Matchpoints vs. IMPs in Bridge

You bid and make a vulnerable game for +620. The pair holding the same cards at the other table stops short of game and scores +170. Your result is 450 raw points better. At Matchpoints (MPs), that earns one matchpoint for that comparison on the usual scale. At International Match Points (IMPs), it earns +10 IMPs in a head-to-head team match.

Why +620 and +170 produce a 10-IMP swing

Suppose you play North-South (N-S) for your team at one table. Your teammates play East-West (E-W) at the other. The opposing N-S pair earns +170. Since your teammates are on the other side of that score, your team has −170 at their table.

There are two ways to keep score. Pick a column and use its rule.

• Compare the two North-South scores. Subtract the other pair’s +170 from your +620. +620 − (+170) = +450.

• Add your team’s two scores. You earned +620 at your table and your teammates recorded −170 at theirs. +620 + (−170) = +450.

The common mix-up is to take −170 from the team column and subtract it as if it were the opponents’ North-South score. The other pair earned +170, so subtract +170 when comparing the two pairs. On the IMP scale, 450 falls in the 430 to 490 band for +10 IMPs. World Bridge Federation Laws 77 and 78, including the full IMP scale

How the same ten tricks can score +620 or +170

The raw score is what the contract and tricks were worth at your table. Take a vulnerable deal where both North-South pairs win ten tricks with ♥ as trumps.

The tricks are worth 120 points at either table. The pair that bid 4♥ qualified for the game bonus, while the pair that stopped in 3♥ earned the partscore bonus. The bonuses differ by 450 points. Try both contracts in the Bridge Score Calculator. Bridge Scoring Explained

How Matchpoints turn your raw score into a percentage

In a typical matchpoint pairs game, compare your result with each of the other results for your direction on the board. Use one matchpoint for each result you beat, half for each you tie, and zero for each that beats you. Some score sheets use 2, 1, and 0 instead. Doubling the units doubles the maximum too, so the percentage stays the same. American Contract Bridge League scoring guide

Imagine five tables played a board, and you were one of the N-S pairs that scored +620. The four other N-S results might look like this.

You scored 62.5% on the board. The 450-point win over +170 and the 480-point win over +140 each earn one matchpoint. The matchpoint calculation counts how many results you beat and gives you half credit for ties.

If you'd scored +650 instead, you'd tie the top result and beat the other three. That's 3½ out of 4, or 87.5%. One extra trick would move you up 25 percentage points on this board because it changes two comparisons. In a different field, that same overtrick could move you past several pairs or leave your position exactly where it was.

How IMPs turn a difference into a swing

In a head-to-head team match, your board is compared with the result from the other table in the match. Once both scores are in the same direction, subtract the other table's score from yours. Look up the size of the gap on the IMP scale, then give the IMP result the sign of the swing. A gain is positive. A loss is negative.

Beat +170 with +620 and you gain 10 IMPs. Lose to +650 with +620 and you lose 1. The scale groups differences into bands, so even a win by 10 raw points comes out as 0 IMPs. In a teams match, add the signed IMPs from the individual boards to get the match margin.

You can also play a pairs game scored in IMPs. In cross-IMPs, the scorer converts each separate comparison to IMPs and averages those IMP results. Using the four comparisons in the matchpoint table, your +620 would earn −1, 0, +10, and +10 IMPs. The average is +4.75 IMPs. Your 10-IMP win over the pair that scored +170 contributes to that average. English Bridge Union guide to competition types

How the scoring changes the play

Say you're declaring 4♥ vulnerable. You can take ten tricks safely, or you can try for an eleventh and risk going down. At the other table in your team match, the opposing N-S pair took ten tricks for +620. Making exactly gives your team 0 IMPs. The overtrick gains 1 IMP. Going down one undoubled gives your side −100 and loses 12 IMPs on the 720-point difference. At IMPs, you have a strong reason to take your ten tricks.

At Matchpoints, that extra trick can matter as much as the gap from making a partscore to making a game, if it moves you past the same number of pairs. Look at the five-table example again. A safe +620 is already above average. If you're in a contract the rest of the room is likely to reach, an extra trick may be what separates your result from a stack of ties. Think about who you'd pass and what you'd give up if your play fails.

Scoring affects the auction too. Think back to the two pairs that took ten tricks. In a team match, the pair that bid the vulnerable game gained 10 IMPs against the pair that stopped in 3♥. At Matchpoints, making game still matters when it gets you past the pairs in partscore. How much it helps your board percentage depends on how many pairs stopped short.

Try three comparisons

1. You score +630 for 3NT with one overtrick, vulnerable. The only other N-S score is +620 for 4♥ making exactly. What do you earn at Matchpoints? What does the same comparison earn at IMPs?

2. Your N-S pair stops in partscore and makes +170. The opposing N-S pair at the other table makes game for +620. What is your team's raw swing and IMP result?

3. Your N-S score is −100. Every other N-S pair scored −200 or worse. Where do you finish on the board at Matchpoints?

Answers

1. You get 1 out of 1 matchpoint, or 100%, in that two-result example. A 10-point gap converts to 0 IMPs.

2. Your team loses 450 raw points and 10 IMPs. Subtract the opponents’ +620 from your +170 to get −450.

3. You get a top. −100 is higher than every other score in your direction.

Are matchpoints the same as masterpoints?

Matchpoints score the boards you played in this session. Masterpoints are awards you can earn by placing in eligible events, and they accumulate toward bridge ranks. A score of 62.5% on a board tells you how your result compared with the other tables on that deal. Bridge Masterpoints Explained

When you look up your next result, check the direction beside the raw score and the scoring format at the top of the page. At Matchpoints, count the results you beat or tie. At IMPs, find the point gap for each comparison and look it up on the scale.