Goodbye, Columbus! That was the title of a popular Philip Roth collection of short stories of the late 1950s, with Goodbye, Columbus! being the lead novelette. The title of the book is derived from a song by the class of graduating seniors from Ohio State University as they leave the Ohio capital … [Read more...]
The Know-It-Alls
December 23, 2018 By Leave a Comment
One of the surprises I got when I started directing duplicate games was how little some of the better players actually know about the rules and the laws of bridge – or maybe they do know the rules, but they try to bend them to their favor, intimidating everyone with their reputation as good players, … [Read more...]
A New Ruby
August 13, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Well, I made it. I went over 1,500 MasterPoints at our home club, the Vero Beach Bridge Center, on Wednesday (8-8-2018) and officially became a Ruby Life Master. I’ll get a letter from the (interim) CEO – the last one just got fired and no one seems to know why – of the American Contract Bridge … [Read more...]
An Unusual Entry
February 3, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Bridge players love to tell each other about the strangest things that ever happened during a bridge tournament they attended. We keep telling people about the time when the a/c went out during a Regional in Fort Lauderdale, where profuse sweating made everyone Ill-tempered, and also about the time … [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...]
Finding Honor at Honors
December 15, 2015 By Leave a Comment
It’s a small world – even in the big city. Many of my friends, acquaintances and even some enemies have probably heard me tell the story of how I, many years ago when I was a younger man, single-handedly quashed the hopes of Bulgaria to stage the Winter Olympics. At the time I was working for … [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...]
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...]
No Reno
October 25, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Last year around this time I was able to send out a triumphant message: “New Orleans, here we come!” when my partner Christine and I placed second in the Florida District playoffs of the North American Pairs competition, Division B, thus qualifying for the nationals this past spring in New … [Read more...]