Match-point scoring is a mechanism for giving each hand the same weight (importance) in determining the winners. It can be done manually as a spreadsheet and was done that way for many years. However, it was laborious, aggravating, and time-consuming as the players waited for the final results at the end of the session while the scorekeepers chased a half-point error. Several decades ago the ACBL developed a computerized scoring program (ACBLScor) and made it freely available to everyone. Our club uses it and we are able to announce the winners almost immediately after the last board is played.

The program can produce 16 different reports. Each is a simple .txt file that can be read by many different programs, including Microsoft’s Notepad program that comes with all Microsoft Windows operating systems. We use the RECAP report to announce the winners at the end of each session. Later on we email copies of it and two others, SUM and BOARD, to all members. Taken together, they provide a pretty complete recounting of the session. The following narrative is based on those reports for a four-table session played on August 8, 2017. (Names have been removed for privacy.)

BOARD.TXT. This report gives the granular details of each board. The example below is a single board taken from the BOARD.TXT report for that session. It will serve nicely as the basis for beginning the explanation of match-point scoring.

board_1-cropped

Note that the “Scores and “Matchpoints” columns are each subdivided into N-S and E-W. That is fundamental to duplicate scoring; it means that your results are judged only against pairs who played the same cards that you played. That’s one big reason why we say that duplicate scoring takes the luck-of-the-deal out of the game. It’s why you can get really awful hands all evening and still win; all you have to do is take one more trick than everyone else who had to play those awful hands. The other big reason is that matchpoint scoring causes every hand to be equally weighted. The top board you get for taking an extra trick on defense counts exactly the same as the top board you get for being the only pair that bid and made 7NT; and the bottom board you get for going down 5 tricks, doubled and vulnerable, is no worse than the bottom board you get for allowing the opponents to make one extra trick in a minor-suit, part-score contract.

Match-point scoring. This hand is a good beginning example of match-point scoring because there are no ties in the raw scores. In match-point scoring a pair is awarded one point for each pair whose score they beat. This board was played four times, meaning that there are three other N-S or E-W pairs whose scores you can beat (obviously, you can’t beat yourself.) Note that on each line the matchpoints add up to 3.0, meaning that matchpoints constitute a zero-sum game. If N-S beats all of the other 3 N-S pairs then they get a 3.0, which means that E-W did not beat any of the other E-W pairs and they get a 0. Each board has 3 matchpoints available each time it is played, which will be divided between N-W and E-W on that line. If the boards are played 4 times, as is the case here, then there will be 12 matchpoints, 6 for N-S and 6 for E-W, so each matchpoint column adds up to 6.0. (Imagine having to do that manually in a spreadsheet. That’s why the players used to wait for the final results at the end of the session while the scorekeepers chased a half-point error.)

What about ties? Look at board 5 below to see how ties in the raw scores are handled.

You see that E-W pairs 4 and 6 tied at 420 raw score points. The matchpoints for the tied positions are shared equally by the tying pairs: first would have gotten 3 and second would have gotten 2, so those points are combined and then divided by 2. That uses up 2.5 of the available 3 points on those lines and leaves only one point to be shared by the corresponding N-S pairs, so they each get a half.

The ACBL scoring program produces 16 reports. Each report contributes to the big picture. Three of them are explained below.

RECAP.TXT. This report gives the most summarized version of the session and is divided into two parts. The first part shows the results by pair in descending order of performance. The “Score” column shows the sum of the matchpoints for that pair for the entire session. The theoretical maximum for 21 boards, each played 4 times, would be 63 (21 X 3). The “Pct” column expresses the “Score” column as a percent of the theoretical maximum. At this session pairs 2 and 7 each achieved a score of 37 matchpoints, which is 58.73 percent of the theoretical maximum score of 63. An ACBL site this writer browsed when he started this explanation stated that a score in the 60-65 percent range will win most tournaments. The highest this writer has ever seen was a little over 80 percent. The second part shows the matchpoint scores for each board, with a separate column for each pair. Look at your pair’s column for a recap of the session. For example, pair 7 got 9 tops or tie-for-tops out of the 21 boards.

SUMMARY.TXT. This report shows a separate summary for each pair, with results listed in board-order. We played three boards in each round so you can easily see how you did against each of the opposing pairs. For example, the summary for pair 7 showed that on boards 16-18 they were trounced by pair 2, getting only 2 of the possible 9 points for a miserable 22.2 percent.

We hope this helps. We will continue to furnish all three reports for future sessions. Members and interested others are invited to email questions to webmaster@soacckj.com