What benefit from reading?

The reader (as in singular), Warren, asked if I was finding all the reading I was doing helpful?

I have to admit that the reading has been exceptionally helpful to me. I am seeing consistent improvements in my game each time I play. Note that I said consistent, rather than drastic or massive. So, why has reading been helpful to me?

• I've always been a good 'book study'. I read well, and retain facts/concepts that I read pretty readily. I know this is not true of everyone.
• Book selection has helped a lot. I've been fortunate to get books (thanks to BBO forum threads like this and especially this) that are appropriate for my level and solid on content.
• I read fast, but I read very carefully and re-read tough sections as many times as it takes.
  

To be completely honest, reading has been good to me but I am confident it is not optimal. A better approach would be consistent work 'over the table' with a mentor. I tend to like answers to 'why' questions, and unless the book furnishes that for me I'm out of luck. In addition, I think the immediacy of having someone watch/correct your play would be critical.

Unfortunately, that's just not an option for me right now. I wish I had more time available to be online playing, but that just ain't it.

What approaches have you found helpful as you learn the game?

It's a New Year, baby

Well, we're back from the holiday break. And when I say 'we', I really mean 'me' since I think there are very few others here.

Anyway, I plan to return to a regular posting schedule including trying to incorporate a bit more news from around the bridge world. Don't know if it will amount to anything, but....

As far as my personal game goes, there are more books on the way. I'm ordering the following titles off my amazon wishlist:

• Two Kelsey books, Killing Defense and More Killing Defense
• Meck's Win the Bermuda Bowl with Me

More on those when they get here. Happy New Year, and good bridge.

Sat with a World Champ...

Had the freaky opportunity to sit with a Senior Bowl winner and his mentee. The SB winner was in disguise, but I know his student and that scored me the seat.

I got my clock cleaned. Big time.

Without quibbling re: the auction that got us there, he's a hand my pick-up pard and I managed to massacre while at the table.

How would you play 3NT?

♠ 98752 ♥ Q52 ♦ Q86 ♣ 42

♠ KT3 ♥ A6 ♦ KJT ♣ AKT97

Blog lag, or "Blag"

Sorry for the lack of content here... The build up to the holiday season has been busy.

Add to that, I've been pretty bummed re: my game lately. I'm making a lot of 'brain dead' mistakes.

Back...

Back from a good, long vacation. Got plenty of time to sit and vegetate, which is exactly what I needed.

As far as bridge goes, I think my game is still improving. Don't get me wrong - no one called me to sub in at the Reisinger or anything... But I continue to see good, incremental gains in the things I'm working on. I need to start concentrating on memory so I can get better at spot recognition and counting down the hand.

Jan Martel started a forum on youth bridge over on the BBO Forums. Should be very interesting. For a while I've been considering poking into the JuniorBBO sessions, since I just barely qualify still. Seems like a good way to get some more experience.

Finally, someone else posted a rumor that Zia Mahmood is likely to replace Paul Soloway on the Nickell team. Hamman/Mahmood, Meckstroth/Rodwell, Nickell/Freeman sounds like a pretty good lineup to me...

Now, Soloway/Hamman used to be nicked 'Hamway'. Will the new partnership be 'MahMan' or 'HamMood'?

In the black...

Nothing particular to report, though I think I'm definitely seeing improvement. My scores are improving, and I think that I'm starting to be able to analyze play/defense deeper. It's nice to see progress. Makes you feel like there is actually hope.

Judgement in competitive auctions is still an issue.... and I'm not quite sure what to do to address that. Anyone got a good recommendation for a competitive auction 'primer'?

We're taking off for vacation early next week. While we're away, I'll be continuing the interface with Kantar, Lawrence, and Watson.

The wheels of progress...

Thankfully, I think some elements of my bridge game are starting to improve. I'm slowing down and making fewer thoughtless errors. I'm not sure I'm making that many fewer errors overall, but at least everything has a rationale behind it. If I know why I did something, at least I have a shot at fixing it.

I'm definitely seeing an improvement in my dummy play and defense. I attribute both of these to the (still limited) reading I've managed to get in with Watson and Kantar. I still need to develop muscles for counting down shape and specific spots left out.

Here's a hand from BBO that I think I did ok on. I'm fairly confident that I didn't have to overcome best defense, but I'll take what I get. I'd be interested in the opinions of anyone out there re: my play and things I might've missed...

♠ T985 ♥ AT9 ♦ Q6 ♣ QT86

♠ K73 ♥ J853 ♦ AJ95 ♣ AK

You're south and delcarer in 3NT. West leads the ♠2.

I played small from dummy and East inserted the ♠J, which I took with the ♠K. If ♣s split favorably, I figured that I had 7 additional trick (1♥, 4♣s, and 2♦s). Hearts could be a problem, but I had good spots and wasn't too concerned.

If the opps lead ♦s, I can probably gain a trick there. But, given that I started with 7 'well spotted' ♠s, I figured my best chance for the sure was to establish that suit.

So, I led low from hand towards the ♠T89 in dummy, which west took with the ♠Q. Helpful chap that he was, west switched to a ♦ which I won in hand by covering east's T with the J. I pushed another ♠ toward dummy, again won by West with the ♠A. West returned a ♣ this time, which I won in hand.

Playing W for the missing ♥ honors, I led a low ♥ toward dummy and finessed the 9. Cross with a club, repeat the ♥ finesse (5, Q, A, 2). Now dummy yields 2 clubs and a spade, on which I can pitch ♥ and a diamond, and the ♦ A was the last trick.

Dealer S Vul All Scoring - Lead ♠2	♠ T985 ♥ AT9 ♦ Q6 ♣ QT86
♠ AQ42 ♥ KQ7 ♦ K72 ♣ J75		♠ J6 ♥ 642 ♦ T843 ♣ 9432
	♠ K73 ♥ J853 ♦ AJ95 ♣ AK

No longer "Yuck"

Bridge is a funny game.

It was only two days ago that I was lamenting the worst set of my life... Now, I'm basking in the morning after glow of the best set of my life. What makes it extra funny is that this set included my all-time worst score for a single board. Wasn't much I could do about it, though:

♠ 5 ♥ Q87654 ♦ 96532 ♣ 8

Pard opens, sitting East:

West	North	East	South
		1♠	1NT
p	3NT	4♠	p
p	X	p	p
p

I love to bid as much as the next guy, but even I pass two point hands vulnerable. I was mortified when pard rebid spades at the 4-level, and completely unsurprised when the red card came out of north.

	♠ A9 ♥ K92 ♦ AQ84 ♣ T763
♠ 5 ♥ Q87654 ♦ 96532 ♣ 8		♠ KJT7432 ♥ 3 ♦ KJ ♣ Q54
	♠ Q86 ♥ AJT ♦ T7 ♣ AKJ92

When the dust cleared, we were down 5 for -1400 (about 18IMPS on the board). However, even with that we were +20 for the session, so no complaints.

Yuck

Played an absolutely awful set last night. I had been feeling like my game was coming along, and then came -40IMPs of complete garbage on my part.

Partner was a really solid player - a true, bona fide BBO expert. And I was nervous as a schoolgirl... Basically, I rushed and reacted rather than thought. Even when I did 'think', I wasn't actually being productive. I tanked for a good 2 following the opening lead to a ♦ contract and was no closer to having a plan when I played from dummy than before I tanked.

The problem is that I knew the guy, respected him, and wanted to do well. The sad fact is by getting all wound up, I crapped the bed instead of playing well.

Moral - Look at the cards and the bidding, not the people at the table. Make the right play... It is better to suck marginally than to get nervous and ensure total FAIL.

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.