When I think about Thursday, three things come to mind. The first is the need for mental toughness. When a top pair sat at our table, Julie and I were friendly but hyper-focused. We understood that there was little room for error and we actually ended up getting our best boards against this pair. When they left our table we collapsed and the following round was our worst. Just like in any competition, achieving and maintaining mental toughness is crucial.
The second insight is that appearances can be deceiving. Not a new insight, I know, but it was driven home by a wacky-looking man who seemed mentally out to lunch. "This will be an easy round" came to mind after just a few seconds at the table. Wrong. Very wrong. He may be a strange one but he can sure play bridge. I will never again underestimate someone based on the way they look and act.
Finally, I had an experience that has happened only once before. I had a moment of clarity when it seemed as though I completely understood everything that was happening at the table. I knew where the cards were, what my partner's signals meant (we were playing defense), what I had to do. All of the pieces came together in a coherent, slow-motion kind of way--the bidding, the lead, the count, everything. Do Flight A players experience this all the time? Because I liked it!
You're right about the "need for mental toughness." You need it on every hand though, not just against the "A" players, and that's a difficult standard to meet. It takes training and you have to do that training yourself. Work on it against the players in your own strata. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.
ReplyDeleteI'm considered an "A" player in the local clubs, but with my 800 points, I'm not anywhere close to an "A" player in a regional. Nonetheless, I played the A events Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and I learned some things. I can hold my own during the auction; I might even be better than some. I'm adequate as a declarer...and even occasionally find something nice.
I'm inadequate, though, as a defender. I know all the plays and most of the tricks. I understand defensive carding and use it well. The problem is that the "A" declarers play the cards quicker than the club players...even quicker than the "A" players when playing at a club.
I find myself getting caught up in their pace. They play a card while I'm still analyzing the previous trick. Why did declarer play that trick that way? Why at this time? What did my partner's carding tell me about his hand? How does that information help me "shape out" partner's hand and declarer's hand? How does it help me "value out" their hands? These questions take time, maybe only a couple of seconds, but the play isn't that slow.
I considered this issue on the drive home from Kalamazoo and concluded that I no longer could allow the declarer to dictate my pace of play. I will need to be mentally tough on that point.
You see, "A" players have at least some of the same issues you do.
Oh, and as to those zen-like moments of clarity—they're part of what makes this game feel so grand. I had one Friday during our first auction of the day. Partner opened 1H. I held AQxxx, Qxx, AK, AJx. Good hand—I planned to go slamming. I trusted partner enough that I knew I could go slow. I began with 1S and partner splintered with 4C (4 spades, game going values, and 0 or 1 clubs). I Q'd 4D (in our system, A or K or 1 or 0). He Q'd 4H (A or K). That's all I needed to hear. 4N. He held up two fingers (gotta be A of H and K of S. 5N. He shouted the heart K. That was all I needed...7S.
I knew exactly how I would play this contract before I bid 7S. Win the opening lead. Ruff 2 clubs. Pull trump while ruffing and claim. Partner's AK of hearts would fill out my Qxx. Dummy hit with exactly what I knew it held. I did exactly what I had planned and I claimed less than a minute later.
I was shocked when I saw the results. We scored a 10x out of 12 on this one. That means that only 2 other pairs bid the grand in spades. I was certain the entire field would find it.
Keep it up...it only gets better.
Thanks for the comments, Burt. I do love those zen moments, just wish I had more of them! It's helpful to hear about your experiences, it sounds like I'm on the right road...
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