[G_Niemi]

When I claim as Declarer I only see a choice of number of tricks to be claimed. Is there a way to also state my line of play when claiming? "Cross ruff," for example.

[Douglas43]

Hi G_Niemi

See you are a new poster, hope you find the forums useful. They seem pretty polite and some interesting hands or questions get raised. (No, I don't work for BBO!)

It depends whether you are playing against GIB (robots) or real people. When playing against people there is a space for text under the number of tricks claimed where you can explain your line. I normally use it as a courtesy to opponents. (Also when I started out in bridge the rules seemed to penalise claims by assuming you must play really badly if you didn't state a line).

Against robots just click the number. The robots normally identify sensible lines and agree. Don't worry if the robots reject an obvious claim. Just play a couple more tricks and try again.

[barmar]

Douglas43, on 2020-November-17, 06:50, said:

Against robots just click the number. The robots normally identify sensible lines and agree. Don't worry if the robots reject an obvious claim. Just play a couple more tricks and try again.

The robots will accept the claim whenever there's a guaranteed line of play based on what you can know for sure about the hand (cards that have already been played and players who have showed out of suits). But not inferences, such as from the bidding and carding.

[Douglas43]

Thanks barmar, I've had the odd stone cold claim rejected though, then just cashed a couple more winners and had them accepted.

[LCarey13]

I play with regular partners, who I actually know and played "kitchen table bridge" with before COVID.

We have a question. Can a player "claim" when they don't have the right to? That is, can a player "claim" when there's a chance the opponents could take another trick?

Some of us say no, BBO won't allow a claim in the same way they won't allow you to not follow suit. But I sense you could claim tricks you're not entitled to and your opponents have to reject the claim if they think they might have a chance.

[Douglas43]

Hi LCarey.

Claims can be complicated in face to face bridge and in some ways are simpler online where it's basically "accept" or "reject".

I can recommend "Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified" by David Stevenson published in the UK by Mr Bridge. It's a really good cheat sheet for club TDs and for players who want to understand what the rules mean in practice. The author is an EBU TD. This is an unbiased recommendation.

The author tells declarer to state the line of play.

My answer would be: It's quicker and simpler to play the cards out than have a contested claim. It's OK to claim all the tricks bar known losers where you must lose a trick ("claim 5 more tricks, must lose AC", or "take my two Aces and the rest are yours"), but it's a bad idea where you might lose a trick; that would be discourteous and likely to slow the game down.

[smerriman]

LCarey13, on 2020-November-28, 20:11, said:

Some of us say no, BBO won't allow a claim in the same way they won't allow you to not follow suit. But I sense you could claim tricks you're not entitled to and your opponents have to reject the claim if they think they might have a chance.

BBO does not impose any restrictions on claiming. You can claim 0 or 13 tricks at trick 1, and both will be accepted if both opponents accept, even if you're forced to win or lose a trick you didn't claim.

[LCarey13]

smerriman, on 2020-November-29, 18:37, said:

BBO does not impose any restrictions on claiming. You can claim 0 or 13 tricks at trick 1, and both will be accepted if both opponents accept, even if you're forced to win or lose a trick you didn't claim.

Thank you! That's what I sensed -

[barmar]

The only time that BBO checks the validity of a claim is when you're playing in a robot tournament.