Where I am right now...

Hi all.... er, all two of you.

Let me start with some thoughts on the Naturalist vs. Scientist match that BBO has had on VuGraph: First of all, I'm not sure that including an equal-length session of goulash hands is really the best way to judge the effectiveness of a system of bidding. To pull 100 "one in a million" hands out just proves that you mess up once in several hundred million.

The bigger issue is, sadly, the gap in player ability here. Why couldn't you get some other players (thinking specifically of Helgemo/Helness) who bid 'naturally' to take up the charge? The so-called Scientists have Zia, and the naturalists have a bunch of people who have got to be 2nd classers at best.

Moving on... I'm working my way through Watson's Play of the Hand. What a book! If you are an intermediate player who hasn't read this, run out and grab it. Now. I'll wait 'til you get back... Seriously.

I love the way Watson systematically walks you through different aspects of cardplay and present the 'why' of things. "You hold up aces because..." While other books (Root's play book, for example) outline the play, they don't really get at the underlying logic. And for a nerdy guy like me, that's a critical part.

I'm also picking away at Kantar's Defense, but I think that having worked through Watson will make me appreciate/understand Kantar a bit better.

I think my bidding has improved greatly due to my slowing the heck down. However, my cardplay of late has been abysmal. I think I'm over-analyzing a bit thanks to reading so much. At least I hope that's what is going on. This is typical for me - there's a period of 'unsettledness' before new knowledge takes root.

Well, we'll see.