[advanced]

BBO skill is a very poor way of rating players.

First of all your score on BBO is compared to 15 other pairs, which is hilarious knowing the amount of players online every day.

In comparison: OKbridge compared 52 pairs AND did not count the top 2 and bottom 2 scores for the average to compare with.

On BBO scores for one board mean next to nothing since players frequently don't finish a board, since they play only a few cards to move on to a team game or a tourney (this happens at least 10 times a day at my table), then the board is finished by a new player who has no clue about the play before, or it gets claimed. Often angry players bid 7NT in rage and redouble, then leave, or stay and claim. Or claim down 10 in a board which is only down 1 or 2.

On BBO there are many pick up partnerships with none or very few agreements, lots of boards get ruined because of lack of agreements (3 misunderstandings per board is not uncommon).

Then there are the players who just start to play bridge and rate themselves expert or better, you play with them, get a few terrible scores, stop playing, meanwhile BBO skill thinks you are a beginner.

BBO skill uses only PART of these really silly scores, ONLY the previous month. So if you don't play a month, or just a few boards, your rating drops dramatically.

BBO skill should go where it belongs: in the toilet.

[gwnn]

Mods?

[advanced]

BBO skill is a very poor way of rating players.

First of all your score on BBO is compared to 15 other pairs, which is hilarious knowing the amount of players online every day.

In comparison: OKbridge compared 52 pairs AND did not count the top 2 and bottom 2 scores for the average to compare with.

On BBO scores for one board mean next to nothing since players frequently don't finish a board, since they play only a few cards to move on to a team game or a tourney (this happens at least 10 times a day at my table), then the board is finished by a new player who has no clue about the play before, or it gets claimed. Often angry players bid 7NT in rage and redouble, then leave, or stay and claim. Or claim down 10 in a board which is only down 1 or 2.

On BBO there are many pick up partnerships with none or very few agreements, lots of boards get ruined because of lack of agreements (3 misunderstandings per board is not uncommon).

Then there are the players who just start to play bridge and rate themselves expert or better, you play with them, get a few terrible scores, stop playing, meanwhile BBO skill thinks you are a beginner.

BBO skill uses only PART of these really silly scores, ONLY the previous month. So if you don't play a month, or just a few boards, your rating drops dramatically.

BBO skill should go where it belongs: in the toilet.

[friedeggs]

bbo should add or support bboskill.com, i find it a valuable tool. this is my first post and i am not a spammer. lets start a facebook club with those in favour of bbo supporting bboskill.com

[friedeggs]

 advanced, on 2012-July-12, 16:24, said:

BBO skill is a very poor way of rating players.

First of all your score on BBO is compared to 15 other pairs, which is hilarious knowing the amount of players online every day.

In comparison: OKbridge compared 52 pairs AND did not count the top 2 and bottom 2 scores for the average to compare with.

On BBO scores for one board mean next to nothing since players frequently don't finish a board, since they play only a few cards to move on to a team game or a tourney (this happens at least 10 times a day at my table), then the board is finished by a new player who has no clue about the play before, or it gets claimed. Often angry players bid 7NT in rage and redouble, then leave, or stay and claim. Or claim down 10 in a board which is only down 1 or 2.

On BBO there are many pick up partnerships with none or very few agreements, lots of boards get ruined because of lack of agreements (3 misunderstandings per board is not uncommon).

Then there are the players who just start to play bridge and rate themselves expert or better, you play with them, get a few terrible scores, stop playing, meanwhile BBO skill thinks you are a beginner.

BBO skill uses only PART of these really silly scores, ONLY the previous month. So if you don't play a month, or just a few boards, your rating drops dramatically.

BBO skill should go where it belongs: in the toilet.

then why dont you take your game to okbridge if you dont like bbo

[advanced]

 friedeggs, on 2012-July-12, 17:09, said:

then why dont you take your game to okbridge if you dont like bbo

That is very cheap, because you ignore all what I just said, and all that is true. Me moving to OKB won't improve the software of BBO. You value your rating so much, and you don't even realize it means absolutely NOTHING on BBO. Let BBO add a feature to rate a player, they have the means and the data! to do it. Unfortunately they don't want to do it. The most horrific of all is that on a site where at least 10000 players play at the same time, 16 scores are compared. This is equal to comparing the score of 1 pair on a huge live tourney.

You want a way to rate yourself and others, let BBO do it.

I don't mind to pay 100-200 USD per year to BBO for membership if they take the software from kidlevel to adult: Getting rid of users with multiple logins, penalty for non finished hands, making it impossible to let some idiot click a seat 100-300 times in a few minutes etc. etc.

IF I were a kid like you: I could ask you the same question: YOU want a rating system, why don't you move to OKB?

[jamegumb]

Yes, it has all of the flaws of every other bridge rating system plus a few of its own.

This makes it incredibly imperfect, and still far better than having no system. (It's at least as good a judge of skill as matchpoints.)

[init2winit]

I agree wholeheartedly that BBOSkill.com should be supported by BBO. This has been a wonderful resource for me, not only in checking out other players, but in evaluating my own progress as a player. Please consider a way to support this resource for us at BBO, especially since there is nothing I know of within the BBO site that offers a similar benefit. Thanks.

[sln1941]

www.bboskill had been started recently and they were giving the skill level of bbousers based on the results achieved by the user in bbo tourneys. This used to give the points obtained in IMP matches and MP matches, the number of hands played and rating number obtained from these results after duly adjusting for the strength of partner and opposition. This used to give a picture of one's performance

When we see the rating points obtained we get not only an idea of our performance as a whole it also motivates us to improve further and obtain the next skill level. I understand about 19000 users were using it.

Now the website has come into problem because of some need for technical support from BBO bridge base online for getting the data and the like. The website is unable to give the rating points due to lack of support. Will the BBOBridge base onlie authorities look with sympathy at the contribution made by wwwbboskill.com to the bbo bridge community and treat them as allies than as adversaries and help them to serve the community of bbobridge users

Knowing the large heart with which the bbo is functioning as a free website to bridge patrons I am sure their heart will easily accommodate and help bboskill.com and take them as partners in the service of Bridge playing community

[diana_eva]

 init2winit, on 2012-July-12, 21:41, said:

I agree wholeheartedly that BBOSkill.com should be supported by BBO. This has been a wonderful resource for me, not only in checking out other players, but in evaluating my own progress as a player. Please consider a way to support this resource for us at BBO, especially since there is nothing I know of within the BBO site that offers a similar benefit. Thanks.

Go to our home page at www.bridgebase.com and click the Hand Records link on the blue line at the top. This page will open:

http://bridgebase.co...hands/index.php

You can type in there a username and see their stats for the past month. It's the same data BBOskill used.

[12three]

Totally support the views of sin1941 with regard the value of a BBOSKILL type facility being adopted by BBO. Based as it is on actual BBO results it would give a relatively accurate and meaningful assessment of ones ability relative to fellow BBO members. In comparison the current "name your own skill level" approach is not much better than a blind guess and, more importantly, misses out on the motivation / improvement element that would come with a BBOSKILL approach.
BBO is great and I believe that refinements such as BBOSKILL can only make it better....keep up the good work

[hrothgar]

There is a very simple solution to his whole problem...
It's called Kickstarter.

If folks like bboskill so much, chip together and pay them for the service.

[isityou]

sin1941 and 12three! You summed up the issue very well! There's not much I can add except lend my full support to you.
I have used BBOSkill for quite a while and I enjoyed watching my skill level change.
Most importantly, I found it extremely interesting to watch my friends' skill and indeed
some BBO players who would mark their own skill level on the profile as "Novice" or "Beginner"
but they actually played MUCH better than that.

I wish I knew why BBO do not seem to support such a site that is so helpful and fun at the same time.

[Antrax]

Quote

Also it debunks players who pretend to be better or worse than they are, and gives a valuable independent way of finding the playing strengths of players

At the time I've checked it on several players whose playing strength I was able to estimate (including myself) and it was very inaccurate. It's a different tool for sure, but I'm not sure it's more accurate than anything else (including just choosing a skill level at random, TBH).

[advanced]

 Antrax, on 2012-July-13, 03:47, said:

At the time I've checked it on several players whose playing strength I was able to estimate (including myself) and it was very inaccurate. It's a different tool for sure, but I'm not sure it's more accurate than anything else (including just choosing a skill level at random, TBH).

Very inaccurate is a very nice and mild way of saying it. It is just way off. Most of the time it will tell you the opposite of the real strength of the player. This site needs to go down the sewer.

[TDBluff]

The message from bboskill.com did NOT ask for money. It is asking for a chance to present its case to BBO officials. It appears to desire linking to BBO's hand records to make the process faster, thereby using less bandwidth or resources.

This rating system was, of course, imperfect. I've never seen one that wasn't. For those of us who try to limit tournaments and club membership to certain skill levels, bboskill was helpful.

BBO has certainly partnered with other groups, and many of the players in our club would like to see the site continued with BBO providing data as needed.

[Antrax]

I totally support BBO management talking with you guys. Now can you stop spamming the forum?

Quote

This rating system was, of course, imperfect. I've never seen one that wasn't. For those of us who try to limit tournaments and club membership to certain skill levels, bboskill was helpful.

The same can be said about BBORandomSkill.com, the site that returns a consistent random result for a queried username. It's not perfect, but it does help.

[flipm]

Can we hope to have the bboskill site to be working again? who want it?

[isityou]

 diana_eva, on 2012-July-13, 02:06, said:

Go to our home page at www.bridgebase.com and click the Hand Records link on the blue line at the top. This page will open:

http://bridgebase.co...hands/index.php

You can type in there a username and see their stats for the past month. It's the same data BBOskill used.

Hi diana_eva,
The "myhands" is very useful but it doesn't evaluate your performance, or does it?.
I like the idea that I can watch my own skill level move and also being able to check anyone else's.

[isityou]

 hrothgar, on 2012-July-13, 03:13, said:

There is a very simple solution to his whole problem...
It's called Kickstarter.

If folks like bboskill so much, chip together and pay them for the service.

Is that really the sticking point and
what makes you suggest money from players would be the solution?
There are different ways of financing such a service but
if that's what BBO are after, so be it.
I think it would be more interesting to hear BBO's views on this issue.