Tournaments are Open Pairs daily tournaments that simulate a duplicate movement at a bridge club. Tournaments can run for up to 3 hours. Each game consists of a set number of rounds (with 2 hands per round), and in each round, you and your partner are automatically moved to a new table with different opponents.
To ensure a rapid pace of play, there is a time limit on each round. The games are played barometer style, so all tables play the same boards simultaneously, and you can see your current score as you progress through the event. The pairs that you face are other pairs with scores similar to yours, so the game arranges for you to compete against pairs who are close to your level.
To be ready to play in the tournament, first find the tournament you're interested in, then join the tournament with a partner. At the time the game begins, the tournament server makes a roster of all of the established partnerships and moves them to their seats for the first board. Play will then commence.
Seating: As a participant, you are seated automatically at a table with your partner and opponents. You can see your hand and begin bidding.
Bidding: Regarding restrictions on bidding conventions, OKbridge places no restrictions on the bidding system you use, provided you supply your opponents with full and complete information about your agreements.
Alerts: Any call which normally would be alertable in a sanctioned event (ACBL or WBF) should be alerted on OKbridge. Please use self-alerts and refrain from using partner-alerts. A self-alert is made by typing an explanation of the bid in the Explain field of the bidding box before you click OK to confirm your bid. Your opponents will see the alert, but your partner will not. Your opponents may then ask you privately about the meaning of your bid. You should explain your conventions to the fullest extent which is reasonable, given the limitations of the playing medium.
Disconnections: If you are disconnected during the play of the tournament, log in again and rejoin the tourney table. You will be moved directly to your seat. It is very important to reconnect as quickly as possible. If one of the players is absent from the game, then the partnership is taken out of the rotation during that player’s absence. This means in particular that if you are disconnected and it takes you several minutes to reconnect, you may find that you and your partner have to sit out a round. We all have unreliable network connections from time to time, and this step is necessary in order to assure a smoothly flowing game for those whose connections are reliable on a given evening.
Rounds: The tournament is divided into a set number of rounds. In each round, you play 2 boards against a particular opposing pair. In many tournaments, there will be hospitality breaks every few rounds. These are announced about midway through the round just prior to the hospitality break.
There is a fixed time limit for each round. Typically it is set at 7½ minutes per board. Since the average length of time it takes to play a board on OKbridge is slightly above 8 minutes, this means that you will need to play a bit faster than usual in order to complete your boards on time.
The current movement structure is a partially swissified movement. At the beginning of each new round, the pairs that are ready to move are matched against other pairs based upon their current scores, except that no two pairs will be allowed to play each other twice. The remaining pairs are matched against each other based upon their total playing time. Thus, the faster pairs play against others of nearly equal ability, while slower pairs play against others with nearly equal playing speed.
Several warnings are displayed as the end of the round approaches. If you have not finished play by the end of a round, then you may be late for the next round. You are required to complete any board which you begin playing. No boards will be canceled or adjusted due to lateness.
However, if you are too slow in playing, you will not be allowed to play as many boards. If there are less than five minutes remaining in a round, a table is not allowed to begin any new boards. Thus, if it takes you more than ten minutes to play the first board in a round, then you may find that your table is not allowed to play the next board.
In order to qualify for a winning ranking in the tournament, you must complete a certain number of boards. These numbers vary depending on the type of tournament, so you should verify the actual minimum requirements at the time of the tournament.
Your score is computed as an average over the boards you complete. Thus, boards you do not have an opportunity to play will not affect your score.
The tournament server keeps a record of the playing time of each player, and this information will be available to the director. In highly egregious cases, the director may use this information in making adjustments. Each player is responsible for all delays affecting his or her play, including delays introduced by slow connections to the Internet.
The current movement structure is a modified-random movement. Initially, a random assignment of pairs to tables is generated. Then, the assignment is adjusted to ensure that no two pairs are matched against each other who have played previously in the tournament. Experience shows that this approach works well.
At each table you will see a player named “Director." If you feel that you are in a situation that calls for special action, you can request such an action by sending a private message to the Director. Each director is allowed to publish his or her own conditions of contest. We strive to find directors who represent a variety of different approaches, so all subscribers will be able to participate in events that suit their playing style.
Some events will have a barometer. In these events, each pair will be allowed to see their current scores for the event, subject to a one round lag. For non-barometer events, every player will see a score of zero for the duration of the event.
Spectators are welcome in most events. If you have chosen a particular player whom you wish to kibitz, you will be taken to watch at each of the tables at which that person plays.
After all rounds for an event have been completed, scores are computed and rankings are assigned. In order to receive a ranking, a participant must complete a certain minimum number of boards (number depends on the type of tournament played). An email message is sent to each of the participants with a list of the rankings and a summary of the boards they played. (You can also find your results on the OKbridge website by clicking My Tourneys).