[thepossum]

Hey

I am not sure how to write this. Everyone knows by now I tend to avoid the unpleasantness of clubs and even most BBO online tables
I am forced to play robots
I know I am old fashioned but a fairly good judge of a hand and average card player

Why. The game seems to be full of a combination of those who value complex systems over something to enjoy
People who are also very aggressively "rules" based
people who would hurt you big time and make you never want to sit at a table again

I am no judge. I know the world has people like that. But why are they all playing Bridge

I am desperate for some fun decent level cards without any obnoioxusness

It's not about complexity and tricking opponents or confusing partner

I doubt I will ever find 3 fun people atb a table at the same time again

I value the moments I did Imagine still remembering them in so much detail all those years later

4 random pickup players. No agreements at all. No stress. No conflict. Just fun

If I showed up at a random club would I have to deal with some complex relay system defence or be put in some boring beginner or interemediate class

[hrothgar]

Have you considered games other than bridge?

In particular, there are a lot of games out there that are much more designed for collaborative play amongst a group of players

Some friends and I just completed Gloomhaven
We're currently moving on to "Spirit Island".

We play F2F when we can and online when we can't

We lighten things up with Valheim

A good friend (and and old bridge partner from here in Massachusetts) gave up on bridge a few years back
She was MUCH better than me

Her claim: She just didn't like the people she had to deal with...

So the issue might very well not be you, but rather the dynamics of the game itself

[jillybean]

possum, try a non sanctioned, friendly game.

[barmar]

thepossum, on 2025-April-08, 06:17, said:

4 random pickup players. No agreements at all. No stress. No conflict. Just fun

That's how Rubber Bridge is usually played -- everyone plays the same system, and it's generally very simple. When I used to play RB with friends, the conventions were limited to Stayman, Blackwood, takeout doubles, and weak 2 bids.

Quote

If I showed up at a random club would I have to deal with some complex relay system defence or be put in some boring beginner or interemediate class

I think that at least 90% of players in a random US club play 2/1 or Standard American, and the rest usually play some variant of Precision. There are some totally weird systems out there, but the chance that you'll run into them at a typical club is very small. There may be a bunch of people playing these systems, but they're spread over many clubs, not all in the same place.

[jillybean]

thepossum, on 2025-April-08, 06:17, said:

If I showed up at a random club would I have to deal with some complex relay system defence or be put in some boring beginner or interemediate class

What exactly are you looking for? Not leading edge excitement and fun, not boring beginner, intermediate bridge. You may be looking for a game where people play just like you do?

[blackshoe]

I was surprised yesterday when I overheard one of the better players in the club say that her favorite system is EHAA. I've never seen her play anything other than 2/1.

[mikl_plkcc]

 barmar, on 2025-April-08, 15:16, said:

That's how Rubber Bridge is usually played -- everyone plays the same system, and it's generally very simple. When I used to play RB with friends, the conventions were limited to Stayman, Blackwood, takeout doubles, and weak 2 bids.

I think that at least 90% of players in a random US club play 2/1 or Standard American, and the rest usually play some variant of Precision. There are some totally weird systems out there, but the chance that you'll run into them at a typical club is very small. There may be a bunch of people playing these systems, but they're spread over many clubs, not all in the same place.

Here in London, all of the following are commonly seen, from the most commonly used to less common systems:

2/1 Game Forcing or Standard American
Acol
Precision
Polish Club

I haven't seen anyone using strange systems (i.e. WBF Red systems) yet.

[blackshoe]

I may be mistaken but I think Romex is a red system. And no, you don't see it. But it's a good system and IMO fun to play. Then there's EHAA (Every Hand An Adventure).

[mycroft]

Polish Club is also WBF Red (Blue if it *promises 13+, even with a balanced hand or natural clubs. Never seen that), much to the consternation of the Poles (who use WBF classification, except that "a 1♣ opening that is natural or strong is considered GREEN" (from memory, which may have changed in the last 15 years. Thankfully, their coaches (at least) have learned, and no longer submit it as GREEN in WCs).

[paulg]

The WBF Red definition is very bland and has diverged from the EBL definition.

The EBL Redefinition is now:

RED: A "warning" signal that the system contains elements that may need advance preparation by opponents or explanations by the user of the system. This includes systems that include transfers, relays, switch bids
or artificial elements (including in competition). EXCEPTION: Transfers over No Trump bids.

This means a lot of 'standard' pairs playing transfer responses and transfers in competition should now be marking their cards RED instead of GREEN.

[mikl_plkcc]

Why is Polish Club red? Isn't it just a strong club system that should be categorised as blue?

[pescetom]

paulg, on 2025-April-11, 06:52, said:

This means a lot of 'standard' pairs playing transfer responses and transfers in competition should now be marking their cards RED instead of GREEN.

This I keep telling them and receiving only abuse, even from my own club ("why are you giving the guests a hard time?")

Of course there is arguably a line between system and conventions and/or construction versus competition.
So Transfer Walsh is red anyway, but Rubehnsohl is arguably only a gimmick with transfers.
It would be nice to have some guidance here too.