See below for answers to questions such as:
- Why couldn't my partner and I register for a club BBO tournament?
- Why weren't my partner and I taken into a tournament after successfully registering?
- Why can't my partner and I play in a restricted tournament when our MPs average below the restriction cut-off level?
- How do I find a partner for a club BBO tournament?
- What is the difference between BB Points and ABF Masterpoints?
Why couldn't my partner and I register for a club BBO tournament?
The BBO error message may be helpful in determining the problem. The most likely reasons are:
- The partner of person registering the pair is not online on BBO or is in the Casual menu half of BBO at the time the registration attempt was made - and so could not receive and accept the registration request.
- One (or both) of the pair is blocked from entering the tournament because their username was not on the club's view-only list of registered online usernames or was not accurately recorded on that list by the evening prior to the tournament - if on checking the usernames list you discover this is the case, register the username accurately so that you will be able to play in future sessions (any earlier duplicate records will be deleted).
- One (or both) of the pair is blocked from entering the tournament because they have too high a masterpoint rank (shown on the club's view-only list of registered online usernames) to be eligible for the tournament - perhaps you are accidentally trying to register for the wrong club tournament?
- One of the pair has insufficient BB$ in their account to pay the tournament table money - if time is short the other player might consider registering and paying the table money for both players.
Why weren't my partner and I taken into a tournament after successfully registering?
The only explanation BBO provides for your experience is that one of you either was not online on BBO (note BBO can log you off automatically if you are not active for something like 10-15 min) or was in the Casual menu half of BBO at the time the tournament started - in both these cases the tournament can't invite you in. This is what you should do if this should happen to you:
- If you don't know who is directing check the Details tab for the tournament and copy the director's username
- BBO chat to the director asap saying you missed out and include both your usernames accurately (communicating via SMS or phone is a second best alternative)
- Stay online in the Competitive | All tournaments | Running area till the director gets back to you with either the advice that the tournament has no half table to fill or gives you advice on how to be subbed into the tournament
- In either case you suffer no table money if you were not drawn into the tournament at the start (and you play for free if drawn in as a substitute/fill-in)
Why can't my partner and I play in a restricted tournament when our MPs average below the restriction cut-off level?
Unfortunately we do not have the option to even consider this, as BBO only allows restriction by individual players and not by pairs - a player is eligible or not, not the pair. You may sometimes note that more experienced players (often not club members) are playing in a restricted event - these have been called in by the director as fill-in substitutes to avoid a half-table or to replace a player who has been unable to sustain an internet connection. If you would like to offer to be a fill-in substitute for a restricted (or open) event please enter your usernames on the Substitutes tab of the PBC Usernames list.
How do I find a partner for a club BBO tournament?
Check out this Online partner finding article.
What is the difference between BB Points and ABF Masterpoints?
Players will see the BB Points automatically awarded to top place getters in the BBO Results display. These are used to support the BBO ranks shown by the black numbers at the right hand edge of a BBO player's username and are earned in paid BBO tournaments.
They have nothing to do with ABF Masterpoints which will be calculated by the ABF on a monthly basis and appear in your ABF Masterpoint account at the start of the next month. (Hopefully for May 2020 only, the masterpoints earned on club hosted BBO sessions appeared as June Provisional points in players' masterpoint statements. The calculations follow normal ABF masterpointing rules with the addition of a pro-rata adjustment for the number of boards below 24 (so an 18 board BBO tournament will see a 75% adjustment). ABF Masterpoints are normally applied to the top half of the field.
Unfortunately there is no provision for a BBO event by event listing of ABF masterpoints by either BBO or the ABF. From the beginning of July we hope to give an indication of ABF masterpoints earned for each club hosted event in our Pianola and website records of the results - note this is a separate calculation provided by a third party service.