bixby

This problem has been resolved. Thanks to those who replied.

Barmar, thank you for that suggestion. But the problem occurs even when I have logged on as visible. It's happening right now in the ACBL 8:10 game if you happen to be on and in a position to observe. It's quite mysterious. Thanks again for any help you can provide.

Thanks for this suggestion, but no, he's been on BBO for years. We've played together before and this problem only started happening in the last month or two.

I just finished playing in the 8:10 pm ACBL MP game and throughout the game, my partner couldn't send me a private message, even when we had finished all the boards for a round. When he tried, he got a "not allowed" message. I could PM him, but he couldn't PM me. He said this has been happening to him for a while. Any idea what could be causing this and how to fix it? Thanks for any help.

Great. Thanks for that response.

I was recently part of a team that entered the 8 pm ACBL team game. But no other team entered, so the game didn't occur. My team would like to try again. Is there a night of the week when that game usually gets a good number of entries?

Thanks for your reply. The change occurs before the final score for the session is available. To be precise, I think it happens after my partner and I finish the final round, but while other pairs are still playing the final round. So one might or might not regard it as happening "during" the final round. But I definitely see a revised running score for all the boards except those in the last round, before I see the full final score. In any event, regardless of exactly when the change occurs, my suggestion is that the running score be across the field throughout the event. Thanks for your consideration.

When playing in a large pair game, BBO changes your running score during the final round. I believe what is happening is that until the last round the running score is your percentage within your section only, and then during the final round the score changes to reflect your percentage across the field. Somehow this change rarely helps my score -- I suppose it must help sometimes, but it seems like it almost always lowers the score for me and whomever I'm playing with. In tonight's 8:10 18-board ACBL game the change was particularly jarring. My partner and I were at 51.7 going into the final round, having climbed out of a hole we'd fallen into earlier in the session. The last round went well and I was looking forward to a respectable final score when I suddenly noticed that our score without the final round had changed to 45.7. Our final round brought us up to a disappointing 46.99. Part of the fun of playing on BBO is knowing the running score. Every game is effectively a barometer game -- something you rarely get in F2F play. Why reduce the fun by changing the score in the final round? Is there any reason why the running score can't reflect your across-the-field percentage throughout the event? I mean, it is a computer doing the scoring, so it should be capable of matchpointing the event across the field the whole time. My customer satisfaction with BBO would improve if I didn't have to deal with the disappointment of having my score lowered in the middle of the final round of an event. I'm not saying that this is a huge deal. It isn't. The disappointment is mild. But it is there, whenever this happens, and I don't see why it has to happen at all. I would prefer the running score to show the across-the-field percentage throughout the event.

Link to deal The deal linked above is from yesterday's ACBL MP Daylong #1. Like most tables, I played in 3NT by N. After the first four tricks it seemed clear that I was headed for +660, but just for practice I thought I would play out my winners in a way that would squeeze East if East had the DK, even though that was nearly impossible on the bidding and play so far (East had made a weak jump overcall of 2H and was known to have started with the HKJ and the CKQ, so it could hardly have the DK as well). To my complete surprise, at trick 10 East discarded the HK, allowing me to claim the rest for +690. I got 99% instead of the 67.7% I would have had for +660. Why would East do that? East saw West discard on a heart lead at trick 3, so East knows that North has the HAQ remaining, and East can see the H5 remaining in dummy. As far as I can tell, the discard of the HK is a zero percent play that can only lose and never gain. Even if East thought North had the DK, discarding the HK is at best indifferent -- it would neither gain nor lose. But if West has the DK (as in fact it did), discarding the HK costs a trick. This seems like an error that a robot player with perfect memory couldn't make. Why would GIB do this?

Oh, I see. Thank you, that clears it up.

The schedule for the ACBL Winter Festival shows the following: ACBL Winter Festival - December 22-23 Wednesday, Dec. 22: 2-Day LM Robot Individual (Day 1 of 2) Thursday, Dec. 23: 2-Day LM Robot Individual (Day 1 of 2) Friday, Dec. 24: 2-Day LM Robot Individual (Day 2 of 2) Something is evidently wrong here. What are the correct dates for the Robot Individual, please?

OK. Thanks for that reply.

Where does the bidding come from for the Just Declare deals? Are these simply randomly dealt hands bid by the robots? Are they chosen from hands bid by humans on BBO, and if so, how are they chosen? I'm curious as to why so many of the Just Declare deals are in such hopeless contracts. I understand that given the conditions of a Just Declare competition, I shouldn't really care how bad the contract is -- I have as much chance of getting a good matchpoint score in a hopeless contract as in a good one. I just need to go down fewer tricks than the other humans in the competition. I get that. But it does seem like many of the contracts on these Just Declare deals are pretty ghastly. So I'm curious as to where the bidding comes from.

Playing in a robot game just now, my partner opened 1C, and it went (X) - XX - (1D) - P - (2D) - P - (P) - P! Part of the explanation of redouble is "opponents cannot play I doubled below 2NT," so when I passed I assumed my robot partner would have to double or bid. We set them 3, but lost 6 IMPs for getting only 300. Under what circumstances is GIB allowed to pass like that after a redouble? (Sorry, I can't access the hands right now as it was a daylong game.)

Thanks for these replies.

If you log onto BBO as invisible, is there any way to become visible without logging off and logging back on?

I just want to say a big THANK YOU to BBO for being our home for bridge during the COVID-19 pandemic. I have been on BBO for a long time, so it's not new for me, but I really appreciate the way BBO has stepped up during the crisis: ♠ I appreciate the way BBO and ACBL have teemed up to provide the Support-Your-Clubs games, and also how they expanded the number of such games (including a daylong game) after members pointed out that the initial one-game-a-day schedule was insufficient. I want to be able to support my local club and this is a great way to do it. Kudos to both BBO and ACBL. ♥ I appreciate the way BBO has added capacity as the big influx of additional players made things slow. I am sure that BBO is working to improve things further in this regard. ♦ I haven't played in them, but I understand that BBO and ACBL are allowing actual club games to happen on BBO -- another great idea. ♣ And just generally I am happy to have a place to continue to play bridge while F2F bridge is impossible. So way to go, BBO! And ACBL too. BBO, I hope you are making lots of money from the influx of additional players -- you deserve it. And please do use some of the money to add further capacity as things are still a bit slow at peak times. Thank you, BBO!

Thanks for your reply. As I said, I understand. I'm not complaining; I just wanted to be sure the problem wasn't at my end. Thanks for being there! It's great to be able to play while homebound.

Playing in robot games, I'm finding it difficult to get through a deal, or sometimes even two consecutive tricks, without getting kicked out to the lobby and having to start the game again. Is this because BBO is overwhelmed with players (because live bridge clubs are closed)? If so, I understand. I just want to determine whether the problem is at BBO's end or at my end. Thanks.

Oops, for some reason all the recent tournament info is blank right now. I saw my finish in the NABC Robot Individual earlier today, but can't see it right now, or any other tournament results I assume it's a temporary problem and the BBO people will have it fixed later today.

If you played in it, just go to your history and click on "recent tournaments."

Thanks for these responses.

As dealer, vul against not, you hold: 94 / 1075 / 108642 / 743. The bidding goes: P P 1D 1H P 3D* 4C P P ? * = mixed raise, 4+ H, 7-9 total points, forcing Your call? My robot partner held the above hand and passed. Why not correct to 4D? Now that I look at the description of my 4C bid, I see that it says "4+ D, 19 HCP, rebiddable C, 22 total points." I actually had 5 diamonds and 4 clubs. So maybe that's the problem. But with 5 diamonds and 4 clubs and a big hand, am I supposed to open 1C? I had A52 / K / AK953 / AK102. Should I have bid differently? Or is this the robot's fault for leaving it in 4C?

Thank you all for these replies. Those who say the answer is no, may I ask how this answer is reconciled with Law 9A1, which states, "Unless prohibited by Law, any player may draw attention to an irregularity during the auction period, whether or not it is his turn to call." If the auction went (starting with my LHO) 1C - P - 2H - P - 2D, I would be entitled to call attention to the insufficient bid and summon the Director, even though it was not my turn to call, right? Why is this case different?

In a game within the ACBL, my LHO, the dealer, opens 1C, my partner passes, my RHO bids 2H (no alert), I pass, and LHO passes. As soon as LHO passes, I strongly suspect that RHO's bid was a weak jump shift, which should have been alerted under ACBL alert rules. If the director were summoned immediately, he could give me the opportunity to change my call (Law 21B), which I would like to do, as my pass was based on the assumption that RHO's 2H bid was strong. But if my partner calls before the director is summoned, it is no longer possible for me to change my call. Can I summon the director as soon as LHO passes?