Royal hearts wish the bridge players good luck.
Ann Kuperberg
Congratulations to Ed Helpert on reaching the Gold Life Member status and to Midge Miller on becoming a Bronze Life Member, both while playing bridge online. We can’t hug them, but the good wishes are there. It’s nice to see our SaddleBrooke bridge players succeeding in the confines of their homes.
Many of us continue to play bridge online, whether at virtual clubs, Speedball, or casual games. We can play in free games without getting master points or play competitive games for a small fee and we don’t have to dress up or drive to a game.
Of course, we do miss the physical presence of other players.
I received an interesting email about the origins of playing cards.
The Chinese invented the game 1,000 A.D. and used 52 cards to represent 52 weeks in a year. The 13 cards in each suit equals 13 weeks in each of four seasons and 12 Court cards (King, Queen, Jack) equals 12 months. The red cards equals day and black cards equals night. Spades mean work, Hearts mean love thy crops, Clubs mean flourish and grow, and Diamonds mean wealth.
The “Bridge Bulletin” also continues with articles of advice.
Adam Parrish wrote, “In order to analyze our mistakes, we first have to identify them.” He suggests looking at the boards after the game is over and compare what other players did.
Larry Cohen also discusses how to respond after an opponent doubles. He mentions how to bid when partner opens 1 NT, when partner opens 2 clubs, etc. and concludes to either play systems on or bid your suit. Of course, pass is an option, too.
We hope the MountainView Bridge game in the Catalina Room will be available by summer, now that more of us are getting the vaccine.