Handicap rules

Every player has a handicap in points. Lower is stronger - a top player might be -20, a beginner +30.

The start

The weaker player starts every frame with the difference between the two handicaps (at most 75). Rodger -20 v Stuart +10: Stuart starts on 30. It stays the same for the whole match.

Every frame of the match

Using the final score with the start included:

• the winner goes down and the loser goes up
• by a tenth of the winning margin, at most 3 points a frame

Frame	Margin	Moves
Won 70 - 60	10	1 point each
Won 80 - 75	5	half a point
Won 95 - 40	55	3 points (the most)

Close frames hardly move anyone. Keep winning easily and your start shrinks until it's even.

New players (P)

For their first 8 frames a new player moves twice as fast (up to 6 points), to find their level quickly.

Ladder points

• 3 points for a match win, +1 for a whitewash
• beat a higher-placed player and you swap places

Only completed matches count. Handicaps, points and places change when the match is won - an unfinished or abandoned match changes nothing. Every change is kept in the scoreboard's log.

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