There are distinct differences between online games and face-to-face bridge games. We’re playing the same game (and with the same rules), but the nuances of online bridge has always made it stand out to me.

Dealing with disability, I’ve come to avoid travel to clubs and tournaments. Someday, this might change. But it is what originally got me to love the atmosphere of an online bridge table.

Online bridge is instant, and convenient. I can play when waiting in the queue for a burger, or I can play while waiting for a taxi. When (and pretty much how) online bridge is played is overall versatile. That’s what’s great about it.

Here are 4 things you’ll see in online bridge (but never at a club).

1. The particular deck

Playing face-to-face bridge at a club or tournament means that you play with specific art on your decks. It could be ACBL branded, but might also be Bicycle. It might even be a special or commemorative deck that gets used for the game.

But playing online, the deck is virtual, and the deck art is a little different.

If you love card art, online and electronic card play adds a whole new element of it. The deck used here at BBO looks different to ones you might find elsewhere, and that’s because it’s unique to Bridge Base.

2. The username

While you might see the occasional pseudonym, the phenomenon of the username is something that only appears in online bridge.

What if you called any of your BBO friends exclusively by their full username – and in person, at a club game? I’ve seen some of the usernames out there, and it would make things pretty weird for bridge players everywhere.

Would you prefer if your parents called you BridgePlayer2021 at birth? No, probably not. And it might be the same during a face-to-face game, so always choose your online usernames with care.

3. The perfectly computed shuffle

When shuffling by hand as a new player, it’s completely possible to mess it up. The shuffle might not be as random as it should, or you might literally drop the cards during your attempt.

That’s okay, and that happens.

But it only happens during face-to-face games.

Online, we have an algorithmically computed shuffle to work with. That never fails.

4. The acronym TYP (& some others)

Bridge has its own language – and no, I’m not talking about bidding this time. Online bridge has a whole selection of short-hand and terms that have been developed just for the online game.

If you play online often, get to know some of these terms as you go along. They’ll help, if you don’t want to be baffled by all the online bridge discussions.

The acronym TYP stands for “Thank you, partner.” It gets said often during online games, but never exclaimed at face-to-face ones except entirely spelled out.

If someone yelled “typ!” to their partner at random at a face-to-face game, how much sense would it make?