[FrancesHinden]

Here's some more general advice about travelling to play in 'big' tournaments.

- Make sure you and your partner are agreed on why you are going. Is it to try and do well, or to have fun?

* If you are going to try and do well, get there a day early and allow plenty of time for travel. Stay at the venue hotel (I get the impression you may not have any choice on this). Eat sensibly. Go to bed early. Work on your system beforehand.

* If you are going to have fun, stay somewhere nice. Arrange to have dinner with friends (BBOers?) who are also playing at the Nationals. If you haven't been to Detroit make sure you have time to see some of the city. Don't get uptight about the results.

What's really bad for partnership harmony is when one of you spends the night drinking because you've met up with a lot of good friends and the other wants to play top quality bridge the next day. In such a way do partnerships end. (The after-the-game evening drink with friends is the biggest source of friction I have with my husband in big events: he wants to go straight to bed, I want to wind down for an hour or so first. Being married to him, we tend to stay in the same hotel room so he knows what time I come in...)

Of course I have played in many tournaments which started out serious and turned into fun after a very poor couple of sessions.

[jmc]

I would recomend checking at the following thread about playing mp's at the national red ribbons.

http://forums.bridge...topic=17067&hl=

I also think bothe Kit Woolsey and Hugh Kelsey's books on mp's are great. The Woolsey book I found particularly fun to read.

jmc