All games of cards, even the simplest--those that require but little
thought or mental analysis--afford an excellent field for the study
of human nature.
Players frequently permit little mannerisms and idiosyncrasies to
intrude, and, if not corrected at the start, the habit is likely to
grow.
For the most part such offenses are, of themselves, but trivial
breaches, as it were, of the etiquette of the card-table; but at
times they are intensely irritating and the cause of some displeasure
that finds relief in word or action, both of which may quite
seriously disrupt bridge harmony.
When a rubber of bridge is in contemplation and after the
preliminaries you sit down to play, it is just possible that “your
partner” may have his ideas about the game. If you have omitted to
ascertain in advance what they are, it will help neither of you in
the least if you immediately begin to differ as to leads, discards
and signals. Your game will strongly resemble a tug-of-war--both at
opposite ends of the rope, instead of at one end pulling conjointly.
It is an invariable custom that the player who cuts the lowest card
has the choice of seats and the cards. If “your partner” objects to
moving do not advise that he would better change. Very likely his
reasons why he should not are quite as urgent as any that you can
advance to the contrary, and why interject at the start anything that
shall tend to create a slight element of discord.
If you ask “your partner” for advice rest assured of criticism during
the remainder of play, whether it be for a rubber or for an evening.
It is one thing to consult, quite another to request. The moment that
you show subserviency you admit superiority, and there are those who
play bridge, and some with little experience or knowledge, who as
critics, in their own estimation, are _par excellence_. Better agree
with “your partner” at the start on the common principles that are
essential to be observed, and then play with an eloquent silence that
will command respect and admiration at the table.
If you pass the make with a weak hand and your partner declares
“No-Trumps,” look as cheerful as possible, and make up your mind to
do the best that you can with the cards that have been given to you.
If you begin by abusing your partner for the make, you practically
say that your hand is weak and that the situation is hopeless. That
is most valuable information for your adversaries.
Some times “your partner,” sitting behind the dummy hand, has a queer
way of waking up just as you are leading a thirteenth card from his
hand, and asking you whether you have a card of the suit led, thus
distracting your thoughts from the selection of a proper discard.
The partner behind the silent hand, to hasten the play, has no right
to touch or suggest the use of a single card from those which lie
exposed before him, yet often players find the impulse to push out a
card from dummy almost irresistible.
Haste and waste are antitypes in bridge as they are in everything.
Playing the hand as if you are in a hurry to catch a train may lend
a spectacular appearance to your disposition of the cards, but many
a rubber is lost by not stopping to give the situation the careful
thought that it demands.
The occupant of the “high chair” usually has a monopoly of giving
advice. That kindly and courteous soul who can see it all--and who
may know it all, or imagine he does, which amounts to the same thing
in this particular case--and who sees no hand played without voicing
personal ideas as to the methods used, is a well-meaning adjunct to
the game, even if occasionally distressing.
When a player spreads out all the cards of an abandoned spade hand,
scrutinizes each with an air of anxious concern, and conjectures
as to what might have happened had some other declaration been
attempted, it tries everybody at the table. What is done with a hand
cannot be undone. All time at bridge should be devoted earnestly to
what confronts a player, not to what is of the past.
A penalty of some kind should be exacted from the player who makes a
practice of insisting that the dealer has led from the wrong hand.
It is very disconcerting and frequently disturbs the one criticized
to such an extent as to interrupt the train of thought for the
subsequent lead.
Post mortems have their interest and are unmistakably convincing as a
rule. Don’t venture upon them unless you are certain what the scalpel
is going to reveal, and above all things when the corpse is buried
don’t continue to talk of the harassing details with another hand
awaiting play.
Be careful how you criticize in all cases. It is not an invariable
rule that he who points out the first mistake had the best reason for
doing so. How about a blunder that may have been committed earlier by
the critic himself, and the possible embarrassment that may follow if
a complete analysis of all the cards played is insisted upon.
There are personalities in bridge that can be avoided in addition to
arguments with “your partner” or public criticism of his play. The
actual time saved in “claiming all the rest” will not shorten the
game by two minutes. Better play all the cards out and save yourself
the possible mortification of having it placed in evidence that you
had not read your hand, that of “your partner” and those of your
adversaries, as intelligibly as you had imagined.
Bridge knowledge is not acquired in a moment. Some persons are
naturally better players than others. Intuition is an aid to some,
the ability to forecast assists others, but both are powerless
without a thorough grasp of all the details that are accessory to the
game.
In connection with this subject it may not be out of place to observe
that while the object of the game is to take tricks, the same number
can be made in a great many different ways. That you did not happen
to lose on a hand is no palliation for the very bad play of which
you may have been guilty. Always bear in mind the fact that there
is a right way and a wrong way to play, and that the acquirement of
playing by the right method should be the purpose of all who devote
their time to the game.
Play bridge as if a genuine pleasure, whether winner or loser, and
eventually you will discover that it is far easier to win in that
spirit than it was with the critical idea predominating; and, if you
do lose, it is with the consciousness of good will toward your fellow
man, who happens, in this case, to be “your partner.”
Endeavor to be serene under all circumstances. Keep in mind that it
is a pastime for sound mental training. Never forget that a cool head
is a most valuable essential, and try just as far as possible to sink
all peccadilloes in play, avoid all whimsicalities and correct all
personal mannerisms.