VuGraph Instructions
Using LoveBridge and BBO VuGraph
I’ve been using the VuGraph archive on LoveBridge as part of my training regimen, and a lot of you have expressed interest in doing the same. Some people had trouble figuring it out, so I wanted to give detailed instructions.
The United States Bridge Championships—formerly known as the Team Trials—use LoveBridge to play: everyone plays on a tablet or laptop, with two people to a room. It means every bid (with the explanation given at the time) and play is recorded accurately. These records are a great resource!
I will be playing in this year’s USBC, starting April 24. You can watch live (well, with a 30-minute delay) on LoveBridge or on the USBF’s Twitch stream. If you can’t watch live, you can use the archives (as detailed below) to catch up on the action.
Start by heading to vugraph.lovebridge.com.
You’ll see a list of upcoming and past tournaments. Notice the 2025 USBC, which is the one I’m playing in later in the month.
To find the old USBC events, click on the “Archive” link.
And then type in “USBC” and the find (magnifying glass) button.
You’ll see the events from the last few years.
When you click on one, you’ll see the four different events—open, mixed, women, seniors. Select the event you want (I’m playing in the open), and then the round. (You might start with the first round and go from there.)
You can choose which match you want to watch. They play the same boards in each match, so you can see how different pairs handle the same hands.
Now you’ll see the scorecard for the segment in the match you chose. You can see which pairs played at each table and all the results. Try not to look at the results (no cheating!) and click on the button to watch board 1.
Now you’re at the table. You’ll see the auction on the left (purple box). Unfortunately, you can’t click through the auction bid by bid, so you just see the full auction.
The single arrow (orange box) moves card by card, the big arrow (yellow box) goes to the next deal.
I like to use the kibitz feature, so you’re seeing the deal from one player’s perspective. Click on the player you want to watch and click the “kibitzing” button. Unfortunately, you have to do this each time you go to a new deal.
BBO has a much larger VuGraph archive—they’ve been doing this for over a decade. However, their archive is mostly from events played with cards, which require manual entry. There is a VuGraph operator with a laptop at each table, clicking in the bids and plays as they happen. This is much more prone to error, so you can’t trust that every card was recorded accurately.
On the main BBO page, there is a button for VuGraph.
It will show any matches currently happening, and at the bottom is a button to access the archive.
This will pop out a window where you can select the match. You can search for an event, like the Vanderbilt.
When you select the match, it will show you a scorecard.
Clicking on a deal will take you to the table. It’s just like a normal BBO table. The one thing to note is at the bottom left is a “Navigate” button, which takes you to the next board or lets you see what happened at the other table in your match.
Studying VuGraph deals is a great way to learn by watching the best players in the world. I really recommend it.