[woodych]

Thank you 1eyedjack
I will remember that next time if i can work out how to do that.

[Zelandakh]

woodych, on 2015-October-04, 12:21, said:

The problem with the hand today was I had 14 points and I guess i should have jumped straight to 4NT? (or maybe not?)

It is unusual for an immediate 4NT to be the best approach on a hand. If you hold 14hcp opposite an normal opening you will usually describe your hand to your partner while making sure to force to game. In the meantime Opener will be describing their hand and at some point one of you will likely be in a position to make a move towards slam if it is right. If on the other hand you hold 14hcp opposite a 2NT opener than 4NT would normally be a mistake as this is not forcing and now you typically have enough to force to slam. That might involve investigating for a suit fit while making forcing calls or might mean simply jumping to 6NT.

[woodych]

Thank you Zelandakh
Obtaining advice like that is great on the forums, thank you.
I do not feel completely useless after that summary.
I will keep on trying.

[woodych]

Sighs, yet another private message from some sad player who has nothing better to do than send other players unpleasant messages. I always used to believe that experts/advanced players would be more tolerant of beginners and allow for the fact that they won't play like an expert.
Of all the online sites I use this has to be the worst for such things.
I used to believe that bridge was a game that intelligent, polite and good people played, how wrong was i!
It seems to be full of nasty, arrogant and basically very unpleasant people. People that they have never met, and yet they believe it is socially acceptable to do such things, they must lead very sad lives!

[Vampyr]

Have you tried joining the BIL?

[Trinidad]

Dear Woodych,

Edit: Vampyr's suggestion of joining the BIL (Beginners and Intermediates Lounge) is excellent.

I understand your feelings. And I know that what you are saying is true. Some of the players at BBO are outright unpleasant (and that is still an understatement).

There are two reasons for that:
1) Bridge, like any mind sport, is a stressful game.
2) People on BBO are anonymous. That means that their normal inhibitions can disappear like snow in the sun. After all, nobody can call them out on their poor behavior.

It is difficult to do something about the stress of the game. I wouldn't even want to do something about it, since that is one of the things that makes the game so exciting.

But there is something that you can do about anonymity. The obvious way is to start playing bridge in a real bridge club. The best way to do that is to take a bridge course first and then start playing for real. Then you know the people and they cannot misbehave without suffering the consequences (which is why they, with few exceptions, won't misbehave).

The second thing you can do is play on BBO but with friends. Make a list of people who are pleasant and meet with them at regular times at BBO. That way, these players are not really anonymous anymore. You may still not know their real name, but now "Bridgebeast94" has something to loose if he would misbehave: the nice BBO game every Wednesday evening.

Best of luck,

Rik

[woodych]

Thank you Vampyr and Rik for your replies and comments.

I do play rubber with friends most Fridays through to Sundays, but at other times I decided I needed to get some serious game play to improve my game.

I started with GIBS (who never complain) and then decided I needed to try some games with real people.
I have learned so much the last month or so from playing in the BBO free automated tournaments (I do not really have the money to splash out on paid tournaments)

I enjoy watching (polite) Experts to gain insight into how they bid and play the game and it has definately helped me.

On ocassions I have felt frustrated by a partner I have been with and wanted to ask them why they did or didn't do what they did, but I know that is pointless as we are all human, we all have off days, we all make mistakes.

The last private message which prompted my post today came from a player that I have only just checked on and realised his average match points was worse than mine. There are of course many reasons for that, who you have as partners etc, but it has made me realise that not all those who send nasty messages are necessarily good players them selves.

Peter

[Trinidad]

woodych, on 2015-October-15, 07:17, said:

but it has made me realise that not all those who send nasty messages are necessarily good players them selves.

Peter

Actually, I would bet that the nasty players are not good players. That doesn't mean that there are no players that are good and nasty, but nastiness is typical for low level players.

Why is that?

To be a good bridge player, you need to have a variety of skills:
you need to know your play technique: know when to finesse and when not.
you need to know your bidding technique: Know what the bids mean, choose the right one and understand what partner is doing.
And, and this is very important if you ever want to be a good bridge player, you need to make sure that your partner plays well, because -unlike e.g. chess- bridge is a partnership game.

And you have a lot more influence on your partner's bridge ability than you would think. When do partners play well? When they enjoy the game and think it is fun to play with you! When you make sure that your partner likes to play with you, it is easy to play well.

Being nasty to your partner is not going to get him to play better. It is just as silly and childish as kicking your car when you have a flat tire... Before the kick you have a flat tire, after the kick you have a flat tire and a dent.

Rik

[woodych]

Thanks Rik

I loved that final analogy (and a very sore toe to boot!)oh so true.

I'm sure we have all been tempted to throw our computer out the window, but I always stop just in time when I realise I will have no computer (to pay bridge on)and however long it takes to replace it (all that extra cost) I will feel very sick indeed until I get to replace that.

I do have to balance all those unpleasant messages with one I did receive recently from a partner who told me bad luck on the hand going down and that I did all I could with that hand, we all went one down with 4S, so nothing to be ashamed of.

Best Wishes
Peter

[1eyedjack]

Trinidad, on 2015-October-15, 08:14, said:

It is just as silly and childish as kicking your car when you have a flat tire... Before the kick you have a flat tire, after the kick you have a flat tire and a dent.

Rik

www.youtube.com/watch?v=78b67l_yxUc

[Trinidad]

"I count to three..."

"I warned you..."

Just great!

Rik

[mycroft]

"There is only one player in the room that is on your side. It is very easy to turn him to the opposition."

I wish more people knew that, and understood it. Having said that, Monday is mea culpa.

[woodych]

Lol, Faulty Towers one of those great classics.