[jmcw]

I invited my regular FTF partner to join the team league, happily he agreed.
He made an interesting comment about online play. "My concentration is not as good".

I confess, I had never given much consideration to this, but now that its come up I think perhaps I agree.

Any thoughts?

[gwnn]

It is true for most people. Alt+tab, spouses, television sets, pets, and cooking are amongst the most likely sources of this effect.

[bd71]

For others -- likely a minority (but including me) -- concentration online is easier.

Real-life distractions like opponent mannerisms (snapping cards, fidgeting), background noises in a large room ("Director!"), and having to actually move your eyes more than fractionally to take in cards played, can take you slightly off your game.

I suspect for most it's related to where you play most of your hands.

[Fluffy]

I am playing webgames while playing bridge. Most of the time when I am dummy, but also when declarer tanks and I think I have nothing to worry about.

I tried once to play bridge on another site at the same time but it was really tough.

[BunnyGo]

I have an easier time concentrating online when I arrange to not have distractions around. I like being able to talk aloud about a hand. That said, when I do have distractions at home, I do not concentrate as well.

[jillybean]

bd71, on 2012-February-09, 08:16, said:

For others -- likely a minority (but including me) -- concentration online is easier.

Real-life distractions like opponent mannerisms (snapping cards, fidgeting), background noises in a large room ("Director!"), and having to actually move your eyes more than fractionally to take in cards played, can take you slightly off your game.

I suspect for most it's related to where you play most of your hands.

This used to be true for me too. Now I find it much easier to concentrate at the club than I do online.

[paulg]

Much more difficult to recall the early spot cards online as they disappear quickly.

[gnasher]

I treat online bridge like a computer game. If I make a mistake, I know I can have another game.

[Phil]

gwnn, on 2012-February-09, 08:11, said:

It is true for most people. Alt+tab, spouses, television sets, pets, and cooking are amongst the most likely sources of this effect.

Add:

- my cell phone
- my neighbor's pets
- my offspring
- my *&^#%$ puppy
- skype
- WWW.BRIDGEBASE.COM/FORUMS

[wyman]

I think I play worse online, but I tend to play better when I set aside a quiet place and play there rather than in the living room while my SO is watching tv.

The pace of online play is so much faster that I lose track of things and/or get incredibly lazy very fast. The volume of hands and the ability to post-mortem card-by-card, as well as the ability to play with friends halfway around the world, make it worth it though.

[jjbrr]

playing online is a skill just like any other. the more you practice, the better you get

[olegru]

“Dad, how you find the volume of the solid obtained by rotating the region bounded by the given curves about the x-axis?”
“Pap, could you bring me a tea?”
“My God this Internet is so slow! Oleg, could you come here and fix it?”
“Woof” (translation: “You need only one hand to play bridge and easily can pet me at the same time.”)
“Dad, what about y-axis?”
“Could somebody answer the f@@@n phone!?”
“Pap, could you bring me a tea?”
“Woof” (translation: “Why did you stop petting me?”)
“I am from Global Help Desk. Sorry to bother you this time we got a call from user…”
…
Yep, it needs skills to manage concentration during the online play.

[VMars]

JJBR said that it's a skill, the more you practice, the better you get.

I can believe that is true for most people, but it is not true for me. I used to play online more, but now I almost never log in because I just cannot concentrate on only BBO.

What happens to me is that I can turn the tv off, go away from other distractions, but when someone else is taking a while to think, I'm staring at a screen that is doing nothing, and I'm bored. And I cannot control my attention very well (I have ADD), and so my attention wavers. And I have no way to bring it back, because there aren't even the social cues drawing me back in.

At the club or a tournament, there are things happening in the background while someone else is thinking. Or I can move my hand around, which induces thinking in me. Online, I can't shuffle my cards, in fact I have to be careful to keep my mouse away from my cards so that I don't accidentally click on something without realizing it's my turn.

Basically, I have all these coping techniques for playing in person, and none for playing online. But PRACTICING doesn't help me more, finding coping techniques would. I think perhaps taking up drawing or something would help. I see people knitting, and maybe that might help, too. Maybe I'll try that next time.

[TWO4BRIDGE]

Also... doorbell ... reviewing screwups on previous hand(s) .

[Vampyr]

gnasher, on 2012-February-09, 10:32, said:

I treat online bridge like a computer game. If I make a mistake, I know I can have another game.

I find it "feels" like a computer game too.

[Zelandakh]

paulg, on 2012-February-09, 10:30, said:

Much more difficult to recall the early spot cards online as they disappear quickly.

I actually find the reverse is true. In a real game some people turn their spot cards over practically instantly whereas I need a short time to process the information. Online I can keep my mouse somewhere near the bottom right corner and review the previous trick for as long as I need. Yes I could do this irl too in theory but I am sure it would not go down well if I asked everyone to turn their cards back over on several tricks a hand.

[Phil]

Zelandakh, on 2012-February-10, 02:46, said:

Online I can keep my mouse somewhere near the bottom right corner and review the previous trick for as long as I need. Yes I could do this irl too in theory but I am sure it would not go down well if I asked everyone to turn their cards back over on several tricks a hand.

This is bad for real life bridge. Online, the trick gets instaquitted. In real life I have to keep the card in my hand without turning it over. This is one of the mechanical adjustments you have to make when you go back and forth.

[whereagles]

To keep concentrated, stay away from browsing when dummy. Speaking from experience here

[Statto]

Zelandakh, on 2012-February-10, 02:46, said:

I actually find the reverse is true. In a real game some people turn their spot cards over practically instantly whereas I need a short time to process the information. Online I can keep my mouse somewhere near the bottom right corner and review the previous trick for as long as I need. Yes I could do this irl too in theory but I am sure it would not go down well if I asked everyone to turn their cards back over on several tricks a hand.

It works just fine F2F, or at least within a club. You ask to see their spot cards every time they turn them over too soon. Eventually they stop turning them over too soon, and even glance up at you to check you've seen them

[phil_20686]

gwnn, on 2012-February-09, 08:11, said:

It is true for most people. Alt+tab, spouses, television sets, pets, and cooking are amongst the most likely sources of this effect.

and beer.