THE BIGGEST LOSER

Maybe you noticed the new border surrounding my blog recently. No, I haven’t taken up on-line gambling. However, I have embarked on a pastime that’s just as addictive.

Every Friday night for almost a year now, I get together with my buddies to play some bridge. Tom and Mario are neophytes to the game. Tom brings to the table his lifelong experience at playing pinochle, while Mario relies on his mastery of euchre and his innate good card sense. Ermes is the experienced player of the group; in fact, he has two bridge master points. He’s the sherpa guiding us when our bids ascend to lofty heights and warning us about the perils of climbing the bidding ladder without the help of a good partner.

I learned about bridge as a youngster. My parents would play at least once a week with a carousel of relatives and neighbours. The games were always friendly and I got to stay up late and watch if I kept quiet. My dad was a master at the game – a man with a memory for what card had been played and what lead to make next. Charles Goren was his influence, but dad would often throw out staid conventions for the unconventional – like an opening bid of three no trump or a jump raise to slam. He had card sense as well as people sense; a perfect combination for the successful bridge player.

Like many people, I carry around quotes from my father like a minister carries his bible. However, most of the sayings I remember best from dad come from his bridge table. Some of his favourites were; lead to strength and through weakness; cover an honour with an honour; watch your partner’s discards; second man low; and just watch me – his tribute to Pierre Trudeau whenever he tried a risky finesse

I feel connected to my dad when I play bridge.

In an effort to raise the level of my play, I’ve started doing some reading about the finer points of the game. A series of books by Audrey Grant has introduced me to the use of techniques such as the weak two bid and sign offs, as well as conventions like Stayman and Gerber.

Last Friday, I tried to share some of my new found expertise with my three amigos. At the outset of play, I produced my Sheldon Cooper whiteboard and embarked on a mini-tutorial about dummy versus distribution points. Needless to say, my thirsty audience seemed underwhelmed by my presentation and I realized that I should have attended to the libations before any attempt at an in-service.

As it turned out, all my reading seemed to go for naught. I was the biggest loser on a night I thought I’d be playing like my dad. Ermes and Mario were happy with the slam they'd made, and Tom was pleased that he had played the lion’s share of the hands. No one seemed to notice that I was the real dummy on the night… bazinga-ed on my own petard!

I could only smile at the evening’s turn of events as I tried to put my combative spirit on the back burner for another week. My buddies had enjoyed a spirited game and that was all that really mattered; because after all, true friendship always trumps competition.