joining a casual table adding skill-level to user name
#1
Posted 2016-June-01, 11:30
what would be the harm in adding skill-level to our user name as soon as you enter a table? the table (and my partner) would then know what to expect and bid and play accordingly. yes?
#2
Posted 2016-June-01, 23:19
Also skill level can be misleading. Many of the players here do not bid/play like many of the ACBL partners I play with, which also causes conflicts. I'm not sure how to address all of it, but more options like skill level, bidding system, etc. might help.
#3
Posted 2016-June-02, 00:28
wzd3, on 2016-June-01, 23:19, said:
Also skill level can be misleading. Many of the players here do not bid/play like many of the ACBL partners I play with, which also causes conflicts. I'm not sure how to address all of it, but more options like skill level, bidding system, etc. might help.
Yes, skill-levels or ratings, over all, should be determined by the software based on previous RESULTS, not dreamed up by each player him/her self -- it's currently quite useless.
Some people apparently vastly over-rate their own abilities when they put "Expert/Advanced",
while I also see quite commonly players with 5000+ logins or so, being "Beginner/Novice".
#4
Posted 2016-June-02, 03:04
Skill levels are not very informative. First, they tend not to reflect real skill levels. Second, even when they are correct it may still be more important to know about a potential partner's social skills, prefered system and which languages he speaks rather than knowing his skill level.
The best you can do is:
- play with people whom you already know from real life bridge
- play with people you have played against and whose styles and manners you like
- volunteer as a substitute in team games and tourneys. People are mostly friendly towards substitutes so that is a good way to make friends
- participate in the forum discussions and mark forum regulars, whose comments you like, as friends on bbo.
#5
Posted 2016-June-02, 07:31
First, you have to develop a thick skin: some players have limited social skills and you can't do much about that, but many more have limited language skills. Many lack the ability to delicately phrase their comments, so that statements intended as constructive come out harsh. Always check the players country, then judge if language might be a barrier.
Another help might be to go to the BIL program, which is intended specifically for advancing players like yourself. They try to improve your game in a friendly atmosphere and help you meet other players who are working on their game. BIL runs teaching programs, play and tournaments.
In social games it might help to "introduce" yourself before you bid, by stating your system (standard american, SAYC, etc.) so partner has some idea.
The important part is to keep your cool, even under trying circumstances. It gets better.
#6
Posted 2016-June-02, 09:21
#7
Posted 2016-June-02, 09:57
#8
Posted 2016-June-02, 10:22
On another matter, my personal grouch is over players who play double dummy (I.e. kibitzing themselves when they are playing). I have reported three players to BBO who are obviously doing this. One seems to have disappeared, perhaps banned, but two continue to play. (although one I only reported very recently). Can others please report offenders, they are not difficult to spot, to ensure BBO is clean.
#9
Posted 2016-June-02, 14:12
In general, unless there is discussion, one should assume SAYC. Those who assume otherwise are responsible for any confusion.
However, I would also suggest that those who do not know SAYC and ALL its gadgets (which are fairly few in number) bear some responsibility here. They should NEVER just sit down and start playing without informing their partner that they do NOT play conventions that are part of SAYC (e.g., Jacoby transfers in response to NT).
#10
Posted 2016-June-02, 16:00
#11
Posted 2016-June-03, 07:49
#12
Posted 2016-June-03, 08:30
cynac, on 2016-June-02, 16:00, said:
There is no official system. You can play whatever you want.
That you and partner both look at each other's profile and assume you are both playing your own system sounds like a very bad idea. Suppose West plays SAYC while East plays Acol, and it goes:
1♠-2♣
2♠
Since East plays Acol, 2♣ promises only 9 points, but since West plays SAYC, 2♠ is forcing. So you could easily end up too high.
You need to agree which system you play.
#13
Posted 2016-June-03, 17:42
Caitlynne, on 2016-June-02, 14:12, said:
Some people self-rate as expert or world class because they are delusional. Others self-rate at much higher levels because a lot of people don't want to play with beginners or intermediates. Of course, it only takes a few hands (sometimes only 1) for the actual skill level to start to be revealed.
#14
Posted 2020-May-13, 10:18
wzd3, on 2016-June-01, 23:19, said:
Also skill level can be misleading. Many of the players here do not bid/play like many of the ACBL partners I play with, which also causes conflicts. I'm not sure how to address all of it, but more options like skill level, bidding system, etc. might help.
I agree with this.
I strongly prefer to play with people who play SAYC in a way similar to what I do (and also prefer to play with people who rate themselves intermediate or advanced). Anything that can be done to quickly and smoothly make it easier to find compatible partners would be most appreciated.
And since most of us do not want to join a table that still needs one or two more players to get started it would be nice if the table view columns were sortable or have filters where one option is to just show tables that already have three players.
#15
Posted 2020-May-13, 12:56
helene_t, on 2016-June-03, 08:30, said:
That's not completely true I would say. While I agree that there is (fortunately) no longer a consensus to play obsolete SAYC, BBO does nominally oblige you to play its peculiar version of 2/1 in Free TCR tournaments and you can't get far unless you play it religiously at all times with robots.
helene_t, on 2016-June-03, 08:30, said:
....
You need to agree which system you play.
Fully agreed. The rub is that BBO offers no obvious way to do this. The profile is not even supposed to serve this purpose and there is no mechanism to say "ok, I'll play yours (except A, B, C....) and you forget mine". In an automated tournament you can't even chat.
Surely one should at least be able to define capability to play one or more standard systems and either partner should be able to select one and obtain agreement. This is neither rocket science nor a hindrance to automation of tournaments.
#16
Posted 2020-June-05, 10:22
dnassif, on 2016-June-01, 11:30, said:
I usually look at my partner's profile as soon as practical. If he/she chooses to rate their abilities, great. If not, they probably would not have added that info to their user name either.