Better Bridge in Barry County
By
Gerald Stein
This week’s column will revisit a topic of concern for
most bridge players: “Why You Lose at Bridge.” In a recent column, S.J.Simon’s classic bridge
book was mentioned. A look at how to change that awful predicament and how you
can improve your bridge game will become a series of columns over the next few
weeks.
Many new and even many bridge players who have
played for years still have this secret prayer when they sit down to the bridge
table: “Please, Lord, don’t let me get the good cards. I want to be the dummy.”
The fear and the hesitation that come over bridge players when confronted with
the good hands and the big hands is a terrible thing to see. They dread
bidding; they dread playing the hand; they dread their partner’s wrath; they
dread their opponents’ pity. Why then do they play bridge? Are there healthy solutions that can make
this a fun game no matter what your experience, no matter what your bridge
level, no matter what your expertise? Of course, there are. Bridge should be
fun. It should be a healthy game for all, and it should be something that is
enjoyed, and it should not be a dreaded afternoon or evening.
First, let us look at the new players. They are
intrigued by the game, and they are eager to learn its many facets. Unfortunately,
bridge is not a game that you can sit down to in one session and pick up the
basics immediately. Instead, bridge is a game of lifelong learning. You learn
new concepts, and you use some of them each time you play. For newer players,
it is a continuous road-trip of learning how to play, how to bid, how to
defend, how to have fun, how to make new friends, and how to make bridge an
enjoyable hobby for many years to come. How then do new players survive all of
the learning and all of the rules and laws and ways of playing bridge?
New players are eager players. They want to learn
how to play. They have played other card games for many years. They have played
pinochle, euchre, poker, hearts, crazy eights, and old maid. They are ready for
a really challenging game, and they think they have found it in bridge. And
they are right. Bridge is a challenging and wonderful mental game. True, there
is luck involved to some extent, but bridge requires you to use skill and
mental focus called concentration to play the game well. These are skills that
one can work at through a number of avenues.
Because the world of bridge has changed so much in
the past forty years, many new players feel better about learning bridge when
they take bridge classes from bridge instructors who are familiar with the
newest concepts and newest ways of teaching bridge. These instructors know the
Goren way of playing bridge because they learned that way just like everyone
else who learned to play bridge forty years ago. The new players have a
distinct advantage, however. They do not have to learn about four-card majors;
they do not have to learn about short club bids; they do not have to learn
about strong two-bids in clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades. The newcomers
then are open to the newest changes that make bridge even more enjoyable in the
21st century. They quickly learn about five-card majors as opposed
to a four-card major opening bid; they learn about convenient minor bids
instead of a short club bid; they learn that a strong two-bid has been
condensed into a single bid of two clubs because a strong two-bid does not come
up that often. They learn that weak two-bids are all the rage; they learn the
Stayman bid in their first class, and they learn and use Jacoby Transfers,
negative doubles, and take-out doubles within a few weeks. They have fun
learning and using all of these new tools. As one student put it so succinctly,
“You have a toolbox full of many different choices. You do not have to rely
just on a hammer to get the job done.”
New bridge players enjoy their classes because they
are hands-on classes. Cards are touched and played with lots of questions
allowed and chances to replay or take back, ask the instructor, ask each other.
There is a lot of laughter and smiling going on. Soon they want to put their
new-found knowledge to the test, and this is where many newcomers experience
the dread and the pitfalls of bridge playing and bridge groups.
Why then do beginning bridge players lose at bridge?
There are at least four answers with some solutions: Beginners lose at bridge
because they lack the experience of playing the game for thirty or forty years.
They simply lack playing time. Solution? Play a lot of bridge. Second,
beginners find that there is so much to remember playing bridge at first.
Solution? Learn the basics and stick to them. Third and fourth seem to go
together: Beginners lack confidence and lack concentration. Solutions? Go in with a positive attitude that you will
learn something new each and every time that you play bridge. Focus on your
cards, smile often at your partner, listen to the bidding, and be prepared to
take your tricks when you should.
Next time, we will visit with players who have
played a while and who want to improve their game. Until then, play bridge and
welcome those new players with a smile and a cheery hello. Help them become
confident and better bridge players through your help, your experience, and your
success. Play bridge and have fun.
Solution to last week’s bridge question: how can you
take all 13 tricks? If you worked on the hearts, there is your answer. An extra
heart trick will give you all 13 tricks if you have four diamonds, five spades,
three heart tricks and one club trick.
Bridge Class Update: A nine-week beginning bridge
class will be held at the KCC Fehsenfeld Center in Hastings on Wednesdays, 10
AM-12 Noon, starting October 3, 2012. Contact the Institute for Learning in
Retirement at KCC. “Bidding in the 21st Century” is appropriate for
new players as well as those who want a refresher course.
Gerald Stein Number of words 1068
June 26, 2012
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