Good morning Bobby
This is an update about my “card-play Pairs” experiment (see blog of Sunday Apr 8).
SAYC didn’t seem to adequately capture the methods used by most, so in the first try, I provided “my own” auctions, on paper. Some of the players really liked the learning opportunity provided. But some of the players found it difficult to mentally commit to playing a “pre-set” contract they hadn’t bid to themselves.
Next time I will encourage the Players to call me (non-playing Director) to explain the auctions more fully where necessary.
Turned out that Declarers slipped up on roughly one Board in six whilst Defenders missed a trick or two on roughly one Board in three.
The link below will take you game result on Club webpage; then click on “Travellers” to see all hands, opening leads and results.
As examples of the “card-play” concept working nicely: on Board 2 only two Declarers found a line to make four Spades; and on Board 5, only one defending Pair held Declarer to ten tricks.
Please keep in mind that our Players are just a mix of typical local-club players !!
My “learning game” is a work in progress. Comments / suggestions from you and others are most welcome.
Thanks

http://www.bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwok/bw.cgi?pid=display_rank&msec=1&event=20180420_1&wd=1&club=meaford

Hi Clarksburg,

Thanks for the followup to what could be an excellent learning experience for all involved.

I’ve already analyzed the first six hands and will eventually get back to you when I complete the project, although I’m going downtown Las Vegas for their April Sectional tonight which will last through next Friday.

However Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your cross section of younger players (by today’s standards) immediately show improvement. However I am confident, at least for those who take the time to get somewhat seriously involved, an upward learning curb which hopefully will be much more effective than just reading about it or getting glassy eyed listening to someone preach bridge to them.

Obviously it is more than just a casual experiment, but all your work and sheer effort will get results, if they just give it a chance and, very important in reality, want to improve, by understanding both correct bridge philosophy and most importantly, the logical reasons behind it.

Good luck for now and you’ll be hearing from me, but not before a week or so.

Thanks Bobby
It is completely over-the-top for you to be even considering “completing the project” around our Club game! I (we) will be delighted to receive your comments on just a few at most.
For background info, although I think about 17 of my 22 pre-set contracts were reasonably OK, on another day I might well have reached different contracts on the others. Also, you may see a few errors in the entering of contracts and leads by the Players.
I currently plan to alternate between this “card-play” game and IMP Pairs, with the secret hope that a majority of my players will come to love and prefer “card play”

Hi Clarksburg,

Some years ago I got asked to do a “Hand of the Week” at Hitchin BC, trying to pick out one which seemed particularly instructive. There was a terrible temptation to fall into the self-laudatory so I tried to put in a few where I fouled up too, although these were all after the event. You could try providing a write up of 1 or 2 specific and instructive hands at the end of the session, although this would obviously need to be done up front.

If you want any example, please drop me a line on Iain.climie@btinternet.com. The club is
still cheerfully recycling them (although work has moved away from there) and taking any new ones I provide.

Regards,

Iain

Hi Clarksburg & Iain,

Thanks for your concern and always remember the three of us share a common love for all the positives that contract bridge brings to those who are intelligent and shrewd enough to know its value.

I’ll merely restrict my contributions to factors which enhance the desire to not only play it often but become role models (to which I am proud to share that image with both of you).

Playing bridge is slightly more difficult to learn the basics to barely compete with other endeavors, but quickly moving up the ladder to being special does require much more time and effort, not to mention the born talent for numeracy if great heights are in the cards.

However, the logic of the game itself, without ever playing a card, is, at least to me, a necessary goal to achieve for almost any other success except perhaps a physical sport which requires agility, strength, speed and coordination of mind and body, but less mental sophistication to strike it big and, of course, in this day and age, very wealthy.

IOW, we all do what we do to promote the game, not necessarily the same motive others
have, to decide to get very involved.

While others change their minds about many things, it is likely that the three of us will never get too far away from what has first attracted us to first learn, then play and thus basically commit for a lifetime.

Finally, I suspect that many of our regular pals on this web site will echo, if given a chance, something very similar.

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