Best Free Computer Bridge (Stub only)

The Laws of duplicate contract bridge are designed to define correct procedure and to provide an adequate remedy when there is a departure from correct procedure. They are primarily designed not as punishment for irregularities but rather for the rectification of situations where nonoffenders may otherwise be damaged.

So in other words, there are procedures to follow if a person perhaps leads out of turn, if they renege and do not follow suit, if someone misinformed their oppostion as to the meaning of a non conventional bid

.........and the list goes on for quite some pages. Directors are called upon to make the judgements. There are directors at all local club games and at any tournament, no matter if local, regional, national or international.

There have been many developments in duplicate bridge over the last ten years and there are no signs that these changes have stopped. The Laws were updated so as to cope with past changes and to establish a framework that can cope with future developments.

The 1997 Laws of Duplicate Bridge in North America as defined by the ACBL can be found at this site.

http://web2.acbl.org/laws/index.html

And the changes as put forth in the 2007 laws can be found at this site.

http://www.worldbridge.org/departments/Laws/2007LawsComplete.pdf

The quality of information that has been provided here is simply wonderful. This is actually the model for the whole site that we thought we'd achieve when we started (a sort of wiki based on reader input) ... although we were somewhat disappointed.
If only we could find an editor to "pull it all together".
Couldn't one of you volunteer to be the Category Editor?
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content-contribution

Just to clarify two points.

1. I had previously mentioned that you could play on two sites and earn sanctioned ACBL matchpoints.

There is a charge to play in those specific tournaments though.

BBO charges $1US per ACBL tournament you participate in. Actual membership in BBO is free. There are other tournaments you can play in that are free but you will not be able to earn ACBL master points in those tournaments.

OKBridge charges $99US per year to play in their tournaments that are sanctioned by the ACBL. That gives you unlimited use to play in any ACBL tournament they offer throughout the year. They also offer other tournaments that you can play in at no cost. OKBridge is not a free site, it charges $99US per year to be a member.

2. There was a bit of confusion about RULES and SYSTEMS.

Rules and systems are two totally different things.

A system is a list of various conventions that you use for bidding or defense. No matter what SYSTEM players are using, that system must first be sanctioned, in other words, approved as a legitimate bridge system. The system has to be approved by the World Bridge Zone that you live in. The World Bridge Federation consists of eight Zonal Organizations. Each Zonal Organization administers bridge in its own geographical area, coordinating the National Federations of its member countries.

Once a system is sanctioned, the players using any system must all play within the RULES established by the world bridge federation.

SAYC, 2/1, ACOL, and Precision are all systems that have been previously sanctioned, so then if a partnership is using that system, the only things that would be alertable to their opposition would be any conventions they use that are not part and parcel of the the sanctioned system.

Here is a link to the vugraph at Bridge Base Online (BBO). You will see a list of all the events that are scheduled for their vugraph. You can watch players during world championships, zonal championships, qualification knockouts... At times you can also watch world juniors play as well as seniors. The link will give the list of upcoming events, I believe you will have to open an account at BBO to use their vugraph. But it is free. The website for BBO is:

http://www.bridgebase.com/

And the list of upcoming events available to watch on their vugraph is found here:

http://online.bridgebase.com/vugraph/schedule.php

I am going to list some free sites that I use on quite a regular basis to find info on bidding systems, bidding conventions, places to buy supplies, humor and the like. Just click on the site to go there.

The first one is very appropriately named, "All of the Bridge Conventions You Could Ever Want".

http://www.bridge-wiese.de/konvent/ALLKONV.HTM

The "Bridge Guys" also have a compendium of info on their site as well as links to where you can find even more information.

http://www.bridgeguys.com/index.html

The "Bridge Site" also has info on conventions, systems and agreements that are used when playing duplicate bridge.

http://www.slospin.net/Duplicate%20Bridge/bridge_home.htm

"Card Table Talk" has info on bridge in general, duplicate bridge, and a lot of good bridge humor.

http://www.cardtabletalk.com/index.html

The next sites give a list of popular and unpopular conventions used listed alphabetically A to Z.

http://www.bridgehands.com/Indexes/conventions.htm

http://www.bridgehands.com/Indexes/conventions_2.htm

Most of the top bridge players and pro bridge players have their own websites. And it has been my experience that most of them are very very open to questions and queries from the public. One of those true gentlemen is Eddie Kantar. Here is his site and if you do nothing else but read his section on humor, it will be reward enough. The man could do stand up comedy.

http://www.kantarbridge.com/

Here is a link to.......other links:)))

http://www.greatbridgelinks.com/

Beginner, intermediate and advanced bridge players can find good info at "Karen's Bridge Library"

http://home.comcast.net/~kwbridge/

On the first Wednesday of each month, a set of computer-dealt hands is sent to Clubs around the country. After their Wednesday Game, players visit this site for the week’s Hand Analyses, Bidding Quizzes and Play Problems for the hands they have just played. There's nothing "tricky" about the hands, they are not doctored in any way, there's no attempt to make them more "interesting", they're all just as the computer dealt them.

http://www.wednesdaygame.com/

Someone from my own local club has a page at our club website. Good info on conventions and other topics.

http://members.shaw.ca/conventions/

All kinds of good info at the "Fifth Chair". They also offer an excellent mentoring program on two bridge sites. You play with your mentor on line on either Bridge Base Online (BBO) or else OKBridge.

http://www.fifthchair.org/

And finally a further site where you can not only get supplies for the game of bridge but for other card games as well.

http://www.sevennotrump.com/

For those who are interested in buying bridge supplies of all sorts, this is an excellent site. It is the best source by far for books that teach you all about bridge, that could be bidding systems, bidding conventions, how to bid more effectively, how to declare or defend more effectively, the list goes on. A few of the more popular books are available on Amazon but not a whole lot.

I believe that if you are an ACBL member, you get a discount. Don't quote me on that, I have not purchased from that site in a couple of years, so that policy might have changed.

http://www.baronbarclay.com/

In regards to some of the free sites, keep in mind that quite often you get what you pay for. Myself, I pay to play at a site.

But for those who are perhaps homebound, on a limited budget, and just want to fill in a few hours everyday, most of the free sites already mentioned will fill in that bill.

And sometimes, they are an excellent way to keep in touch and play bridge with family or friends who are separated by distance.

et brocklesby

This is a fantastic idea whereby you can play free games on line.
I and my wife are bridge players for over 25 years, we run a bridge club from novice to first class bridge players. We also teach our members free of charge, this then encourages them to keep up the game.
We have members who play all systems mentioned and some that are their own interpretation of the game.
If i can be of help let me know
Eric

BBO (Bridge Base Online) is free, but most playing claim to be experts when they are just novice players. You can however get ACBL match points on that site by playing in various tournaments. Pros also teach there, for a fee of course. And they have money bridge tournaments now too. Now you put in real money, but it is somehow converted to BBO money, so not quite like gambling sites where you play with real money. BBO has a vugraph though, so you can go to that site and watch world class bridge players in tournaments, and it is live play too. BBO also has a computer program that you can buy to learn and play bridge.

A lot of people in North America buy the Bridge Baron. It is a bridge program that you can install on your computer to learn bridge and to practise bridge conventions. Each year there are updates to their program. They add new bidding conventions and the like. You can buy a license to simply buy the updates they put out each year. That way you don't have to buy the whole new program every year.

http://www.bridgebaron.com/home.shtml

http://www.okbridge.com is a good site to play on. It is not free, but they do offer tournaments where you can earn ACBL matchpoints as well. It is set up more competitive in nature as they have a Lehman rating system. You can however play non competitive if you don't want the stress of playing competitive. Some pros also teach on this site.

Someone posted that complete rules of the game could be found at

http://www.acolbridge.co.uk/"

ACOL is not "rules: of the game. That is a BRIDGE SYSTEM, mainly played in Britain and some European countries. It is a bidding system with various conventions. Rules and systems are two totally different things.

Most players now play a system called Two over One Game Force, usually shortened to 2/1. Information about the 2/1 system can be found here

http://home.comcast.net/~kwbridge/2over1.htm

Beginning players usually play Standard American Yellow Card, usually called SAYC. Most players have learned SAYC before they have gone on to other more advanced systems. It is a program that is pretty universal enabling you to pretty well play bridge anywhere in the world. And it is also good enough for social bridge. Some info on SAYC can be found at the following site. It has been broken down into lessons.

http://www.fifthchair.org/school/

The next most common system used after 2/1 and SAYC is Precision, sometimes called a "big club" system. Most players who employ Precision are quite advanced. Information about Precision can be found here.

http://acp.atlanta.ga.us/wang/bridge/gdum111.htm

Thanx .... this is exactly the kind of information we are looking for.

Here are a few links:

PROGRAMS:
- The current world champ, WBridge5, is portable freeware from http://www.wbridge5.com/ The site's written in French, but the program speaks English too.
- Another portable freeware option is WolfBridge, which can also be used for training. Download v 1.2a via the Acol Bridge Pages: http://www.acolbridge.co.uk/
- And there's also QuickBridge: http://www.wesleysteiner.com/quickgames/bridge.html

- Bridge Moniteur is a portable client from the same people as WBridge5. It provides an interface to play online (or over an offline network) or to pit different programs against one another. Apparently, it can also be used as a trainer. Download from here: http://www.wbridge5.com/bm.htm Read the two .doc files for help.

MORE TUITION SOFTWARE:
- The American Contract Bridge League provides two self-tuition programs (free registration required): http://www.acbl.org/learn/ltpb.html

TO PLAY OR WATCH ONLINE
- There's BridgeBase: http://www.bridgebase.com/
- A Yahoo server: http://uk.games.yahoo.com/online-games/card/games_bridge.html
- And Zany Bridge: http://www.viwawa.com/en_US/game/ZanyBridge