2008-06-15 23:50

Hand Evaluation - Bridge Goals

PITBULLS:

Alignment of Bridge goals is absolutely necessary for an established partnership to be effective. Here is some advice from Stan Cabay “Work on bidding and defense preferably with partners whose goals & skill levels are close to your own who are willing to work as hard as you. If a regular partner is your spouse, alignment of goals is mandatory.”

Social Bridge is defined as club games , sectionals , GNT (ABC ) & regionals. Alignment of goals or abilities are not necessary in this domain. The idea is to compete & enjoy yourself against opponents who have the same goals as you do. In higher levels of competition, your goals & the goals of the opposition change. In Calcutta’s , CNTC , Nationals & GNT (super flight ) , the caliber of the opposition change. Playing to the level of the competition as you do in social Bridge will not work here. Your errors become blatant , costly & you stick out like a sore thumb. Partnership & team frustration or even resentment can build up. Here is where alignment of goals are necessary with your partner & team. Alignment of Bridge skills & experience are also necessary or frustration & intimidation sets in. A person who has a serious addiction to Bridge has trouble establishing a partnership with a player who plays Bridge for recreation. At club games , sectionals or regionals , no problem though.

Skill at Bridge is of course relative. Locally you can be a “big fish” in a little pond. You do well due to the simple fact that you are better than the players in the field in which you play. In sectionals & regionals you still do well relative to most of the players who attend. If you have not played in CNTC’s or GNT finals or national events , you may feel that you are better than you really are. You have not had a good measuring stick to judge your own Bridge ability. You must “pay your dues” to succeed at high levels of Bridge. Playing well in tough events is a good indicator. Talk is cheap.

You can not be an imposter at this level. At these high levels are where your lack of work at Bridge & inexperience shows up . You can not rely on the opposition making the same mistakes as you do for a push. Your lack of hand evaluation skills & Bridge judgment becomes the deciding factor in all the matches unless you are very lucky . A partner or team mate is supposed to pull her own weight in these events unless a pro/client relationship is involved. Thinking that you are a good Bridge player gets a costly reality check at these levels. Bids that work in club games , sectionals or regionals do not work in this competition. In fact , the enjoyment of the game at this level is that “bad Bridge” does not work & gets appropriately punished. To compete against the best needs years of preparation as well as natural ability. Ongoing reading & practice work wonders in our game. Your work pays off & your lack of work also shows up.

It is a contradiction to say you aspire to play top level Bridge , but you are not willing to take the effort to reach that objective. You are being dishonest with yourself , your partner & your team mates. “Know thyself” is what Socrates taught. This can be paraphrased for Bridge to be honest with your own Bridge abilities & attitude towards the game. If not , this deceit induces stress when you play the game in tough competition. You are beyond your comfort level & you know it. There is nothing wrong with not learning your hobby well or even a lack of enthusiasm to improve , but do not expect partners & team mates to play in high level events with you. It does not work that way. You must keep up with the Jones. Whether that is Peter Jones or Lloyda Jones depends on your attitude & goals in Bridge. However , no half measures & selling yourself to be something you are not.

People by nature like helping other people who are willing to help themselves. When it becomes obvious that these people are unwilling to help themselves thru improvement & learning , this good will attitude breaks down. Repeating your mistakes is the most common indicator that learning is not a high priority for you. You do not eliminate mistakes due to being dishonest with yourself that you even committed an error or you are not willing to put in the effort to learn . Your Bridge goals are not in sync with your partners or team mates . Good players become experts because they work at it with their innate ability. Weak players become good players because they work at it. There is no easy way. Genius is 10 % inspiration & 90% perspiration . Bridge genius has the same criteria but the work should be fun . An established Bridge partnership is like a marriage. Choosing a Bridge mate with the same goals & skill level as you have is what makes an established partnership work. Sometimes you are forced to find a partner from a different city or province who have goals/skills similar to your own. The Internet helps practicing your system if you choose that option. Team mates are also recruited from other parts of Canada as team mates should also match your Bridge goals/skills also.