What does it really take to make a Slam? Some optimists say you should start thinking Slam once you’ve determined that between you and your partner you have a minimum of 29 high-card points. Others say you need at least 30 or even more. As with everything else in bridge, there’s probably no … [Read more...]
Delayed Alerts
January 4, 2016 By Leave a Comment
What a way to start the 2016 New Year – with a zinger of an argument at the table, and winning it! With the Voidwood (or Exclusion Blackwood) convention, my partner Christine and I reached an unbeatable 6 Clubs contract in the auction, but our very competitive opponent, the solid A player Freeman … [Read more...]
Trust Your Partner
December 30, 2015 By 1 Comment
Whether you play with one or more regular partners, the ability to be a good partner is probably the most important skill any bridge player can develop. To be consistently successful in duplicate bridge, you have to have developed an unerring confidence in your partner – that he or she will not … [Read more...]
Up or Down
December 23, 2015 By Leave a Comment
As they move up through the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) ranks, regular duplicate players face a choice. Do you play “down,” looking for weaker competition to beat up to gain MasterPoints more quickly, or do you play “up,” measuring yourself against tougher players in a field where it may … [Read more...]
In Between Rich and Poor
November 25, 2015 By Leave a Comment
My partner Christine and I always assumed that running a bridge game as a business is a penny-ante affair and no one really gets rich off bridge – with the possible exception of a handful of professionals who are so good they can command $200,000 annual salaries plus bonuses from their rich … [Read more...]
Intimidation
November 20, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Most experienced duplicate players have from time to time run into other players who try to gain an advantage through intimidation – obviously a big part of competitive bridge is mental and playing mind games with your opponents is all part of the game. But when it crosses the line into … [Read more...]
To the Nines
November 9, 2015 By Leave a Comment
My partner Christine and I had never enjoyed much success at bridge tournaments in knockout competitions, which offer great possibilities for winning MasterPoints in bunches. Usually we got knocked out in the first round and we would do well if we survived even one round. We turned the corner in a … [Read more...]
The Common Game
November 3, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Some duplicate bridge players still refuse to play hands from The Common Game, believing that the hands are made extra hard by an evil computer or dealing machine that won’t let you make anything. It's a myth that seems impossible to stamp out, especially among some less experienced players. Of … [Read more...]
Exotic Conventions
October 18, 2015 By Leave a Comment
My partner Christine and I don’t play a lot of complicated and arcane conventions. We like to keep things as simple as possible and use as few as possible artificial bids to avoid confusion. And we’ve rarely found ourselves lamenting not playing a certain convention because it was the only tool that … [Read more...]
Two Floridians pick pockets in France
October 14, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Vive la difference! In the second week of our two-week European vacation, my partner Christine and I started needing our bridge fix, and in advance we had arranged to play on Friday (5-29-2015) at the Club St. Honore just behind the Arc de Triomphe. And even though one of the other main clubs, … [Read more...]