What is…

Index

8 is Enough
Club Appreciation Game
Club Membership Game
Coffee and Bridge
Handicap Game
IMP Scoring
Instant Matchpoint Game
International Fund Week
Limited Game
MasterPoints
Mini Lesson
MP Scoring
NAP North American Pairs
Open Game
Royal STaC
STaCs, Sectional Tournaments at Clubs
Senior Pairs

8 is Enough, Swiss Teams

Swiss team game format designed to balance skill levels so that teams are competitive and fun to play. 

How it works

• Player ranking: Before the event, players are assigned a “rank” (1, 2, or 3) based on their masterpoints or experience:
  1 = less experienced (e.g., non-life master or <500 masterpoints)
  2 = mid-level (e.g., life master with <1500 masterpoints)
  3 = advanced (e.g., ≥1500 masterpoints)

• Team limit: The sum of the ranks for all four players on a team cannot exceed 8

• Example teams:
  3 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 8 (one advanced, two mid-level, one beginner)
  2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 8 (four mid-level players)
  3 + 3 + 1 + 1 = 8 (two advanced, two beginners)

• Flexibility: Teams can total less than 8, but not more

Club Appreciation Game

Club Membership Game

Coffee and Bridge

Participants play hands with a mentor observing. Questions may be asked while playing and hands may be discussed after played. Hand records are provided at the conclusion. You do not need to come with a partner.
This is not a game, points are not rewarded.

Handicap Game

Each player is assigned a handicap percentage based on the number of masterpoints, similar to a golf handicap. Players’ scores are adjusted so that all participants have a fair chance of winning, regardless of skill level. 

IMP Scoring, International Match Points

In short, IMPs is a competitive scoring method that rewards big score differences, IMPs: Reward absolute score differences; small differences (up to 20 points) are ignored

How IMPs Work in a Pairs Game

    ♣ For each board, you compare your score to the average score of all other pairs.
    ♣ You subtract the average from your score to get a point difference.
    ♣ This difference is then converted to IMPs using a fixed scale provided on your score sheet

Example IMP scale:
0–10 points difference → 0 IMPs
20–40 → 1 IMP
50–80 → 2 IMPs
90–120 → 3 IMPs
130–160 → 4 IMPs
and so forth

How IMPs Work in a Teams Game

    ♣ For each board, you compare your scores against the opponents and teammates scores against the opponents
    ♣ You subtract the lower score from the high for a point difference. If opponent’s score is higher they get the IMPs rewarded.
    ♣ This difference is then converted to IMPs using a fixed scale provided on your score sheet

Instant Matchpoint Game, ACBL-Wide

This game is a special event held simultaneously at clubs across the American Contract Bridge League, where all participating clubs use the same scoring file and rules to determine national rankings.

International Fund Week

An annual event where all ACBL players can earn 200% Black Masterpoint. These high-point-earning games help support North American participation in international events. 

Limited Game

Players may not have more masterpoints than the upper limit indicated

MasterPoints

Members who joined after January 1, 2010

* A member who became a Life Master prior to January 1, 1990, will be exempt from the pigmented point requirements for this rank (with the exception of Platinum points). Each player who has attained the rank of Life Master as of December 31, 2011, will not have to fulfill the pigmented point requirements for their next rank advancement. After attaining their first rank after January 1, 2012, all players will be required to fulfill the pigmented point requirements for subsequent rank advancement (this also applies to the new ranks added in 2015). For example, a current Silver Life Master on December 31, 2011, would retain the current requirements for Gold Life Master, would not have any pigmented requirements for Ruby Life Master, but would need to fulfill the new requirements for Sapphire and Diamond Life Master.
** This is the highest rank in the ACBL. It requires 10,000 masterpoints and one victory in a North American Bridge Championship with no upper masterpoint restriction or an Open Team Trials (includes CNTC) or a Women’s Team Trials (includes CWTC), a Mixed Team Trials (includes CMTC) or a Senior Team Trials (includes CSTC) or any of the following WBF events: Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup, Rosenblum Cup, McConnell Cup, Open Pairs, Women’s Pairs, Olympiad, Women’s Team Olympiad, WBF Senior Pairs event, WBF World Swiss Teams, WBF World Mixed Teams and WBF Senior Teams.
† A Member who had red masterpoints or a fraction thereof prior to January 1, 1969, is required to possess at least 50 red or gold/platinum masterpoints in any combination to become a Life Master.
‡ Any new Member or player in an unpaid status for six months or more after January 1, 1999, will be required to earn 50 black points to become a Life Master.

Mini Lesson

FREE 10-minute lessons held prior to a game or event.

MP Scoring, Match point

Each board is scored against opponents and assigned a number of match points. 
1 point for every pair you do better than
1/2 point for every pair you tie

At the end of play the pair with the most Match points wins. 

NAP North American Pairs

The North American Pairs (NAP) is an annual pair tournament contested over two days at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championships (NABC).

Process:
Players qualify in their local club NAP game, see if you have qualified Link to Qualified Players
Qualified players may compete in the District NAP game, some are online others in person
Winners are given a travel stipend to represent the District at the spring National NAP tournament 

Three fields or “Flights” compete on the same schedule:
     Flight C, restricted to players who have not yet become Life Masters and have fewer than 500 masterpoints, is formally the President’s Cup North American Pairs.
     Flight B, restricted to players with 0 to 2500 masterpoints, is formally the Golder North American Pairs.
     Flight A, open to all players, is formally the Baldwin North American Pairs.

Open Games

Anyone may play regardless or masterpoints

Royal STaC

Masterpoint awards will be ¼ each Gold, Silver, Red and Black. All points will be listed as Silver on Live for Clubs and
the STaC results pages. Points will be posted in the different colors the week after the STaC ends.

STaCs, Sectional Tournaments at Clubs

A STaC is a local bridge tournament that offers players the opportunity to win Silver Points at their local clubs, same masterpoint rewards as a national sectional but at a club level, making it a practical way for players to earn Silver Points without traveling to a tournament.
Results are sent to the ‘Unit Director in Charge’ for final scoring.

Purpose and Benefits
     Silver Points: Winning at a STaC awards Silver Points, which are needed to reach certain masterpoint levels (e.g., Life Master)
     Local Access: Players can earn these points without traveling, making it easier to participate regularly.
     High Scoring Potential: With many tables playing the same hands throughout the Unit, results are compared across all participants, so strong             performances can yield significant points

How STaCs Work
     Format: Usually, Stratified Pair or Swiss Team events, with each pair competing against others of similar skill level
     Duration: A STaC can run for up to seven consecutive days. Players may play a few or as many games as they wish during STaC week.

Senior Pairs

The ACBL Senior Pairs is a senior-eligible pairs event with specific entry, play, and scoring conditions that apply alongside the general ACBL Pairs Conditions of Contest.

Entry Requirements:
Age eligibility: Open to any two paid-up ACBL members who are at least 60 years old as of the event date (one age-ineligible pair may be allowed, but it is not eligible for Masterpoint awards)
Membership: Both partners must be active ACBL members.

If you have issues with any of these please contact us, remember to provide your full name, email and phone number so we may best assist you.

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