RealBridge Player Guide

changed 30 May 2023


RealBridge is available in the following languages, English, French, Greek, Swedish, Danish, German, Spanish, Catalan, Dutch, Norwegian (nynorsk), Norwegian (bokmål), Turkish, Polish, Portuguese, Chinese - simplified and Italian. Make your selection at the log-in screen.

Before the session

It is always good to test your device before a session, you can do this at our camera and microphone test page.

Before starting

Before the first round of a session, clicking the Scores button shows the players at each table. In a teams event it also shows the names of the teams.

If a seat is reserved but the player is not yet present, the player’s name is shown in brackets in grey. 


At the table

When you arrive at the table, you will be able to see and talk to the other players. After the Director starts the first round, you will see your hand. When it is your turn to bid, a bidding box will be shown in the middle of the table.

These are the main elements of the screen:

Displaying an information panel

If a director has loaded an information panel a player will be able to see a ⓘ button above scores. At any time during the session, a player can click the ⓘ button, just above the scores button:


During the auction

Making a bid

When it is your turn to bid or play, your name is highlighted in yellow

To bid, simply click the bidding card. If you are using one click mode, the bid will be made and will appear in front of you, just as when you bid in face-to-face bridge.

If you are using two taps mode (see Settings) the bidding card is selected, and all the other bidding cards disappear. If the bid you wanted is shown, click it again to confirm the bid; if you had clicked the wrong bid, click somewhere else on the table to bring the bidding box back.

Alerts and explanations

The standard way of alerting in RealBridge is as in face-to-face bridge. When your partner makes a conventional bid, you click your alert card. The Alert card will briefly be displayed against partner's bid. Partner's bidding card will change colour to indicate that it has been alerted.

Explanations are as in face-to-face bridge too. An opponent asks you what the bid means by speaking, and you explain by speaking.

RealBridge also allows "self alerts" and written explanations. This option is explained in the Self alerts section later in this document.

Jump bids

If a player makes a jump bid, the system displays the "Stop" card for a few seconds. While the "Stop" card is shown, the next player will be unable to bid.

Undos

If you make a misclick, and if the rules of the event allow undos, click the Undo button. Each opponent will be prompted to accept or reject the undo. If they accept it, the bidding goes back to before your last call. If they don't accept it, you will see a message saying this.

You can only obtain an undo if both opponents are at the table. If an opponent is not at the table (for example if they were temporarily disconnected) they are unable to accept the undo, so the undo will be rejected by the software. Wait for the missing opponent to return, then request the undo again.

If there is any doubt or disagreement about whether an undo should be allowed, call the Director. The Director will be able to adjudicate according to the rules of the event.


During the play

When play starts, dummy appears on the table. The cards played to each trick are shown in the middle of the table. Some more buttons now become relevant:

Playing a card

To play, simply click the card you want to play. If you are using one-click or tap mode, the card will be played and will appear in the middle of the table.

If you prefer not to use one-click mode (see Settings) there are two options available to you.

  • Two tap (tablet style) emphasises the bid or card when selected with a single tap, as seen below. Tap the bid or card again to play. Tap elsewhere to cancel.
  • Double click (mouse style) emphasises a bid or card when the cursor is moved over it. Two fast clicks are required to play a bid or card.
  • Any input style can be used on any device. For example, a desktop user can use tablet-style two tap. The names are simply suggestions.

Claims

Either declarer or a defender can claim some or all of the remaining tricks. Click the Claim button, then select the number of tricks that you are claiming. Just as in face-to-face bridge, you should state your line of play at the same time as your claim.

After you have claimed as declarer, both defenders are prompted to accept or reject your claim. If they both accept, the result is recorded and the deal ends. If either defender rejects the claim, the platform displays a message saying that the claim has been rejected. After a rejection, you should call the director to adjudicate the claim, or claim again (perhaps for a different number of tricks), or if everyone agrees you can also play on.

If a defender claims, both declarer and the other defender are prompted to accept or reject the claim. (This is because a defender is allowed under Law 68B2 to object to his partner's claim.)

If play continues after a claim, the non-claiming side can see all four hands.

Undos

Undos in the play work in the same way as undos in the bidding. If an undo is accepted, the play goes back to before your last play.

Again, if there is any doubt or disagreement about whether an undo should be allowed, call the Director.

Round timer

The round-timer display shows the total time remaining, the number of boards remaining and the minutes remaining per board. If you hover over the timer, the same information is shown, with descriptive labels.

When you are on the last board of the round, the timer shows just the fraction of the board tghat is left to play.

In the above example there are 9 minutes 13 seconds remaining, with 1.4 boards still to play. That equates to 6 minutes 21 seconds per board.

The figures take account of how much of the current board has been played, based on whether the bidding has finished and how many tricks have been played. This is, of course, an approximation.

If the time remaining per board is less than 6 minutes, the timer becomes red.


Settings

If you click the Settings icon, you will see various options for controlling the appearance and functionality of the screen:

Notes

  • If you change your settings, RealBridge will remember them for the next time that you play, as long as you are using the same computer and web-browser.
  • With simplified cards, dummy is always oriented to face you.

Recommendations

  • If you are using a tablet, you may find it easier to use simplified cards and/or two taps mode.
  • Try the different options and choose a configuration that you like.

Audio and video controls

The screen also contains some buttons for controlling audio and video:


The director

You can call the Director by clicking the Director button. When the Director is at the table, you will see them in the top left-hand corner of the screen. You can see and talk to him just as with the other players.


Watching at the table

The tournament director or teacher can configure the session to allow non-players to join a table, watch and talk to the players. If this is enabled, it may be either all the time, or only when there is no board in play (for example, at the end of a round).

The maximum allowed, in addition to the 4 players and the director/teacher, is 4 people watching.

Joining a table to watch

There are two ways to join a table to watch:

  • To see all four hands: click the center of the table.
  • To see just one hand, from one player’s point of view: click the player’s name when they are seated at the table. You must wait for them to sit first – if you click on an empty seat, you will join the table as a player.

What audio and video are available when watching?

  • Everyone can hear and talk to everyone else.
  • People watching can see the video of the players.
  • The people watching are not shown in the video.

From the lobby, what do you see?

  • A number in turquoise over the table shows the number of people who are watching at the table.
  • If you hover over the number, it shows who is watching, and who they are watching: N, E, S, W, or T for the whole table (or the equivalent in the language you are using).
  • The chat window has notifications of who has just joined and started watching at a table.

At the table, what do you see?

  • On the right-hand side, next to the settings button, is a list of people who are watching.
  • For each of them, there is a volume control, like there is for players. This only affects what you hear.
  • If you are watching, your own name is at the top of the list. Next to your name are the RealBridge standard media controls – mute and redial.
  • If they are speaking, a talking head icon appears next to their name.


Scores and Results

You can see the running scores and the results of completed boards by clicking the Scores button. The scores window is also displayed at the end of each round. The first thing you see is the ranking list.

Ranking list

From the main ranking list, you can nagivate to the results for a pair. From the board-number buttons at the bottom, you can navigate to the results for a board.

Partnership scorecard

This shows you all the results for a single pair.

Aggregate total

In Practice tables and teams sessions, each pair’s personal scorecard can show their aggregate total, and the aggregate difference from the other pair’s score. This is useful for people playing socially, or when playing in a teams event that is scored by aggregate total rather than IMPs.

To view the aggregate total, click the button at the bottom of the scorecard.

Before clicking the button:

After clicking the button:

Board results

This shows you all the results on a single board.

Bidding and Play

 

 

This allows you to view the bidding at a single table, and step through the play.

Exploring play and using the double dummy solver

In the Bidding and Play view and the Board results, you can carry out double-dummy analysis, explore alternative lines of play, and explore the play in alternative contracts. For more information, see Exploring play and using the double dummy solver

Teams events

When playing a teams event, all the above scoring is still available. There is an additional view where you will be able to see the ranking and scores of the teams. The team rankings is the default score window and can be seen below for Head-to-Head and Round Robins.

Head-to-Head Round Robin

You can click on a team to see the team scorecard

To go back to the team ranking, click the four box icon in the top left.

When viewing the play record for a board from a completed round, you can see the result at the other table.

You can also view cross-IMPs for each pair within the teams by clicking the pair ranking list button. On the cross-IMPs page, you can use the Sort by dropdown to show the ranking either by overcall score or grouped by team.

Teams of 8 or more

All the above scoring still applies, however, there is an additional view for the overall team scoring. The default score page is the overall score page.

When you click on a team name, you will see the scores for all tables within an overall team. To navigate to the rest of the screens, you can use any of these icons. Note that not all icons are always visible, only when the page is available does it become visible.

Viewing scores by category

In some events the pairs or teams may be sepaarted into categories. For example, the pairs might be classified by geographical area, by club, by rank, by those getting a handicap, or by prize category (eg “non-expert” or “junior”).

In events with categories, on each scores page near the top you will see two dropdowns:

You can use these categories in two ways:

  • Choose which category to display for each pair. To do this, use the Display dropdown.
  • Sort the ranking list by a category. To do this, use the Sort by dropdown. When you sort by a category, it also switches to displaying that category.

For example, this si a ranking list sorted by club:

For more information about categories, see https://realbridge.online/viewing-scores-by-category.html

Adjustments column

On the team or pair ranking list you may see a column headed Adj. The Adj column contains changes to a contestants's overall score for things like handicaps, procedural penalties, and weighted adjusted scores.

 

Self Alerting

When the director has set the event to use Self-Alerts, the bidding box will appear as shown below. You are able to explain a bid to both your opponents by following these steps:

  1. Alerting the call if applicable. If you alert the bid, a transparent red overlay appears over the bidding box to notify you that your call will be alerted.
  2. Type an explanation of your bid (you may use the suit symbols below to help you) or select an explanation from previously used explanations using the ☰ button. You are able to use the arrow keys to scroll through your text before submitting.
  3. Click on the bid you wish to make.

You are also able to type before alerting if you wish.

 

If you make a mistake or need to explain your bid further after you have bid, you can click on the bid and add more text.

The added text will appear after an asterisk *. The time in seconds between when the bid was made and the added explanation was submitted is presented after the added text in the square brackets, for this example, 26 seconds. The character limit on explanations is 200 characters.

Bids are displayed as follows depending on if they are explained or alerted. To see the explanation, click on the bid and the text will appear.

  Not Explained Explained
Not Alerted
Alerted

The yellow border does not appear by default. To show/hide the yellow border, see User Settings.