[aguahombre]

gwnn, on Apr 12 2010, 08:13 PM, said:

How come nobody mentioned cleavage? I "have a friend" who has sometimes been influenced by opps' or caddies' choice of clothing...

opps or caddies? u need to choose better partners

[gwnn]

so true! haha

[ggwhiz]

My pard did the cleavage thing in a ko match with 1 of our (not very good) teammates going for his gold card.

Up 48 at the half, she went for coffee, my opps sat down and asked " what did you do to our partners?"

She returned and they said "never mind". We won by 90.

[Mbodell]

peachy, on Apr 12 2010, 03:00 PM, said:

Earplugs next time?

One of my occasional partners wears earplugs when she plays to cut down on the distraction. She says it helps a lot with her focus.

[Fluffy]

Wearing sunglasses is not accepted socially (I haven't seen anybody weairing them on a regular basis), but when I got my laser-eye surgery I had to wear them, they helped me focus. And I think they also tired me less.

[Tomi2]

Fluffy, on Apr 12 2010, 01:17 PM, said:

I have learnt from the years to ignore dad yelling at me for playing badly. This was extended to the point that I ignore him at home also when he yells at me for doing/not doing something. But arguing with opponents/director sadly is a different thing and disconcentrates me.

BTW: When I say I play badly after something I don't mean I have bad results due to it, I am realicing I am having no f** clue of what is going on at the table, to the point of being unable to count when very very tired.

how did you manage this? pls tell me

[Fluffy]

hehe, just starting young and practicing , when you are a 14 year old child and your dad starts to yell so loud at you to make you cry in front of all the people, at first it makes you play even worse, but in the end you strenghthen yourself and completelly ignore his rages. Specially after you notice that he yells the most when it is actually his fault.

[Tomi2]

Fluffy, on Apr 13 2010, 03:56 AM, said:

Specially after you notice that he yells the most when it is actually his fault.

this seems to be an all-dad-fact

[helene_t]

yeah but it's actually an all-bridge-player-fact. In Dutch they call it the "Howler monkey convention".

[Jlall]

Don't think my dad has ever yelled at me once, sometimes it's the other way around though I guess heh

[y66]

gwnn, on Apr 12 2010, 09:13 PM, said:

How come nobody mentioned cleavage?

Are you Bob Packwood?

[Phil]

y66, on Apr 13 2010, 07:16 AM, said:

gwnn, on Apr 12 2010, 09:13 PM, said:

How come nobody mentioned cleavage?

Are you Bob Packwood?

ROFL, Bob Packwood IS a bridge player - I've played against him!

[dicklont]

gwnn, on Apr 13 2010, 04:13 AM, said:

How come nobody mentioned cleavage?

You got me there!
Once in a tournament there was this beautifull woman in another team.
She was very pretty and smiling so friendly.
I had seen her all day and thought she'd also noticed me, but I wasn't sure.
This was not very good for my already poor bridge, but when we finally had to play against her, it got even worse, up to the point that I revoked!

Worst of all: I was really certain that everybody knew what was happening.
And my teammates confirmed this later.

[Rossoneri]

gwnn, on Apr 13 2010, 03:13 AM, said:

How come nobody mentioned cleavage? I "have a friend" who has sometimes been influenced by opps' or caddies' choice of clothing...

I have a "friend" whom I suspect dresses up purposely to show her "cleavage" while playing bridge.

[dburn]

It is possible, I suppose, that "cleavage" may have been incorporated in the poll under "other". Or, if sufficiently exposed, "others", or if even more sufficiently exposed, "udders".

[gwnn]

I hope, Rossoneri, that you used "friend" in a different way as I used "have a friend".

[jchiu]

Interesting thread for sure. Having been bored enough to read the entire thread, I offer three reasons not already mentioned that affect my bridge results. In order, I think my perception of ability is affected by

1. Randomness - already mentioned

2. Perception of partner (and teammate) skill relative to all of my partners. If I think a partner is below average, I will start pointing out more mistakes, operating more frequently and making more mistakes. Playing a more conservative game when I am afraid to step out on a limb also has reduced the upside of my actions.

3. General feeling toward the playing conditions. Positive examples include
- that cute caddy (maybe related to Csaba's frivolous comment above)
- having a comfortable hotel room
- having a short but pleasant walk, generally outdoors
- having a good breakfast, not the bacon, eggs and sweet cereal/pastries
- having a relaxed discussion environment during the tournament

4. Playing too fast - already mentioned

5. Form. This is what they discuss in Cricinfo analysis articles, or what they call slumps in baseball. It is much more difficult to break out of three or four poor days to start a tournament than fall off a showing of good form.

[Rossoneri]

gwnn, on Apr 14 2010, 08:04 AM, said:

I hope, Rossoneri, that you used "friend" in a different way as I used "have a friend".

Well, "friend" because she used to be a school junior of mine, but I find her very off-putting for reason mentioned above plus the fact that she's rather arrogant in doing things.

[jjbrr]

Rossoneri, on Apr 14 2010, 05:02 AM, said:

gwnn, on Apr 14 2010, 08:04 AM, said:

I hope, Rossoneri, that you used "friend" in a different way as I used "have a friend".

Well, "friend" because she used to be a school junior of mine, but I find her very off-putting for reason mentioned above plus the fact that she's rather arrogant in doing things.

Tell him what I've taught you, gwnn.

[jjbrr]

I think it's funny "on tilt because of partner" is the leading problem. I learned in kindergarten that every time you point a finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at you.