The Youngest at the Table
Story by Jon Herman (BBO: Jonny Ace1) I first learned bridge by osmosis some 60-...
Story by Sarika (BBO: sarikam)
During my initial years of playing bridge, I constantly had mini emotional explosions—a mixture of feelings: confusion, uncertainty, stress, memory fatigue, and many more. But the biggest one of them all was fear of opponents with superior math skills. I have never been great at math, and for some strange reason, I equated great math skills as the main contributor to becoming a successful bridge player.
With time and playing experience, I had an "Aha!" moment—an epiphany. I realized I was equipped with basic math skills like calculations, laws of probability, logical reasoning, and an understanding of odds to make inferences. Yes, a non-math person can also excel at this game, and I'm living proof that a successful bridge player does not need to be a math expert.
My strengths include strong intuition, gut feeling, the ability to read opponents' body language, besides the basic math skills the game demands. So, no more fearing my opponents' superior math skills—besides, I can certainly count to 13! In fact, I'm so convinced by my analysis highlighted above that I decided to compose a poem about it.
Oft I face this dilemma weird,
Wishing my opponents are not the math whizzes I so feared…
My self-doubts always manifest,
What if I err and don’t play my best?
My reputation as a bridge player would be put to the test
But is bridge only about logic?
If so, my results would always be chaotic?
Agreed bridge is not all frolic,
And requires thinking grand like the Titanic,
I certainly need to analyze more on this topic!!
No matter how our logic makes us smart,
There is a certain element: playing with your heart.
This is what sets individual games apart.
Unlike robots, from human emotions we cannot depart,
And that's what makes playing bridge the most fun part!
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