August 2007 - 7

Letters to the Editor

Someone said, "It's only eleven
high‑card points. Would Al Roth pass
this hand?" There was a heated dis‑
cussion. "I'll call him," I said bravely.
I dialed the Mayfair in New York,
and Roth answered the phone. "Mr.
Roth," I said, "you hold ..." I gave
him the hand, then I asked, "In
Roth‑Stone, would you open the bid‑
ding?"
Silence. Finally, he barked, "That's
the dumbest question I ever heard,"
and slammed down the phone. I
moved to New York some time later,
and we became good friends. I never
again asked him a dumb question. I
think.
LEAH JAY
New York NY

Send 'em to class
To the Editor:
Having heard the phrase Zero Tol‑
erance many times in the past, I have
begun to wonder: Just how does ZT
work when there are no real penalties
for players who consistently abuse
partners and opponents? I have yet to
see penalties enforced. Directors at
most clubs are reluctant to discipline
players for the fear of losing those
players.
I have a small suggestion that
might help with this problem.
Each month a lecture could be
given by every ACBL unit. It would
cover proper behavior at the table.
Those players who have had direc‑
tor calls because of inappropriate
behavior would have to attend and
listen to the lecture (no sleeping and
no crossword or any other puzzles),
just like traffic school. If they don't
attend and/or can't show proof of
attendance, they will not be allowed
back into any of the clubs to play.
I believe it would not be too dif‑
ficult for units to set this up. It would
also send a message to certain players
that bad behavior is really unaccept‑
able.
CHRIS VERES BUNZ
Newbury Park CA

August 2007

Behave!

Learning tool

To the Editor:
I have played a number of sports,
including soccer, rugby, tennis and
dinghy sailing. In general, people
playing these games are friendly and
balanced in their behavior. Over the
past 12 months, I have been playing
a significant amount of bridge - at
clubs and on the Internet. I must say
that I find the level of behavior on the
Net and to a degree at certain clubs to
be terrible.
Rude behavior pervades and does
nothing toward encouraging newcom‑
ers to the game. Men are especially
guilty of bad behavior and rudeness.
There is a need for more directors
and for people organizing games on
the Net to penalize rude behavior.
IAN FERGUSON
Ottawa ON

To the Editor:
In my opinion, Mel Colchamiro's
How You Can Play Like An Expert
should head the list of books that
will have an immediate impact on the
bidding and play of the vast middle
group of us aspiring "someday‑ex‑
perts." How often do you smile, laugh
out loud, think and learn from every
single chapter of a book?
Mel's book is too new to make your
lists, but someday it will top the com‑
pilation of books that give you skills
you can use immediately!
DICK ZINSER
Friendswood TX

Another mousetrap
To the Editor:
Referring to the Bidding Lab
article about defending against the
Precision 1 opener, (June, page
28), my partner and I use Hamilton
as a defense. A double over the arti‑
ficial 1 shows a one‑suited hand.
1 promises the majors. 1 shows
hearts and a minor, 1 shows spades
and a minor, and 1NT shows both
minors. We can show everything at
the one level.
A. L. McALEAR
Bozeman MT

Good reading
To the Editor:
Regarding the favorite books sur‑
vey (June, page 20), I noted that only
one book appeared on all three lists
(experts, readers and Tim Bourke's
recommended reading for new play‑
ers). It was Card Play Technique by
Victor Mollo and Nico Gardener, one
of my favorites. I must also note that
this book is out of print again. That is
a shame.
NICK FRANCE
Spring Valley NY
Various sources for this book can
be found by doing a Google search
for the title.

More VP debate
To the Editor:
Recently, it seems like every other
letter is from someone complaining
about the victory point scale for
Swiss teams, lamenting that whatever
scale is used does not place enough
emphasis on winning matches.
Taken for granted in these letters
seems to be that winning matches is
the best indicator of quality of play.
But which team rates to be better, one
that won two matches by 1 IMP each,
or one that won one match by 20 and
lost one by 1 against equivalent op‑
position?
Although essentially every statisti‑
cal study done has refuted this claim,
in most sports one can at least claim
some sort of psychological reason
for a team's being able to win lots of
close matches.
In duplicate bridge, however, even
this canard is implausible, as the
players do not even know the score
while they are playing the boards, and
indeed do not even play them in the
same order. The difference between
winning a match by 1 IMP and losing 
Letters to the editor are welcome
by regular mail, e-mail editor@acbl.
org or fax 901-398-7754. Brevity is
considered a virtue, as is subject
matter with relevance to a majority
of ACBL members. Unsigned letters
are not considered for publication,
so please include your name and
hometown. Letters may be edited.
All letters will receive a response.

7
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2007
