Stratifying Your Club Games
How stratified pairs games work — intermixed strata that play as one open field but are ranked separately by masterpoint level, so lower-strat pairs can still win higher-strat awards.
A stratified game lets players of different experience levels compete in one open field while being ranked separately by masterpoint (mp) holding. It works like a Flighted Pairs event, except the flights — now called strats — are intermixed and play against each other. See Stratifying Your Club Games.
Two or three strats#
A game may have two or three strats (for example A/B/C or just A/B). The club sets the masterpoint limits of each strat before the game. A typical three-strat setup:
- Strat C — 0–20 mp
- Strat B — 20–100 mp
- Strat A — 100 mp and up
When selling entries, the club decides whether to place a partnership by its average masterpoint holding or by the higher-holding partner. Distribute pairs from each strat as evenly as possible through the section(s), with roughly the same number of pairs sitting N/S and E/W in each stratum so section awards stay balanced.
The five-pair rule#
The lowest strat must contain at least 5 pairs to pay overall awards. If it does not, you must either raise that strat to the next legal level that reaches 5 pairs (e.g., bump an 0–20 to 0–50 or 0–100) or eliminate the lowest strat entirely. In limited games such as 0–50, 50–100, and 100–300, the lowest strat must be eliminated if it has fewer than 5 pairs.
How ranking works#
When play ends, the entire field is ranked as one. Then the Strat A players are removed and the remaining B and C field is re-ranked; then A and B are removed and C is ranked on its own. This is why stratification benefits everyone: A players are ranked against the whole field (more tables, more points), while B and C players can win in their own strat and still place in a higher strat if they legitimately earn it — playing against stronger competition without hurting their own chances.