Re: I think this was the 'fix' of the century


Eric Hochman wrote:
> Nick Wedd wrote:
>
> > In message <ehsWe.20677$ck6.15273@trndny05>, Eric Hochman
> > <erich@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes
> > >
> > > You are playing matchpoints in your local club game, against the
> > > worst pair in the room. Your hand, sitting East:
> >
> > < snip >
> >
> > > Declarer made 2 spades on the nose for a top. I don't think there
> > > was anything to do except for trying not to scream in pain.
> >
> > You should read rec.gambling.poker. It is full of threads where the
> > poster lost big to stupid but lucky play.
> >
> > Nick
>
> I play poker too and am well aware of 'bad beat' stories. It's even
> more aggravating when wrong/silly/bizarre play costs you money and not
> just matchpoints/IMPs.

Oddly enough, Mike Caro's best bit of poker advice has been a great
help to my bridge. He says that you should go to the table to make
correct decisions. That is the only thing that you can control. You
can't control the fall of the cards, You can't control your opponent,
although you can influence your opponent. If you make correct decisions
and win, great. If you make correct decisions and lose, there will be
another day. So, bad beat stories are a waste of time and reacting
emotionally to poker hands is stupid and self-defeating.

In order for this to work for bridge, I had to also give up on
controlling partner and internalizing partner's errors. Just go to the
table to make correct decisions and the game is much less stressful.
>
> I know that in both bridge and poker:
>
> (1) In the long run, you will win against bad players, so the
> occasional hand where they 'get' you is just part of the game.
>
> (2) Getting aggravated usually affects your play for the worse.
>
> It's still hard to ignore when it happens to you...I find it much
> easier to accept being beaten by good play than by bad play that
> happened to work out.

I find my own mistakes in either game much more annoying than whatever
my opponents, fate or, in bridge, my partner inflicts on me. It took me
a long time to get there though, and meanwhile I got old.

Will in New Haven

--

"You do not own the fruits of your actions. All that is yours is what
you choose and what you do." God to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita
>
> -Eric

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Who would you hire
    ... that I could now afford to pay somebody and play at a level far higher ... but the experience of playing with and against upper level players. ... and them on a regular basis as much as I miss anything in bridge. ... When your cut in a game with a Grant Baze, ...
    (rec.games.bridge)
  • Re: Is it ACBL masterpoints we hold or are they "bridge" masterpoints?
    ... Proprieties are the conventions of polite society defining socially ... particularly in a pairs game in a tournament ... play a system both partners remember: it's only going to hurt you in the ... People have come to play bridge for a weekend, ...
    (rec.games.bridge)
  • Re: Marketing Bridge
    ... We can hardly say that about bridge where partnership system memory might be even more important than the skill element of the game, the card play. ... My comments are not at all emotional and I, until recently, enjoy playing duplicate bridge as much as anyone. ...
    (rec.games.bridge)
  • Re: Marketing Bridge
    ... We can hardly say that about bridge ... the card play. ... What you describe as system memory IS PART OF THE GAME. ... It is all part of the skill of the game. ...
    (rec.games.bridge)
  • Re: the decline of ACBL bridge
    ... Poker and Spades take little time to learn how to play. ... Bridge requires a very LARGE effort to learn well. ... great game, is truly absurd. ... (by that, I mean under age 30, although I know that for bridge players, ...
    (rec.games.bridge)