Bear in mind that these suggestions are advanced to try to impress all players with the fact that there may be much more in the hand than it seems to deserve, and that “much more” is the real test of skillful bridge. It is a far greater source of enjoyment than lackadaisically wading through deal after deal, stirring only the surface of the shallow water and not venturing into those more fascinating depths where the secrets of bridge await those who will try for them.
LOST TRICKS
One development of bridge, seldom touched upon, has to do entirely with what may be designated the “lost tricks.”
Hands that play themselves are, to an extent, colorless and featureless accessories of the game; but the “lost tricks” are the “might have beens” of bridge that rankle in the memory long after the rubber is finished.
They are usually found in hands that require a thorough understanding of the score, good judgment and keen perception, and are lost many times because of a lack of understanding between partners.
There can be nothing more trying to one’s finest nervous sense than to play with a partner in whom one has little confidence, who makes each situation as difficult as possible, gives no correct information as to his own hand by the play of the cards, nor seeks to take advantage of the information correctly given by his partner.
There is one essential to bridge which must never be overlooked, nor can its importance be too strongly impressed upon all players, and that is, that to play the game well involves the closest kind of a business partnership in which implicit confidence must exist. Evil effects attendant upon deceit cannot be too highly overestimated, nor can such play be too severely condemned, if your aim is to attain, as nearly as possible, the standard of perfection.
All players must understand that rules are but the mere convention of the game, holding it to certain conformity, that, it is evident, is necessary for its preservation and the perfect enjoyment of its enthusiastic devotees. Certain rules, that govern the technicalities, are absolute, as they are in any game of cards, but rules in general are not the masters of bridge; rather should they be considered as second to circumstance and the fall of the cards. Brilliant plays are made in contravention to rules, yet we would not attempt to deduce from that fact the theory that rules are not essential to the game.
There are those disaffected individuals who rail at everything. To them rules are bogey men; conventions are pitfalls. They scoff at partners who play as such, and argue weakly for disconcerted play in which one puts down a card, his partner another, and for all the information that either conveys to the other a pinch of snuff would be generous recompense. You might as well take a chance on a card of any denomination or of any suit, as to try to adhere to a union of forces with such a school of philosophy to guide you.