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649 N Fair Oaks Ave
#201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
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.
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" 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
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