[hirowla]

Hi,

I'm after suggestions on software my club can use for generating deals, dealing out the generated hands and printing out hand records. The constraints we have are:

• The dealing machine is a Duplimate, so it must be able to deal with these machines.
  
• The number of different packages used must be minimal, or integrate very well together.
  
• The software needs to be user friendly and simple, due to the people doing the dealing not being overly computer literate, OR
  
• Configurable to make it simple, for the same reason.
  
• Given this is potentially an international forum, everything must be in English.

Some nice to haves are:

• Runs properly on Windows 7 and above, running on XP is a bonus.
  
• Doesn't require Administration privileges on the machine.
  
• Low cost - it's not a massive club, but it can afford to pay for something worthwhile (it runs 10-12 sessions a week).

We currently use two packages - one to generate the deals and drive the dealing machine (let's call it Package A) and another to generate the hand records (let's call it package B). "A" has lots of bugs, "B" is rather unfriendly and not very configurable (amongst other things).

Any suggestions would be appreciated. If people recommend "A" and "B", I'll say what they are - but I'm hoping for suggestions other than these packages, otherwise I wouldn't be asking the question!

Thanks,

Ian

[daveharty]

http://bridge.thomasoandrews.com/deal/

Don't know anything about how it integrates with Duplimate, but it's really good for dealing hands, doing simulations, etc. And the cost is attractive.

[SteveMoe]

We use Dealmaster Pro in Cincinnati and have good results for random deals, hand records, and connections with Duplimate. Do not know about ability to configre deals for specific purposes (claimed by software but no personal experience). Here's the URL:
Dealmaster

[hirowla]

Dave, thanks for the suggestion but all it appears to do is generate the deals - none of the other functions required.

Steve, can Dealmaster Pro handling the dealing of the cards with the dealing machine (Dealmaster Pro is package "B" in my original question)? I wasn't aware that it could, which is why we've been using package "A" to handle the dealing?

Thanks,

Ian

[Hanoi5]

DealmasterPro will generate the hands, give you the print-out AND the files you need to use for the dealing machine. I don't think there is a program that will do all that and THEN deal itself the hands. You'll always need a different program to deal hands with the machine, usually (always?) the program the machine came with.