Jack 4 service page

The updates on this page are intended for Jack version 4.0 only. If you are the owner of Jack version 1, 2 or 3 you need to upgrade to version 4 first. The Jack 4 update is not a free download, it's a new major version that you can purchase (for the changes see Changes Jack 4.0 vs Jack 3.01).

For all downloads: after downloading simply run the file and follow the instructions.

On this page: [ Jack 4.0 updates | Changes Jack 4.0 vs Jack 3.01 ]

Jack 4.0 updates

[ Jack 4.01 | Additional competition deals ]

Jack 4.01 - January 29, 2008 (version 4.0 users only)

Update Jack 4.0 to Jack 4.01. Most important changes:

General

You can now press CTRL+F3 to select the previous random deal.
Copying deals from one PBN to another required the target to pre-exist. Now copying is also possible to a new PBN.
When multiple comments are produced by the Professor Jack it is shown in the text area.
The scoring method Compare with Jack now includes how Jack would bid and play.
Vista: Jack's icons created for higher resolutions.
Vista: Uninstall adjusted to account for VirtualStore.
Playing strength dialog now includes a default button.
Support Windows XP and Windows Vista look and feel.
Competition could skip some boards when creating a new round. Corrected.
Several changes in Professor Jack's behaviour.
Fit points sometimes counted improperly. Corrected.
Variable notrump ranges sometimes handled improperly. Corrected.
Network play: an error could occur when a human dummy was allowed to declare the contract. Corrected.
Rotation during the play did not always work correctly. Corrected.
After a team competition a new round was not always started properly. Corrected.
Occasionally, Jack could claim when the result was still in doubt. Corrected.
Improved strict competition rules.
Strict rules are now available when playing tournaments.
Improved pop-ups for higher screen resolutions.
Jack remembers its position and size for the next session.
When printing deals in rare situations the footnotes were not correct. Printing of passed out deals could corrupt the layout.

Interface

Page up/Page down keys now function properly when viewing large PBN files.
Using the keyboard to play a card did not refresh the screen. Corrected.
Allow special characters (like é) in the annotations.
_R in Dutch was converted to a diamond symbol in some situations. Corrected.
Special characters were not saved correctly to PBN files. Corrected
The Polish language is now included.

Bidding and play

Bidding sequences that contained cue bids at the 5-level could send Jack into endless loops. Corrected.
The Heeman system after 1NT openings was corrupted in some situations. Corrected.
Now Jack requires at least four-card support for a limit raise of a major-suit opening.
Good 11-HCP hands are now opened correctly when playing weak notrumps.
The overviews for the Precision Club and Polish Club systems explained 2NT openings inaccurately. Corrected.
In the Precision System, Jack now offers a choice of 2NT openings: strong balanced, or weak minor two-suiter.
Precision vs Moscito did not always give the right explanations during the auction. Corrected.
The Moscito system has been improved greatly.
Offering the bidding methods that Jack used at the World Computer Championship in Shanghai 2007.
In special situations, a redouble could induce Jack to pass improperly. Corrected.
Responses to 1NT openings with 4-HCP ranges (e.g. 11-14 or 12-15) have been calibrated correctly.

Download: Update Jack 4.0 to Jack 4.01 (execute this file after downloading).

Additional competition deals

The new competition feature in Jack 4 is a big success. Many users have used this feature so extensively that the initial 4000 deals have been exhausted. Creating new deals is possible but takes a lot of time, so we have created additional competiton deals (4096 deals at imps and 4096 deals at matchpoints).

Download: Additional competition deals (execute this file after downloading).

Note: If your CD version is 4.01 then these deals are already included.

Changes Jack 4.0 vs Jack 3.01

Here is a list of the most important ways in which Jack 4.0 has improved upon Jack 3.01.

Bidding and play

The Verona 2006 engine. Jack won the computer bridge championship in Verona, June 2006 convincingly. Jack bids and plays better than ever.
An expanded menu of conventions and systems. Jack 4.0 offers not only some additional conventions but also three completely new convention cards:
- Polish Club, based on Jassem’s WJ05 book
- Wei’s original version of Precision (a strong club system)
- Swedish Modern Standard

Functionality

Jack is now able to claim to speed up the play. You can specify in which situations Jack is allowed to claim. If you reject his claim, play continues and you are allowed to see all the cards.
Evaluation information: At any time you can click on your own hand, or any other hand, to see what Jack thinks it’s worth or what you should have known based on the auction and play.
Computer personalities. Jack 4.0 lets you define the personality of computer players in detail. You can have them bid and play as well or as poorly as you like. You can use any computer personality for a partner, opponent, or both.
Professor Jack. In Jack 3.0 we introduced annotations. Jack 4.0 can annotate a deal for you after you played it. He will examine your actions, then tell you in detail what you could have done better and why you should have done it. This is a valuable learning tool.
User statistics. Jack 4.0 keeps track of your actions. Did you bid as Jack expected? Did you make the opening leads that he expected? Did you declare and defend well? Jack will diagnose the strong points and weak points of your bridge game, and adapt when necessary. Of course you can indicate that Professor Jack should inform you about misunderstandings after the deal is finished.
Ladder play (competition). Besides the vast amount of real tournaments and the numerous ways for scoring random deals Jack 4.0 nows offers another unique environment. You can play with Jack as your partner in a competition among computer personalities. There are six different levels. Both pair (matchpoint) and team (IMP) competitions are available. Of course you can specify the length of the competition, the strength of the other players, and whether your opponents use their own convention cards or yours. Your goal is to move up the ladder of skill levels and become the champion of the JackBridge club.
Example 1: You start in flight D (the 4th level), use the standard level of competition and specify 30 deals scored at matchpoints. You will play 2 boards against 15 other pairs. Jack will introduce your opponents properly, informing you of their skill level. In flight D they will be moderately skillful on average. Your result on each board will be matchpointed against 7 other tables,where the likely results have been generated by Jack. If you finish in the top 3 places, Jack will promote you to Flight C, but if you finish near the bottom he will demote you to flight E. Your ultimate goal is to beat world class players. First you will have to promote to flight A where you meet Westra-Ramondt and Muller-De Wijs. They will try their best to prevent you becoming the champion.
You play as a team with three Jacks against nine other teams at your level. IMPs won or lost in each match are converted to Victory Points, and after completing all nine matches your team moves up the ladder or down according to its results. Again, your ultimate goal is to beat Team Orange, the top team at the highest level.
Ladder play is fun and very addictive!

Interface

Tooltip help has been added to the large buttons.
Easy search for annotations present.
Rightclick for evaluation information.