[petsei]

Hi all,

I'd like to know if in BBO there is any opportunity for two
beginners playing against two rented robots.
I know it's possible to have a bidding training this way.
I'm very grateful for any suggestions.

Peter

[pescetom]

petsei, on 2020-November-04, 14:07, said:

Hi all,

I'd like to know if in BBO there is any opportunity for two
beginners playing against two rented robots.
I know it's possible to have a bidding training this way.
I'm very grateful for any suggestions.

Peter

Is this to train the beginners, or the robots?

Just kidding, but I don't suggest it even if it is possible.
You would have to be both talented and masochistic to learn effectively with the help of the BBO robots, which play a contorted system and cannot discuss anything.
The best way to learn to play is with a teacher, or at least to play in a real world club (online or not) with players you easily get to know and have interest in you.
If that is difficult for some reason then you could just jump in and play pairs and individual tournaments, assuming you both have potential and courage.

[pilowsky]

On the other hand,
I disagree. If you have some of the rudiments and you want to join Prime for $4.99 a month this a great way to do it, either on your own or with a partner.
Considerably cheaper than a teacher.
I learned a lot very quickly this way.
After a while, I did take a few lessons and I used books. whatever it takes.

[petsei]

Thank you both for your reply! I think it's worthy of a try

[dsLawsd]

Can you try a teaching table?
You might be able to set up a 3 robot table and then take out one to allow partner to sit? If so you can use random or specific Vu-graph
hands 16 at time and then compare to what the experts did,,,

[diana_eva]

Here's a video showing how to set a table with two robots and reserve seats for you and your partner.

You will be asked to pay for the robots. They cost 1 BB$ per week the basic ones and 1BB$ per day the advanced robots. The basic ones are plenty for simple play and train.

https://youtu.be/P-elAkGAgJU

[maccrimmon]

Remember you have to be a BBO member and have BB$ in your account. (BB$ can be bought by clicking the BB$ button in the upper right hand corner of the home screen (after you log in). happy playing.

[mycroft]

Diana, Thank you.

Can I ask that you consider putting a text translation of the video instructions either in the description, or somewhere in help (and then link there from the description)?

For those like me for whom the following quote tweet applies:

Quote

How I want to learn to use your new product:

1. Text on website
2. Text on paper
...
2428. Spraypainted on side of cow
2429. Video tutorial

First, this one is quick, but many of these video tutorials are 10 minutes long. I can read the text description in 40 seconds.
Second, if it doesn't work after watching the video, I can walk through the text step by step and see what I missed the first time.

To give videos credit, they're great for "But I can't *find* that button!" or "okay, remove the locking slider. How TF do I do that?" Even then, the text description with timings (or the new - very cool! - youtube feature that breaks up the timeflow into blocks with descriptions) really helps to avoid "yes, I know this, get to the useful part".

[diana_eva]

mycroft, on 2020-November-05, 10:18, said:

Diana, Thank you.

Can I ask that you consider putting a text translation of the video instructions either in the description, or somewhere in help (and then link there from the description)?

For those like me for whom the following quote tweet applies:


First, this one is quick, but many of these video tutorials are 10 minutes long. I can read the text description in 40 seconds.
Second, if it doesn't work after watching the video, I can walk through the text step by step and see what I missed the first time.

To give videos credit, they're great for "But I can't *find* that button!" or "okay, remove the locking slider. How TF do I do that?" Even then, the text description with timings (or the new - very cool! - youtube feature that breaks up the timeflow into blocks with descriptions) really helps to avoid "yes, I know this, get to the useful part".

Thanks. Good suggestions, I'll update descriptions and check out that new feature (didnt notice it)

[mycroft]

I've been seeing it with the recorded streams of games (Magic, mostly, but bridge as well) where they mark off automagically when the different matches/hands start.

[pescetom]

mycroft, on 2020-November-05, 13:34, said:

I've been seeing it with the recorded streams of games (Magic, mostly, but bridge as well) where they mark off automagically when the different matches/hands start.

That's definitely the way to go with recorded/time-delayed broadcast bridge too.
Jump to "Hand 4: controversial 11 IMP swing of China vs. Italy in Final where double of 6♣ was described as "l/d" on the system card"

[armantt2k]

petsei, on 2020-November-04, 14:07, said:

Hi all,

I'd like to know if in BBO there is any opportunity for two
beginners playing against two rented robots.
I know it's possible to have a bidding training this way.
I'm very grateful for any suggestions.

Peter

Your Question was if it was possible to play against 2 robots. The Answer is Yes, you can rent Basic Robots for 7 days at a cost of 1 BB$.
Just start a Casual Relaxed table and sit robots in the EW seats, invite your partner to be N and sit yourself S. Deals will appear automatically.
The other replies to your Question were expressing doubts that you can learn much doing this.

I think if you and your partner are truly Beginners as you described yourselves, then by playing against two robots you can begin to understand how good declarer play creates additional tricks (finesses, promotion, trumping, discarding, etc). You might not get very much from how the robots play defense - they often lead 'incorrectly', don't use signals (standard or otherwise). But it's an inexpensive way to get lots of practice playing if you can't find human opponents when you want.

I also suggest reviewing each hand afterwards. The robots won't mind waiting while you and your partner review and chat (or talk on the phone) to unravel what just happened, and perhaps find a better way to play those cards. You might even use multiple Undo's to "replay" the tricks where you think you went wrong and try again.

Doing this with a Teaching table is especially fun because we can hide or show all 4 hands to discuss things. My partner and I do this for an hour or two with random interesting hands to discuss (on the phone) our understanding of our bidding conventions, defensive signaling, or declarer play.

Note: Another benefit of the Teaching table is that there are ways to program what kind of deals you get. But that's another topic. If my partner and I don't like the hand we just picked up, we simply click Redeal!

I hope you were not too discouraged by the other replies - try this and see if you like it and feel you are learning anything. To improve you have to play lots of hands, make lots of mistakes, and learn from them what works and what doesn't, and learn why. Meanwhile, HAVE FUN PLAYING BRIDGE!