Keyboard shortcuts can make things easier for a lot of reasons, and I’ve always encouraged regular keyboard-users to take the time to learn at least a couple of them. 

Shortcuts save time; shortcuts can also save muscles and tendons some effort in clicking around. There’s no Konami code that’s going to improve your bridge play or make you eat a mushroom and light up, but there are some keyboard shortcuts that can make your bridge play quicker – or easier.

Would you rather press a button for your next move? 

• Shortcuts for bidding / play on BBO can be typed into the Chat window.
• General and browser shortcuts can be used outside of the Chat window.

Here’s how to use keyboard shortcuts for basic bridge play on BBO.

General Shortcuts

General shortcuts are for things other than bidding or play.

• Bookmark: Found a page you like? Bookmark the BBO Home Page from your browser by pressing CTRL + B.

• Full Screen: View the virtual bridge table in all its glory with a full screen perspective. Press F11 to toggle the full screen view on/off.

• Close Tab: Caught playing bridge at work? Use CTRL + W to close a browser tab.
  

• New Tab: Want to play bridge at work again? Press CTRL + T for a new browser tab.

• Switch Tab: Switching between sites? Press CTRL + TAB to move between open browser tabs.
  

• Close Browser: When you want to close the entire browser or open window, press ALT + F4 for quick closure.

• Undo: Screwed up a bridge move? Within BBO, users can use CTRL + U to toggle the undo option.

• Alerts: Press the A-key to Alert in BBO.
  

• Kibitzing Cards: Use the down-key to toggle how many hands you’d like to see during the kibitzing view.
  

• Back: Use the backspace-key to go back to the previous tab in your browser.

Typing to Play & Bid

Bidding and play can be triggered with the keyboard by typing these options into the Chat window. 

When anything else is typed into the same window, it’s automatically interpreted as a Chat.

• Pass, Double & Redouble: To pass, double or redouble during a game, use P, D or R where appropriate.
  
• Bidding: To bid, use the appropriate number key (1-7) plus the first letter of the suit (C, D, H, S or N).