November 2012 - 8

Letters to the Editor

ner wins a club trick, while she would
still make three trump tricks. Now
that would serve the Abbot his measure of humble pie.
ELIOT KRAMER
Brooklyn NY

Playing the field
To the Editor:
Thinking, Fast and Slow, a book
by Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize
winner, contains many insights that
are useful for bridge players.
An example relates to the guideline
that players should bid with the field
and then try to outplay it. I have never
understood this advice. If you have a
superior bid, you should make it. You
will profit in the long run.
Kahneman provides a clue regarding why players are reluctant to deviate from the field. Sometimes there
will be negative outcomes, and experiments clearly show that when decisions have negative outcomes, people
have more regret if they have deviated
from the norm than if they have taken
the "default" option. Therefore, in a
sense, there are psychological benefits gained from following the herd.
To maximize bridge results, however, it is better to make the superior,
though deviant, bid.
PAUL MUTER
Toronto ON

The 'No Fear' factor
To the Editor:
In the August edition of the District
8 Advocate (http://home.comcast.
net/~dist8adv/), District President
Karl Dencker issued a request to help
the social bridge player step across
the divide into duplicate bridge.
This is a tricky issue for many and
was solved in England many years
ago, when they introduced a new initiative. It was events called No Fear.
No Fear events had limited systems, e.g., Stayman, Jacoby Transfers,
negative doubles, Blackwood. They
were also limited to newer players.

8 Bridge Bulletin November 2012

For ACBL purposes, perhaps 0-200
masterpoints.
The initiative quickly increased the
number of duplicate bridge players
across the country. In Worcestershire,
my home county association at the
time, we soon had more teams in
the No Fear county events than in
the open events. Many other English
Bridge Union county associations had
the same results.
Obviously, those who enjoyed their
first duplicate experience returned
with friends. Before long, many began
to experiment with playing outside of
the No Fear restrictions.
While the relative situations of
the ACBL and EBU are not entirely
similar, the problem is the same: to
provide an opportunity to draw the
social player into a game that they
understand while giving them time to
move into the open games rather than
immediately propelling them into situations that place them beyond their
depth.
May I suggest that such an initiative would be valuable in responding
to the president's request, not just in
District 8 but across the ACBL?
KEVIN JONES
Knoxville IA

Friendly folks
To the Editor:
At the beginning of August, my
husband, Pete, and I travelled to the
Seattle area to watch the Toronto
Blue Jays and Mariners play baseball.
While we were there, we decided to
see if we could arrange a bridge game
close to our hotel. We didn't have a
car, so we were hoping for walking
distance or reasonable taxi fare.
After a couple of emails, I was put
in touch with Gene from the Indianola (WA) Bridge Club, and I have to
say that we've never been so royally
treated! Gene arranged to have us
picked up at our hotel lobby, taken to
the baseball game and dropped back
in plenty of time to have dinner and

get to the bridge game! We were greeted with genuine pleasure by all the
players, and I even got to take a book
from their library that I hadn't read.
We both want to say a huge thankyou again for the wonderful welcome
we were given.
LINDA MARINUS
Courtenay BC

A good partner
To the Editor:
Partner is playing a 3NT contract
that was doubled by the opponents.
Partner is in the dummy, where there
resides a good 10, which would be
his ninth trick. He leaves the dummy
without cashing the club and ultimately goes down one. Do you:
1) Point out this egregious error immediately?
2) Show your displeasure with facial
or body language?
3) Wait impatiently for a more appropriate time to inform him of his
error?
4) Remain silent?
For the good partner, the answer
is easy. Unless partner specifically
asks you about the card in question,
remain silent. Partner may well have
realized his blunder and feels bad
enough already. He may be unaware
of his error and is eager to play the
next board to the best of his ability.
Pointing out the mistake can have
severe consequences for upcoming
deals as he dwells upon his mistake.
I think that we often forget that our
partners are on our side and are doing
their best. Sometimes we just need
to take a deep breath and move on. I
know that there are a few people who
wish I could practice what I preach!
BRUCE LESTER
Grass Valley CA

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2012