Online VACB Games Master Point Award Summary

The method for calculating masterpoints (MP) is different for VACB online games than Face-to-Face (F2F) games. MP awards shown by BBO do not correctly show ACBL MP awards. The ACBL Masterpoint (MP) Engine determines the MP awards.  The correct MP awards are posted on the VACB club’s ACBL Results webpage.

MP awards for all types of games and strata are based on the number of MP award to 1st place in Strat A of games that have no masterpoint entry limitation: an Open.  If the game has only one section, the 1st place Strat A game results are equal to the Overall game results.  There are two steps in the calculating the MP award.

STEP 1        Calculation   MP1 = MIN [ G * B, G-MAX ]

G is the number of MPs awarded per table if the game is a Mitchell or Howell movement.  In the Mitchell movement, MPs are awarded independently to both the N-S and E-W pairs for two sets of MP awards.  In the Howell movement, the N-S and E-W results are combined and only one set of MPs are awarded.  The Howell movement is generally used in smaller games.

                                             Movement         G Value

                                                Mitchell                 .1

                                                Howell                   .2

B is the number of tables in the game.  NOTE: Tables from Limited games run by the same club within 30 minutes are added to the number of tables in the Open game.

G-Max is the maximum number of MPs that can be awarded in a regular online VACB game, which is 2.5 MPs.

Once the Step 1 MP award is calculated using the G * B portion of the formula, the minimum of the two values is selected as the result. Here are a couple of examples.

Movement Tables                 G * B            G-Max       MP1

Mitchell         10            10 * .1 = 1.0        2.5           1.0

Mitchell         30            30 * .1 = 3.0        2.5           2.5

Howell            15            15 * .2 = 3.0        2.5           2.5

To maximize the number of MPs awarded in a game, the Mitchell movement should be used in games with more than 12 tables.

STEP 2        Calculation   MP2 = MP1 *L*R

L‘s value is set based on the maximum MP limitations for entry into the game.  Limited game awards are a percentage of the Open game award.

MP Upper Limit   L Variable Multiplier

Open                            1.0

300+                             0.8

200                               0.7

  50                               0.6

  20                               0.5

  10                               0.4

5                               0.3

R’s value is set based on whether the game is a normal club game or a special game.  Different types of special games have different values and award different color MPs.  Color of points does not affect the game’s MP award calculation.

Game Type                                                                                       R FACTOR

100% Normal, Stardust, NAP, Popups                                             1.00

150% Silver Linings                                                                               1.50

200% Junior Fund, Grassroots, Charity Foundation,                    2.00

        Education Fund, NABC Fundraiser, International Fund

        Club Appreciation

The final MP award for 1st in Strat A is now calculated. Here are a couple of examples.

Type                       Movement          Tables   MP1   M      R     MP2

Open Normal       Mitchell            10        1.0     1.0    1.0   1.0

399 Silver Linings Mitchell            30        2.5     0.8    1.5   1.2

199 Grassroots    Howell               15        2.5     0.7    2.0   1.4

Multiple Sections:  If there is more than one section in the game, the 1st place Strat A award are calculated using the above method.  The 1st place Start A section result is calculated using the following formula. Only Mitchel movement games have more than one section.

1st Place Start A Section Result = 0.1 * B * L * R

Here are a couple of examples.

                                                                     B Section

Type                       Movement      .1    Tables     L       R     MP

Open Normal       Mitchell            .1         10      1.0    1.0   1.0

399 Silver Linings Mitchell            .1         10      0.8    1.5   1.2

199 Grassroots    Mitchell            .1         10      0.7    2.0   1.4

In all games in all strata, the 1st place award, rounded to the nearest one hundredth of a masterpoint, is used to compute all subsequent awards.  The 2nd place award is 70%, 3rd is 50% of 1st, 4th is 35%, 5th is 20% and 6th is 16.6%, etc.

Working on getting a clear understanding how 1st place in Strats B and C are calculated based on 1st in Strat A.

Multiple Section Game Result Report Confusion.  The ACBL results for online games with multiple sections can be confusing because MP awards are calculated independently for each section but the results are listed from the highest matchpoint percentage.  This can cause pairs with a higher percentage in one section that won fewer MPs in that section to be listed before another pair placed higher in a different section but with a lower percentage.  Note that the column of the report lists you Section and Table number.