To a great many, the one table competition  is a pleasant way to pass the time.
The cost is minimal and the benefit enormous.
It pleases the competitive spirit.

You see how your result of the second round compares to the first round,
as you play each bord twice.
Thus, the old "rubber" has passed away.

You can play this way up to three tables and see the result without
computer aid.

ONE TABLE EVENTS ARE REAL COMPETITION, NO LUCK INVOLVED
This kind of game should be promoted by the local bridge club manager. 
 

INSTRUCTION  FOR PRIVATE GAMES      ONE TABLE EVENT

PROCEDURE - standard -

The private game consists of playing eight boards from NS, and after a short intervall the same boards  in a different order from E/W  (second inning).
Time of play is about two hours (16 x 7 min).
If 12 boards are played, time takes about three hours.

Winner is the pair which has the maximum sum of score.

At the end of each boards its score must be recorded . A simple  paper slip will do, but  the form shown below shoud be preferred. All board played, all scores are added (no computer, but you may employ  an excell  PC device for easy sum up.).

One of the four contestants should take care of the handling boards and writing.

Bidding and play follows the known rules. The use of bidding boxes is compulsory.
Alteration of rules must be agreed upon befor game starts. Recommended are the
2008 Revised Law of Duplicate bridge. See section rules left. 

This way of 1 table games has no good or bad cards ( fortuitousness), the result is very true.
Discussion and critics of each board - if requested -  should only  be made in the second inning, to avoid  giving  useful information to the other side.

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS
For this type of event, boards should turn "neutralised" : the outer apperance should give no hint/ information  on deals etc. to any of the contestants.
To this end hide the board numbers (adhesive foils) and avoid different colour backs of boards.

HISTORY
The very essence ot this special form of bridge has been recommended by  Jean Besse (1914 -1994), a former member of the Laws Commission of  the world bridge Federation.

ABOUT RECOGNISING THE DEAL

Total point scoring and playing deals from both sides have substituted the
rubber procedure for one table tournaments . Fortuity is eliminated.
If you eliminate, bridge as a game of hasard  becomes  a game of logical procedure.

The top player will immediately observe:  this way I know all the cards.
If this were true, this knowlegde must enable him  in both innings  to find the best bidding, the best contract, the best lead,  the possibilities to execute the best finessings.
And he can not relay on what his opponents had done, they might have been wrong.

To do all this would be an extraordinary job, because a player sees every card only a short time, the very  moment, when a card to a trick goes down to the table, and disappears  face down.  Does all this give him advantage ? The answer is no, because all player have  the same possibilities. What happens is an alteration of conditions, bridge becomes more difficult.  But all the same, fortuity is eliminated.

Reality is different, you will not know all  the cards.  The average player will sometimes recognise the deal, when the dummy comes down. But  the  main  conditions of this game have  already  been set, whats left is the chance to rember where the aces, kings and queens are located.  And still, all have the same chances and possibilities.

With some experience, the average player will avoid to relate his actions  to boards  played in the first inning. In the second, he plays the other side. For the bidding he sees cards he might remember as dummy in the first inning (50%), or does not remember to have seen before (50%).This is of litle help, as we  know, that deals  often  look  very similar  although they are very different.

Recognising a deal might be possible by  the outer appearance  of a board case.
The TD can avoid this by having neutral board cases. Player might think that
board 17  carrys  the same deal as board 1, but the TD might have exchanged
deal 17 with deal 24 or 27.

The idea to play double has been published first in the ACBL Bridge Bulletin, Dec. 1999 .
 
 

TWO TABLES AT HOME
may be handled the same way.

Such "events" are very often part of  "private invitations", where snacks and/or dinner is served  and the housewife has a lot of preparatory tasks. Such problems will not be discussed here. But the host has the duties of a "event director", and he or one of his guests must take the lead.

MOVEMENT
Needed are two sets of eight boards. The deals should  be duplicated to avoid the
attempt of recognising deals.
Each pair has different  opponents for the second inning/round.
Each pair shows a pair number.

t a b l e   o n e
first round            pair No 1 / NS  contra   pair 2 /EW   all boards
second round      pair No 1 / EW contra   pair 4 /NS    all boards
t a b l e   t w o
first round            pair No 3 / NS  contra   pair 4 /EW   all boards
second round      pair No 3 / EW contra   pair 2 /NS    all boards

Duplicating is not needed if only one set (8) of boards is used, an board are exchanged in all rounds. Exchange might lead to confusion and needs some experience.
In this case, boardnumbers must remain visible. In theory,  recognition of a played deal seems more probable, but opponents change in the second inning. 

board traveler must show: 
pairNo declarer/ name declarer/player from/ contract-data/result/ score NS/   score EW/ pairNoOpponents.