[bluecalm]

I can see it working like this:
8 players sign in for amount x to duplicate. There is an option for one player to pay for some other players.
They play 2 tables in rotating pairs. Let's say every player play with every other player 2 hands or 4 hands depending no how long they want it to be.
The winner takes 70% of money, the 2nd place 30% or w/e. That could be adjustable. The system is posted by duplicate maker and all players plays it.

There is cheating and stuff is basic problem but I don't think it's a problem. There should be big red warning: "Only play with players you know and trust and only for amounts you don't care losing". One requirement should be to post your full name in profile.
What would great is a feature when you can pay BBO to verify your identity. Let's say you pay 25$ or w/e and send documents like on poker sites. Once you have your name verified it's said in your profile "verified name".

That would be great opportunity to either have fun among friends or for some players to pay for the opportunity to play with better ones.

[TylerE]

The REAL problem with something like this is that for it to be worthwhile for BBO to do it, the house cut would need to be fairly large, which makes it rather unattractive to many players. It's REALLY hard to win at a game that only returns 80% of the prize pool to the players.

[bluecalm]

I don't know if implementing it is difficult having all the stuff basically read, my guess is it's easy but I could be wrong.
Then bbo just takes 5% of prizepool. I don't see any additional costs comparing to running standard games. All mechanism are in place, even money distribution.

[Mbodell]

If you are only playing with players you know and trust, why not just have no vig and trade the money without BBO involved? Lots of people play for money on their own too.

[barmar]

Mbodell, on 2011-June-13, 01:28, said:

If you are only playing with players you know and trust, why not just have no vig and trade the money without BBO involved? Lots of people play for money on their own too.

Probably because it's a PITA sending money through the post, especially if you're in different countries? I guess it wouldn't be so hard if everyone had PayPal accounts, you could use that. But if BBO handled all the money exchanges, it would simplify everything.

[diana_eva]

barmar, on 2011-June-13, 15:18, said:

Probably because it's a PITA sending money through the post, especially if you're in different countries? I guess it wouldn't be so hard if everyone had PayPal accounts, you could use that. But if BBO handled all the money exchanges, it would simplify everything.

Except for US to US, BBO uses PayPal too.

[barmar]

Since I'm in the US, I always saw the credit card option, I didn't realize it was only available here.

But it's still easier having a central clearinghouse. When I used to play f2f rubber bridge, it was always a little complex settling up at the end, figuring out how much each loser owed to each winner. Simplest was for the losers to put their money into a pool, and then the winners each take their share. But if we had to do it through PayPal, the losers would have to pay each winner their proportional amount.

Much simpler would be for BBO to handle this all by simply transfering BB$.

[diana_eva]

BB$ is not real money. It's more like pre-paid entry fees. I think OP means money that can be withdrawn and spent outside BBO, like our MB$.

[barmar]

I guess he'd probably like it to be similar to the existing Money Bridge games in that respect. I'm not sure it makes much difference in deciding whether to offer the service.

[Free]

bluecalm, on 2011-June-12, 09:20, said:

There is cheating and stuff is basic problem but I don't think it's a problem. There should be big red warning: "Only play with players you know and trust and only for amounts you don't care losing". One requirement should be to post your full name in profile.

Cheating is always a serious problem when it comes to losing money. A big red warning won't solve this.

bluecalm, on 2011-June-12, 09:20, said:

What would great is a feature when you can pay BBO to verify your identity. Let's say you pay 25$ or w/e and send documents like on poker sites. Once you have your name verified it's said in your profile "verified name".

Personally I couldn't care less to pay for letting everyone know who I am.

bluecalm, on 2011-June-12, 09:20, said:

That would be great opportunity to either have fun among friends or for some players to pay for the opportunity to play with better ones.

There are easier and cheaper ways to have fun with friends. And if you want to pay for the opportunity to play with better players, then you don't need BBO to fix you. You can use external tools to transfer money.

[pirate22]

i also am interested------- a suggestion,lets ask BBO if this is possible
and cost involved tro participating players.as a semi private club.
of accredited players-name address-and a letter from ones country
bridge association-to be deposited with BBO

[mtvesuvius]

Bridge with pirate22 for money?

SIGN ME UP!

[Gerben42]

Quote

The REAL problem with something like this is that for it to be worthwhile for BBO to do it, the house cut would need to be fairly large, which makes it rather unattractive to many players. It's REALLY hard to win at a game that only returns 80% of the prize pool to the players.

Look at the great BBO Robot race match from Jlol to see how you much you can win at Robot Race even though return is just 80%