One Table Duplicate Bridge

[s***@gmail.com]

I have recently deployed my FREE web browser application "One Table Duplicate Bridge" (OTDB).

OTDB is meant to be played by 4 people live, offline*, and face-to-face using duplicate board hands in .pbn files from the internet.

http://OneTableDuplicateBridge.appspot.com/

A screencast showing OTDB being used is available at the following link.

To experiment with OTDB, after completing the requisite steps on each page, tap or click the button in the righthand upper corner of the page to progress to the next page (abbreviated TAP below). On the first page, first just click on the "Submit URL" button, and then TAP "Deals" where you can identify the cards in a deck (just pretend you are holding a 52-card deck in your non-tapping hand). TAP and repeat. (Like rinse and repeat on shampoo bottles.)

To understand this novel application, imagine that each card deck has

13 cards marked** with N,
13 cards marked** with E,
13 cards marked** with S, and
13 cards marked** with W

so that everyone can get the right cards, even if the cards are in random order.

OTDB requires you to think this way: the "dealer" can see who should receive each card in the deck and distributes the cards accordingly.

With a user's help, OTDB **virtually** marks each card for the "dealer". That is, before the cards are dealt, one of the 4 active players at the table, typically the dummy, identifies to the computer each of the 52 cards, by tapping or clicking the card's icon on the screen. The word "dealer" is in quotes because the person who does so is not the board's official dealer and because the process used is unlike the usual clockwise placement of cards; instead, the cards are distributed to the players in the order dictated by the virtual marks North, South, East, and West.

Any computer browser runs OTDB.

You can contact me confidentially and anonymously at the following link.

http://tellmestraight.appspot.com/?ID=codeBSchott.


*Although OTDB is played offline, a computer or a tablet or smartphone is required for the browser app to process each new hand.

**The cards are not really marked, but the computer/tablet memory knows each card's identity. Similarly, there is not really a physical board, either.


Brian in Atlanta

[Ian Zimmerman]

With a user's help, OTDB **virtually** marks each card for the
"dealer". That is, before the cards are dealt, one of the 4 active
players at the table, typically the dummy, identifies to the computer
each of the 52 cards, by tapping or clicking the card's icon on the
screen. The word "dealer" is in quotes because the person who does so
is not the board's official dealer and because the process used is
unlike the usual clockwise placement of cards; instead, the cards are
distributed to the players in the order dictated by the virtual marks
North, South, East, and West.

I'm afraid I don't get it.

How are the "virtual" marks translated into physical marks, or any such
hints for the human dealer? Such hints are required to actually
distribute the cards, in the physical world. Right? If a human is
involved in that process, be it the dealer or anyone else, that human
knows who holds which cards.

I have checked the date; this was posted long before April 1st.

[s***@gmail.com]

Ian,

I apologize for not replying earlier. I have not been following this group and did not notice your question.

I had hoped that the video would demonstrate the answer to your question. As stated in the original post:
"A screencast showing OTDB being used is available at the following link.

http://youtu.be/2Bk1BWzUbMQ :

The dealer is prompted by the computer monitor or the mobile/tablet screen where to "deal" each card. There is no physical mark placed on any card. Perhaps OTDB is too novel to understand.

Two decks are used in OTDB. While deck A is in play, the dummy tells the computer the order of cards in deck B, so that the computer can later tell another player where to cut deck B and how to deal its cards.

I hope this answers your question, but please let me know if not. The original post suggests other ways to contact me, too.

Post by Ian Zimmerman

With a user's help, OTDB **virtually** marks each card for the
"dealer". That is, before the cards are dealt, one of the 4 active
players at the table, typically the dummy, identifies to the computer
each of the 52 cards, by tapping or clicking the card's icon on the
screen. The word "dealer" is in quotes because the person who does so
is not the board's official dealer and because the process used is
unlike the usual clockwise placement of cards; instead, the cards are
distributed to the players in the order dictated by the virtual marks
North, South, East, and West.

I'm afraid I don't get it.
How are the "virtual" marks translated into physical marks, or any such
hints for the human dealer? Such hints are required to actually
distribute the cards, in the physical world. Right? If a human is
involved in that process, be it the dealer or anyone else, that human
knows who holds which cards.