Introductions and the Like

[Fluffy]

Hi folks!

 

My name is Gonzalo, and live in Madrid, still a junior (24) and been playing sincee I was 13.

 

I´ve learned quickly because my father is WBF´s World Master, and probably the best spanish player ever. With him I´ve won some titles and money, but I can´t be really proud of them becuase it isn´t really hard in Spain.

 

My biggest problem is I know a lot of things that I know they are right because I was taught that way, but I am not sure why they are correct, looking to learns something new on this forums :blink:

 

 

I really love playing in BBO, the absence of a ladder keeps ourselves away from cheaters, and we can always enjoy playing friends, even better or worse, without being troubled by big wins/losses.

[dugite]

Hi I am dugite aka howsthaat aka goldribs(for any old yahooies or swannies).

 

I have been playing offline for about 20 years and online for about 6.

 

I live in Perth Western Australia(which is rated as the worlds most isolated city--which may explain the strange time zone and weird sense of humour).

 

Sometimes I am expert and at other times a prebeginner,but usually I am about intermediate.

 

I will play with anybody anytime regardless of rating or other facors.

 

My picture sums up what most people think of my heretical bridge ideas.

 

One of my interests is collecting greetings from arround the world so when you arrive at my table I can say hello in your own tongue.I need more of these so come tell me hello and goodbye and thanks in other languages.

 

I am looking forward to playing with as many people as possible.

 

See youse all later(or round like a rissole)

 

 

DUGITE

[dogsbreath]

Hi all ..Doggie here :lol:

..never noticed this 'thread' before ..so maybe I sh add my knot.. (anything to make up ground on the site's ace 'posters' (ben,alex etc))

Real name ..martin devlin ..which is not usual in Ireland, but does lend itself to numerous variations including 'nilved nitram' backwards :P

 

I've been playing on BBO since the days when if we got more than 30 tables some of us had to play on the verranda!.. but still quite a few 'old-hands' here before me and still here today.

 

i started playing Bridge at uni in Belfast and played Junior and Senior camrose for N.Ireland. Havent played seriously for years until recently , am fortunate to have a good 'live' partner at present ..diane greenwood, who will be representing Ireland in the Ladies team at the upcoming Europeans at Malmo.

 

Is great fun to meet some of my BBO friends/opponents 'live' ..so far have met Orla (Irish but living in Germany), margaret aka 'haggis' and OliverC , not to mention Ron Lel ('The Hog') whom i met and played against in Oz in the 80's .

 

Never played 'sayc' or 2/1 before BBO ..apologies in advance if you get me at a table :)

 

All welcome at my table .. Rgds Dog :blink:

[slothy]

Like Doggy just saw this thread too :( Just thought i would give people the opportunity to understand me better

 

Name: Alex aka Slothy aka "Geez, not him again"

 

Age: 38 (rising arithmetically by 1 every 365.25 days ;) )

 

Sex: As often as possible, preferably with same person who is knowingly not blood-related.

 

Gender: Male (Proud owner of an aerodynamic, stream-lined X chromosome and a stumpy Y one).

 

Sexual Orientation: North. Grandpa always told me to have the needle pointing in the right direction. Physically, monogamous; psychologically, sluttishly promiscuous. Closet heterosexual.

 

Ethnicity: Awaiting paternal DNA test. A suspicion, according to family legend, of a few rogue genes from Scandanavia.

 

Nationality: English/American (have US passport, born in Cleveland Ohio, although never lived there). Lived my formative years in Malta. Explains my instinctive automatic gesture to stand up and place my hand on my chest when either anthem is played, and moving my mouth pretending that i know the words.

 

Religion: Roman Catholic by denomination (ie living in Malta). In fact wanted to be a priest, but absolved myself from that career pursuit when I become old enough to appreciate that I could not take the anatomical responses of sitting next to a person of the opposite sex, potentially, to their natural conclusions.

 

Children: None, although there are many beautiful, charming children out there who look uncannily like me. (243 paternity suits pending)

 

Phone Num: Give me a call and i will tell you.

 

A dress: Never worn one, although fellow members of my Transvestite Anonymous Group thought it was time I should.

 

Marital Status: Married/Divorced (in that order, funnily enough). Currently not co-habiting, but involved, allowing me the luxury to sleep sideways on my bed if i wish and not being stealthfully pushed off the edge.

 

Disorders: Bedroom, kitchen and living-room. (in fact I have adopted chaos theory to my domestic management. I have reached a state of equilibrium where I know that I have something, just don’t know its precise geographical location in the house); closing my eyes when walking in a sand-storm; not knowing when to stop when writing posts.

 

Phobias: Cannibalistic Papua New Guinean tribesmen who come knocking at the door asking if they can come in for dinner; women waking me up early Sunday morning with a smile on their face and an air of expectation; spiders in the bath who haven’t got the decency to clean it whilst they are in it.

 

Favourite Bridge Moment(s): Winning the National Newcomers Pairs after playing bridge for 2 years, and coming placed in National Pairs 2 years later: Playing for Yorkshire. Making 3NT on a criss-cross squeeze against the late Boris Shapiro and him patting me on the back and telling me "well done, son".

 

Horriblest bridge moment: Going 3 off in 4D X against the late Boris Shapiro on the next board and him looking at me in a way which suggested that he wished he never touched me on the previous board.

 

Most embarrassing bridge moment: Playing opposite a female ex-partner after her buttons on her blouse had come undone.

 

Most Happiest bridge moment: Waiting until the end of the round to tell her.

 

Favourite Bridge Book: The Expert Game By Terence Reese.

 

Most difficult bridge book I have read: Losing Trick Count by Ron Klinger (Chinese Braille edition).

 

Bridge Book i would have most liked to read:2004 European Championships Qualifier Hand Records (2003 Edition)

 

Favourite Bridge Saying: "And which half of your singleton do you wish to play first, opp?"

 

Favourite Bridge Partner: Aisha. Love you babe.

 

Bridge Couple would most like to meet: Fred Gitelman & Sheri Winestock.

 

Favourite Proverb: "If you run after 2 hares you will catch neither".

 

Favourite Meal: Whole Hare casserole followed by Whole Hare Rib Rack With Asparagus and Pimento Sauce with a side serving of broccoli.

 

Diet: Omnivorous by nature, carnivorous by moon-cycle.

 

Pet Hates: Women with more facial hair and bigger biceps than myself; communal towels when attending Leprosy Convention; people who repeatedly pick imaginary pieces of fluff off their jumpers; women who insist that I put the toilet-seat down at their house and then don’t leave it up at mine; people who feverishly scurry to lock their car-doors as I cross the road.

 

Qualifications: Bsc Zoology (aborted after 3 years when I discovered that a had an aversion for animals, especially domesticated ones -> travelled around Europe for 2 years. Best education I ever had), Bsc Computer Science. Outstanding distinction in Telepathy Exams. (i saw the questions in my head 2 weeks before the exam)

 

Shoe Size: Depends who asks.

 

Favourite Young Person: Nephew, Fabien (4), for saying that i am his favourite uncle.

 

Most Unfavourite Young Person: Niece, Natasha (8), for reminding her cousin, Fabien, i am his only uncle.

 

Most Favourite Adult: Aisha.

 

Favourite Novel: The Periodic Table by Primo Levi (highly recommendable. Most ingenious allegory ever written, better than Dante’s Divine Comedy and Swifts Gulliver’s Travels put together)

 

Book Currently Reading: Guns, Germs And Steel by J. Diamond (Will alter your perception of modern civilization and why the world is how it is)

 

Favourite Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Alberto Moravia close second).

 

Most overrated author: Sigmund Freud - he has made me perceive my mother with undeserved suspicion.

 

Most disillusioned Person: Steve aka 2over1 for having misconceived notion that Sloths suffer from body odour or really care if they do :blink:

 

Book Least Likely To Read: The Kama Sutra For Celibates (Left-handed edition)

 

Pet: An orphaned hammerhead shark, christened Jaws E. Lin.

 

Most extravagant purchase: Goldfish bowl for my pet.

 

Most dangerous moment: Having to give my pet a dental-floss after a toffee-apple got wedged in his molars.

 

Most uneventful moment: Taking my pet for a walk in the local park.

 

Most apprehensive moment: Secretly phoning my then fiancée 2 hours before our wedding telling her I wanted to have 3 children with her.

 

Most regretful moment: Looking at my mobile after and realising I had phoned my mother-in-law by mistake.

 

Most xciting moment: Spontaneously making love in a lift one night after going out celebrating.

 

Most Embarrassing Moment: The dwarf standing in the badly-lit opposite corner of the lift asking us what floor we were going to get out at.

 

Most Character-Forming Life Event: Having, 2 hours after being born, the sign "Dont Touch, Ugly Baby" tattooed on my forehead.

 

Hobbies: Language, bridge, mathematical puzzles, reading, crosswords, creating learning software, writing poetry and prose, travelling.

 

What profession I would like to have: Surgeon. Would perform radical, retinal surgery on men such that no woman looks more beautiful to him than his wife.

 

What I would change about the world: That people would see beyond skin-colour, social status, culture, language and religion and tolerate even celebrate our differences as these make the world the wonderful place it could and should be. Make people smile as an act of law. Turn humour into a highly infectious virus.

 

What I fear most: That some miserable moron would synthesise a vaccine for the above.

 

Person I most admire: Albert Einstein. A man of vision, intelligence, honour and fearlessness with humility.

 

Best Quotes:

 

 

---

Imagination is more important than knowledge

 

 

---

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

 

 

---

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.

 

 

---

Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population.

 

 

---

The saving grace of humour: if you fail no one is laughing at you.

 

Thing I Am Most Likely To Say: "Lie on the floor. Put your hands on your head and tell me where the keys for the safe are"

 

Thing I Am Least Likely To Say: "I agree with you, Claus"

[flytoox]

Hehe, Slothy's post is always so entertaining to read.

 

Let me introduce myself here. My name is Hongjun ZHong, flytoox on BBO. I am from China, now I am doing PHD in Econ. in England.

 

I started playing bridge quite long time ago but hadnt played for many years before I picked it up again last year when friend introduced me to here. Then I keep wandering around BBO all the time, without making much progress with my thesis.:(

 

The best book in my view are:

 

Defense: Killing Defense by Kelsey

Declarer Play: Expert Game by Reese. Perhaps I should also mention the book "Most puzzling hand in bridge" by Reese. This is a great book, I read the chinese version but could not find it in any bookstore here. Does any friends in England know where I can get a copy?

Bidding: All Mike Lawrence's books, especially complete book on overcall and Contested Auction. Besides this, Better biddding with Bergen is also my favorite.

[gamingrams]

Hi, all BB players and friends. I have just discovered the forums and this topic.

 

I, like many of you, started playing bridge as a teenager. What systems did I play -- that many eons ago I am not sure what I played had a name B) , just bridge. Played through college and then whenever we lived some place where I could scrounge up enough players.

 

Was introduced to duplicate, and was forever hooked.

 

Almost 6 years ago I moved to Alaska and was horrified to find that there were no sanctioned games closer than Anchorage (a 3 hour drive or expensive 20 minute plane ride) so I took up quilting. When my mother announced to her friends that I had given up cards, into the startled silence that followed, one of the players at the Hilton Head Bridge Club immediately asked for my email address and began bugging me to play online. Finally, I worked up enough bravado to face all of those strangers and logged on to MSN and found the zone. My friend, JJoker, introduced me to several of her friends and now I was in real trouble -- two horribly time consuming hobbies. quilting and 24 hour access online bridge, a relatively new marriage :blink:, and a whopping big time differential with the East Coast.

 

About a year ago I found my true love -- Bridge on BB and brought my favorite partner with me (or maybe she brought me) and have been here ever since. THANKS FRED!!!!

 

Now there is local duplicate here and I am truly in heaven.

 

By the way, my earth name is Leslie. but I answer to gamin, grams, and gg as well.

[inquiry]

Hi Leslie,

 

Welcome to the BBO forum. Hope you find ways to wste time in the forum as well.

 

Ben

[keylime]

Leslie,

 

It's about darn time you joined the party man!! :)

[Dwayne]

I am a Taurus who likes Chinese Food, walking in the rain and eating Chinese food in the rain.

 

My favourite all-time movie is Alien 2.

 

Dwayne

[slothy]

Welcome to the forum Dwayne

 

A Tauran who likes soggy Chinese food???

 

Sounds like a bull in a china shop?

 

Ja ja

[Gerben47]

Hi, although I'm a regular on this forum I never got around to introducing myself in this thread.

 

I'm a junior player (25 next week) from the Netherlands, but currently in Germany for my Ph.D. in Astronomy. As for bridge level, I probably rank between advanced and expert, having won my set of regional tournaments and due to good results in junior competitions.

I will play for the German junior team in Prague this summer, partnering a Russian.

 

Favorite Bridge Experiences:

* Playing the Forbo International Tournament in Scheveningen and actually winning a 10-board match against one of the favorites.

* Junior Bridge Camps. I can recommend these to everyone.

 

Greatest Hand: Making an incredible 3NT during the Individual in the 2002 Junior Bridge Camp (see bulletin for details).

 

Favorite Bridge Book: Adventures in Card Play

 

Special Bridge Interests: Non-standard bidding systems and conventions.

 

Other Hobbies: Other board and card games, recreational mathematics.

 

Favorite non-bridge authors: Isaac Asimov, Stephen Baxter, Greg Bear (sci-fi with the empasis on the sci-part)

 

What I like most in BBO: Live Vugraph. I watch it a lot, was operator, even commentator for a few boards and in the already mentioned junior championship this summer I hope to play on it as well.

 

Motto: There's two kinds of rubber bridge players. Those that hold average cards and those who won't admit it.

 

Gerben "Dutchy" Dirksen

[Fluffy]

I'm a junior player (25 next week) from the Netherlands, but currently in Germany for my Ph.D. in Astronomy. As for bridge level, I probably rank between advanced and expert, having won my set of regional tournaments and due to good results in junior competitions.

I will play for the German junior team in Prague this summer, partnering a Russian.

Hey Gerben, I´ll meet you there! B)

 

Dutch-russian pair for germany?, mmm that looks like spanish open team :)

[sceptic]

Hi,

 

I am Wayne, 45 English threw and threw, badly edukated, spilling is not my strong point.

 

I started playing bridge in yahoo for 3 years, then I came to BBO about 9 months ago and realised that in yahoo social lounge I was not playing bridge I was playing some other game that resembles whist.

 

I had to start back from the old proverbial drawing board, I have some horrendous habits to get rid of, but I have been lucky enough to get Paulg (the man is a saint) to mentor me through the 5th chair foundation (the wife wished it was the elcetric chair foundation).

 

Also I have just started a partnership with 1valeria a very nice Italian lady and we are now getting lessons in 2/1 from Bob Mcphee, I have been playing 2/1 for about 3 weeks now (22 june 2004).

 

And numerous sessions watching the likes of Shep Cascade and plenty of others

 

I enjoy kibbing some of the experts, I love the Vu graph and I am amazed at the friendliness of the large majority of people.

 

I am also a grandad, I have a 18 month old granddaughter who is learning bridge with me as she loves sitting on my lap when I play.

 

Bridge is the most interesting thing I do these days and I hope I when I die, I fall off a chair in the middle of a hand :blink:) (a 2!C opener would be nice)

[Free]

Hmmm, I also overlooked this. I'll introduce myself as well, although a lot of people know some stuff about me already :)

 

My name is Frederick Staelens, "Free" online. Right now I'm 23 and my B-day is 12/11 (send me a present or money plz :D ). I'm a student in computer science, and like to go out.

I started to play bridge when I was 14 years old, a friend of my parents wanted to start up a bridge club, and gave lessons. My father took them to, but after a few lessons we were only with 7 people left (started with 16, 2nd lesson only 12 or so). We went on for about 2-3 years with 4-5 players, played every week some hands (around 4 hours), but it was low level. Then our teacher Carl got sick and we were only with 3. Because of that we went to a real bridgeclub, and there we learned a lot! My dear Carl passed away a few years ago, but thanks to him I learned this great game. May he rest in peace.

These days I have a great f2f partner and we got some nice results on tourneys and championships. However the small mistakes which cost a lot occur still a little too much. For competition I have no time, because half of the playdays are during exams. However, we're substitute players, and never lost :)

My favorite kind of systems are strong ♣, and in particular MOSCITO. Just need to find a f2f partner to play this in my local clubs :) And I hate UDCA!!

 

Greetz

[DrTodd13]

DrTodd here, a.k.a. Todd A. Anderson. I was born and lived in West Virginia unless I was 22 at which point I moved to Lexington Kentucky to attend grad school. After being there a year or two I was invited to a party of a fellow schoolmate and some people there were playing bridge and that is where I caught the bug. About 3 year later, myself and two of the other people at that party (and another fellow) won the OKB collegiate tourney. In 1999, I graduated with a Ph.D. in computer science and moved to Oregon to work for Intel.

 

My best bridge moment so far was at the NABC in Toronto. The event for which I'd came was over and so myself and 3 people that I'd played with online (one was my pd from the collegiate tourney) decided to play the Swiss on Sunday. We alternated partnerships so everyone would get a chance to play with everyone else and we weren't doing so well after the first 3 rounds....probably about 30% of the field. This round my old partner and I were getting ready to play and were waiting for our opponent's partner to show up. I was sitting facing the door and most tables had started play and so the foot traffic was low in and out of the doors when I saw Bob Hamman come walking in. He headed right for our table and sat down and so my pd and I knew we were in for a treat. We would learn later that the guy who was already at the table was a client and that he had hired Hamman and at the other table had hired Petra Hamman and Joan Jackson. Our little team managed to win by 27 in the 8 board match. I still have the score slip.

 

Aside from that, I'm probably best known for the strong pass systems that you see me playing on-line pretty regularly.

 

Todd

[paulhar]

Like many others, I've found this section and feel that I should answer the question: "Who's been putting on all those obnoxious postings about ratings anyway?" :(

 

Many, many, MANY!! years ago somebody needed a warm body as a fourth for bridge and it's been downhill since then. Ten years later I found the love of my life at (where else?) a bridge tournament, which was at the time an every other weekend event. She has introduced sanity into my life and now I play tournament bridge once a year whether I need to or not. Having moved to sunny Florida a few years ago, I gave up my career as a computer programmer (a position for which I am no longer qualified) to become a bridge teacher's assistant (which is infinitely more fun.) Our main class is 35 tables in the winter (limited by the size of the hall, signups required) but when the snowbirds go up North, we are down to about ten tables. Bridge is like a busman's holiday - our main avocation is challenge square dancing.

 

Bridge teaching and the administration of bridge teaching is a full time job for us. We need to prepare about eighty lessons for this winter, each with 8-10 foolproof hands. The average new lesson might take about one and a half man-days. It's all worth it when we here several students comment on how well the hands are constructed to give you a bad result if you don't do the right thing, and how well the lessons flow.

 

I need not say anything about my ability except that my wife has noticed that when I am on opening lead, I lead fourth-best --- that is to say, the fourth best SUIT for our side. (Some BBO partners might have realized the same thing by now.) Fortunately, nobody has yet designed a system to maximize the chances of putting me on lead.

[helene_t]

I'm born in 1966 in Denmark but live in the Netherlands. As a statistician with interests in information theory and game theory I find bridge a fascinating game, and I've been studying it since I was 8 YO, discussing bidding theory with my father who used to be one of the best Danish players, doing computer simulations and of course reading a lot. I invented a few conventions including raptor and T-walsh, but all turned out already to be have invented by others. Unfortunately, I suffer from attention disorder so I can't count trumps. So if you want to play with me, it is probably a good idea to bid natural and let me use transfers. (Now you know why I'm against rating).

 

Brought up with stone-age ACOL and various wicked club systems, I now play SAYC or 2/1 or whatever partners want. I prefer not to do any signalling except for a count signal on partners opening lead.

[luke warm]

my name is jimmy and i'm from louisiana... i'm 53 (that's 49 in internet years :P )

 

i started playing bridge a longgg time ago... my first partner was a self-proclaimed expert (know the species?) who had played some tournament bridge... he played, and taught me, a short club system... i was always a good card player, but knew nothing about bridge

 

then i took a long chess-induced hiatus from bridge (even beat the louisiana state champ at our club, for what that's worth), then rediscovered bridge on the zone (i was there to play some chess heheh)

 

i got heavily involved in the game again, partly because of a fabulous partnership i formed at the time (don't ask)... from the zone to bbo, with a few stops here and there

 

bbo and all the people i've met here, online and off, are fabulous... i look forward to meeting many more of you in the years to come

[Elianna]

Hi, I'm Elianna (elianna on bbo, isn't that easy?). Like a few others here, I'm a junior, but not for long, unfortunately (my time ends in late January). I learned bridge about 8 years ago from my grandparents, and I honestly don't know what system I learned (it had 4-card majors, but 16-18 NT). I really started learning bridge 2 years ago, and having much fun with it since.

 

My self-rating seems to change, based on my mood, because honestly, how I play is based on my mood. Going strictly by bbo's stated policy, I'm advanced, but when I'm tired (which is most of the time) I feel more like a novice!

 

I heartily agree with the promoters of bridge camp.

[mr1303]

I've missed this as well

 

I'm Mark, 21 year old Chemistry student from Bristol, Manchester or London depending on the time of year.

 

I like playing strong club systems, and am in the process of learning MOSCITO relays.

 

Non-bridge stuff, I like singing karaoke, playing on dancing stage euromix, and surfing.

[pclayton]

Ok I'll dive in. Not sure why I've missed it either. My handle on BBO is the original sounding "Pclayton".

 

I'm Phil Clayton, 41 at this writing. Happily married to a bridge widow named Kim (answers to Kimi if you see her online kibbing me - Kclayton). We have three perfect children named ages 16, 13 and 11. The two oldest occasionally caddy at regionals and worked the Long Beach Nationals last summer. That was cool.

 

I've played since I was 13 - played in my first duplicate game in Havre, Montana at age 16 with my Mom (miss you) in 1980. Immediately caught the bug. Grade Point Average immediately plunged as high school physics textbook was replaced with old borrowed copies of the Bridge World and George Coffin's "Endplays" (tougher than physics anyway :P) . Spent the remainder of high school and most of college (University of Montana - Missoula) traveling around the great State of Montana playing in sectionals and getting schnockered with people 3x and 4x my age; surreal but fun :D :D .

 

In 1985, went to the Las Vegas Nationals and went 8-0 the first day of the Non-LM Swiss. Ended up 2nd in the event, and got all the gold points I needed for LM, which I obtained in '86. I think I'm still the youngest LM to come out of Montana.

 

In 1987, got married and the bridge, uh..stopped. Started career and raising the little ones. Currently, I am a moderately succcessful real estate developer of shopping centers in Newport Beach, CA. Always looking for new projects; if only to support my bridge habit.

 

Starting playing on-line in 1995 - first Imagination Network (remember that?), then OKB. Online meant I was home physically but not mentally. So, in '99 - gave up OKB for real life. Was one of the first on BBO with Inquiry and 2over1.

 

Have been pretty serious about the game since then. Have won about 15 regionals (mixed bag - some bracketed KO's (one Bracket I), some pair events).

 

At Long Beach Nationals, entered the 0-5000 Spingold with my Flight B Grand National team, since the combined MP total for the team was about 3,500, we were seeded #41 out of 41. Ended up 3rd losing to the eventual winners in the semis, but beating the #1 seed along the way. Got to use the screens and be in the same room as Meckwell, Jacobs etc..

 

I have two regular partnerships in real life. With Rai Osborne we play OC (Orange County / Osborne - Clayton / Obsessive-Compulsive) Precision Club with transfer responses, 10-13 NT, and a lot of gadgets. With Harvey Jaffe, I play 2/1 and 12-14 NT's with Keri responses and a limited 2♣ opener (4-5 losers +/- 19-21 HCP) and 2♦ as the GF opener. In both partnerships I play Overcall Structure, and Obvious Shift. I'm always interested in new ideas in bidding.

 

I have one unabashed goal in bridge - and that is to win a national open event; pairs or teams, I'm not picky :lol:

[Chamaco]

Well, I've seen Miami mentioned, so I'll start by saying that I live in (sort of) the "italian Miami" = Rimini, a beach and party town on the adriatic sea :-)

 

My name is Mauro (born 1967), and after having played competitive chess for over 20 years, I found intriguing to explore the world of bridge.

 

What really intrigued me was the interaction with a partner: playing chess you have the freedom to take all the decisions, playing bridge you don't, but you are enriched by the interaction with pard...

 

I started playing about 4 years ago, while I was living in California, and moved back in Italy 2 years ago: so part of my bridge background is US, but since I moved in Italy, I had the chance also to include some more "italian influences". :-)

 

I like to study bridge, and I do that a lot during train commuting to work: as a result, my skills have improved mostly in the area where study alone helps more: bidding.

 

I also study card play, tests, books, etc etc, but the rate of improvement there is much slower, as one not only needs to get concepts, but only playing many hands help.

 

Other interests: chess, jazz (Charles Mingus above all), alternative music (Tom Waits and Paolo Conte rule...), Tango dancing, european cinema (Fellini and Bunuel), sports (soccer and bike), motorbike, good wine :-)

[Guest Jlall]

Hi,

 

I'm Justin Lall... I recently turned 18, and have played since i was 10. I love bridge, and have chosen to dedicate my life to it playing professionally. My name on BBO is jlall (original, i know).

[Double !]

First and most importantly of all: Warmest wishes to all of you as the end of 2004 rapidly approaches. May the new year bring peace, harmony, love, family, friends, togetherness, safety and security, warm fuzzies, and happiness to all of you.

 

My name is Don. I am 50 something, (the top of the head is getting grayer but, so far, it is still covered), married for 33 years, and have been working as a school psychologist in the South Bronx, New York City, USA for a long time. I started to play bridge in my teens (aka: the 60's) in the greater Boston area, earned my gold card when in my 20's, continued to play for a while, then then stopped due to a combination of factors including time, work, and family priorities. BBO is the vehicle that permitted me with the opportunity to resume playing against after having successfully gotten out of the rat race (aka: chasing masterpoints) many years ago. I think I have played in 4 or 5 tournaments in past 5 years or so.

 

I never really "learned" Std. Am. something that doesn't truly exist in the first place. I started out playing (if i might be so bold) Kaplan-Sheinwold, learned Schenken, played a card that combined the two systems, and then learned Precision around 1970. I can sometimes count to 13, more often to 14, occasionally not even to 10. My benchmark for what truly constitutes being an expert is a family member who, IMO, is a superior player when he has time to play. I am not an expert nor do I anticipate ever becoming one according to my criteria or BBO's in the near future (I don't play live bridge), but I love this game and have some of my own opinions or approaches to bidding. I dislike strong NT systems because I feel bored ('outta my mind'- sorry Ben, couldn't resist) when playing them: much too easy to compete against. I strongly believe that people should select a system with a purpose in mind as different bidding (and defensive) systems function differently and accomplish different things. I don't believe that there are right and wrong bids per se, but Instead I believe that the partnership needs to establish what is or is not the correct bid for the partnership. Barring that, then one can fall back on "default agreements". I also strongly believe that, for a partnership to be successful, both members need to be willing to work at it and to have a similar degree of commitment to the partnership. I am notorious for being able to go down 1 or 2 tricks at times when the field is making overtricks, but I can usually hold up my end of the partnership reasonably well when awake. I gave up hero worship at the bridge table a long time ago.

 

My goal when playing online is to be involved in a game that is competent but, more importantly, where everyone involved enjoys the game and feels that they have played well. I love to play against "stars" especially with one of my two regular partners on BBO. Please don't reject me because I advertise my skill level as advanced. There are some who think it should be higher, and there are some nights when terms such as novice or moron enter one's mind. I also love to play with people from certain countries where I know some words in their language and try with limited success to speak their language. I might even learn a word or two.

 

The people on BBO, especially the members of this Forum, are a special group, Where else can people from every corner of this planet come together, meet, form friendships (if not more), say good morning/ good day, say "I care", goodnight, etc. flash little red Hearts to each other (or diamonds, clubs or spades), and share life and enjoyment with people half a world away?

 

I am impressed with the levels of knowledge, information and bridge skills that so many members of this Forum appear to have. More importantly, I am very impressed with the fact that so many people have shared so much information, and have discussed so many issues and expressed differing opinions without denigrating, minimizing, or disrespecting the opinions, viewpoints, and questions of others regardless of skill level. Thank you all for showing me how much I need to learn: all of the new (to me) information has sent me flying to as many web sites as I can find.

 

Forgive this prattle. Maybe some day I'll actually start a thread of my own. I have a couple of topics in mind. Usually, when I have something to contribute, someone else has already said it. Anyway, I have often been told that, when someone wants my opinion on something, that person will tell it to me!

 

BBO Rules! There is none higher.

"Be excellent to each other, and party on dude!"

Or, if you prefer, "live long and prosper."

[tinywingz]

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