ACBL NABC Online July 23-25
Fortune favors the brave

robots supporting human in a race
With great risk comes great reward
  • Deadline for early registration discount
  • Preview of prizes
  • Players to watch

Fortune favors the brave

We've come a long way since the first NABC Online was held alongside the Toronto NABC last July. Nikolaos Delimpaltadakis, a bona fide Greek Star won that inaugural experimental event.

Since then, ACBL has decided to stratify the NABC Online to level the playing field. The 3 tiers are Unlimited/2000/500, and the NABC Online #2 champion was actually also the "B" winner! The newest NABC Online iteration will use the same formula as the previous one, so I can safely print it for everyone here.

But first, an important reminder - This Friday (July 20) is the last day to sign up and qualify for the earlybird fee of $40. The fee reverts back to $50 after Friday! Go to ACBL World and sign up now if you are interested.

  • Session awards (Daily) - Each day's winners receive 18/12/9 ACBL Masterpoints depending on which stratification they are in. And the formula pays approximately top 25% of each strat.

  • Overall awards (After 3 days) - The final winners receive 48/36/24 for the 3 tiers of ACBL Masterpoints. And the formula pays approximately top 25% of each strat.

    • Some actual examples:
  • The final ACBL Masterpoint winner placed 1889th out of 1910 total partcipants in the Spring NABC Online.
  • Almost everyone who placed in the top 50% after 3 days would win ACBL Masterpoints.
  • In the Spring NABC Online, out of the top 10 honor list, 1st and 7th were not Life Masters yet, and 4 of the top 10 were only B or C players. The odds are really good!

    • Everyone has an equal shot at the overall NABC title, but Bridge being Bridge, the experts will always have an edge. These are the players to watch for in the Summer NABC Online 2018.

    Jiang_Gu - Jiang is a known expert in USA and very experienced in Robot tourneys. He was close to winning the Spring NABC Online after 2 days when FuzzyQuack came in with a super Day 3 and stole the show. He is definitely one of the strongest contenders.

    FuzzyQuack and NickD - The Spring 2018 and Summer 2017 Title Winners are both consistently steady players. Fuzzy especially may not have a lot of Masterpoints but he is one of the most underrated experts in North America. Write them off at your peril!

    KenCohen vs Leo LaSota - Ken and Leo were neck in neck a few years ago in BBO's ACBL Player Race until Leo pulled ahead convincingly. Ken has already won one of the NABC Online Practice Tourneys. Leo is always consistently up there but hasn't won anything yet. Is Leo saving his luck for the event proper?

    Sieong, Astark, Ashdown4, Strei1 - Sam, Andrew, Alex and Jim are in the same bridge circle of friends. All 4 have placed high consistently in the NABC Online, the official practice matches, as well as BBO Daylong Tournaments which the NABC Online is modeled after. Any of these 4 could have a great day and breakout from the rest.

    Nspear - I predict Nancy will be the top Woman player once again. She was 12th in Summer 2017 and 14th in Spring 2018 and top Woman player each time. This consistency may just propel her upwards this time round.

    Of course we don't know for sure who is going to participate yet. Maybe a Bridge Great like Bob Hamman will drop in and demolish the field with his 3NTs. Anyone can have a good day. Especially you.

    Hope to see you in the Summer NABC Online 2018 (July 23-25). You only have a few more days left to sign up. Registration closes July 23 4PM USA Eastern Time!

    This concludes your mission briefing for today. This message will self-destruct in a few days. Good luck, BBOer.



    For a quick video guide on how to register, please watch this short clip. If you are using a mobile device, watch this clip instead.

    Keep an eye on the news to be updated on all the NABC Online related happenings on BBO. Or Click this link to sign up for updates and reminders.



    		All updates