Monday) Although we have signed up to play team events all week with the same pair, their plane has been delayed getting in so Pam and I find ourselves playing for fun in the one session afternoon pairs game.  When Pam picked up the hand below in first seat with favorable vulnerability, we were just starting the last round and we were playing 50% bridge.  Now, you are all aware of my fondness for the psych bid in situations like this.  Do you think this tendency has rubbed off on Pam yet? Take a look and see if you can guess what she did.

    What Happened) I would have gone with 1H here and I know that Pam normally passes with hands like this but for some reason she chose the perfect (on this layout) bid of 2S.  Take a look at the opponents hands.  Are you good enough not to end up in the same bad contract that they did?

   
    Tuesday) Well it has now been three months since I played in this single session Tuesday evening Swiss and I have completely forgotten what put me in such a bad mood that (according to my notes) I would have decided to psych even before looking at my hand.  Now, the vulnerability was favorable and I am in first seat (the best place to psych) but this was only the second match of the evening and it is still close. Take a look at my hand and the options below and pick your poison pill.

    What happened) Even though I was in a bad mood, I went with the tame psych of 1S.  As you might have expected, the opponents started bidding and Pam made a limit raise in my suit. What would you do now?

1) 9-14 HCP, at least 4 spades, 0-3 hearts, unbalanced hand, could have a longer minor
2) at least 4 spades, at least 11 HCP, forcing

    Wednesday) We've started a new knockout today and are playing in the second round but the first half has gone badly and we are down 31 IMPs.  Our lovely partners Hans and Nancy are not the sort of players who like to make the crazy bids that generate the swings you need to make a big comeback so Pam and I decided to fill that role and make some stuff happen.  The is the 3rd board of the second half.  Take a look at my hand, study the auction and choose your bid.

1) 0-15 HCP, at least 5 diamonds    
2) takeout double (I was probably hoping Pam would forget our agreement and pass)

    What happened) I decided to try 3NT because it seemed more likely to make then 5D.  I probably got a spade lead but the key sequence is the play of the diamond suit.  When I led the 5 of diamonds, West made the fatal mistake of playing second hand low and I was on my way to making 3NT.  Are you good enough to put up the King of diamonds here?  My computer program Jack did so without hesitation.

          1) 0-15 HCP, at least 5 diamonds
          2) takeout double

   
    Wednesday Result) 3NT making 3 was worth 400 points and 10 IMPs.  With 2 boards to play, we were guessing that had made back about 20 of the 31 we needed so we started pushing even more and went down 3 and 2 in a couple of bad vulnerable slams to lose us 27 IMPs and give it all back.  We ended up losing the second set by a score of 36 - 47 but it was definitely an interesting round of bridge.

    Thursday) I am really fond of creating theories to describe the patterns I notice in life.  Allow me to give you two interesting ones about bridge.  First, when people in the bridge world look at Pam and I, they often see a pro playing with a client and treat us according to those expectations.  For some men, this means that they use words to confuse or intimidate Pam into making mistakes. Second, the will to win can be a very important part of success at bridge.  I have noticed that some people (ususally men) want to win so badly that their brain waves seem to short circuit the opponents brains and lead to a higher rate of unforced errors.  The hand that you see below from the last match of the evening Swiss teams demonstrates both of these principles in action.

1) 9-14 HCP, 4+ spades, 0-3 hearts, unbalanced hand, could have a longer minor
2) 0-25 HCP, 4+ spades, asks for more info                               
3) 9-11 HCP, no singletons/voids, no more than 2 keycards      
4) asking for keycards in spades    5) 1 keycard                         
6) Even though I passed then, I'm not sure I would do it now     

    

    1) 9-14 HCP, 4+ S's, 0-3 H's, longer minor possible   
    2) 0-25 HCP, 4+ spades, asks for more info
    3) 9-11 HCP, no singletons/voids, no more than 2 keycards
    4) Asking for keycards in spades
    5) 1 keycard

    Thursday Result) 4S down 1 was worth -50 and cost us 10 IMPs as the opponents were in 3NT making 6.  Despite this, we ended up winning the match by a final score of 12 - 11. 

    P.S. If you were really paying attention then you noticed that Pam is holding a singleton Queen of clubs.  In our system, we don't count Aces, Kings of Queens as singletons because I have noticed that they make it difficult for partner to assess his hand.  In this case, I am sure I would have bid on to 6S if Pam had bid her single club.

    Friday) Well, this is the third time we have found ourselves playing in the evening BCD Swiss but the first time that we have a chance to win it all.  In order to do that we will need to win our last match big.  When the hand below came up it was our last board of that match and I was guessing that we were either tied or a bit ahead.  I was dealt a really shapely hand and I now have to make a decision at the 5 level for all the marbles. What is your choice going to be?

    What Happened)  I decided to gamble and try 6C.  Pam did not play the hand well and went down 3 for -500. Obviously, I was probably goaded into 6C because I was upset that Pam had pulled me out of what I thought would be a making 4S* contract.  Now that I have seen the par score, I need to congratulate Pam on pulling me out of an unmakeable 4S* contract and giving me the chance to earn +800 by doubling and properly defending 5H.

    Friday Result) At the other table, our partners were doubled in 5H and went down -500 which meant that we lost 12 IMPs on that board and lost the match by a score of 10-25.  This was the second time in a row that we finished with 3 wins and 1 loss in the Swiss but did not place in the overalls.

    Saturday) Today we find ourselves in the first round of a compact knockout playing the first half of a three way match.  Pam (my conservative partner) is bidding like she is holding a very shapely hand.  Take a look at my flat quacker and see what you would do with it.

1) 11-15 HCP, 4+ spades, 0-3 hearts, could have a longer minor
2) 14-15 HCP, 6+ clubs

    What Happened) After having explained the alerts on Pam's bids to the opponents, I was quite surprised to see her actual hand.  To the other three people at the table it looked like a normal Michaels bid but every so often Pam does the unusual and has it work out wonderfully for her. This is one of those times.

    Saturday Result) 5C went down 2 for -100 and a win of 8 IMPs as our partners got to play and make 4H.  This margin was enough to give us the win in that match by a score of 14 -12.

    Sunday) You may have noticed that even though this section is called the Hand of the Day, I rarely show a hand from the Sunday Swiss even though I play in more of them than I skip.  That's because I am usually tired of bridge by this point so I don't have the energy to write down a hand that I don't have the hand record for.  This week though we have been playing teams the whole time and I have a bit more energy left over. 

    This difference in energy level is probably the explanation for the result on the following board as well.  The opponents have ended up in 2S after a garbage stayman auction.  Take a look at all the hands and see if you can guess how many tricks we managed to take in defense.  Pam started with the 7 of hearts as the lead.

    What Happened) Through a combination of perfect defence and lazy declarer play we managed to set 2S by 1. My favourite part of bridge is defence and it only takes a couple of hands like this to turn an otherwise average day of bridge into something enjoyable.

               
      
    Sunday Result) Our partners were in 2S making 3 for +140 so we won 5 IMPs on the hand and won that match handily by a score of 35-19.

    Why) At week long bridge tournaments, Pam and I have been playing this game I invented called Bridge Bingo.  Essentially, I created a list of 90 different things (ranging from likely to very unlikely) that can happen during a week of bridge.  Then I randomly take different sets of 30 things to create unique Bingo cards for me and Pam.  Generally speaking, the items in the top line are the easiest to get while the items in the bottom row are the toughest.  The first person to complete a line (or complete the majority of the line by the end of Sunday) wins the dollar amount designated for that line.  It is just another way to make bridge a bit more exciting.

    Below you can see my Bridge Bingo card from Gatlinburg as well as the designated winner (a / denotes a tie) for each line. In 11 games so far neither one of us has got a blackout bingo.