sireenb

Way to go sireenb. Keep us posted, I would love to hear that you´re succesfull! I guess you have all forgotten this thread, but it was very important to me. Your collective encouragement was highly motivating... I finally did it. Over the past few months I lost 13 kilos (28 lb) to prepare for quitting smoking. I can now gain or lose around 5 lb and still look OK. At the same time, I was cutting down cigarettes and had a quit plan in progress and a quit date lined up. I quit smoking completely last night at midnight, over 13 hours ago. I do not know if I can keep it up or not, but I do plan to try my best. Thank you all for convincing me to do it... Sireen

I love Bridge vacations, and if they are combined with lazing on the beach that makes them perfect for me. I retired early one and a half years ago and have gone on more than 10 Bridge vacations since then. Even when I was working, I managed to squeeze 2 or 3 in every year.

I have only used them at Zonal and World Championships. The approval is taken very seriously at those events. Whether I was N or E, it was normal to call the Director if the score was not verified by EW. This happens if you press an extra 'Enter' which actually verifies the score and brings up the next hand. After that there is no way to see the score unless the Director uses a key. At Beijing, an opponent once walked off after the last board of a match and did not verify the score. I immediately called the Director who caught up with the player and double-checked. I did not verify the score myself. I played at the Transnational in Shanghai and the players were supposed to enter the numbers of the N/S/E/W players before entering the scores for the hands. Some players were sloppy with that process and it really irritated me because the Butler score then goes to the wrong player on the team. Once I noticed this (Butler scores are posted on the web), I started making sure that part was done properly as well! I am really surprised by what you said about the practises at this event, Jan and Josh.

Thanks for the advice guys. You have convinced me to quit ASAP. I am not quite ready to do it this instant but I think I can talk myself into it within the next couple of days and I have already cut down. I am not very worried about the weight because I am already on an easy diet and have lost a lot already slowly and steadily. There is a lot less smoking in public areas here because of a new law they passed a few months ago so I hope that I will not have a bad problem with the eye allergy. Our home is already a non-smoking zone because my husband hates cigarettes. So thanks again and I am working on it :rolleyes:

I once managed to stop for 5 years, then started again :angry: I got a terrible allergy when I stopped. If I was within 20 metres of a cigarette my eyes would start watering non-stop. When I started smoking again my eyes were fine. I am considering giving up again but want to lose a lot of weight first because when I quit last time I gained 10 kilos in no time! It is a terrible habit and stopping is very difficult. Anybody who never started is very lucky.

I like Astro with X as equivalent+. It gets the 4-5 card Major suit into the picture quickly and the NT opener ends up on lead most of the time.

If you deselect 'Pictures of Cards' the cards are much more readable in diagram form. Do try that if you have not already....

That is so true - I went through this many times. I voted for 'different objectives' because from day one I wanted to win and compete nationally and internationally whereas my partners in the early days just wanted a bridge evening out and did not have further ambitions. They usually ended up telling me to find a more serious partner. I have been playing with my regular partner for over 20 years. We started as partners for the mixed pairs only. He had another partner for open events and I was a sort of 'standby' when his partner could not travel to tournaments. In those days I changed my 'open' partner every few months. That was very frustrating and it made me appreciate my mixed pairs partner even more, despite our volatile temperaments! I have two other long-term partners. I have been playing with the same partner in ladies' events on and off for twenty years. I have been playing with my third partner for over ten years. Why did those partnerships last? Because they both play to win, and love to read and improve their game! I tried many non-starter partnerships that did not work because of different styles, different approaches to the game, etc. My current partner and his previous partner eventually split up for a different reason than any of the ones you mentioned. We come from a small country with a very small bridge-playing community. They had difficulty forming a competitive team with another pair willing and able to travel. So they decided to play with their best 'second' partners and form a team that way. That decision was taken many years ago and since then our team has regularly won the national open team trials. Over the years the secondary partnerships drifted into main partnerships.

2♣ and I wish you had a poll on this one ;)

Thanks :rolleyes:

Are you sure you weren't declarer? :) And, btw, how is declarer ever -1? The most he should ever lose is 2H and 2C.....no matter how poorly he plays. (In fact, how did he hold himself to only 8 tricks?) Unnecessarily ruffed with K♠ promoting the 8 for the 5th trick? Still trying to figure out 1 down!

With a casual partner I would take it as some sort of raise of one of my suits. with my regular partner I play it as a relay. Partner can bid other suits to relay for controls, shortness and Queens in my suits.

Why do many Chinese players use numbers as their usernames? Just wondering! :)

Such comments do not particularly bother me at the Main Bridge Club. A player once announced '1430' during a tournament and I called the Director. The player then mentioned he was a sub and I felt a bit bad but I would still call the Director in such cases. I never discuss anything with my regular partners except after a disaster. I never initiate a discussion during a game with a new partner, but sometimes partner does and then it is a bit embarrassing. Usually I do not answer unless the opponents allow it. When playing against people who have never played together, I usually announce that they should feel free to discuss. Usually I play with my regular partners and it is a better game if there are no big misunderstandings by opponents.

I read about bridge every day. I never go anywhere without bridge books and I always keep one or two in my car. I have accumulated a large library over the years and have read my favourite books many times. I also have a collection of bridge magazines and newspaper bridge articles. Besides books and magazines, I read these forums and browse the web for interesting articles. I enjoy Vugraph especially if the commentators are solid. I find web resources interesting but not an adequate substitute for good books when it comes to improving or maintaining my game. I step up my reading before and during tournaments or championships. I read the daily bulletins and good bridge 'textbooks' after the game, in addition to going through hand records. I go through system notes with my partner before any serious competition and edit them on a regular basis. I love reading anything that Hugh Kelsey or Mike Lawrence wrote. I also enjoy reading the world championship books edited by Brian Senior. When I need a break from serious reading I read fun bridge books like those by Victor Mollo or the King Brothers. I could go on about great bridge books for ages :rolleyes: