Is this idea allowed?

[AceOfHeart]

I am thinking of writing an external program to either parse the input to the web or windows client to count the HCPs in my hand as I figure I spent too much time counting and recounting my HCP on each hand.

 

I figured that it might involve sniffing packets or something similar so I feel I should ask first. Note that I haven't decide what method I am going to try at the moment.

 

Lastly, I suggest having this inbuilt so I don't have to write it <_<.

[barmar]

It's a violation of Law 40C3a: "Unless permitted by the regulating Authority, a player is not entitled during the auction and play periods to any aids to his memory, calculation or technique."

 

I also think it's a bad idea, it will hurt your bridge expertise. Although it seems like mechanical drudgery that should be offloaded to a machine, it's an important skill to be able to count and keep track of the points. You also should look at more than just HCP, you should look at the location of honors, spot cards, etc. Having to count the points yourself forces you to examine the hand more closely.

[uday]

An interesting idea for some circumstances.

 

For instance, in Robot Race/Reward where speed is of the essence. Or in a "newbie room" (or any supervised play context, i suppose), where we can help a newbie learn to bid.

[A2003]

Very good idea. It should also give a choice.

4321 method or Zar point system 6421 method.

 

It will only improve the bridge expertise.

May be some other counting method will emerge.

[matmat]

I'd like a version of this built into a little headband with a camera with a little headphone in my ear that i can take to live games.

 

while we're at it, if i could get some goggles that would let me review the system notes and access an odds calculator, that would be great.

[AceOfHeart]

I am only asking because I mainly play robot reward in BBO nowadays. It get a bit tedious and slow to count every hand especially with every hand having more than 10 points sometimes up to 30.

 

In live bridge I normally got enough time to count the hand a few times before my opponents start bidding.

 

Was thinking of building a version that give me HCP and losing trick count within this 2 months if I got time.

[TimG]

It's a violation of Law 40C3a: "Unless permitted by the regulating Authority, a player is not entitled during the auction and play periods to any aids to his memory, calculation or technique."

 

I also think it's a bad idea, it will hurt your bridge expertise. Although it seems like mechanical drudgery that should be offloaded to a machine, it's an important skill to be able to count and keep track of the points. You also should look at more than just HCP, you should look at the location of honors, spot cards, etc. Having to count the points yourself forces you to examine the hand more closely.

Aren't there already a number of such aids built into the system? For instance, the auction is available for review during the play of the hand, isn't it? I can review the last trick after play to the next trick has started, even after I have played to the current trick if I am not mistaken. I can refer to my own CC at any time.

 

Yes, I realize these are all practical implementations for online bridge. But, it seems strange to me to cite a Law that is routinely circumvented as a basis for not allowing this request.

[barmar]

Well, I think it's unfortunate that BBO (and other sites) allow such flagrant violations of the Laws. On the other hand, that doesn't stop me from taking advantage of those features myself, although I always feel a pang of guilt when I do it. :huh:

 

As I mentioned, I also feel this is a bad idea in itself, even if it weren't officially prohibited. However, I wouldn't mind seeing it in Robot Rewards, for the reasons others have mentioned. This particular form of the game is a good distance from the pure form -- as long as the feature is available to everyone, it's fair game. When you're playing against bots, who have a clear advantage in the parts of the game that just involve simple calculations, I don't see any reason not to level the playing field a bit.

[jdonn]

I can review the last trick after play to the next trick has started, even after I have played to the current trick if I am not mistaken.

I think this is actually how things should be. I have always understood the reason that you can't look at the last trick during a current trick to be that it could be used as a form of communication to partner (such as making sure he sees a signal you made last trick.) But in online bridge when no one else can see what you are doing then I have no problem with it.

[TimG]

I can review the last trick after play to the next trick has started, even after I have played to the current trick if I am not mistaken.

I think this is actually how things should be. I have always understood the reason that you can't look at the last trick during a current trick to be that it could be used as a form of communication to partner (such as making sure he sees a signal you made last trick.) But in online bridge when no one else can see what you are doing then I have no problem with it.

It certainly could be used for that purpose in ftf bridge. But, I often look at the last trick online to make sure I got the spots correct. And, from time to time in ftf bridge I really wish I could go back and check to see whether or not the four partner is playing now is the completion of a peter.

[barmar]

I've always thought the "can't look at last trick" rule to be similar to the "no memory aids" rule. Bridge is a mental activity, and memory and concentration are key mental skills that it tests. You're expected to pay attention to the trick as it's being played, and commit it to memory in case you need it. You can't wait until the next trick, because this allows you to use future information to decide whether it's important to remember the previous trick.

 

There needs to be some cutoff to distinguish reviewing the current trick and going back, and turning over all the cards in the trick is a reasonable line.

[TimG]

In an online environment, it is possible that RHO wins the trick and plays to the next trick (thus hiding the previous trick) without you having had a chance to get a look at partner's card. Whether it was a real life distraction or an internet hiccup that made several actions happen nearly simultaneously. So, in an online environment, it makes sense to me that you can review the previous trick while the current trick is in progress. Perhaps better would be that you can review the previous trick until you have played to the next trick, but that's splitting hairs, and either seems reasonable.

[barmar]

Some online bridge applications have an option not to dismiss the current trick until you acknowledge it, which is the equivalent of the f2f practice of keeping your card face up until you're done thinking about the trick that just completed. I don't think BBO Flash has it, I can't recall whether BBO Win does, but in any case I think most players disable it because it's annoying having to do that extra click after every trick; this results in the applications allowing you to recall the last trick.

[JLOL]

It seems obvious to me that see last trick is available since sometimes the cards just turn over. In real bridge you can keep your card face up and see the trick as long as you want, online you dont have that option so you have to have "see last trick."

 

I would consider the OPs feature to be cheating, but it could be a good teaching tool.