Bridge on the Internet

There are several free and some subscription-based servers available for playing bridge on the internet. OKBridge is the oldest of the internet Bridge services; players of all standards, from beginners to world champions may be found playing there. SWAN Games is a more recent competitor. T

he American Contract Bridge League, the English Bridge Union and the Dutch Bridge Union also have Internet Bridge services. Yahoo! Games also has several online Rubber Bridge rooms.

Among the free servers, Bridge Base Online is notable for enforcing a high standard of ethics. Many world-class players may be found there.

There are many advantages to playing Bridge online:

• The ability to choose when you play.
• The ability to choose your opponents. In a club game, you may be forced to play against pairs that are much weaker, rude, or much stronger. Playing online, you can play against opponents of nearly equal ability.
• Most servers offer an accurate player rating system. The ACBL and EBU masterpoints systems give credit for how much one has played rather than how well; most online systems have a rating system which attempts to measure one's ability without regard to the number of games played.
• There are fewer restrictions on which conventions one is allowed to use.
• It is easier to police cheating online, since there is an accurate record of every deal. Intentional cheating, such as calling your partner on the telephone, is easier, but there is much less unethical behaviour, such as making inferences from partner's tone of voice.
• A detailed record of every hand may be kept, so complaints can usually be resolved properly.
• It is impossible to make an illegal play by accident, as the software won't accept a play or call which does not conform to the rules.

The main disadvantage to playing online is that bridge is a social game, and many people play because they enjoy the social atmosphere of the bridge club.