Different types of bridge sessions

Many players new to playing duplicate bridge are confused about the different types of sessions that can be played. These include pairs and teams events, each of which have a number of variants.

Pairs

Pairs is the most common type of session played in duplicate clubs, with the most common variant a Mitchell type movement. These have the following characteristics:

• Players compete with their partners against the pairs playing in the same direction (that is in the North-South field or the East-West field) - thus there are generally two winning pairs, one for each direction
  
• Players generally have a pair number that combines the table number at which they start with their direction (eg the NS pair starting at Table 1 would normally have a pair no of NS 1)
  
• A North South (NS) pair will normally stay at the same table throughout the session and are responsible for the control of the boards, while the East-West (EW) pairs will move up a table at the end of each round (eg from Table 4 to Table 5)
  
• The boards being played will normally move down a table at the end of each round
• If there are an even number of tables, then a variation like a Skip Mitchell will often be used - this involves the EW pair moving up two tables during the Skip round called by the Director (other movement variations are possible such as a Share and Bye)
• If there is an incomplete table due to an odd number of pairs, then a "sit-out" will occur - this means that for each round there will be a pair without opponents - and with the chance to catch up on the latest news or sharpening their bidding system
• Depending on the number of tables, not all pairs may play all the boards - this is called an "incomplete" movement which introduces a degree of imprecision into the comparison amongst the pairs
• If one winner is needed with a Mitchell movement, a common option is an "arrow-switch" for a small proportion of the rounds (ideally about 1/8th) - this involves the direction of the boards in the arrow-switched rounds being turned 90 degrees so that the NS pair plays as EW and vice versa in order to provide a comparison of the two fields - note that the original EW pairs continue to be the moving pairs

If there is only a small number of tables (generally less than 6) then a Howell type movement will often be played. These movements have the following characteristics:

• Players compete with their partners against all other pairs - thus there is generally just one winning pair
  
• Players have a unique pair number that may be unrelated to the table number at which they start the session
• All pairs (generally save one NS pair) will move positions each round throughout the session following the movement instructions on the Howell Movement Card on the table at which they are playing - these cards show the position of the pair numbers playing each round at the table and also the board numbers they should play
  
• The boards being played will normally move down a table at the end of each round - this remains the responsibility of the current NS pair at the table

Pairs Matchpoint Scoring

Most pairs events are scored using Matchpoint scoring. A pair scores for every pair whose score it beats when it plays the same board. For example a pair scoring +100 for putting its opponents down two tricks non-vulnerable will score matchpoints for every pair that made +90 for making 1NT, but will not score any matchpoints for every pair that made +110 for making 2H. The pair that scores a "top" on a board will score the maximum matchpoints as its score beats all the other pairs playing the same cards. Results for Matchpoint Pairs are normally given as percentages - these are percentages of actual matchpoints earnt divided by the maximum matchpoints (ie if the pair had an absolute "top" on each and every board it played).

In most pairs sessions a "top" on a single board is worth about 4% compared with an average of 2%. A score of more than 60% is generally very good. This would be achieved with five or more "top" boards with the rest being average. Of course a "bottom" board has the opposite impact!

Good pairs players are conscious of trying to get just above the field when it is safe to do so. Fighting hard for that extra overtrick (or undertrick) when the whole field is likely to be in the same contract will pay rich dividends in terms of matchpoints. In terms of bidding 3NT is quite popular in pairs - making 10 tricks at NT will do well if the rest of the field is making 10 tricks in a major (but not if they make 11 tricks).

Teams events

Less common than pairs, the other major type of bridge event is a teams event. In these events two pairs join together as a team. It is possible to have an extra player or pair in a team in longer events to allow the players to have time out from some sessions while their team mates play.  Teams events generally have the following characteristics:

• In each round or match the two pairs of a team play the two pairs of another team playing the same boards - so the NS pair of the first team plays the EW pair of the second team at the first team's home table and the first EW pair plays the second NS pair at the second team's table
• After the boards of the round or match are complete, the NS and EW pairs of the team add their scores for the same boards together to calculate the board total points - so if on a particular board the NS pair made +620 (10 tricks in 4H vulnerable) while the EW pair made -300 (making 9 tricks in 5CX non-vulnerable) they would score a net +320
• This total points score for a board is then generally converted to International Matchpoints (IMPs) - not to be confused with Matchpoints used in pairs scoring - using a scale defined in the Laws of Bridge - and often but not always the total IMPs for a round or match are converted to a Victory Points (VP) score
• Good teams players are conscious of the big points opportunities - winning a board by a 500 points is very important in teams (unlike Matchpoint Pairs where a "top" is worth the same irrespective of by how many points it is the highest score) - this tends to mean going for games and slam contracts with reasonable chances of success and not going for overtricks if it increases the risk of missing a contract
• Teams events are generally multi-session events, and often each round or match would be 8 or 14 boards, giving three or two matches to a session

There are several teams variants:

• The most common format is a Swiss Teams event - this involves teams being drawn against the team closest to them in the current event ranking provided they have not already played against each other (so for example for other than the first round the winning team would normally be drawn against the team coming second, third against fourth etc) - a good event result is determined after a relatively small number of rounds that varies according to the number of initial teams
  
• When the number of teams in the event is not large, a Round-Robin Teams event is often used where all teams play all the other teams once
• An alternative with a large number of teams is to have a Knock-Out event - generally this is accompanied by a repechage for losing teams following a Swiss Teams format with the only difference being that as later teams are knocked out they join the repechage with an agreed number of IMPs start reflecting their greater success in the Knock-Out event
• A format that can be used in a single club session with a smaller number of teams is an American Whist movement - this allows for many rounds of small numbers of boards (boards and team EW pairs move similarly but not the same as in a Mitchell Pairs event) - a disadvantage of this is that scoring up is not done until the session is over
• Some clubs run "Teams of 3" Swiss Teams events, involving often experienced three person teams being matched at random with an experienced "captain" who then plays two matches with each of the three players and introduces them to teams play and scoring

New 2007 Laws of Bridge

In mid 2008, the Australian Bridge Federation authorised the adoption of the new 2007 Laws of Bridge for use in Australian bridge clubs. The 2007 Laws of Bridge replaced the previous 1997 Laws.

Read a full copy of the new  2007 Laws of Bridge and a note on the  key changes from the 1997 Laws.