[OBSugar]

I am returning to Bridge after 25-odd years. Taught informally by parents as child, then more formally in my 20s, I lost track of the game for a long time. Like many, I suspect, I have returned due to BBO.

Love the game, love learning about the game and want to play more often. What seems to be missing online, for me at least, are regular partners. This morning, playing with someone named "Private" and claiming SAYC on his/her profile, I opened 2c. Partner (3d) ended up playing 5d contract with five diamonds, four of which I contributed. These communication errors are common in pickup games. And, truly, not that interesting. Except in the opposition's hands, of course.

So, tired of the single life, of playing two or three hands at a time with a stranger, of being tossed aside without even a gtg, I ask: Where do I find the BBO equivalent of eHarmony.com? And if there is no such thing, how do you find a steady partner or two or three on BBO?

MWM,50s,seeks English-speaking partner for bridge.
Must be even-tempered with a sense of humor and
available 7-10 am and 8-11 pm EST. Neither
good looks nor hygiene required, but good manners a plus.
Hoping to build partnership around, "Standard Bidding with SAYC," Downey/Pomer,
or like-minded text.

[jillybean]

Welcome to forums.

Your post is a good start Unless you know real, live people who play on BBO it is completely hit and miss trying to find a good partner. I now have a number of regular BBO partners, I have picked them up mostly from kibitzing or playing against them, liking what I saw then asking for a game. I have picked up a few good partners from indys, subbing into games or the partnership desk but that is the long, arduous road. I have had many disasters along the way, be especially wary of bbo "experts".

[Fluffy]

There is a forum for this matters, but sadly not highly active http://www.bridgebas...partnerteacher/

[ggwhiz]

I play in the ACBL individual tournaments for fun. More time per board and not as hectic as a speedball.

However, I have seen partners and opponents greet each other and arrange other games with them while we play.

You would get a new partner every 2 or 3 hands, find one(s) you like, define them as a friend and be able to invite them to partner you anytime they are on-line in other games.

[ArcLight]

Actually, playing with pick up pards has its upside.

1 - you can bid like a mad man, trying to be a hand hog and declare as many contracts as possible.

2 - you can torture an annoying pick up pard. Just keep raising them

3 - you run into some really cool bididng situations, for example - at IMPS all white you hold:
xx
QTx
AQT8
K987

LHO CHO RHO You
p 1C p 1D
p 1S p ?

With an "Advanced" pick up pard, with little on his card, you don't assume WALSH responses.
Do you bid 2NT?
Lets say you bid 3 Clubs, invitational. (perhaps 2NT is better, but you bid 3C)

p 1C p 1D
p 1S p 3C
p 4NT p 5D

(Pard has no flavor of BW on his card, you dont even think he knows what RKCBW is, so you assume regualr BW and show an Ace). Unfortuanley we are beyond 5C, so i hope we aren't too high.

p 1C p 1D
p 1S p 3C
p 4NT p 5D
p 5H p ?

5H in RKCBW is asking for the Queen, what the heck is it in regular BW? Or maybe pard is using 0314? And its a Queen ask. I am worried ...


p 1C p 1D
p 1S p 3C
p 4NT p 5D
p 5H p 6C

and pards hand is ....

AKxx
Axxx
Jx
AQc

Your advanced pick up pard cleverly bypassed hearts on his 2nd turn and went to spades.
H emight have bid 2NT also.

the fun of pick up pards

[Bbradley62]

You might also want to check out the free touraments that are running when you play. They're generally 6-12 boards and most of them are regularly-scheduled, with a core of "regulars" playing. Some of them require that you register at their website first, but that's harmless. With the smaller "universe" of players, you can more easily decide who you might want to pursue a partnership with and who you wouldn't.

[Phil]

Welcome to the Forums.

I kind of feel sorry for those just starting Bridgebase. Early in the last decade, it was pretty easy to find your way around, since it was so small, and develop a reputation and find 'peers'.

Now its so big I'm not sure where I would start. Probably the beginner-intermediate lounge I guess.

You can try a slower version of 'speed-dating' by playing in random games. Don't take the skill levels too seriously, although I have found that beginners and intermediates are just that, but advanced and experts are frequently not. World Class usually means some one totally out of touch.

If people annoy you, then you call last hand and move on. The good players I've met this way were opponents when I had a standing game with a partner, and I added them as a friend.

[babalu1997]

Phil, on 2011-March-07, 12:48, said:

Welcome to the Forums.

I kind of feel sorry for those just starting Bridgebase. Early in the last decade, it was pretty easy to find your way around, since it was so small, and develop a reputation and find 'peers'.

Now its so big I'm not sure where I would start. Probably the beginner-intermediate lounge I guess.

You can try a slower version of 'speed-dating' by playing in random games. Don't take the skill levels too seriously, although I have found that beginners and intermediates are just that, but advanced and experts are frequently not. World Class usually means some one totally out of touch.

If people annoy you, then you call last hand and move on. The good players I've met this way were opponents when I had a standing game with a partner, and I added them as a friend.

i miss the sense of community from my early days at bbo, particularly the wprefugee club

i rate myself advanced for defensive reasons, and as someone once pointed out, you have a wider range of choice of partners when folks are rated advanced, so that rating is somewhat the neutral rating.

but i did have more friends then, to this day i get invitations for team matches from folks circa 2006.

As for tourneys, the free ones used to be mostly imps games, but that has radically changed.

Play free tourney with partnership desk people is hit and miss, but sometimes you get to mark one or two and play with them again.

as for regular partnership, o just about gave up and now am considering actually buying an sayc book and learning it-- the way people play 2/1 is frightening and the ks it is hard to find partners.

[daveharty]

Welcome OBSugar.

This is the sort of situation I had in mind when I devised the "Bridge Personality" index. Here's the thread if you are interested:

http://www.bridgebas...dge-personality

Basically it describes six axes on which you locate your own bridge preferences or tendencies, to help determine whether you would be compatible with a prospective partner. It does NOT attempt to measure skill or experience. It hasn't exactly caught on like wildfire, but I actually have come across a couple of people who include their "BP" in their profile.

Of course this doesn't help with the problem of actually locating prospective partners; others have mentioned good ideas for that. Look me up sometime, I'll happily play with you.

Dave

[Quantumcat]

I only play on BBO with people I know for the reason that everyone else seems to be a complete jerk. I think I've only met two or three nice strangers on BBO after three years of playing there. Being online seems to bring out the hidden (insert swearword here) in most people.

Do you not have a club in your local area? If you don't, you could try starting one, and have social bridge games in each other's homes. You could try putting a notice up at the local shops.

Another way to meet people would be to travel to some congresses and put yourself down as a pickup partner - you then play with anyone whose partner hasn't turned up on time, or for others who want a game and don't have a partner. If you like any of them you can swap BBO names and play with them afterwards. A big event like the Gold Coast has lots of walk-ins, and you could easily get the chance to play with someone decent: it happens that a partnership might get knocked out of the main event, one partner goes home, but the other still feels the itch to play some more bridge.

[mugsysmom]

Bbradley62, on 2011-March-07, 11:57, said:

You might also want to check out the free touraments that are running when you play. They're generally 6-12 boards and most of them are regularly-scheduled, with a core of "regulars" playing. Some of them require that you register at their website first, but that's harmless. With the smaller "universe" of players, you can more easily decide who you might want to pursue a partnership with and who you wouldn't.

I think if you can survive robots who keep hopping to notrump bids with voids or 5 diamonds with three points, then you can survive anything. So afar after a year and a half, I have yet to play with a real person. Time to head into a club.