Wednesday 30 June 2010

MY NUMBER 1 PET HATE................................. ( Article by Carp )
My pet hate list in bridge could go on for endless pages. Ironically, there are some irritating and annoying things I can comfortably take in my stride....things that would cause other players to go ballistic, and ready to kill. But the pet hate that stands out above all others....that really " gets my gander up "....or to put it another way " gets my goat ".....then it's a partner who double crosses me.
A double cross in bridge occurs when a partner has already passed, or made a limit bid.....but then ( later on in the auction ) suddenly ....out-of-the-blue.....becomes totally overwhelmed by a fit of optimism. It is as though some fairy godmother had floated down from the sky to sprinkle magic dust on his/her cards, improving the hand's shape, distribution, and HCPs.
How on god's earth can players who partner me fall victim to such a lack of discipline and magical thinking ?
How many times can I be expected to watch my partner open a flattish, balanced 1NT ( 12-14 ), and then bid again in an attempt to win the part-score battle ?
How many times can I be expected to remain calm after seeing my partner make a 3-level pre-emptive bid, only to compete again after the opponents have over-called or pulled a take-out double ?
How many times can I be expected not to implode after seeing my partner pass on all previous rounds of bidding, only to decide later on when the auction has reached " penalty double territory " that the his/her hand was worth a bid after all ?
And finally.....hell, I could go on forever.....how many times can I be expected not to lean over the table and throttle my partner's scrawny neck, after I have come in with a protective bid based on his/her known values...... only for this double-crosser to compete at a higher level on those very same values ?
So yes, double crossers are forever giving me galactic bottoms by either pushing the bidding into impossible contracts ( waiting to be doubled ) , or stopping me from playing in the most obvious contracts where match points were always assured .
( Now has anyone got a pet hate that is more loathsome than that ? If so, I would like you to tell me about it using the comment box and signing yourself in under " anonymous " profile label. )

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