[News] Instant Matchpoint Game winners and other news

Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> News from North Fair Oaks Mojo ABTA Master Teacher 649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201 Pasadena CA 91103 (626) 247-4457 pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> Congratulations to John Barrow and Sherry Hansen! In last week's ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game, their 63.71% score was good enough to finish second in District 23. Joan Mesias and Jeanette Deverian were close behind, finishing third in the district with 63.51%. The full awards nationally and for each district can be found here <https://club-results.s3.amazonaws.com/production/SpecialGameResults/AIM/2024-10-30/2410953.HTM>. Why are the masterpoints different? At the end of each game, we display game results using ACBLScore, the game scoring program that's survived several decades of increasingly difficult maintenance (and hasn't been replaced!). These days, the final awards are calculated by a program called the "masterpoint engine." This happens when the game file is uploaded to ACBL's "Live for Clubs." When you see the results online, the awards will usually be higher than what was displayed at the club. There's a calculation performed by the masterpoint engine that isn't included in ACBLScore locally. In an effort to reward playing games of more than 18 boards, the board decided to apply a factor to the final masterpoint award based on the actual number of boards played in the game divided by 18. Since the open games at our club are usually 24 boards, that gives our results a factor of 24/18, or 1.33. (Sitouts don't change the factor! If you only played 21 boards as a result, it's still treated a 24-board game.) I believe special games generally don't have the N/18 factor applied, but regular club games will show about 33% higher awards when you see the results on ACBL Live for Clubs. Is it time to make a convention card? It's not just a good idea! ACBL's "General Conditions of Contest <https://web2.acbl.org/coc/AllGeneral.pdf>" require that "Each member of a partnership must have a completed convention card available" and that "Both cards of a partnership must be identical." These should be on the table and available to the opponents. This document governs ACBL events, such as tournaments or games sponsored by ACBL units and districts. Individual clubs may amend the conditions of contest, but we have not posted an amended conditions of contest. At our club, I feel that if a partnership is using any agreements that are not part of the ACBL Standard Yellow Card, they should have convention cards on hand for the benefit of the opponents. In the event of a memory lapse or disagreement between partners, the convention card becomes the document that should resolve the disagreement. Besides the documentation for the opponents, completing a convention card is a valuable exercise for a regular partnership! You may find that it improves your bidding understandings. Clearly, late substitutions and fill-ins will not have an opportunity for a lengthy system discussion, but it's still something we can do better. Note to newer players: Once you start adding conventions that are not on the Yellow Card, it's not a bad idea to start and keep a convention card with your partners! Classes this coming week Individual classes are available to join for $25. No need to sign up for a full course! * Wednesday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/, class 3 of 6 "Major suit openings and responses" * Thursday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions/ "Strong hand opening bids" Coming up ... Sunday November 17 is the next unit game. The Pasadena San Gabriel Unit hosts the game and provides a pizza lunch at 12:00 noon, followed by great bridge competition at 12:30. Still $10 cash! Make your reservations for the game. November 18-23 will be a "Royal" Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC) week. Points awarded are sectional rated, with 25% each black, red, silver, and gold points. Yes, we're holding a game on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, as well as the Friday after! The parking lot will be busy — consider arriving earlier than usual! Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary