August 2018 - 33

it amounts to personal taste and age.
Young spectators and participants
know only the modern version.
The baseball stars of yesteryear were
generally paid peanuts compared to
today's journeyman major leaguers.
Today, in the television and media
age, baseball is big business. In bridge,
professionalism used to exist in the
shadows. Now it is commonplace, and
the top pros earn handsomely compared to their predecessors.
Let's attempt a comparison of styles
when declaring a bridge hand. Yes,
style may be a factor when declaring. If
faced with a choice of a technical play
or gut instinct, I suspect most modern
declarers prefer to rely on technique
and percentages, just as modern baseball tends to weigh analytical information more heavily than intuition. For
instance, you are playing 6♠ versus
the lead of a low spade as both opponents follow.
North (Dummy)
♠AJ5
♥K863
♦K8
♣ A J 10 2
South (You)
♠ K Q 10 9 4
♥A4
♦ J 10
♣KQ76

South
1♠
3♣
4♥
5♠ (2)
Pass

North
2♣ (1)
3♠
4NT (2)
6♠

(1) Game force
(2) Roman key card Blackwood
(3) Two key cards plus ♠Q
The diamond suit is crucial. You
could draw trumps (say 3-2 split) and
play three rounds of hearts, perhaps
obtaining a clue to the distribution
or see an informative discard before
tackling diamonds. You could weigh
the impact of a non-diamond lead.
West will probably assume that North
has a diamond control because he bid
4NT after South bypassed 4♦ with
his 4♥ control bid. Might an intrepid
West risk a diamond lead away from
his ace, expecting the king in dummy?
In any event, a wait-and-see strategy,
hoping to make a winning guess later
in diamonds, is the analytical way to go.
The alternative, the psychological
approach, is to lead the ♦J at trick two
before the defense knows much about
the deal. It would take nerves of steel
for West to duck the ace in tempo; for
all he knows, he may have ducked the
setting trick if South holds a singleton
diamond and a hole in a black suit. If

West plays low, place the ace with East
and duck in dummy, hoping the queen
is onside.
Charismatic pros like Zia make good
copy because of flair and a willingness
to back their instinct. Unfortunately,
their fame and reputation hardly
extends beyond the narrow confines of
bridge.
Charismatic baseball stars like Cobb
and Ruth benefited from extensive
newspaper and radio coverage. After they retired, a golf match - three
rounds on three different courses in
different cities - was arranged with
the proceeds going to charity. Ruth was
younger and had the lower handicap.
However, Cobb won the contest, in
part by hitting more fairways with his
controlled swing (singles, not homers).
He also had a psychological advantage,
which he was quick to exploit. Ruth
had a shorter attention span, about
two hours was the typical length for a
ball game in his era. Accordingly, Cobb
slowed down the pace; taking more
practice swings, being very deliberate
on the greens. Ruth's concentration
began to wane and he grew impatient.
Cobb won the majority of the holes on
the back nine. Dead ball gamesmanship triumphed over swagger.
◾

August 2018 Bridge Bulletin

33


http://www.acbl.org/cbo

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2018

In First Seat - Paul Linxwiler
Letters to the Editor
Due Recognition - Canadian Hall of Fame
Honolulu hosts the Fall NABC
Canadian National Team Championships
Naming Names by Simon Cocheme
Global Game
Losing Trick Count
The New Convention Charts and You - part 1
Ruling the Game - by Matt Smith
Product Reviews
Baseball and Bridge by Augie Boehm
Club News
Product Reviews
The Bidding Box
It's Your Call
Card Play 101 - by Phillip Alder
Parrish the Thought - Adam Parrish
Play & Learn - by Pat Harrington
Ask Jerry - by Jerry Helms
Startup Bridge by Lynn Berg
Bidding Basics by Larry Cohen
Bidding Basics Quiz
Obituary - Ivar Stakgold (1928-2018)
Mike's Bridge Lesson - Mike Lawrence
The Real Deal - by Larry Cohen
Chalk Talk - by Eddie Kantar
West Hands - The Bidding Box
Boehm on Bridge - H is for holdup- by August Boehm
Misplay these Hands with Me - by Mark Horton
East Hands -Bidding Box
Challenge of the Month
Out of Hand
Better Bridge with Bergen - Squeezes made easy (part 3) - by Marty Bergen
Bidding Matters - by Karen Walker
Mike's Advice - by Mike Lawrence
Test Your Play
Helen Shields Pro-AM winners
Solutions to Test Your Play
My Bridge and Yours - by Frank Stewart
George's World - by George Jacobs
Dear Billy - by Billy Miller
Bridge with the Abbot - by David Bird
Big Games
New Life Masters
Life Master Milestones
Puzzle Page
In Memoriam
Obituary - Mark Gordon (1953-2018)
Obituary - Murray Melton (1939-2018)
Obituary - Jack Nayer (1951-2018)
Tournament Directory
Obituary - Tom Clarke (1946-2018)
August 2018 - 1
August 2018 - 2
August 2018 - 3
August 2018 - 4
August 2018 - 5
August 2018 - In First Seat - Paul Linxwiler
August 2018 - Letters to the Editor
August 2018 - 8
August 2018 - Due Recognition - Canadian Hall of Fame
August 2018 - Honolulu hosts the Fall NABC
August 2018 - 11
August 2018 - 12
August 2018 - 13
August 2018 - 14
August 2018 - 15
August 2018 - Canadian National Team Championships
August 2018 - 17
August 2018 - 18
August 2018 - 19
August 2018 - 20
August 2018 - 21
August 2018 - Naming Names by Simon Cocheme
August 2018 - 23
August 2018 - Global Game
August 2018 - 25
August 2018 - Losing Trick Count
August 2018 - 27
August 2018 - The New Convention Charts and You - part 1
August 2018 - Ruling the Game - by Matt Smith
August 2018 - Product Reviews
August 2018 - 31
August 2018 - Baseball and Bridge by Augie Boehm
August 2018 - 33
August 2018 - Club News
August 2018 - 35
August 2018 - Product Reviews
August 2018 - The Bidding Box
August 2018 - 38
August 2018 - 39
August 2018 - It's Your Call
August 2018 - 41
August 2018 - 42
August 2018 - 43
August 2018 - Card Play 101 - by Phillip Alder
August 2018 - Parrish the Thought - Adam Parrish
August 2018 - Play & Learn - by Pat Harrington
August 2018 - Ask Jerry - by Jerry Helms
August 2018 - Startup Bridge by Lynn Berg
August 2018 - Bidding Basics Quiz
August 2018 - Obituary - Ivar Stakgold (1928-2018)
August 2018 - Mike's Bridge Lesson - Mike Lawrence
August 2018 - The Real Deal - by Larry Cohen
August 2018 - West Hands - The Bidding Box
August 2018 - Boehm on Bridge - H is for holdup- by August Boehm
August 2018 - East Hands -Bidding Box
August 2018 - Out of Hand
August 2018 - Better Bridge with Bergen - Squeezes made easy (part 3) - by Marty Bergen
August 2018 - Mike's Advice - by Mike Lawrence
August 2018 - Helen Shields Pro-AM winners
August 2018 - 60
August 2018 - Solutions to Test Your Play
August 2018 - My Bridge and Yours - by Frank Stewart
August 2018 - George's World - by George Jacobs
August 2018 - Dear Billy - by Billy Miller
August 2018 - Bridge with the Abbot - by David Bird
August 2018 - Big Games
August 2018 - New Life Masters
August 2018 - Life Master Milestones
August 2018 - 69
August 2018 - 70
August 2018 - Puzzle Page
August 2018 - Obituary - Murray Melton (1939-2018)
August 2018 - Obituary - Tom Clarke (1946-2018)
August 2018 - 74
August 2018 - 75
August 2018 - 76
August 2018 - 77
August 2018 - 78
August 2018 - 79
August 2018 - 80
August 2018 - 81
August 2018 - 82
August 2018 - 83
August 2018 - 84
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https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2020_01a
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_09
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https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_07
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https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_05
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_04
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_03
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_02
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2019_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_08
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_07
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https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2018_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_12
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https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2017_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_11
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_10
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_09
https://www.nxtbook.com/acbl/bridgebulletin/2016_08
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