In this update - Practice Tourney 3 Result, Prepare for Final Practice Tourney, Robot Tips and Registration Update
 
 
Practice Tourney #3 
 
More than 1600 players participated in the third free practice tourney, won in convincing style (79.98%) by Jmunday. Jim overbids (to say the least) but also overplays his hands, so his technique may or not apply to every player equally. Nevertheless he is one of the sources of the great tips we have been sharing in these updates. It may be worth stating Jim is ineligible for the actual event as he is the Mister behind ACBL Bulletin's Managing Editor, Sue Munday. The actual tournament will be 24 boards a day over 4 days, and Practice #3 was only 8 boards over 3 days so we are also expecting far less spectacular swings.
 
Practice Tourney #4 this Weekend!
 
This is the final of the Practice Series, held in conjunction with ACBL. July 14-16 (Fri-Sun), a 3 day, 12 boards a day free tournament open to ACBL members exclusively. The top 10 overall winners will each receive a free entry to the NABC Online!
 
Here are some FAQ about Practice Tourney #4. If the answer to your question can be found here, or in any of the recent updates we have been sending, you will forgive me for choosing not to answer you personally.
 
Q: I can't see/play Practice Tourney #4?!?!
A: The tourney shows up on July 14 (Friday), early morning, EDT. You have the entire July 14 to schedule 3 hours to play in this tournament. You cannot see this tourney before July 14. If you do not register and play on July 14, you will not see the subsequent tournaments on July 15 and 16. 
 
You need to use the web or mobile BBO to see and play in this tournament. 
 
If you meet those conditions, you will find the tourney in ACBL World at the right day, clearly listed as the NABC Practice Tourney.
 
Q: I can see the Practice Tourney but cannot register or play.
A: If you see the practice tourney, but when you try to register it says you are ineligible, you probably have no ACBL number (or an invalid one) on file with BBO. BBO does not magically know your ACBL number - we only know what you choose to tell us. So please take a moment to make life easy for us by clicking here to update your ACBL number on BBO.
 
If you start your session but need to take a break, remember to come back and finish within 3 hours! Otherwise you are taking a 0 for uncompleted boards. We noticed a fair number of 0s in this last practice tournament, hopefully just an anomaly. The time limit for this practice tourney is 3 hours for 12 boards. The time limit for the actual event is likely 4 hours for 24 boards.
 
Q: Can I win masterpoints? Is it stratified/sectioned/flighted?
A: The Real Event that we have been trying to prepare everyone for is an NABC event. It is not stratified, nor sectioned, and not flighted. The practice tourneys are therefore not stratified too, especially since they don't give out any masterpoints! These are free games that we hope will help BBOers get comfortable with the actual tourney. 
 
With that being said, this final free practice will be giving out 10 prizes to the overall best finishers. Still no masterpoints, but you may win a prize.
 
This is ACBL's first experiment to figure out if players will enjoy online NABC events.
Right now, we understand for the NABC Online, there will be 18 daily awards in addition to the 18 overall awards. If you believe strongly in stratification or need more masterpoints and prizes to be awarded, please convey those beliefs to ACBL.
 
How to register?
 
There is plenty of time left to register. Just make sure to do so by July 19th to pay the discounted price of $40 instead of $50. Refund conditions are spelled out in the COC but you may assume the usual BBO policy of generous refunds apply. Our policy (well, one of them anyway) has always been, "If you are reasonable, we will be extra reasonable." So if you paid but then changed your mind before July 23, shoot us an email at accounting@bridgebase.com and we will make sure to help you.
ACBL NABC Online Registration
How to register:
  • If you are using our mobile app - please watch this short clip instead.
  • If you are using the web BBO (at www.bridgebase.com), Log on BBO
  • Enter ACBL World
  • And look for the ACBL NABC Online Individual
  • The cost is BB$40 until July 19, and that amount will be subtracted from your BB$ account.
  • If you don't have sufficient BB$, or if we don't have a valid ACBL number for you, you will receive a prompt to rectify either issues before attempting the registration again.
  • If you don't have sufficient BB$ and want to buy some BB$ now, click here to buy.
  • If you have not given BBO your ACBL number yet, click here to add your ACBL number to your BBO name.
  • Watch this short clip if you need a step-by-step illustrated guide.
More tips from the experts
 
Over the years, we've invited a number of top players (Leo Lasota, Josh Donn, Roger Lee) to share their expertise. Here are some points that deserve to be highlighted. You may be pleased to know these tips have been read and approved by Jmunday.
 
  • Most of the time just try to play normal bridge well. Make good bids, count the hands and don't get weird unless you know why you are doing it.
  • Players who are confident in their declaring ability - you can open 1NT liberally. you may contort to open 1NT, but
  1. Robot opponents are usually not that great at bidding over 1NT openings,
Robot System Notes
 
2. Your misrepresentation of your hand may trigger some misdefense,
3. Usually 3NT is the best contract anyway, so why not just do it?
 
  • Remember this event is scored in MP. This implies players who open 1NT aggressively can refrain from accepting game invites and still do okay. This isn't the days of yore, ladies and gents - no need to accept every invitation extended to you!
  • Oddly, you want to be less aggressive about opening 2NT. There is less to gain from this slight point distortion, and you may want the space and time to investigate slams.
 
Final Words:
 
Congrats to the players who have done well in the practice tourneys. If you haven't tried a practice tourney yet, come join us this Friday, July 14 - the practice tourneys may be shorter than the real event but they will provide a pretty good idea of what to expect on the real day. Besides, they are just fun! We'll share a few final tips and try to address more common questions in the coming days. 
 
May the Jmunday Force be with you!
 
Stay tuned for more information in the coming days. Feedback, comments, questions welcome in the BBO forums.
 
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