ACBL Masterpoints FAQ

• What type of Masterpoints are awarded?


• Do points earned online apply towards Masterpoints ranks?


• Is there a limit to the number of Masterpoints that can be earned online?


• Are the tournaments stratified?


• What does stratification mean?


• Is there a 299er tournament?


• How many boards are played and what movement is used?


• Will rules like alerting change?


• How are the Masterpoints awards calculated?


• When are the Masterpoints awards reported to the ACBL?


• If I'm in the middle of my membership, can I sign up for a Masterpoints subscription?

Unpigmented or colorless Masterpoints are awarded. This is standard for all online ACBL sanctioned tournaments.

Yes. However, to achieve certain ranks you must also earn colored Masterpoints. For a full description of the Masterpoints rank requirements, click here.

No.

Yes. Strat A will be 2000+ Masterpoints, strat B will be 500-1999 Masterpoints, and strat C will be 0-499 Masterpoints. You will be placed in the appropriate strat based on your Masterpoints holding. You can choose to move up to a higher strat if you wish, but not down. Each month, your Masterpoints holding will be updated and your strat will adjusted accordingly unless you've already chosen to be in a higher strat.

In stratified tournaments, all of the pairs entered in the event compete against each other but are ranked only with their pairs. Each pair is assigned a stratum or "strat" based on the Masterpoints holding of the partner who has more Masterpoints. The game proceeds normally, but the scores are tabulated and ranked differently. In a 3-strat game, the scores are ranked three times.

The first ranking is calculated as in a regular open game where the scores of all players are considered. These are the strat A results. If a B or C pair does well in this ranking, they receive full credit for that performance.

The second ranking compares the scores of only the players designated as strat B and strat C pairs and the scores of the strat A pairs are disregarded. Once again, if a C pair does well they receive points for their finishing position in the strat B results.

The third and final ranking compares the scores of only the strat C pairs and all the scores for the strat A and strat B pairs are disregarded.

Masterpoints are awarded for all three strats, but a pair is eligible for only one Masterpoints award and will receive the highest award. One caveat is that there must be at least three pairs in the bottom strat. If there are less than three pairs in the bottom strat, then those pairs will be consolidated with the next highest strat.

No. However, stratification makes the tournaments enjoyable and rewarding for all skill levels.

The Masterpoints tournaments are all 12 boards (6 rounds with 2 boards per round) and use Swiss movement.

No, we will continue to self-alert all non-SAYC bids for simplicity and consistency.

With a 12-board tournament, the maximum award is 1.20. Strat A gets credit for all pairs, strat B gets credit for strat B and strat C pairs, and strat C only gets credit for strat C pairs.

Masterpoints are reported monthly at the end of the month.

Yes. Your Masterpoints subscription would be pro-rated in the 1st year, so that it expires at the same time as your membership. After that, your Masterpoints subscription will be renewed at $49 per year.