[Clinch]

Jlall, on Sep 22 2005, 03:13 PM, said:

I don't really think the reason barometer is not used more in f2f is because its less feasible. Can you imagine, if completely feasible, the blue ribbons run as a barometer?

Actually, Justin, in the UK a couple of the larger pairs finals are played as barometer events in the final session. The fields have been narrowed by a qualifying and semi-final session, just like the Blue Ribbons. I'm thinking of the Autumn Two Stars and the EBU Spring Congress Pairs. The TDs drop small slips on each table showing where you stood at end of last round - usually takes about a board to get them ready. IIRC, this only happens in the second of the two sessions in the final.

It might lead to wild swinging, but in my experience it doesn't. It can lead to an added intangible to deal with as the slip gets dropped, though


Peter.
New York, NY.

[mycroft]

I don't know; it looks to me like Just Another Scoring Difference. Strategies and Tactics are different in:

- MP vs IMP vs Instant MP vs World-wide Pairs
- Stratified vs Qualifier/Consolation Pairs (especially if you're a bubble pair)
- 12 vs 26 vs 5x33 board events
- IMP vs BAM, 6 vs 12 vs 32 vs 128-board teams
- Random pairing vs Round-robin vs Swiss matching
- Barometer vs non-Barometer matches

After all, what is a two-session Swiss team event if not an 8-round Barometer? Okay, so the rounds are 7 boards long instead of 2 or 3 (or 1!), but still.

I don't like Instant MP events. I don't play in them. My choice. Ben turns Barometer off for the events he runs. Seems okay by me. No worries, though.

As for the Cavendish, yes, there's a reason for the big 5th round payoff, but it's also round-Barometer; if you know the leaderboard now and after four rounds, you can pretty much tell if you're in the running for day money, and whether you have to swing for the cash or not in the last two. Just a matter of degree between 20K and 400K. And if the "fight-for-first-overall" happen to hit the "out of the overalls, but in swing reach of big last day money" pairs on the last couple of rounds, well, that's the luck of the draw, too, isn't it?

Michael.

[AAr]

I also base my bids and plays because of the barometer (mainly in pay tourneys).

Say you need a huge swing to get in the Points in a BBO Pay Tourney. With the Barometer, you know you will need it. Without it, it's more of a guess (Maybe the entire Field also went down in the seemingly makable and tough-to-bid game, or also had the same disaster (Or worse) than you did.

If I know I need a big swing to get into the Points, of course I'm going to overbid and make anti-percentage plays in hopes that my actions work while the Field's doesn't. But, if I'm near the Top or otherwise high (or at the bottom after a few disasters and hopelessly out of it, out of fairness to partner and opponents), I make more normal actions.

I prefer Barometer. You want to know if you need a comeback and it creates an unpredictable element to the game as you also know that other tables late in tourneys may try for swings.