tigerboy

There seems to be an idea among a lot of players that it is quite OK to tell partner what your bids mean, during the auction, such as "4nt" (KCA 3041 comes on screen). Recently one player made a jump shift and was asked if this was weak or strong, and gave the answer. If you play on-line bridge and have no time to discuss system before playing you must take pot luck and avoid bids which are treated differently by various players. The laws of the game are not suspended merely because we are playing on line, and nobody would dream of such a thing if playing face to face so why should it be different on line? If it happens I always ask for a redeal, and when host I insist on it or remove the offenders from the table. Tigerboy

I think that most national bridge organisations could learn a lot from the Scandinavian ruling bodies who always seem to have a huge percentage of their total population playing the game. The number of conventions allowed is irrelevant and most, surely, are not in favour of restriction, but there is a need for skilled marketing personnel to promote the game. The burgeoning of internet bridge is surely good news for recruitment as long as a germ of interest can somehow be engendered, particularly among the younger element when the ability to learn quickly is at its peak.