Magic Points: Video Example

This is Lisa Jarvis's Masters Gamblers course at Agility Club of San Diego in January. This post is not about the gamble - it's about the opening.



I filmed several dogs with the intent of showing point-time estimation, aka Magic Points. I filmed Performance dogs, so please don't snort at them. Most of these dogs are older but still have the spunk and desire to play.

Most medium to fast dogs need 15-20 magic points in a 30 second opening. I was unable to add the magic point text to the clips.

When you watch these dogs and see how I counted the magic points, you'll understand why it is often better to avoid the high-point obstacle.


Chute: 1
Jump: 1
Teeter: 2.5 (Most dogs are about a 2 on the teeter)
Jump: 1
Dogwalk: 4
Dogwalk: 4
Tunnel: 1
Jump: 1
Jump: 1
TOTAL MP for 30sec opening: 16.5


Chute: 1
Jump: 1
Teeter: 2
Jump: 1
Dogwalk: 3
Tunnel: 2 (It's a 20' tunnel more than 20' from the dogwalk)
Dogwalk: 3
Tunnel: 1
A-Frame: 2
TOTAL MP for 30sec opening: 16


Chute: 1
Jump: 1
Teeter: 2
Jump: 1
Dogwalk: 3
Messing around after dogwalk: 1
Dogwalk: 3
Tunnel: 1
Tunnel: 1
Tunnel: 2 (Consider the distance between the tunnel under the dogwalk to the one in the corner)
Tunnel: 1
TOTAL MP for 30sec opening: 17


Chute: 1
Jump: 1
Chute: 2 (obstacle completion plus time to get there)
Jump: 1
Teeter: 2
Teeter: 3 (obstacle completion plus time to get there)
Jump: 1
Dogwalk: 3
Tunnel: 1
Tunnel: 1
A-Frame: 2
A-Frame: 2
TOTAL MP for 30sec opening: 20



Chute: 1
Jump: 1
Teeter: 2.5
Jump: 1
Dogwalk: 4
Dogwalk: 4
Tunnel: 1
A-Frame: 2
Jump: 1
Jump: 1
TOTAL MP for 30sec opening: 18.5

The Case Against the Dogwalk
I have one dog that is about a 3 on the dogwalk and one that is a 4. For the same seven points, I can do two tunnels and a jump (look at the tunnel under the dogwalk!) for the same points and 3 magic points instead of 4. Add an extra jump in the mix, and I have 8 points in the same amount of time I can do the dogwalk and get 7 points.

The ONE Run

I'm not going to say much other than I was in shock. Scout had been blowing me off on weave gambles. I didn't bother having anyone film it because I assumed that it would be another weave gamble failure.

I was wrong.

This 4th place run earned the LAA-Bronze and APD-Bronze.

Scout's USDAA Statistics
Standard Level - 39
Gamblers Level 3 - 16
Jumpers Level 3 - 31
Snooker Level 3 - 41
Relay Level 3 - 21
Performance Speed Jumping - 7
Performance Versatility Pairs - 6
Performance National Standard - 22
PVP Standard - 2
PVP Gamblers - 2
PVP Jumpers - 1
PVP Snooker - 4
GRAND TOTAL: 192 PIII Qualifiers!

And something else pretty cool... Scout appears in the San Gabriel (CA) Tribune.

The Case Against the High-Point Gamble Obstacle

Marketers know how to tempt consumers: offer something that seems like a better value. The same can be said for the top point (5 or 7) obstacle(s) in the gamblers class. This obstacle seems like a good deal, right? It offers more points! Gamblers is about points! Well, points and successfully performing the distance challenge. This special obstacle is definitely worth it, right?

Not always.

In DOCNA, the gamblers is always 1-3-5-7, and the 7-point obstacle is always the long set of weaves. The short set(s) of weaves are worth 5 points.

Case 1: Only one high value obstacle
1 long set of weaves: 7 points
2 short sets (back-to-back): 10 points, slightly more time
Contact/Tunnel sequence: 8 points

Case 2: Back-to-back high value obstacle
2 long sets of weaves: 14 points
Flow course with short weaves and contacts : 15 points

In Case 2, there is only a one-point difference. However, my theory is that the flow course will yield more points.

I am going to start recording opening sequences to test the following theory: a flow course, with or without the high value obstacle, will yield more opening points with a non-blazing dog.

A March Weekend with Scott Chamberlain

Maybe I should preface this by saying that I am biased. I like Scott Chamberlain's courses. They are fair, have good challenges, and require handler thought.

Saturday Snooker
I got a little help from my friend, Maureen. This course was 3 or 4 reds, but a helluva lot of distance to cover. A nice flow is 1-3 (or 4), 1-5, 1-7, 1-7 to the closing. 7a and b were actually more awkward to handle in reality than on paper. Some people went for 4 sevens, but did not complete the closing. Fortunately the 7 combo did not have any special rules in the opening.

Maureen suggested 3 sevens for Scout, and that's what we did.

The time allowed was 52 seconds. That's about 26 magic points for Scout. The closing is worth about 13 for her (3 on the weaves, and extra for handling the seven). I can have at most 13 magic points in the opening.

I started with the #1 at the lower left of the page, ran by #2 and into 7b to 7a. This is about 5 magic points. I directed Scout to the #1 at the top right, and back through the 7 combo. About 4 magic points. The last red was the obvious - the bottom right. The last 7 went from A to B into the closing. This was about 4 magic points. All these values take into account some travel time without obstacles. Opening Magic Points: 13. Finish Time: 51.89 seconds. Worked. Could I have done all four reds? Maybe, but my initial calculation with four reds said no.

Sunday Gamblers
Sometimes you get a little help from your friends. Like when you know how to make your gamble opening, but just don't like it. Here's the course map:



To paraphrase Christopher Walken, what this course needs is more tunnel. I like tunnels because they are fast and cheap. The rules included no contact-to-contact and no contact-to-weaves, or weaves-to-contact, back-to-back okay.

Fortunately I have a friend in California that likes to discuss these strategic things with me. Yay! We discussed taking the tire twice, and that it was best NOT to teach the dog that it is okay to back jump. In the end, for my opening, she and I decided to take the tire forward and backward. (Tire is cheap! That's a quick 6 points!) I just made sure Scout could land safely and turn and do it again. If I ever do something that feels as demoralizing as that, I like it best at the beginning of the sequence, before the dog is running full steam. That's why I will not do that teeter back-to-back. Demoralizing.

Here's what I did:
I would expect about 15 magic points in a 30 second opening. The math, where "mp" is "magic point", and "gp" is "gamble point":
#1 - 1 mp - 3 gp
#2 - 1 mp - 3 gp
#3 - 1 mp - 1 gp
#4 - 2 mp - 5 gp
#5 - 1.5 mp (accounting for the sprint) - 1 gp
#6 - 1 mp - 3 gp
#7 - 2.5 mp (obstacle & sprint) - 7 gp
#8 - 1.5 mp (obstacle & sprint) - 1 gp
#9 - 2 mp - 5 gp
#10 - 1 mp - 1 gp
#11 - 1 mp - 1 gp
#12 - 1 mp (horn blew before Scout landed)

Total Magic Points:
15.5 completed

Total Opening Gamble Points:
31

You might wonder why I chose to end 35 feet from the gamble line. In one of the openings Maureen and I came up with, my last obstacle would be the A-Frame. The speed and angle to the #1 gamble jump would be lacking and awkward. I chose to have a very straight, all out run to the #1. It worked well. As Scout completed the teeter, I positioned myself parallel to the correct tunnel entrance. As she approached between the correct tunnel entrance and me, I gave her a "left tunnel" command. When she took the tunnel, I was running to the #4 jump. Got it, and took third. (Maureen and her dog took first!)

Sunday Snooker
Maureen and I co-conspired on this one, even though our dogs are in the same jump height. The special rule on this one (thanks for not disappointing me, Scott!) was that the #7 combo had to be taken in direction, but either jump could be first. In other words, from the inside out. A nice course was all 6's, with a potential off-course at the #3 jump. A few people with blazing dogs attempted three 7's. Maureen and I concluded that 6-7-7 was the way to go, and that there was enough time. I entered both Bug and Scout, and both had 48 seconds.

Bug is a young dog who already has his Snooker Master title. I wanted this to be fun for him. I did all 6's. Instead of front crossing the first #6 to get the red at the top of the page, I met him outside the tunnel and essentially blocked his view of the #3 jump. I wrapped him around the right of the next red, and all he saw was tunnel. I ran the outside of the tunnel to pick him up for the last red (bottom right). I just had to be careful of all those tempting tunnel entrances to get him to the #2, and then ping-ponged out to #3. #3 to #4 was a change in focus. If the handler was not paying attention, the dog leapt from #3 to the off-course #1 in the closing. Another popular off-course was taking #4b instead of #4a. Most handlers front crossed between #4b and #5 to the correct tunnel entrance. #5 to #6 was fast and fun. Then came the tricky part: pick up at that tunnel into #7a. I made a front cross at the tunnel exit, but pulled Bug too much. The whistle blew for a runout. Still a qualifying run. Good boy!

Scout is collecting Q's, but I was feeling rather feisty. I went for the course that Maureen and I planned. The closing, in magic points, is about 9.5, which includes 0.5 for #2-#3 and 0.5 for the handling/distance between #6 and #7a.

The opening:
Red 1: 1mp
Distance to #6: 0.5mp
#6: 1mp
Distance to Top Red 1: 1mp
Distance/Handling to #7a: 1mp
#7a & #7b: 2.5mp
Last Red: 1mp
Distance to #7a: 1mp
#7a & #7b: 2.5mp
Distance to #2: 0.5mp
TOTAL Opening: 12mp
TOTAL For Course: 21.5, which would be about 43 seconds.

What I failed to realize when I walked this was the harsh angle from #7b to the #2. Most refusals occurred at the #2. I really had to work that approach better. After that, it was smooth sailing, except Scout didn't miss #7a like Bug did. She completed the course in a little over 44 seconds, and took first place.

Another Well-Timed Gamble

This is from Good Dog Agility's 2009 February Trial. It was the first run of the morning. Mark Wirant judged.

A very popular opening ran the jump-time-jump-gamble jump-tunnel. My dog drops bars if I do something stupid. If my dog dropped bars on her own, I wouldn't even contemplate taking a gamble jump.
I went for 14 magic points. My course was 13.5. The buzzer did sound when I was across the field from the #1, but it was a straight run, so that's not a big deal for a dog that is reasonably fast. It would be a deal-breaker for a slow dog.

The key to this gamble was how to handle that #2 and the turn into the teeter, especially with a very tempting tunnel entrance. The dogs and handlers that succeeded either had good directionals (a left!), or added a front cross between the #1 and #2, which I did.

Gamblers Opening Strategy

This is not my idea. It was given to me by someone else, who got it from someone else, who... well, you get the picture. I further tweaked the method.

BASICS

1. Each obstacle has a point value based on the relative amount of time it takes a dog to complete it. I call these "magic points".
2. Obstacles are assumed to be spaced 15-20 feet.
   
3. Any dead space greater than 20 feet in a sequence counts as a magic point.
4. The better the flow, the more magic points needed.
   
5. Almost every dog, regardless of size or speed, averages 12-16 magic points in a 30-second opening sequence.

MAGIC POINTS

1. Each jump counts as one (1) magic point.
2. Each contact counts as at least two (2) magic points. If the dog has a slow dog walk, then that obstacle may count as 2.5 or 3 magic points.
3. A set of 6 weaves is one (1) magic point for a good weaver.
4. A set of 12 weaves is two (2) magic points for a good weaver.
5. Tunnels count as one (1) magic point.
6. Any dead space distance greater than 20 feet counts as a magic point.
   
7. Jumpers caveat: 4 consecutive jumps count as 3 magic points.

WHAT IS YOUR MAGIC NUMBER?
If you can't have someone track the obstacles you do in a set time, then use a standard run without a table. Count the magic points for each obstacle, divide by the time completed and multiply by 30. That is the number of magic points, on average, you need in your opening for gamblers.

The example I am posting is theoretical. Pretend that there is no table in this run:
There are 22 magic points. If I completed the course in 44 seconds, then I have averaged 0.5 magic points per second. Multiply by a 30 second opening, and that is 15 magic points.

The following is a Masters/PIII Gamblers course from 02/14/09, Saguaro Scramblers, with Sheri Boone as the judge. The opening is 25 seconds.
Scout and I sought 13 magic points (about half of 25, using my example ratio above). The buzzer blew right as she took what would be the 13th magic point. This left us with a nice entry into the gamble.
This method works nicely, of course, for time gambles, and for estimating what you can do in snooker.

General Rules for a Successful, Strategic Run

Each dog is different. When you get to choose your own course, it should be fun for the dog. Unless you are training something, avoid your dog’s weaker obstacles. Scout isn’t the speediest weaver, so if we don’t need to do them, we don’t.

1. Highlight your dog’s assets. If your dog loves tunnels and contacts, select a course around that.
2. Flow is key. Back-to-back obstacles can be demoralizing and actually slows the dog down. Wrap the dog around a jump before sending him up the A-Frame again.
3. Run with your dog. If you’re not running, then why should your dog?

With an older dog, I do not recommend back-to-back obstacles. Ever. You risk injury to your dog with the sudden stop, 180 turn, and the need to accelerate again. This is the voice of experience.