[SBU Board] Eliminating sit outs

[Tim White]

Thanks Eric.  The fresh thinking and new ideas are appreciated.  This seems (at least to me) to be an out-of-the-box idea, worthy of discussion.  Prior to potentially formally raising the idea with the clubs, I suggest we first discuss it amongst ourselves live as a body, to (1) collectively understand and consider the issues and pros & cons, (2) determine what we might be willing to do in the way of support (financial and otherwise) of a hypothetical implementation and (3) determine how we would approach the clubs, if we were to decide to do so.

Some initial thoughts:
1.  If it's dependent on solid wifi connectivity, this could be a problem at some club locations. 

2.  There is a finite probability that a tablet will lock up or otherwise fail; are there established protocols for how a director handles such a situation (e.g. throw out all boards for all rounds played against robots and subsequent rounds revert to sit outs)?

3.  Patrons of some clubs are more likely to be experienced and comfortable with electronic play and play against robots than those of other clubs.  I can envision that at some U446 clubs many players would not be at all comfortable.  Would we insist that club managers poll to get data on players' interest/willingness before we consider or commit to investment/support for implementation?  Would we support investment/implementation if only one club were interested?  

4.  Robots (on BBO at least) can be "gamed" by live players in some bidding or play circumstances.  Players experienced in play with/against robots could thus gain an advantage -- which might even affect the results for the entire field in a game with overall awards where NS and EW results are integrated -- especially if the boards they play vs robots are not "flat."

5.  Some might have a concern with security.  While we would like to think all players are 100% ethical, the absence of live OPPs at the table might invite inappropriate behavior on the part of a particular pair.  For example, apart from the possibility of UI such as visual cues across the table (which could especially be a problem when there is a playing director), players self-alert on BBO against live OPPs.  I have no idea whether self alerts would actually be processed/used by robots' algorithms, but if they are then how would players' conformance with a self-alerting requirement be policed?

6.  This concept might be of particular interest/value at games that especially target newer players, i.e. UW and limited games at clubs elsewhere, where it could be advantageous to get inexperienced players as many boards of play as possible.  

7.  Before discussing this live as a group, I would like to have insight as to where and how many clubs have implemented it, how it has gone, and a sense of associated successes/failures.

Tim

On Jan 17, 2018, at 7:03 PM, Eric Sieg <easieg at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> I've heard people mention robot fill ins more frequently in random conversations. Apparently this is becoming more popular where instead of having to sit out 2-5 boards, you still get to play them but it is against robots.
> 
> BW link here: https://bridgewinners.com/article/view/no-more-sit-outs-at-our-bridge-club/
> 
> Instructions on how to run it here: http://www.bridgewebs.com//pcba/Robots%20for%20Half%20Tables.pdf
> 
> There was also an article in the July 2017 Bridge Bulletin
> 
> Is this something that we should explore interest in at the clubs? Maybe buying two tablets (Kindle HD 8 is $80/tablet on Amazon) for interested clubs and then helping them get set up to do this would be a way we can help them out.
> 
> Curious about what other people think and might have heard. If we wanted to do something as a board I'm fine with putting in the time to help clubs with setup, but mostly just looking to spark conversation/get people thoughts/etc for the moment.
> 
> Eric
> _______________________________________________
> Sbuboard mailing list
> Sbuboard at mailman.celestial.com
> http://mailman.celestial.com/mailman/listinfo/sbuboard