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I am looking into ways for my mom to play bridge regularly. Her standing Tuesday night game has been crapping out.

I need some education.

At her clubhouse, they have:

ACBL Open Stratified two days a week

ACBL, NLM Stratified one day a week

ACBL, Zero to NLM one day a week.

She is not currently a member of ACBL, she just knows how to play bridge. She has played for years and usually wins in her Tuesday night game.

Should I have her join ACBL if she wants to pursue the stuff at her clubhouse? It is only $26 for the first year.

How long does it take to become a NLM?

Is a Zero a beginner and a member - or just a beginner with no indication of membership status?

Anything else I should know or ask the guy when I call him?

Tank yew

peacock2121 wrote:I am looking into ways for my mom to play bridge regularly. Her standing Tuesday night game has been crapping out.

I need some education.

At her clubhouse, they have:

ACBL Open Stratified two days a week

ACBL, NLM Stratified one day a week

ACBL, Zero to NLM one day a week.

She is not currently a member of ACBL, she just knows how to play bridge. She has played for years and usually wins in her Tuesday night game.

Should I have her join ACBL if she wants to pursue the stuff at her clubhouse? It is only $26 for the first year.

How long does it take to become a NLM?

Is a Zero a beginner and a member - or just a beginner with no indication of membership status?

Anything else I should know or ask the guy when I call him?

Tank yew

Ask him if non-ACBL members can play in all the mentiioned sections even though they're not ranked. Also, ask him if people can play even if they're not ACBL members, although it looks like you gotta be in ACBL since that's the first word, and I think she would want to join anyway. I think she might enjoy, as I do, watching her points mount up. I am now a Club Master with 50+ masterpoints. I think she will also enjoy the monthly magazine. Members in my club get a sectional magazine also.

It takes most people a long time to become a NLM (New Life Master) -- you must earn 300 masterpoints; 50 silver, 25 gold, and 25 red or gold, and the color points have to be earned by playing in special events such as tournaments.

Zero is a new ACBL member who hasn't earned any masterpoints yet.

Ask your guy if there's anything else you should know. He'll fill you in on everything from smoking breaks to the guy who has Alzheimer's to whether there's a nominal fee for refreshments to who makes the coffee, or if you gotta bring your own coffee.

Bob######s, Kusch, Mac, and Slam will probably think of a lot more helpful Qs to ask. I hope she goes -- I have a lot of fun, as does my regular partner, which is why we're partners.

peacock2121 wrote:I am looking into ways for my mom to play bridge regularly. Her standing Tuesday night game has been crapping out.

I need some education.

At her clubhouse, they have:

ACBL Open Stratified two days a week

ACBL, NLM Stratified one day a week

ACBL, Zero to NLM one day a week.

She is not currently a member of ACBL, she just knows how to play bridge. She has played for years and usually wins in her Tuesday night game.

Should I have her join ACBL if she wants to pursue the stuff at her clubhouse? It is only $26 for the first year.

How long does it take to become a NLM?

Is a Zero a beginner and a member - or just a beginner with no indication of membership status?

Anything else I should know or ask the guy when I call him?

Tank yew

I'm fairly sure that "NLM" stands for "non-Life Master." In that case, your mom is an NLM, and will be one until she accumulates a whole bunch of points (including some that can only be won at tournaments). (It took me about five and a half years to become a Life Master.) She might want to join the ACBL before the end of 2009, because for members who don't join until January 1, 2010, the requirements for becoming a Life Master will be increased.

The other benefit of joining the ACBL is the monthly magazine, the ACBL Bulletin. So think of the membership as a magazine subscription with added benefits. --Bob

One other point. If your mom has never played duplicate before, there are some logistical matters she'll need to learn. Of those, the most difficult is probably the "Alert" procedure, which requires the bidder's partner to say "Alert" when the bidder makes a bid that is "unusual." (The tough part is learning what bids the rules consider to be "unusual" in this context.)

There are also mechanical issues with preparing and passing boards (our name for hands) and with movement and scoring. You might either swing by yourself to watch a game or encourage your mother to do so. --Bob

Bob's right -- Non-Life Master, not new life master. Sorry.

I suspect that non-ACBL members are welcome, and I'll make that assumption. Let me give a more careful translation of each game:

peacock2121 wrote:ACBL Open Stratified two days a week

"Open" means anyone can play. Stratified refers to how scoring is done, and you need not understand it in order to play -- it only affects how master points are awarded after the game.

In addition to an overall winner, a "Flight B" winner (and perhaps a "Flight C" winner) is determined by choosing the top-scroing pair among those who have few enough points to be eligible for Flight B or Flight C.

To be more concrete, let's assume that the Flight B limit is 1500 master points and the Flight C limit is 500 master points.

Then the overall winner is the Flight A winner.

The Flight B pair (meaning both members of the pair have fewer than 1500 points each) with the best score is the Flight B winner. If that pair also has the best overall score, they are the (more prestigious) Flight A winner as well.

The Flight C pair (meaning both members of the pair have fewer than 500 points each) with the best score is the Flight C winner. That pair is also eligible to win Flight B or Flight A.

peacock2121 wrote:ACBL, NLM Stratified one day a week

This is the same "stratified" scoring structure discussed above, but the game is limited to non-Life Masters. Typical stratifications might be 20/100/NLM.

peacock2121 wrote:ACBL, Zero to NLM one day a week.

This game is also limited to non-Life Masters. The difference between this game and the game above is that this game isn't stratified. The winner is the winner, and no "Flight" awards are given. --Bob

A good club pro or membership director can help.

Non-LM games are preferred for now. If she is kicking their asses soon enough, she will figure out how to move into other games.

She will have to learn aq new way of thinking about the game, switching from rubber bridge to duplicate. But it's more competitive, so more interesting to lots of people. The car play is much the same.

If this progresses, I am happy to talk with her. I will find ways to explain it that she will get.

Good luck.

peacock2121 wrote:I am looking into ways for my mom to play bridge regularly. Her standing Tuesday night game has been crapping out.

So what happened with this? Inquiring minds want to know. --Bob

Thanks for asking and a belated thank you for your input.

My mom got paired for the Monday morning game. It is hard to find out what actually happened, as her memory is not so good and I don't understand the 'way bridge works'. She liked her partner. She enjoyed the game. She was at the table with the organizer and his wife. My sister says they only moved tables once during the 4 hours, which she says means they only lost once, but I don't know that is true.

The bottom line is, she has started the process of getting out of the house, giving her an opportunity to do something she loves, using her brain cells and doing something she can still do well.

I have the website where they post the points, so I can follow-up and see that she is actually playing and that she is winning.

It blows my mind that she can't remember if she took her pills or if she made dinner, but she can remember the cards that got played in a hand of bridge.

I still need to make sure she gets a partner for the Wednesday afternoon games. My dad can use 2 chunks of time where is can be 'off'.

Pbr NLM Stratified Pairs Monday Morn Session December 15, 2008
Scores after 7 rounds Average: 84.0 Section A East-West
Pair Pct Score Section Rank Overall Rank MPs
A B C A B C
5 60.42 101.50 B 1 1 1 1 1.56(OA) Jack Mulford - J.Martin O'neill
8 59.23 99.50 A 2 2 1.17(OA) Nancy Scott - Roger Casey
3 48.81 82.00 C 3 2 1 2 0.68(OC) Carol Brandes - Chris Deering
1 47.92 80.50 B 3/4 0.21(SB) Marion Winsor - Shirley Passeri
7 47.92 80.50 C 3/4 2 3 0.51(OC) Frank Brown - Miriam Brown
2 46.13 77.50 B Anita Perrier - Jaye Roy
4 45.54 76.50 C Bea Angelo - Kay Monahan
6 44.05 74.00 C William Martin - Larry Johnson

Above is the thingie from the website. My mom is Chris - although there is only one 'e' in Dering.

Can someone tell me how she did?

peacock2121 wrote:Pbr NLM Stratified Pairs Monday Morn Session December 15, 2008
Scores after 7 rounds Average: 84.0 Section A East-West
Pair Pct Score Section Rank Overall Rank MPs
A B C A B C
5 60.42 101.50 B 1 1 1 1 1.56(OA) Jack Mulford - J.Martin O'neill
8 59.23 99.50 A 2 2 1.17(OA) Nancy Scott - Roger Casey
3 48.81 82.00 C 3 2 1 2 0.68(OC) Carol Brandes - Chris Deering
1 47.92 80.50 B 3/4 0.21(SB) Marion Winsor - Shirley Passeri
7 47.92 80.50 C 3/4 2 3 0.51(OC) Frank Brown - Miriam Brown
2 46.13 77.50 B Anita Perrier - Jaye Roy
4 45.54 76.50 C Bea Angelo - Kay Monahan
6 44.05 74.00 C William Martin - Larry Johnson

Above is the thingie from the website. My mom is Chris - although there is only one 'e' in Dering.

Can someone tell me how she did?

She did just fine, 3rd overall. In srtat C she and her partner were 1st. 4 of the teams were in strat C. Your mom won .68 masterpoints, and if she signed up with ACBL she is only 299.32 masterpoints away from being a Life Master.

kusch wrote:

peacock2121 wrote:Pbr NLM Stratified Pairs Monday Morn Session December 15, 2008
Scores after 7 rounds Average: 84.0 Section A East-West
Pair Pct Score Section Rank Overall Rank MPs
A B C A B C
5 60.42 101.50 B 1 1 1 1 1.56(OA) Jack Mulford - J.Martin O'neill
8 59.23 99.50 A 2 2 1.17(OA) Nancy Scott - Roger Casey
3 48.81 82.00 C 3 2 1 2 0.68(OC) Carol Brandes - Chris Deering
1 47.92 80.50 B 3/4 0.21(SB) Marion Winsor - Shirley Passeri
7 47.92 80.50 C 3/4 2 3 0.51(OC) Frank Brown - Miriam Brown
2 46.13 77.50 B Anita Perrier - Jaye Roy
4 45.54 76.50 C Bea Angelo - Kay Monahan
6 44.05 74.00 C William Martin - Larry Johnson

Above is the thingie from the website. My mom is Chris - although there is only one 'e' in Dering.

Can someone tell me how she did?

She did just fine, 3rd overall. In srtat C she and her partner were 1st. 4 of the teams were in strat C. Your mom won .68 masterpoints, and if she signed up with ACBL she is only 299.32 masterpoints away from being a Life Master.

I am very glad she did just fine. It is one of the few things she knows she can still do well.

Yay for my mom!

peacock2121 wrote:

kusch wrote:

peacock2121 wrote:Pbr NLM Stratified Pairs Monday Morn Session December 15, 2008
Scores after 7 rounds Average: 84.0 Section A East-West
Pair Pct Score Section Rank Overall Rank MPs
A B C A B C
5 60.42 101.50 B 1 1 1 1 1.56(OA) Jack Mulford - J.Martin O'neill
8 59.23 99.50 A 2 2 1.17(OA) Nancy Scott - Roger Casey
3 48.81 82.00 C 3 2 1 2 0.68(OC) Carol Brandes - Chris Deering
1 47.92 80.50 B 3/4 0.21(SB) Marion Winsor - Shirley Passeri
7 47.92 80.50 C 3/4 2 3 0.51(OC) Frank Brown - Miriam Brown
2 46.13 77.50 B Anita Perrier - Jaye Roy
4 45.54 76.50 C Bea Angelo - Kay Monahan
6 44.05 74.00 C William Martin - Larry Johnson

Above is the thingie from the website. My mom is Chris - although there is only one 'e' in Dering.

Can someone tell me how she did?

She did just fine, 3rd overall. In srtat C she and her partner were 1st. 4 of the teams were in strat C. Your mom won .68 masterpoints, and if she signed up with ACBL she is only 299.32 masterpoints away from being a Life Master.

I am very glad she did just fine. It is one of the few things she knows she can still do well.

Yay for my mom!

Yay indeed! Yay for good daughter too!

peacock2121 wrote:Pbr NLM Stratified Pairs Monday Morn Session December 15, 2008
Scores after 7 rounds Average: 84.0 Section A East-West
Pair Pct Score Section Rank Overall Rank MPs
A B C A B C
5 60.42 101.50 B 1 1 1 1 1.56(OA) Jack Mulford - J.Martin O'neill
8 59.23 99.50 A 2 2 1.17(OA) Nancy Scott - Roger Casey
3 48.81 82.00 C 3 2 1 2 0.68(OC) Carol Brandes - Chris Deering
1 47.92 80.50 B 3/4 0.21(SB) Marion Winsor - Shirley Passeri
7 47.92 80.50 C 3/4 2 3 0.51(OC) Frank Brown - Miriam Brown
2 46.13 77.50 B Anita Perrier - Jaye Roy
4 45.54 76.50 C Bea Angelo - Kay Monahan
6 44.05 74.00 C William Martin - Larry Johnson

Above is the thingie from the website. My mom is Chris - although there is only one 'e' in Dering.

Can someone tell me how she did?

She did great! Finishing third first time out in a duplicate game!

What this tells me is that Jack/J.Martin and Nancy/Roger are good players and have well-established partnerships which enable them to pick up more top boards than anybody else with probably more sophisticated bidding and play signaling capabilities. Finishing top amongst the rest of the pack tells me that your mom and her partner are very good players with a good established bidding system and that they pay careful attention to the play of the hand. They may have had a little luck on a couple hands to finish less than a percentage point ahead of the next two, but it doesn't detract from the fact that they did extremely well. Yay!

Thanks, sprots.

I will admit that I have been harboring the thought that maybe she just thinks she is still good at bridge, when in fact, she is not. I am thrilled, that at least on that given Monday, she could still play well.

I posted in the other thread before I saw this.

A few additional comments. The A, B or C listed for each pair refers to which strata they are in. Most likely, that's simply based on the number of masterpoints the pair has (usually the # of mp's for the person in the partnership with the greater amount). Your mother is a C presumably because neither she nor her partner has a lot of masterpoints. That just means her score will be compared against the other C's in determining the masterpoints she'll win for this event. She's also eligible to win masterpoints against the B's and A's and will receive the greater number. Her 3rd against all pairs in her direction may be worth more than her 1st against the C's in her direction. I don't have those formulas handy.

Note also that this is a "NLM pairs". That means "Non-Life Master". So, anyone who is a Life Master (if they haven't changed it since my tournament days, that requires 300 masterpoints some of which are "colored" meaning they were won at higher levels of tournaments) CANNOT play in this event. So, the A players here are the one's who are closest to becoming a Life Master. This was probably a good event for her to start in.

It's a bit hard to tell how good she is from just this one event. She had an unfamiliar partner, a huge drawback to doing well at bridge. But it was a weak field with no LM's allowed to play. One important thing to note is that in any one session of matchpoint bridge (which this was), results can be very random. A pair that is clearly the best in the field could easily fail to win simply because of some bad luck. One day's results don't mean that much, statistically.