Playing Online
Several of our competitive players have expressed interest in learning more about how to use Bridge Base Online (BBO) to improve their bridge.
In this article we will gradually provide guides to help players get the best out of BBO's free and paid (but cheap) options for learning.
BBO has its own good help options but have a look at our collection below.
This article was designed for those new to playing bridge online. If you have played online before and just want to know about playing in our PBC sessions then you might want to jump down to the segment below entitled "Playing with your PBC friends". Otherwise read on.
Playing bridge online with your friends is great when you cannot play face-to-face at the club.
I thought I would share some thoughts and tips on my experiences with Bridge Base Online (BBO) in case I can persuade you to try it. I am not going to duplicate David Farmer's comprehensive article - you should go through its detailed instructions carefully.
I haven't tried the other sites but BBO has much to offer the average player - including that one can play with friends and it is free! I know many people would not want to play with strangers and would be more relaxed playing with people they know; apart from each player having to play in reasonable time in turn, there is no time pressure to finish.
- One of our members, Marieta Borthwick, created this 10 minute YouTube video on how to get started with BBO. Thank you, Marieta.
- Alternately Peter Hollands' great video introduction to BBO and its playing interface.
- And here is Paul Gibson's complete collection of 27 short videos introducing BBO to club players.
- How to join BBO:
- Click on https://www.bridgebase.com/v3/ to go to BBO in your computer's favourite browser OR download and open the Bridge Base Online app for your smartphone/tablet
- Click on the Become a member (free) button at the bottom of the screen and fill out the form - I suggest you use a username that will allow your PBC friends to easily identify you (unlike what I did) and complete the rest but don't enter any ACBL number - and then click the Register button to the right of the Terms and Conditions checkbox - and then look for the email from BBO and confirm your registration (and that your email address was accurate)
- See also this 2min video on BBO Registration
Thank you to the approximately 200 members who have registered for online bridge so far. Here are some things you might want to master (if you haven't already):
Registering for a pairs tournament - Most of our club BBO sessions will be pairs tournaments register at BBO | Competitive | All tournaments | Search for "PenBC" and click on the one you want - check this 3 min video Pair Tournament Registration on BBO for a full coverage of how to register and the full options available. Peninsula's tournaments will all have "PenBC" in the event title.
Our club BBO online sessions are the place to play with your friends (they are restricted to Peninsula members, other local players and their friends). They also offer ABF Masterpoints.
How to play in these Peninsula online sessions
Here's how to be available as a substitute or fill-in for a club BBO tournament:
- Find the tournament director's BBO username in the tournament's Details tab (copy and paste it from the Description field)
- Use private BBO chat to the director to let him/her know that you are ready and available
- Once the tournament is underway the director will know if they have a half table and need fill-ins/substitutes
- Find the specific club BBO tournament on the Running tab and click to open it
- Click on the blue Substitutes button for this tournament | check the "I am willing to substitute in this tournament" checkbox | click on the Close button
- Use private BBO chat to let the club tournament director know that you are registered as a substitute and ready
- Look out for and accept the director's invite to you to be a substitute for that tournament
- Thank you - by the way substitutes are not charged table money!
To manage their huge growth, on 12 May Sydney time, BBO moved their Casual menu areas to a separate server. So now if you click on the BBO Casual menu option you will be taken to a different server with Casual showing on the top line. For us/you this has two key impacts:
- You need to be logged into BBO but NOT in the Casual menu areas when your tournament starts or you will not get to play, and
- The Friends/People lists that show which of your friends are logged into BBO are also now separate and show only those in the same part of BBO (Casual or not Casual) that you are in.
