GR Sectional Day 1, Session 1

We had a full house this afternoon for the opening game of the Grand Rapids Sectional. The usual local players were there, plus many out-of-towners--including someone who had been a director at the Nationals in Louisville! That was a surprise, and got me thinking about a second career. If I became a tournament director, would I get to travel for free and get paid to boot? Hmm...

Julie and I decided to play in the NLM game, which of course makes sense since we are not life masters. Our game had its ups and downs, and the early returns had us at 52% and 2nd in C. We can live with that (if it held -- I'll see shortly). The hands were computer dealt and embodied the usual distributional nightmares. I still struggle to see beyond point count so that was good practice for me. Additional good practice is counting cards--I find that even if I lose count, this keeps me alert and hyper-focused.

I also need more practice bidding slam. This afternoon it was like Goldilocks and the Three Bears: First we bid slam but didn't make it (too hard), then we didn't bid it but made six (too soft), and finally we bid slam and made it (just right).

Now I am off to an evening game of Swiss Teams...