Bridge IMP Table

Take your side's net score on a board, find the band it falls in, and read off the IMPs. A difference under 20 is worth nothing. The swing players feel most often, a vulnerable game bid at one table and missed at the other, usually lands in the 430 to 490 band for 10 IMPs.

Every board is played twice. Your pair sits North-South at one table and your teammates sit East-West at the other, so between you the four of you hold both sides of the same cards. At the end you add the two results and convert the net figure. Say you bid 4♠ vulnerable and make it for +620, while at the other table the opponents stop in a part score and make ten tricks for 170. Your team is +450 on the board, which the table turns into 10 IMPs.

Small differences count for very little. If you make an overtrick in 4♠ and your counterpart does not, the 30 points are worth 1 IMP.

The bands widen as the scores grow. At the bottom a gap of 20 to 40 points is 1 IMP and 50 to 80 is 2. Further up, 1500 to 1740 is 17 and anything from 4000 is capped at 24. A huge penalty is therefore worth a lot without being worth everything, and one disaster cannot decide a long match on its own.

The shape also changes how people bid. A vulnerable game or any slam swings double figures and a non-vulnerable game 6 IMPs, while overtricks and part-score skirmishes rarely move the match much. Most teams players stretch for a vulnerable game and play safely for their contract instead of chasing the extra trick. The game and slam odds are worked straight from this table, and the scoring guide compares IMPs with matchpoints. To get the raw scores for any board, use the scoring calculator or the scoring table.

What is an IMP in bridge?

An IMP, or International Match Point, is the unit teams matches are scored in. The point difference on each board is converted to IMPs on a fixed scale running from 0 to 24.

What is the maximum number of IMPs on one board?

24 IMPs, for a difference of 4000 points or more. The scale stops there however large the swing.

How many IMPs is a missed vulnerable game?

Usually 10. Bidding and making 4♠ vulnerable scores 620, and stopping in a part score with ten tricks scores 170, a difference of 450.

What is the difference between IMPs and matchpoints?

At IMPs the size of the swing matters, so a missed game costs far more than a lost overtrick. At matchpoints each board is ranked against the other tables, and an overtrick can be worth as much as a game.