ACBL strats

[McBruce]

A club game can be worth as much as 1.50, more if it is a club championship or other special game.  Most club TDs do not realize that playing a Howell or an arrow-switch movement increases the masterpoints for the winner, while eliminating the biggest problem with Mitchell movements: 3rd place and masterpoints in one direction may be a worse game than 5th in the other direction.  If you have eight tables and play a Mitchell each direction winner gets 0.80 (0.10 per pair in each direction), but if you instead play an arrow switch in the last round and make it a one-winner game, there are sixteen pairs in the field and the winner gets 1.50.

It also decreases the total points awarded, increases confusion (especially at tables where one pair stays at a table, and has to keep switching directions. they inevitably forget at least once), and increases randomness.

Not all TDs are interested only in providing the simplest movement and distributing as many masterpoints as we can. Some of us actually believe that a good game in a more balanced field should get a decent masterpoint award. We accept the occasional forgotten arrow switches and have ACBLScore handle them as it easily does. We minimize confusion by making sure everyone is in the right spot playing the right boards each round, instead of interrupting a telephone call to shout "all change." It's a slow process, but players see the extra effort and come back.

[Elianna]

A club game can be worth as much as 1.50, more if it is a club championship or other special game.  Most club TDs do not realize that playing a Howell or an arrow-switch movement increases the masterpoints for the winner, while eliminating the biggest problem with Mitchell movements: 3rd place and masterpoints in one direction may be a worse game than 5th in the other direction.  If you have eight tables and play a Mitchell each direction winner gets 0.80 (0.10 per pair in each direction), but if you instead play an arrow switch in the last round and make it a one-winner game, there are sixteen pairs in the field and the winner gets 1.50.

It also decreases the total points awarded, increases confusion (especially at tables where one pair stays at a table, and has to keep switching directions. they inevitably forget at least once), and increases randomness.

Not all TDs are interested only in providing the simplest movement and distributing as many masterpoints as we can. Some of us actually believe that a good game in a more balanced field should get a decent masterpoint award. We accept the occasional forgotten arrow switches and have ACBLScore handle them as it easily does. We minimize confusion by making sure everyone is in the right spot playing the right boards each round, instead of interrupting a telephone call to shout "all change." It's a slow process, but players see the extra effort and come back.

Well, one of your points about Howell was that it increased the reward to first place, so I was just pointing out that it doesn't increase total points given.

 

Also, you missed my point that Howells are much more random that Mitchell movements. In mitchells, you're only ranked against players that play the same boards (in the same direction) as you, and the same group of opponents. While the second is true of many Howell movements, the first is definitely not, and this greatly increases randomness.

[McBruce]

Well, one of your points about Howell was that it increased the reward to first place, so I was just pointing out that it doesn't increase total points given.

 

Also, you missed my point that Howells are much more random that Mitchell movements.  In mitchells, you're only ranked against players that play the same boards (in the same direction) as you, and the same group of opponents.  While the second is true of many Howell movements, the first is definitely not, and this greatly increases randomness.

Not sure what exactly it is that you call randomness here.

 

If it has something to do with the luck of the draw in determining who you play and who plays who on that board at other tables, I think that that sort of randomness is generally overrated by players, and I have done studies to prove it.

 

There is no other game or sport that I know of where the field and the prize pool are divided in two so we can have two winners without eventually deciding which is better--except the Mitchell movement club game. (Even in baseball they have inter-league play now. :lol: )