Bridge Base Online (BBO) Complete Guide

Bridge Base Online is where most of the bridge world plays online. Over a million registered users, thousands playing at any given moment, ACBL tournaments running every day. If you’re playing online bridge, you’re probably playing on BBO.

The platform looks like it was designed in 2001 because it was. But don’t let the dated interface fool you. BBO works, it’s reliable, and it has every feature you’d want. Once you get past the learning curve, it becomes second nature.

Getting Started: Creating Your Account

Go to bridgebase.com and click “Register.” Pick a username. This is what other players will see, so choose something you can live with. You can’t change it later without creating a new account.

Fill in your real name, email, and basic info. If you have an ACBL number, enter it. This links your BBO account to your ACBL record so masterpoints from online tournaments show up in your masterpoint total.

Don’t have an ACBL number yet? You can still play. You’ll need one if you want to earn masterpoints from tournaments, but casual play doesn’t require ACBL membership.

The free account gets you access to casual games, watching vugraph, playing against robots (limited), and some free tournaments. That’s enough to decide if you like BBO.

The BBO Interface: What You’re Looking At

When you log in, you’ll see the main lobby. It’s not pretty, but here’s what matters:

Main + or Play Bridge button starts a casual game. You can choose to play with robots or find human partners and opponents.

Competitive button shows ACBL tournaments, money games, and serious events. This is where you earn masterpoints.

Vugraph button takes you to live broadcasts of major tournaments. World championships, nationals, big events all stream here.

Solitaire button is for playing against robots on your own. Good for practice.

Lists button shows who’s online, your friends, recent partners, and more.

The interface is clunky. Buttons aren’t where you’d expect. Takes time to learn where everything lives. Push through the first week of confusion and it gets easier.

Finding a Casual Game

Hit “Main +” and you’ll see game options. The easiest path: “Casual Play” with “Find me a seat at a table.”

BBO will stick you at a table with three other players. Sometimes you get competent partners, sometimes you get beginners who don’t know Stayman. That’s casual play.

You can also create your own table. Set up a table, wait for others to join, start playing. This gives you more control over who you play with, but you might wait a while for seats to fill.

Partnership options matter. “Play with robots” means you’ll partner with BBO’s robot and play against humans or other robots. “Play with a human” means you find a person to partner with.

The robot partnership option is fine for practicing, but BBO’s robots aren’t great. They follow basic bidding and play competently, but they make weird decisions that’ll frustrate you. Still better than nothing when you can’t find a human partner.

Bidding and Playing on BBO

The bidding box pops up when it’s your turn. Click your bid. The alert button lets you explain artificial or conventional bids. Use it.

During play, click the card you want to play. There’s an undo button if you click wrong, but only before the next player acts. Don’t rely on it.

The claim button lets you claim the rest of the tricks. Describe how you’re taking them, opponents can accept or decline. Works just like claiming at the table.

Chat appears on the right side. You can talk to your partner and opponents. Keep it friendly. Complaining about bad play makes you look like a jerk, and everyone has bad sessions sometimes.

You can turn off chat if it’s distracting. Gear icon, settings, disable chat. Plenty of good players do this to stay focused.

ACBL Tournaments: Earning Masterpoints Online

This is what most serious players care about. BBO runs ACBL-sanctioned tournaments constantly. You play online, you earn real masterpoints that count toward life master ranks.

Click “Competitive” in the lobby. You’ll see a list of upcoming tournaments. Entry fees vary, usually $5-15. Some free games exist too, though they award fewer masterpoints.

Common tournament types:

Open Pairs - Find a partner, play multiple boards, get scored against the field. Standard matchpoint scoring, top pairs win gold points.

Daylong Tournaments - Play at your own pace throughout the day. You get the same hands as everyone else but play them when you want. Great if you can’t commit to a specific start time.

Speedball - Fast-paced pairs game. Usually 12-18 boards in 90 minutes. Good practice for quick thinking.

Team Games - Form a four-person team, play against other teams. IMP scoring, requires coordination but more strategic.

Robot Tournaments - You partner with a robot, play against other human-robot pairs. Good when you can’t find a human partner.

To enter, click the tournament, pay the entry fee (if required), find a partner or register as individual and BBO will match you. Show up at start time and play.

The masterpoint awards are real. Black points (usually), sometimes gold points for bigger events, occasionally red or silver. They show up in your ACBL record within a few days.

Play quality varies. Some strong players, some beginners who just joined ACBL to play online. You’ll see everything from expert plays to disasters. Roll with it.

BBO Robots: When You Can’t Find a Partner

BBO offers robot partners and opponents. You subscribe to the robot service (about $10/month) and can play anytime without finding humans.

The robots play Standard American Yellow Card (SAYC). They know the common conventions, bid reasonably, and play okay. But they’re not perfect.

Robot quirks you’ll discover:

They overbid sometimes. You open 1♠, they have 6 HCP and jump to 2♠. Okay then.

They miss defensive signals. You signal attitude clearly, robot ignores it and makes a weird play.

They don’t understand partnership judgement. Situational awareness isn’t their strength.

Still, robots are available 24/7, don’t complain when you make mistakes, and let you practice whenever you want. For solo practice, they work fine.

Robot tournaments let you compete against other human-robot pairs. Same boards, your results compared to how others did with their robots. Decent way to earn some points when your regular partner isn’t available.

Vugraph: Watching Top-Level Bridge

One of BBO’s best features is live vugraph. Major tournaments stream on BBO with expert commentary.

Click “Vugraph” in the lobby. You’ll see what’s broadcasting now and the schedule for upcoming matches.

World championships, USBF trials, big European events, all stream live. You watch the hands play out in real-time while experts explain the bidding and play.

The commentary is good. Top players and bridge writers break down why declarer played a certain way, why the bidding went where it did, what alternative lines existed.

You can watch for free. No subscription needed. Just click the match and watch.

Vugraph taught me more about high-level bridge than most books. Seeing how experts think through complex hands, how they bid aggressively or conservatively based on vulnerability and scoring, that’s education you can’t get anywhere else.

You can add friends on BBO. Find someone you enjoyed playing with, add them to your list, see when they’re online.

Partnership accounts let you and a regular partner share login credentials. Both of you can access the account, maintain partnership records, and coordinate playing times. Useful for serious partnerships.

The message system lets you send notes to other players. Make plans for future games, thank someone for a good session, coordinate tournament entries.

BBO has forums where players discuss hands, conventions, and platform features. The forums can be helpful, though they’re also full of complaints and arguments. Pick your threads carefully.

Money Bridge and Private Tables

Some players play for money on BBO. You set stakes, play, settle up afterward. BBO doesn’t handle the money - that’s between players.

Unless you know and trust your opponents, avoid money games. Plenty of scams exist. Stick to ACBL tournaments where the stakes are entry fees and masterpoints.

Private tables let you set up games with specific people. You create a table, password-protect it, invite who you want. Good for team matches, partnership practice, or playing with friends.

Tips for Better BBO Experience

Get familiar with settings. The gear icon has tons of options. Adjust card size, turn off animations, change color schemes. Make BBO work for you.

Use the hand records feature. After playing, you can review boards, see how others played them, analyze different lines. Great for learning.

Don’t be slow. Online bridge moves faster than face-to-face. Think on your own time, act reasonably quickly when it’s your turn.

Be nice in chat. Or turn it off. Either works. Being a jerk doesn’t.

Find regular partners. Random pickup games are fine for practice, but regular partnerships make bridge more enjoyable. Add good partners to your friends list.

Watch vugraph between sessions. You’re waiting for your next game anyway. Might as well watch experts and learn something.

Common Problems and Solutions

Can’t find the tournament you entered? Check “My Tournaments” in competitive section. It’ll show what you’re registered for and when it starts.

Partner disconnected? BBO pauses the game. If they don’t return in a few minutes, the director gets involved. Don’t panic immediately.

Wrong bid clicked? Undo works before the next player acts. After that, you’re stuck with it just like at the table.

Robot partner making you crazy? Remember they’re algorithms. They don’t understand frustration. Play your best and accept the occasional robot weirdness.

Getting crushed in tournaments? Play some casual games first. Work on conventions with a regular partner. Maybe try a robot tournament where variance is lower.

Free vs Paid: What’s Worth Buying?

Free BBO gets you casual play, watching vugraph, limited robot access, and entry to free tournaments. That’s plenty to start.

Robot subscription ($10/month) makes sense if you play regularly without a consistent partner. Unlimited robot games and robot tournaments might be worth it.

Tournament entries ($5-15 each) are how you earn ACBL points. Whether that’s worth it depends on how much you value masterpoints and competitive play.

Teaching tools cost extra but are good for working with students or learning specific techniques.

Most players stick with free casual play and pay for tournament entries when they want competitive games. That’s the sweet spot.

Is BBO Right for You?

If you want ACBL masterpoints online, BBO is basically required. It has the most sanctioned tournaments, the biggest player base, the most opportunities to earn.

If you want to watch top players, vugraph is worth the clunky interface alone.

If you want modern, beautiful interface and care more about casual play, look at Funbridge or RealBridge. BBO looks ancient for a reason.

If you want to play bridge online seriously, you need a BBO account. That’s just reality. It’s the dominant platform, and that dominance means player pool, game selection, and tournament opportunities no one else matches.

The interface takes getting used to. The first week you’ll click wrong buttons, get lost in menus, and wonder why anyone uses this dinosaur. Give it time. Once you know where things are, BBO works great.

Besides, you’re here to play bridge, not admire interface design. Deal the cards and play.