Pairs scores can be quite chancy. Take board 16 from the Autumn SIM Pairs:

♠  A K 10 6        ♠  7

♥  J 10 9 3          ♥  7

♦  K Q 10 8 2     ♦  J 9 6 5

♣  none              ♣  Q 10 7 6 4 3 2

I played in 5♦ doubled. Although there are only two top losers, I was quite pleased to make it on a cross-ruff. Opening up the traveller, there were three other results all with the opponents going three down doubled for 800, beating my 550. If there had been only four tables, I would have scored 0%. By the end of the evening at Taunton, it was actually worth 50%. And when scored nationally (clearly some wimpy bidding elsewhere), it scored just over 90%.

Tip: Don’t worry about 0% on the Bridgemate, particularly if you’ve done all you can. And, remember, if you think the opponents are going for a cross-ruff, lead trumps at every opportunity – this would have sunk 5♦.