On-line bridge

The best thing to happen in the world of bridge in recent years is the advent of BBO - BridgeBase Online. This website, masterminded by Fred Gitelman, allows thousands of bridge players all over the world to find a game any time, for free. It has other features, including the terrific Vugraph, which lets you watch as world-class players bid and play hands (with expert commentary to let you know what's going on). If you've never visited (www.bridgebase.com), you're missing out.

Yet I don't particularly like online bridge. It really isn't the same game, to me. I'm not a world-class player; I've never played with screens in use, or more than a couple of kibitzers watching for my mistakes. Perhaps the perspective is different if you do fall into that category, or perhaps not. But for me, the whole atmosphere of being in a room full of bridge players, of having the cards in your hand and feeling the physical presence of the opponents to be overcome, is part of the game. Without that atmosphere, it just isn't the same experience.

And then there's the people you meet. Meet in the internet sense, of course, meaning you don't meet them at all. Some are chatty, some taciturn, and I myself might go either way depending on (to some extent) how much alcohol has flowed my way. But often enough, you don't know for sure whether you are sitting down with an octogenarian life master or a twelve year-old intermediate (or vice versa, etc). The thing about bridge is, after a few hands, you can get a surprisingly clear feel for the character of your partner. Sometimes it might take a few hours to figure someone out, but sometimes the story becomes clear in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, it tends to be the better people who are harder to figure out, and the idiots who are rapidly unmasked. I say unfortunately, because often enough you play for an hour or two and then never see that player again. But the ones who are sympatico enough for an hour or two are the ones that you really want to stick with.

And there's the question of rudeness. Some people (I'm tempted to assume they're kids, but there's no real justification for that assumption) feel that it's OK to be a complete asshole in an on-line forum, when they probably wouldn't dare to behave that way in real life.

A good thing you can say about BBO is that at least there is a facility to mark other players as "friends" or "enemies". If I come across a reasonable player, I mark them as friends, and if someone is too terrible either as a player or a person, I flag them as an enemy. This evening I played a few hands with gm1776, whoever that is. He's a chronic overbidder, and when I pulled a penalty double of his, he suggested I didn't know what I was doing and left the table. A review of the hand (if he could have been bothered) would reveal 3D doubled likely to be made with overtricks. But I guess it's the principle of the thing - he doubled, so I should sit for a terrible score whether I know better or not. Well, at least I won't be playing with him again, unless he changes his name (a sickening thought).