[dellache]

Remembering a recent question about the ego of bridge versus poker players, I came up with this idea of poll. Sorry in advance if you find it nuts, but I'm rather curious about the results.

[helene_t]

I am good at pretending to be a good post mortem analyst so I think most peers have inflated views on my skill level.

[Phil]

When I go to tournaments I wear a shirt with patches from all of the bridge-related businesses that sponsor me. I also wear some very expensive sunglasses, because, you know, when they are trying to locate the queen on a two-way finesse, I can't give away any tells.

People think I'm pretty good. I try not to disappoint them.

[matmat]

i have no idea what level others think i play at. this is an impossible question.

[aguahombre]

Phil, on Nov 8 2009, 09:47 AM, said:

When I go to tournaments I wear a shirt with patches from all of the bridge-related businesses that sponsor me. I also wear some very expensive sunglasses, because, you know, when they are trying to locate the queen on a two-way finesse, I can't give away any tells.

People think I'm pretty good. I try not to disappoint them.

cute. Are you really Phil Ivey, Helmuth, or Laak?

[Phil]

aguahombre, on Nov 8 2009, 12:13 PM, said:

Phil, on Nov 8 2009, 09:47 AM, said:

When I go to tournaments I wear a shirt with patches from all of the bridge-related businesses that sponsor me. I also wear some very expensive sunglasses, because, you know, when they are trying to locate the queen on a two-way finesse, I can't give away any tells.

People think I'm pretty good. I try not to disappoint them.

cute. Are you really Phil Ivey, Helmuth, or Laak?

Gordon obv.

[aguahombre]

oops, right--he does play both

[peachy]

it is hard to tell what others think... unless they come right out and tell you. Even then it is hard to tell what they think...such as, what is their motivation to tell me what they think my play is like...or do they have adequate skill/enough data etc. to even make such judgment.

[helene_t]

We have an A, B, C and D team for external competition so you can sorta rank people on the basis of which teams they have been asked to play in. Some observations:
- Some players seem to think that pairs who play different systems can't bid.
- Most players think men are better players than women.
- Some tell me they consider me a good player and that I could play for the A team if I got a decent p, but since I play with Manudude03 they haven't used that explanation since it would be too obviously false flattering. I bet they say to Manudude03 that he could play for the A team if he stopped playing with morons like me. Please confirm if you read this, Manudude03.
- If one player in a partnership always blames his p for bad results, other players seem to think that the blame assignment is correct, while IMHO in most cases it isn't.

[manudude03]

helene_t, on Nov 8 2009, 06:05 PM, said:

We have an A, B, C and D team for external competition so you can sorta rank people on the basis of which teams they have been asked to play in. Some observations:
- Some players seem to think that pairs who play different systems can't bid.
- Most players think men are better players than women.
- Some tell me they consider me a good player and that I could play for the A team if I got a decent p, but since I play with Manudude03 they haven't used that explanation since it would be too obviously false flattering. I bet they say to Manudude03 that he could play for the A team if he stopped playing with morons like me. Please confirm if you read this, Manudude03.
- If one player in a partnership always blames his p for bad results, other players seem to think that the blame assignment is correct, while IMHO in most cases it isn't.

Don't worry Helene, no-one has told me that!*

Anyway, I think people generally overrate me. I think it might have to do with the quality of the field. If you are the top of a weak bunch, the peers will say you're very good, but if you're average or a little below in some big international event, the peers will be pretty much saying meh with the standard being so much higher.


* I was recently told by some new-comer to the club that if I wasn't good enough for the A's, it must be that the A team is so damn good.

[Jlall]

Some people have an unrealistic view of how experts/pros play. I certainly play worse than they think I do.

I would say that I probably play better than most people think I do though.

[Elianna]

I voted for the middle road, because it depends on these "others" that you speak of. I know that there are some people that think I'm a way worse player than I am (because they played with/against me five/ten years ago or when I'm watching TV) or those that think I'm a better player than I usually am, because I've been unusually in practice when I played with/against them.

And there are those who make opinions solely based on stupid facts. Some of them include that I am a director (usually an upwards evaluation, sometimes (MATMAT) a downwards evaluation). Some based on the fact I'm a woman. Some based on the fact that I'm younger than many bridge players in my area (and look even younger than I am). And others evaluate based on who I play with (that they've seen). And that can go up or down depending on their opinion of the person.

So it's very hard to judge my skill level relative to what "others" think, because who knows what others think.

A more telling question may be asking about judging vs. some objective ranking, like masterpoints for ACBL players. Or tournaments won. Etc.

[matmat]

Elianna, on Nov 8 2009, 02:52 PM, said:

sometimes (MATMAT) a downwards evaluation

huh?

[babalu1997]

i play better than other think i play.

but that is because, everyrone thinks i am an idiot.

i ususally do not log off till i receive my daily dose of the epithet.

[JanM]

This used to be an easy question for me, back when I was a cute young thing - I was under-rated, because I was a CYT, and women are generally under-rated, and I played with some good players so if I happened to do well, it could be attributed to my partner. Now that I'm an LOL, I don't know. There's still some of the "women are worse than men" thinking, but I'm fairly well known, and I've won a couple of Open NABC titles, as well as several Women's & Mixed ones, and in my opinion I don't play as well as I used to, so I suspect I'm over-rated now.

[Rossoneri]

I've disappointed teammates in the past 2 league matches that I've played, so it would be fair to say I'm worse than people expect!

[aguahombre]

JanM, on Nov 8 2009, 01:16 PM, said:

This used to be an easy question for me, back when I was a cute young thing - I was under-rated, because I was a CYT.

It's all relative. You are still cuter and younger than me. Well, I am sure about the cute part

[suokko]

It is way too easy to get fame when playing in a good team or with a good partner in a small country.

[ggwhiz]

I was in contention for the local rookie of the year title when I first started and after some success, my team of 4 mates told me we could get so-and-so if I would dump my pard.

I dumped them (best move I ever made) and continued with strong tournament results.

I was considered better than I really am at that time but now that I'm finally much better, I'm considered worse.

[JanM]

aguahombre, on Nov 8 2009, 02:58 PM, said:

JanM, on Nov 8 2009, 01:16 PM, said:

This used to be an easy question for me, back when I was a cute young thing - I was under-rated, because I was a CYT.

It's all relative. You are still cuter and younger than me. Well, I am sure about the cute part

Thank you. Are you by any chance my husband posting under an assumed name? No, he knows he's younger.