[smerriman]

(Sorry, had to recreate the thread as I forgot to make it a public poll. If you were the (only) person to vote in the old thread, please re-vote in this one.)

For regulars:

This is planned to be the same format as last time, but this will be an MP event. If anyone has suggestions as to changes in numbers of boards (eg a longer round 2), feel free to say - seemed to turn out to be a reasonable timeframe last time.

First poll: Vote for your preferred format - format will most votes will be used.
Second poll: This will form the list of registrations (choose both if you will play regardless of format)

Deadline for registrations is Thursday August 23rd, 11:59pm EST. The event will start shortly afterwards.

For anyone who has not participated before:

This is a forum event based on friend challenges. You will be playing challenges against other members in a round robin / knockout format, with an expectation of around 3 16-board challenges a week. No prizes, just fun. To prove you are capable of creating/accepting challenges, if you have never played in a challenge event before, send me an 8-board challenge in your preferred format. I will accept promptly - you must complete the challenge before expiry to prove you are capable of participating. (If you've competed in any previous event, voting in the poll suffices).

[xbabarx]

Hi I'll play ty

[hrothgar]

Sure

[barmar]

I've been playing lots of non-BH robot challenges, I'm getting to like it as a change of pace from all the BH tourneys.

So far everyone who has voted has said they'll play either format, but there's a small preference for non-BH.

[tim_ucin]

iam in

[nige1]

• Arguably, BEST-HAND isn't really Bridge but it does boost the skill-level
• A SWISS format (rather than a rouind-robin, followed by a knockout) might further increase the skill element
• A Swiss is a compromise between a RR and a KO, combining the best features of each, with a fairer result.
• For example, you might have 4 or 5 rounds of 64-board matches.
• After each 64-board match,, each player carries forward his cumulative MP score
• The winnenr of each match gets a 50 point BONUS for winning the match.
• This makes it less likely that a player could lose the contest to a player who had won fewer matches,
• The player with the highest score plays the player with the next best score, whom he hasn't yet played.
• And so on,,. down the field.
• An advantage of a Swiss event is that everybody gets to play, right to the end

Anyway, thank you for organising the contest, S Merriman.Whatever format you choose, I would like to play.

[smerriman]

nige1, on 2018-August-14, 21:02, said:

A Swiss is a compromise between a RR and a KO, combining the best features of each, with a fairer result.

I have considered Swiss, but I think it actually works pretty poorly for this type of event.

- Everybody getting to play to the end is actually a disadvantage, not an advantage. Players lower down the rankings after the first couple of rounds have very little motivation to play, especially 64 boards (and not doing so, or not playing to the best of your ability, can heavily influence the results for others).

- You only get to play a small number of opponents, which isn't as enjoyable, and (especially with the bonus you mention) a single loss is probably enough to eliminate you, making it heavily dependent on the luck of the draw (and probably no better than a straight knockout).

- You don't get the excitement of reaching / winning the last knockout rounds; in fact often with a Swiss the final round is either unimportant (someone has too big a lead) or feels somewhat unfair (leading by a small margin going into the last round is usually a disadvantage as its puts you against better opponents - leading to the "Swiss Gambit" where it's better to perform worse early on).

- And lastly, figuring out the draw is pretty complex - not as simple as the method you mentioned (which as you proceed down the table, would quickly lead to someone having already played everyone lower than them). Specialised software is needed to determine the matchups in the fairest possible way.

Swiss really only works when every placing is important (eg with chess ratings, every game matters even if you don't win the tournament) and there isn't enough time to run a longer competition where you get to meet more opponents. Here it's really all about winning the tournament, and it doesn't really feel like you have with Swiss.

[Driver733]

I am in. Prefer the best hand, more fun.

[ArtK78]

I will play regardless of format.

[shuba]

+♥

[nige1]

smerriman, on 2018-August-15, 01:52, said:

I have considered Swiss, but I think it actually works pretty poorly for this type of event.

To some extent it's a matter of taste.

smerriman, on 2018-August-15, 01:52, said:

- Everybody getting to play to the end is actually a disadvantage, not an advantage. Players lower down the rankings after the first couple of rounds have very little motivation to play, especially 64 boards (and not doing so, or not playing to the best of your ability, can heavily influence the results for others).

Whatever the competition-format, players sometimes drop out. If an odd number of players remain at the beginning of a round, you can award a draw to the bottom-ranking player.

smerriman, on 2018-August-15, 01:52, said:

- You only get to play a small number of opponents, which isn't as enjoyable, and (especially with the bonus you mention) a single loss is probably enough to eliminate you, making it heavily dependent on the luck of the draw (and probably no better than a straight knockout).

The luck of the draw reduces, as the Swiss progresses and better players get matched against each other. With a given duration. Round-robins comprise shorter matches. Each Swiss-match consists of about the same number of boards that you would play in a KO -- i.e. enough boards to achieve a fairly reliable result. This Swiss-format is better than a straight KO -- where the best player can be eliminated in one unlucky early match, Swiss is like a knock-out with continuous repêchage.

smerriman, on 2018-August-15, 01:52, said:

- You don't get the excitement of reaching / winning the last knockout rounds; in fact often with a Swiss the final round is either unimportant (someone has too big a lead) or feels somewhat unfair

The last rounds of a Swiss are usually exciting with many players in realistic contention for places.

smerriman, on 2018-August-15, 01:52, said:

(leading by a small margin going into the last round is usually a disadvantage as its puts you against better opponents - leading to the "Swiss Gambit" where it's better to perform worse early on).

Before knowing the draw for the next round, only a masochist would swap his score with a lower ranking contestant. i.e. judged as a Bridge proverb, the "Swiss Gambit" has about as much merit as "Playing with the field".

smerriman, on 2018-August-15, 01:52, said:

- And lastly, figuring out the draw is pretty complex - not as simple as the method you mentioned (which as you proceed down the table, would quickly lead to someone having already played everyone lower than them). Specialised software is needed to determine the matchups in the fairest possible way.

Programs are available but matching for lower teams can be fairly crude.

smerriman, on 2018-August-15, 01:52, said:

Swiss really only works when every placing is important (eg with chess ratings, every game matters even if you don't win the tournament) and there isn't enough time to run a longer competition where you get to meet more opponents. Here it's really all about winning the tournament, and it doesn't really feel like you have with Swiss.

Swiss competitions result in a better ranking-order-- more skilful and exciting for experts, at the top -- but better for ordinary players, lower down. We tend to prefer Swiss-format -- especially if we are interested in our place in the pecking order -- but have little realistic hope of getting far in a KO.

Whatever the format, however, these BBO events are great fun
Thank you

[mlbridge]

Sign me up. No preference regarding format.

[Natali_]

I am in.

[derppp]

Count me in.

[twisterrz]

count me in

[Icycookie]

count me in