Brain Training as Dummy

[FelicityR]

As I have said on the forums previously I play mainly rubber bridge, so whenever I am dummy I might go to make a pot of tea for my guests, fill up their wine glasses, prepare some nibbles, etc. or look around and spot of piece of furniture that hasn't been dusted recently. In essence I switch off from the bridge table, give my mind a short rest from the game every four or so boards.

 

However, in the last few weeks, I have tried something different: sitting as dummy and trying to count cards in three hands as opposed to two. I know, this game is difficult enough working out two hands whenever you are declarer or a defender, but the strange thing is that even though I found it difficult at first imagining the cards in three hands, I feel that I now find it easier to imagine cards in two.

 

What started as a personal experiment for me has made me think whether other players do this regularly? Yes, I do realise that when you sit as dummy and watch your partner play you have some idea of what is going on, but I've never tried actually visualising the hand shapes of the opponents and partner, and mentally counting all the cards.

 

Or do you think that as dummy it is better to give your brain a short break from the game instead?

[Tramticket]

This is a good exercise, but if playing in an event with two sessions (48 boards) in a day it can be tiring enough - I would prefer to switch off as dummy in this case.

[pescetom]

As I have said on the forums previously I play mainly rubber bridge, so whenever I am dummy I might go to make a pot of tea for my guests, fill up their wine glasses, prepare some nibbles, etc. or look around and spot of piece of furniture that hasn't been dusted recently. In essence I switch off from the bridge table, give my mind a short rest from the game every four or so boards.

 

However, in the last few weeks, I have tried something different: sitting as dummy and trying to count cards in three hands as opposed to two. I know, this game is difficult enough working out two hands whenever you are declarer or a defender, but the strange thing is that even though I found it difficult at first imagining the cards in three hands, I feel that I now find it easier to imagine cards in two.

 

What started as a personal experiment for me has made me think whether other players do this regularly? Yes, I do realise that when you sit as dummy and watch your partner play you have some idea of what is going on, but I've never tried actually visualising the hand shapes of the opponents and partner, and mentally counting all the cards.

 

Or do you think that as dummy it is better to give your brain a short break from the game instead?

 

It depends. If I am happy about play so far but need a rest, then I will just turn my brain off and be a perfect dummy.

If I'm lively or feel that I need to sharpen up a bit then I will follow the game and try to read all three hands.

I agree that it's much easier to count cards when you are dummy than when playing in any position.

 

Perhaps more strangely, I find it easier to count cards when playing on BBO than when sitting at a table.

I also find it unusually difficult to count cards when my partner the dummy leaves the table for some reason, even if I'm grateful for a cup of tea <_<

[ggwhiz]

It's hard work initially that gets easier over time and should be used sparingly but it's a valuable skill.

 

I heard of a well known pro who used to declare hands for the client as dummy by detaching the card for the next trick as soon as dummy won one. No need to get that good at it to give your own declarer play a significant boost.

[barmar]

I've just never been able to turn my brain off at the bridge table. I need something to think about, and when I'm dummy I can't help following the play and trying to figure out what partner is doing. I even remember a Bridge World article years ago where it described the play from dummy's perspective, and after each trick it asked you to figure out what's going on.

 

It seems like it's easier to keep track of cards when you're not under the stress of actually playing, which leads to the bad habit of pointing out things he missed to partner during the post-mortem ("the 9 was high").

[pescetom]

It seems like it's easier to keep track of cards when you're not under the stress of actually playing, which leads to the bad habit of pointing out things he missed to partner during the post-mortem ("the 9 was high").

I prefer partner to point out the things I missed, rather than brood on them in silence. The important thing is to do so lightly and not in front of the opponents.

[Joe_Old]

On BBO I always watch declarer and opps, because I'm taking notes on them for future reference (it's very convenient and easy to make notes - thanks BBO). In live competition I'm watching for the (very rare) irregularity. When I'm mentoring someone I watch carefully for issues to discuss later. In a purely social game - brain turns off.

[RD350LC]

This is a good exercise, but if playing in an event with two sessions (48 boards) in a day it can be tiring enough - I would prefer to switch off as dummy in this case.

I agree completely. When on BBO, sometimes I watch the play, especially when partner plays it badly. But in live bridge, I like to take advantage of the break when dummy, and simply do what partner asks. I do watch for the (admittedly rare) infractions that the opponents make, but not much else.

[Phil]

I agree completely. When on BBO, sometimes I watch the play, especially when partner plays it badly. But in live bridge, I like to take advantage of the break when dummy, and simply do what partner asks. I do watch for the (admittedly rare) infractions that the opponents make, but not much else.

 

100% agree.

 

If you can honestly say that you never get tired / lose focus near the end of a set, then sure - go ahead and watch the play. Otherwise watching the play is a complete energy drain.

 

Occasionally, when the hand is moving slowly and I am bored I will try to figure out what is going on, but that is the extent of it. Your responsibility (and I could even be wrong about this) is to notice irregularities which does not require an immense amount of focus.

 

I played a recent tournament with a very good player. At the end I asked if there was anything I could be doing differently in my game. He said, "when the opponents bid 1N - 3N and dummy comes down with a 2344 14 count, stop trying so hard to come up with positions where we can beat the hand".

 

Conserving energy is a hallmark of a good player.

[manudude03]

Playing in a serious event, I try and conserve energy. When I'm playing in a more casual setting, I will try and work out what the hands are. I'm a big believer in hands having a natural flow and when someone breaks that flow by playing a suit out of time, it can irk me, but I do find it funny sometimes when I spot a misdefense as dummy and weaker opponents don't see it after play is over.