What I Learned This Week

As I entered the bridge club on Thursday afternoon, I scanned the crowd for my partner.  I couldn't spot Julie anywhere, but I knew she must be there because I was running a little late.  I looked for her 90 year-old mother, whom I saw talking to someone wearing a baseball cap.  I looked closer--yes, that was Julie wearing a bad-hair-day hat.  It turns out she was still feeling under the weather from a bug she got last week, and wasn't up to dealing with the new perm that was hiding under her cap.  Several people commented on her outfit (because of course she had on a matching jacket), even calling it "collegiate."  Julie sure knows how to pull off a new look!

As we traveled around the room sitting east-west, Julie carried her triage bag along and periodically blew her nose, coughed, and took drugs (always wiping her hands with anti-bacterial tissues).  Across the room I could hear Mike echoing her noises, although he was much less delicate and a lot louder.  In fact, the room was full of the sounds of sneezes, coughs, and sniffling.  I am hoping that since I haven't caught anything yet, I am safe.  Knock on wood.

What I learned playing bridge on Thursday, perhaps better stated as "what I learned playing bridge on Thursday that I still remember on Saturday":  Consider playing in No Trump even when you fit a fit in the majors.  It's 10 extra points.  I think about No Trump when we have a fit in the minors, but was taught that it's better to play in the majors if you can because it's easier to make the contract.  Now I know that I need to consider my partner's bid and count tricks, and decide if it will work in No Trump to get those 10 extra points.  At the end of the day, when I looked at the game results, I saw that 3 pairs got to No Trump on that board.  We had an above average board.  I think it is wonderful that our opponents are coaching us to be top players, not just good ones.  

What I learned playing bridge on Friday:  Julie and I have been working on playing defense, since that appeared to be a weak spot.  Now it seems that we need to focus on playing offense, as well as to continue to fine tune our bidding.  

How long does it take to get good at this game???