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3 weeks ago | 
spectator.com.au | Janet de Botton
‘There are only three kinds of Bridge players; those who can count and those who can’t.’ And there are only two types of reader: those who find this funny and those who, like me, don’t. It’s not so much that it’s hard to count to 13 – it isn’t really – it’s just that there are so many things to keep track of; trumps, side suits, points and shapes.
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3 weeks ago | 
spectator.co.uk | Janet de Botton
‘There are only three kinds of Bridge players; those who can count and those who can’t.’ And there are only two types of reader: those who find this funny and those who, like me, don’t. It’s not so much that it’s hard to count to 13 – it isn’t really – it’s just that there are so many things to keep track of; trumps, side suits, points and shapes. And of course, the main one which is easy to forget – counting your tricks and those of your opponents. West started with Ace and another Diamond.
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1 month ago | 
spectator.com.au | Janet de Botton
There are many words in the English language that you need to be Susie Dent* to use correctly. Disinterested and uninterested, elder and older and fewer and less to name three that I struggle with.
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1 month ago | 
spectator.co.uk | Janet de Botton
There are many words in the English language that you need to be Susie Dent* to use correctly. Disinterested and uninterested, elder and older and fewer and less to name three that I struggle with. When today’s hand came up in an EBU online League match I was extremely grateful to have ‘Assumption’ and ‘Presumption’ explained so clearly:West elected to start with the ♣️8 to the Queen and Ace, and South decided to take an immediate Diamond finesse.
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1 month ago | 
spectator.com.au | Janet de Botton
Counting, counting and counting are the three most important things to consider, whether you are playing in your local bridge club duplicate or the Bermuda Bowl. Counting declarer’s tricks when you are defending is hard when you are very busy counting your own hand and, when dummy goes down, you can start to work out partner’s point count and distribution until you have enough information if you have a critical decision to make.
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2 months ago | 
spectator.com.au | Janet de Botton
One FAQ by people who are thinking of learning bridge is: ‘Do you have to be good at maths to become a good bridge player?’ The answer is you don’t need to be Rain Man but familiarity with numeracy will be an asset. Logic plays a big part in making a good player and, if all that fails you, there is the greatest asset of all – table presence! That virtually unnoticeable nanosecond’s hesitation or a slow player playing faster than normal at a crucial moment.
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2 months ago | 
spectator.co.uk | Janet de Botton
One FAQ by people who are thinking of learning bridge is: ‘Do you have to be good at maths to become a good bridge player?’ The answer is you don’t need to be Rain Man but familiarity with numeracy will be an asset. Logic plays a big part in making a good player and, if all that fails you, there is the greatest asset of all – table presence! That virtually unnoticeable nanosecond’s hesitation or a slow player playing faster than normal at a crucial moment.
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2 months ago | 
spectator.com.au | Janet de Botton
A couple of weekends ago, the Scottish Bridge Union ran the inaugural British Isles Trophy, a mixed team’s event for the Home Counties. It was played on RealBridge, the website that allows players to both see and hear each other.
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2 months ago | 
spectator.co.uk | Janet de Botton
Text size Small Medium Large Line Spacing Compact Normal Spacious Comments A couple of weekends ago, the Scottish Bridge Union ran the inaugural British Isles Trophy, a mixed team’s event for the Home Counties. It was played on RealBridge, the website that allows players to both see and hear each other. Bridge, being the last bastion of ‘hilarious’ misogyny, always has an alpha chuckle when somebody says, and somebody always does: ‘There isn’t a good pair in the room!’ I asked my friend Nick,...
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Mar 26, 2025 | 
spectator.co.uk | Janet de Botton
I am sure that readers of this column need no introduction to Victor Mollo’s most famous creation, The Hideous Hog. Bridge in the Menagerie was first published in 1965 and today, Mollo’s stereotypes are as sharp and apposite as they were 60 years ago. And don’t think (as I did) that hogging is an exclusively male prerogative; I’ve seen women bid their five-card major three times rather than let their partner near the cards. And what about trick hogging?
