Introduction

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          This website contains all the programs needed to play “Home Duplicate Bridge”, which I have developed over the course of fourteen years as a cross between rubber bridge (“party bridge”) and serious duplicate match-point competition.  Home Duplicate Bridge (HDB) is highly social, but at the same time it provides for serious bridge play.  For almost all configurations everyone plays directly against everyone else (at the same table), using the Howell movement for at least three tables, thereby enhancing its social aspect.  However, we also give configurations for four or five pairs, and for eight, nine, ten, or twelve individual players.

            The object of scoring in HDB is to avoid the artificiality of matchpoint scoring, in which you get a much better score for an overtrick or for making the same number of tricks in a notrump game as in a major-suit game.  This outlook harkens back to the origin of the game in rubber bridge, but it is also necessary to find a meaningful way to compare your score with those of the other players, so that the play is reasonably serious.  Thus in HDB scoring you are competing against all the others playing in your direction, in an average way.  The three scoring methods provided – imps, victory points, and matchpoints – are explained in detail on a separate webpage.  When at least three tables are in play, the (Excel) scoring program gives results in both imps and matchpoints.  Furthermore, when sets of at least three boards each are used, victory points are also calculated.  The preferred method for HDB is victory points (or imps, if victory points are not available), but the programs also give matchpoint scoring for those so inclined.

            This website gives the HDB programs (scoring, movement sheets, and sheets for creating traveling scores slips) for four through seventeen pairs and for eight, nine, ten, twelve, sixteen, and twenty individuals, for all configurations of between 14 and 36 boards inclusive.  The table below gives the total number of boards played for each configuration.  Victory-point scoring is not available for two boards/set, for five pairs except for 30 boards, for one configuration of six pairs and 20 boards, and for all configurations of sixteen or twenty individuals; those configurations are marked with an asterisk.  There are also two special configurations, given as “20s” and “30s”, for six pairs and 20 and 30 boards respectively.

            There are three groups of configurations, each explained on a separate webpage:  4 and 5 pairs, 6-17 pairs, and individual players.  Another webpage explains how to download the whole set of HDB programs (as a single zipped file) and to set them up on the computer.  A final webpage gives some ideas on how to run an HDB session, including how to deal with basic playing infractions which occasionally occur.  All the webpages in this website are included in the download file, for easy reference.  The present page is the “Introduction” page, and all of these webpages can be accessed through the links given at the top of them.

            All this material is copyrighted, but it is meant for unlimited noncommercial distribution to anyone who finds it useful.  Cecile and I have enjoyed many years of playing Home Duplicate Bridge with our group of bridge-playing friends, typically four tables every other week when we are in town, and hopefully these programs will provide a similar experience to many others.  And even if you still wish to use matchpoint scoring, you will likely find these Excel scoring programs preferable for that purpose.

            Although these HDB programs have been developed and systematically improved over the course of fourteen years of use, there may still be the occasional error in them.  Please let me know of any problems, at dave@jettes.org.  If you send an email letting me know that you are using these programs, I'll send you any updates.

            This Home Duplicate Bridge website is actually a subweb of www.jettes.org.

Number of boards played, for various configurations

*Victory-point scoring is not available.

©2009 by David Jette