HIS IDIOSYNCRASIES, AND SOME OF YOURS

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.