Baron Barclay Bridge Supplies

Explains--How To Matchpoint

 

 

Example of Traveler

 

How to Matchpoint

  1. Count the number of times the board has been played. This may vary within the same game, on occasion not all the boards will have been played the same number of times.
  2. Top score on a board will be one less than the number of times that the board has been played, i.e.: a board played nine times has a top of eight matchpoints.
  3. In a straight Mitchell movement there will be one winning pair North-South and one winning pair East-West. In a Howell, ¾ Howell, or Scrambled Mitchell, there is only one winning pair.
  4. Matchpoint all of the scores in the North-South column, awarding top score to the N-S pair with the higher number of total points. (See sample: N-S pair 5 receives a "top": 8 matchpoints). The N-S pair with the second highest total score receives a seven; the third highest receives a six, etc.
  5. When all the plus scores in the N-S column have been awarded matchpoints, the next score (in this case 3 matchpoints) is given to the North-South pair with the LOWEST score in the East-West column (since they lost the least number of total points). The next highest figure receives the next lower score, etc., until a zero is given for the highest number of total points lost.
  6. All of the North-South players have now been matchpointed. To determine the East-West scores it is necessary to subtract the number of points awarded to their North-South opponents on each round from the top score possible on that particular board (an 8 in the example). This figure is the E-W score on the board.

 

NOTE: The total of the points awarded to all the N-S pairs on a board must equal the total of the points for all the E-W pairs.

 

TIE SCORES: If two or more pairs have identical scores, the number of matchpoints awarded for those scores are added together and then divided by the number of pairs involved. Thus, on our sample score sheet, if three pairs tie for 2nd, 3rd and 4th, these positions would receive 7, 6 and 5 matchpoints respectively. Adding these figures together give a total of 18; divided by 3 pairs gives them each 6 matchpoints. If more pairs should tie, such as four pairs tying for 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place when these positions would receive 6, 5, 4 and 3 matchpoints, then the total (18) is divided by the number of pairs (4) and each pair receives 4½ matchpoints.

 

WHEN ONE OR MORE PAIRS PASS OUT A BOARD: After all of the North-South plus scores are matchpointed, the next score goes to the pair(s) who pass out the board, and then the North-South minus scores are matchpointed.

 

 

 

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