If you’re still a new sight at the online bridge tables, you should know that playing online can have some subtle differences to your average face-to-face game.

You wouldn’t particularly enjoy finding a mouse at your local bridge club (but for online games, a mouse is considered necessary). Tablets used to be something you took for a headache before your bridge game, and not something that you can play your bridge game on.

Playing online also means the occasional online mistake. There are many things players could do online that they cannot do at your physical bridge club.

Are you making any of these common online bridge mistakes?

1. Misclicking your next bid or card.

The misclick happens when knowing which card you intend to click, but clicking the wrong one.

Sometimes, it’s a screen sensitivity problem. Move to your device settings, and change it to another ratio that isn’t as trigger happy.

Misclicking can also be blamed on the occasional mouse or screen malfunction. Sensitivity can also be checked, but repeated violations might mean that players should replace the device.

Players can also set a “confirmation click” under their BBO Settings: To avoid misclicks, just click twice to make sure that it was the right card.

2. Forgetting your bridge account password.

It’s normal to forget your password from time to time. Bridge is a game of the mind, but I usually can’t remember what I had for breakfast a week ago – so yes, it happens to everyone.

If you forget your password, click on the appropriate button (which you can find on the BBO login screen). From there, enter your email address to be sent a recovery request.

Choose a password that you can remember in future, or rely on a secure password manager to keep track of them on your behalf.

3. Disconnecting from the table.

Disconnecting from the table can be partially a browser problem, but also sometimes happens due to a dropped internet connection.

A bad internet connection isn’t a traditional “mistake”, but might eventually feel like one. Nobody likes dropped connections or subsequent lost games. Unfortunately, signal problems are an all too common issue.

The good news is that (most) internet connection issues are an easy fix.

Dropped connections could mean that you should (1) move your internet router, (2) move your own position, (3) move to another service provider. Restart your router first as a preliminary troubleshooting attempt if your signal problems are occasional.

4. Missing the right card.

Missing the right card isn’t quite the same as a misclick.

For online bridge, missing the card is a sight-related problem. If you play bridge on a device with a smaller screen (or improper zoom ratio), it’s too easy for a diamond to look like a heart – and that’s just one example of what could happen.

How can players fix this problem?

Zoom in, or acquire a device magnification app for a better look at your cards.

What are some of the most common online bridge mistakes you’ve seen? What advice do you have for other players?