[wombatica]

Hello!

This is my first post here. I've been a member for about 4 months.

I played bridge, oh, a VERY long time ago (as a wee lass) and did quite well. After my teacher/mentor moved away, I really never found another steady partner. The places I lived (after NYC) had mostly daytime games, and I had some disastrous "pickup" partnerships. Since I worked days (mostly), there were very few sessions that I felt comfortable attending as I "got my feet wet" again, as most of the evening sessions featured scowling serious players coveting master points and totally out for blood. And my master points have expired, and my expertise has faded (and OMG, the systems I see now are so much more sophisticated... I wish I had pressed and preserved my old convention card as a relic).

Anyway, here I am wondering if a positive experience without cheating is possible online. (When I played lesser card games online, I mean, I just KNEW that my opponents were on the phone with one another...) And although I'd love to hear thoughts about that, I'm really writing about something else:

After playing many, many, many games with three basic robots, I became very familiar with the GIB system that they use. (And as I'm certain everyone knows, the basic robots do some TRULY BIZARRE things... but, I did learn that anthing resembling yelling at them is rather a waste of time and energy. Ahem.)

I'm not sure how to progress at this point to playing with, um, non-robots. And I don't know whether, or how, to break out of the robot's system and to choose something else, or to modify it... I read here about what seems to be a "description of play style," (did I come across it in the "Player Profile" section?) And while I am pretty comfortable with the basic conventions, I have learned a few new things from the Robots. I guess it is best to find a partner, discuss the conventions we would like to include... but the path to that point is a mystery.

There are a number of system names, and I have no idea how to differentiate amongst them, nor how to choose one, nor how to adapt, nor how to play the zither (oops, skip that last one).

Also, I've been playing on an iPad, but have a desktop system... Does playing on the PC have any distinct advantages?

Okay. I'm shutting up now, and saving a myriad of questions for another time.

Thanks in advance, and... oh. I THINK I played with the "create a signature" thing. If it attaches, it is temporary so please do ignore its ludicrous nature.

[1eyedjack]

Hi and welcome. You ask two questions which can be considered independently.
1 how to find an honest game
2 how to expand your system repertoire.

Absolute confidence of an honest game will unfortunately necessarily involve robots. But if you are prepared to pay a modest fee of $0.25 a shout you can play in 8 board robot tourneys where you are effectively competing against humans albeit without the social interaction.

Otherwise the normal routine is to flag humans with whom you interact as friends or enemies as the case may be and gravitate to a coterie of friends. This can take some time. You have to suffer a bad experience in order to know to flag an enemy. No shortcut there.

As to systems I don't see this as a priority for you. Robots play a pretty vanilla 2/1 not far removed from the mode. Not saying it has no faults but just thinking the big picture.

[dave251164]

Hi Maybe try the free bingos to see if you enjoy them and if you do, then progress to the 25c ones with the same card and same hands and then even to the $ ones but with different hands. But they require fast play and special techniques and they can become quite addictive! The robot races are fun too. Good luck - enjoy!

[gszes]

www.bilbridge.com is an independent (but very closely associated with bbo) program that caters to beginner/intermediate players. There are free lectures and even some free mentoring to get you started. There are some costs involved but those are explained when you try to sign up. There is also an extensive library which will help you learn some of the details of then conventions you have heard of. There are also many bil games where it is quite likely you may find a compatible partner or two as you journey back into bridge. Good luck and enjoy.

[wombatica]

Thank to all. Very helpful.