Mistakes

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” ― Albert Einstein

Every time I add a new bid to my arsenal, I have to mess it up before I get it right. I wish I could say that I only make the same mistake once, but unfortunately it sometimes takes longer before I learn my lesson.

“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” ― Napoleon Bonaparte

“Enemy” is a bit strong, but it is helpful when opponents make mistakes. I will confess that I am sometimes drawn into the discussion afterwards, but I do usually try to stay out of it.

“Smart people learn from their mistakes. But the real sharp ones learn from the mistakes of others.” ― Brandon Mull, Fablehaven

This seems to happen when I overhear A players vehemently discussing a bad board. They know immediately after it’s been played that something went wrong, and learning in the moment is very powerful.

“I'm afraid that we all make mistakes. One of the things that defines our character is how we handle mistakes. If we lie about having made a mistake, then it can't be corrected and it festers. On the other hand, if we give up just because we made a mistake, even a big mistake, none of us would get far in life.” ― Terry Goodkind, Confessor

I would change “lie” to “deny.” The “giving up” doesn’t seem to apply to our club; our players are very loyal to the game. However, I would add something here about mistakes and character: The way someone reacts to their own mistakes or their partner’s mistakes really does say something about their character.

“The 50-50-90 rule: anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.” ― Andy Rooney

YES! Just yesterday, I had a big hand and of course Julie did not have much. The opponents jumped into the bidding which complicated our communication. I was two-suited and knew that one of these would work for us and the other would not. Of course I picked the wrong suit. It is good to know that the odds were against me and that it wasn’t just bad judgment.

I’ve been thinking about mistakes lately.