Looking for a Partner to Play at the Club??
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Contact our partnership desk.
Click here to find out how!
What if I Need a Partner on BBO?
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For online play, you have three paths to finding a partner: the Partnership Desk, the Substitutes Program and the Partnership Coordination Program.
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The partnership desk for each game is available as soon as registration for that game begins.
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Here's how to sign up at the Partnership Desk:
1. Log onto BBO. Click Virtual Clubs and ACBL—North America.
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2. Click the Hartford Bridge Club game you want to play in, then click Partnership Desk (above the registration box). Please do so at least 30 minutes before game time. If no one else has signed up yet, click I will pay for only myself to add your BBO username, and wait for someone to invite you to play!
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2. Just before game time, click Virtual Clubs, then ACBL—North America. You'll see a list of all virtual club games scheduled to begin in the next 120 minutes that you’re eligible to play in.
3. The moment the Hartford Bridge Club game starts, click Running at the top of the page to see a list of games in progress.
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3. If others have signed up before you, you'll see their usernames on the left. If you think you will be compatible with one of them, click Invite next to that person’s username to ask him or her to play.
4. You can click any username to see that player’s profile. If you want to know more about the player, you can type a Message in her or his profile and then click Chat to discuss systems, etc.
5. Please be sure to visit the Partnership desk at least 30 minutes before game time to give yourself and any potential partners time to know you are looking for a partner and to get acquainted.
Click here to watch a video on using BBO's Partnership Desk.
But what if it's game time and you still don't have a partner? You may be able to join the game as a Substitute. If an odd number of pairs are registered for a game, BBO assigns a substitute pair to fill out the table. Typically, volunteers are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis to act as subs in any game that needs one. You can, however, elect to substitute in a specific Hartford Bridge Club game.
Here's how to be a Substitute at online with HBC:
1. Thirty minutes or less before the game begins, inform our TD (Tournament Director) that you're going to volunteer as a substitute in that game. To contact the TD, log onto BBO a few minutes before game time. Click People and then click Add Friend at the bottom of the page. Type in the username vacb113241 and click Add. The username vacb113241 (which is the TD’s username) will now appear on your Friends list. Click that username and type your Message in the box that pops up. Click Chat to send it.
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4. Click the Hartford Bridge Club game you want to sub in.
5. At the bottom of the next page, click Substitutes, then in the box that pops up, click next to the statement I am willing to be a substitute in this tournament. Click Close.
6. If there are open seats at a table in that game, you'll be invited to join—and all your opponents will be HBC members! Think of it as HBC's online Pairer-Player Program!
Here's the really good news: Substitutes play for free—and you'll still be able to win masterpoints!
Note: You can only sign up to be a substitute in a specific game after that game starts. So, don't try to sign up early, but do let the TD know before the game begins that you want to be a substitute and sign up quickly once the game begins.
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