Great Day at the Bridge Table

Today was probably the best day my partner and I have ever had at the bridge table. Not because we came in second---we only missed first by one point. We come in 1st, 2nd or 3rd about 95% of the time, but that's not it either. It's because out of the 28 boards we play every Thursday, we played 23 of them our way and I personally played 13.

I realize that this isn't making much sense. So here's a short explanation. In Duplicate Bridge, you have 2 sides---North/South and East/West. My partner, Joan and I play North/South---we sit at the same table and the East/West pairs come to us. The cards are dealt and placed in card holders called "boards". Basically, a "board" is one hand. The boards also move around the room, so that by the end of the day, everyone has played all of the same hands. At each hand, my partner and I are not only trying to beat our E/W opponents, but trying to bid and play better than all the other North/South teams. That's who we're really playing against---the other North/South teams.

At the end of the day, you have 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners for N/S AND E/W. The only advantage to placing is that you get "master" points in the bridge world. And you win money---not a lot---$5.00 for 1st which is what it costs to play each week. 2nd is $3.00 and 3rd is $2.00. Obviously, you can't get rich playing in our group.

The beauty of Duplicate is that everyone really tries to play their hand the way it's supposed to be played. None of this "well, I just didn't want you to get the bid again" or "you've played too many---I don't care if I go down."

If 23 out of 28 boards were played our way, that means Joan and I got all the action---a very boring day for the E/W side. Even though they didn't get to "play" the hands, it was still important for them to defend better than the other E/W pairs. That means everyone has an equal chance to win---it doesn't depend on the cards at all. In duplicate bridge, there's no such thing as the luck of the draw. Plus, for me to get to play 13 hands is just unbelievable. I don't ever recall a day we had all the cards. This was it.

I don't know if I ever mentioned that I am the youngest in the room by about 15 years (I used to say 20 years, but lately, I've been feeling like I'm catching up with them). But, believe me, these little old ladies are pretty darn sharp at the bridge table. Even if they sometimes mistake a crumpled candy wrapper for a valuable button that someone has lost that they are trying to find the owner of---until I was able to point out that it was a candy wrapper.