paid bridge instructions and want to have a believable profile on BBOskill, and 2. to appeal to a selected field target ie, the other sex. Bridge base online is great the way it is now, with no ratings, except self ratings. Most true experts underrate themselves because they know each other.

I play exactly this and it works. Would not consider any other way.

Cheating by chat is so trivial. I know one person who plays with himself every single day. He calls his other selves by different names, depending on the day. No two of his other selves are on at the same time. He even chats with himself. Its easy to trip him up when he's kibitzing himself, while he plays with other people though. I don't know what BBO can do about it... but after awhile it becomes apparent to players on BBO who is who... It is rather disappointing to find out that that player who you thought was always perfect was "two-timing".

I think its a non issue , with online bridge and so many regions involved in the mix with different connection speeds. Just enjoy the fact that you have the opportunity to play in this environment and leave it at that. Its a game, and really, the whole world isn't out to get you!

In our system(two over one game force by max hardy) there is no ambiguity in the major suit raises and they are very specific. 4 clubs shows four or more cards in spade support, with 2 of the top three honors, also an opening hand. Says it all. There is a bid for every hand in major suit support. This bid in this system also denies a splinter, and shows a balanced hand. If responder had had a splinter, with the same point count and the Ace King of trump, he would have shown this shape with an "overjump shift" , 3NT. Opener's four club bid would then ask "where is your splinter?"

two NT, showing both minors, with no doubt

two NT, showing both minors, with no doubt

The bidding was wrong by north. He should bite the bullet and bid 6 spades, and learn a better system. In our system with this hand we employ an "underjump" shift... ie South opens 1 Spade, responders bid of 3 hearts says, limit raise, four or more spades, and a singleton or void somewhere. There now, you get a whole level of bidding to further describe. If opener wants to know where is your shortness he bids three spades, asking... You get to six legitimately if six is there.

The bidding should be (omitting opps) 1D... 2D (absolute game force is the way we play it, no four card major).... 3 Clubs by north.. and 3NT by south... all pass It seems simple. I realize not all partnerships play our system (walsh, 2/1, with a few amendments, but this hand is a no brainer. Ace-King, Ace is always an opener.

I've agreed with partner that bid of a new suit after the double of his preempt is for the lead, so my bid is four clubs, showing some heart support, and to lead clubs in case we don't win the contract.

I would bid 2 hearts definitely. My partner knows how to make game trys. If he is interested in game, his bid is 2 spades, asking, where is your help? No problem. ladydoc

one nt pass 2 clubs pass 2 diamonds pass 3 hearts> 5/5 majors invitational one nt pass 2 clubs pass 2 diamonds pass 3 spades> 5/5 majors game forcing above system is invitational smolen. A perfect way to describe the above hand

The problem is that the cards and the bidding are out of proportion. When I make it all bigger to see the bidding, the cards become really big. This is a windows xp 2002 that I use. I also tried in the web based version playing with robots, but ads float across the top and the cards and bidding are really microscopic and not in color.

Why did the management decide not to update and depart from using this version? It is evident that most that have access to both versions like the bridgebase.org much better. I have difficulties seeing the web based version myself, and I have a friend that still cannot use it at all.

Jinsky, I think your posting is weird. First of all, who cares who posts what? I certainly don't. Are these forums that important in your life that you would bother??? Just for amusements sake, I looked to see if I could find JDonn.... nope, nowhere in sight. His postings are the only ones I automatically look for:) Besides being the nicest person on BBO, he's also one of the wisest.... But other than that... silly, disagreeable thought you had... I wonder if there are people like you in politics? Sad....

I was asked by someone who was reading my post above why the potential new BBO'ers that I introduced to the site stopped playing here because of BBOskill.com. I was very enthusiastic when I told them about BBO, and thought it would be good to play.... however, it turned out to be an embarrassment because playing with them, newbies who knew only basic conventions etc would certainly plummet my bboskill to a very low low!! (imagine being dropped in a cue bid) Before the days of bboskill, we would have had a lot of fun playing and chatting. Now I'm glad its gone and I hope to make reparations and apologies... it was my fault to mind. Thank you BBO for no longer updating BBO skill!

[Hi Jadoon, It takes very little time to go to bboskill.com and check the stats of every player on BBO , except the stars. I think players in North America rate themselves on how well they do at regionals and nationals, and the number of blue ribbon qualifications they have..... certainly that valuation should be authentic in determining if one is advanced or an expert. The problem with bboskill.com is that the result may be skewed for those players who play randomly with just anybody and get lower scores than they should. Now, this may be wrong, but its what I do.... I'm advanced both by blue ribbon qualifications and by bboskill.com..... however, I just love meeting new people and the joy of just playing and having fun and chatting about countries and life ..... I try to do my best at those times, BUT, I am not particular who I play with and and for those times I use another log in name and let that name take the rap. And honestly, its a lot of fun!

My partner and I use a 3 spade response to indicate a 1444 hand that is gameforcing over a strong 15-17NT opening . It hasn't come up very often.

You know, 1st Panda, now I can believe that utterly! I wonder if there is any bridge club in the world without its intrigues and jealousies. I think the emotions run higher at team games too, because it may come down to who asks you to play first, or if the team you form seems to be unequally stacked. My husband says that when he played in Edmonton, the wise owner of the bridge club sent all the best players off to play rubber bridge, and that solution satisfied most people, because then other people got to win in the other section of the club. I was also realizing that if the perpetrator of the assault on me at the table had lifted his fist and pounded my arm, it would not have cause more damage than what he did do (wringing it forcibly) , but it would have been more visible, and perhaps have elicited a more negative result on him at the time. He attacked like a sulky angry cowardly person.

An ironical update: This in almost exactly one week since the 'incident' at the club. As expected, the acbl has no executive function in this matter, and it all came down to the club to deal with it. Last week was a horrendous week. I was in shock at the way people were behaving, and appalled there was no phone call to apologise from the perpetrator. That director of last monday night went off on holidays. The club president is still investigating, but I think that is only of interest to the club at this point. I did report to the police and had the photos taken, and I skipped bridge on Friday night. Usually there are barely enough people on a friday night to have three tables. .... but Friday, there were 4 full even without us ... strange... what could this mean? On Monday, I decided to go back to bridge... And believe me, it was difficult.. I was met at the door by my friend, the director of the night, and I played with her, instead of my husband, who then played with her regular partner. I felt like I had a wonderful bodyguard by my side. The club president welcomed me back to the club, and gave me a helpful head's up, while out in the hall, that the perpetrator was inside, and did I feel strong enough emotionally to play at the same table? I said, no, I didn't think so. He said, well, if it came to be a problem, he would somehow arrange something, but I was not to be pressured, just come and tell him. When we sat down... I was amazed! There were almost twice the number of people there as usual! What an good assault does to raise attendance!!!! The perpetrator and his partner left then, before the game started, thank god! My partner and I had a 62.5 % game to come second in the night in the Howell movement and it was a pleasant evening. The couple who won were from out of town and new to the community. I do hope that things change in the club, and they are welcomed to a friendly non violent atmosphere.

Thank you all for your replies. I know something has to be done about this incident, and I just now called the local station to file a report. I don't yet know if we will be going back to bridge. Our team mates, who are new directors, of course didn't see what happened and since we left last night right after the game, and (after talking to the club manager), I wasn't able to get their opinion. The good note in all this is that we learn something from all experience, and I certainly have learned from this.