[pdmunro]

I played in a regional tournament in Australia on the weekend. First, we played Teams (IMPS scoring) on Saturday until lunchtime on Sunday. Then we played Pairs (Matchpoint scoring) on Sunday afternoon and all day Monday. All rounds were 7 boards. There were about 200 players, ranging from expert to novice. We were ranked near the bottom and finished about the middle of the field in both the Teams and the Pairs events.

I anticipate that the answer to what I want to ask is "play more tournaments". Still, I would appreciate any tips/advice that you have found useful for "surviving" a tournament.

At the end of the first day's play, I went down in a 3NT, that quite a lot of the field made. My LHO opponent led their 4-card diamond suit, rather than their 5-card heart suit, as this suit had been bid by my partner. And, when I tried to set up spades, I discovered that my RHO had a 5-card spade suit. Disaster. It really weighed on my mind that I went down in a contract that most made. I was not looking forward to the next day's play.

Luckily, none of my teammates mentioned this board the next morning. Instead, my inexperienced partner was fixated on the defence in one hand. It took 5 mins to explain to her that my suit switch in No Trumps was correct and that she needed to unblock.

All of this took away some of my energy.

In the Pairs which started after lunch on Sunday, the scoring switched to Matchpoints. I found it difficult to switch my mindset. Previously, I had been thinking about bidding games and slams, now I had to think about bidding more conservatively. I just couldn't seem to make this adjustment.

And more energy was lost when my inexperienced partner couldn't see "simple" correct defences. I guess this built up the frustration inside me. But I was disciplined enough to not say anything at the table.

By the end of the Pairs Event, I was playing as though I was a marathon runner, staggering around trying to cross the finish line. Or a better analogy might be "I was like a punch-drunk boxer". One 7 board set was amazing. For six of the boards, I either saw a reason to either bid a risky contract or to sacrifice over the opponent's contract. I literally couldn't seem to stop bidding. And to worsen the situation, I went down in two contracts that I should have made. One, because I lost track of the fact that my last trump was high - I thought the trump ace was still out! And in another, with only 4 cards left in my hand, I pulled a losing card from my hand, rather than a winning trump.

I hope my partner and I have a chance to get together to discuss things. However, she seems to just want to play at the club with her novice group. So, I think I need a mindset that can deal with her relaxed attitude.

In summary, I ran out of steam by the end of the three days. I just didn't have the stamina/energy to keep a clear mind and play at my best right to the end. Any tips/suggestions?

[DavidKok]

Hi! I have some suggestions, but what works seems to differ greatly from person to person. Here's what I find pleasant myself.

• Three days of bridge in a row is a lot, especially if there's multiple sessions on the first day (or on multiple days?). Expect to make some number of clear mistakes, both from the sheer number of opportunities and from fatigue setting in. In other words, make sure to have realistic expectations. Your opponents will be making mistakes too. Aim to profit from those as much as you lose from your own, and don't focus overly much on only the part that was under your own control.
  
• I am a fan of not discussing any boards while the event is still running. For a multiple day event this is probably practically impossible, but it's still good to strive for it to some degree. In my experience if something went wrong it won't be fixed by next session by discussing it. Instead write down the board, what happened, what you think should have happened, and discuss it at your leisure once the event is over. If you must discuss more bridge between sessions, focus on the boards that went well or the brilliancies partner made.
  
• The gap between teams and MPs is significant but not as wide as I think many people expect. I would focus primarily on playing your best and within your partnership style, and only making scoring-based decisions when it's close either way. I know quite a few bridge players who completely reinvent their style depending on scoring. This is very difficult for the partnership, and in my experience often counterproductive. For partner to have an easy time you must be consistent in your actions.
  
• Try to play only one deal at a time. Any gains or losses from the previous boards do not contribute to the best actions on this deal except in some very rare circumstances, so let them go and focus on the cards in front of you. This is difficult, especially if you're already tired. Try not to dwell on blunders or successes, but play within your agreements on the current deal.

[mikeh]

pdmunro, on 2025-October-13, 20:10, said:

I played in a regional tournament in Australia on the weekend. First, we played Teams (IMPS scoring) on Saturday until lunchtime on Sunday. Then we played Pairs (Matchpoint scoring) on Sunday afternoon and all day Monday. All rounds were 7 boards. There were about 200 players, ranging from expert to novice. We were ranked near the bottom and finished about the middle of the field in both the Teams and the Pairs events.

I anticipate that the answer to what I want to ask is "play more tournaments". Still, I would appreciate any tips/advice that you have found useful for "surviving" a tournament.

At the end of the first day's play, I went down in a 3NT, that quite a lot of the field made. My LHO opponent led their 4-card diamond suit, rather than their 5-card heart suit, as this suit had been bid by my partner. And, when I tried to set up spades, I discovered that my RHO had a 5-card spade suit. Disaster. It really weighed on my mind that I went down in a contract that most made. I was not looking forward to the next day's play.

Luckily, none of my teammates mentioned this board the next morning. Instead, my inexperienced partner was fixated on the defence in one hand. It took 5 mins to explain to her that my suit switch in No Trumps was correct and that she needed to unblock.

All of this took away some of my energy.

In the Pairs which started after lunch on Sunday, the scoring switched to Matchpoints. I found it difficult to switch my mindset. Previously, I had been thinking about bidding games and slams, now I had to think about bidding more conservatively. I just couldn't seem to make this adjustment.

And more energy was lost when my inexperienced partner couldn't see "simple" correct defences. I guess this built up the frustration inside me. But I was disciplined enough to not say anything at the table.

By the end of the Pairs Event, I was playing as though I was a marathon runner, staggering around trying to cross the finish line. Or a better analogy might be "I was like a punch-drunk boxer". One 7 board set was amazing. For six of the boards, I either saw a reason to either bid a risky contract or to sacrifice over the opponent's contract. I literally couldn't seem to stop bidding. And to worsen the situation, I went down in two contracts that I should have made. One, because I lost track of the fact that my last trump was high - I thought the trump ace was still out! And in another, with only 4 cards left in my hand, I pulled a losing card from my hand, rather than a winning trump.

I hope my partner and I have a chance to get together to discuss things. However, she seems to just want to play at the club with her novice group. So, I think I need a mindset that can deal with her relaxed attitude.

In summary, I ran out of steam by the end of the three days. I just didn't have the stamina/energy to keep a clear mind and play at my best right to the end. Any tips/suggestions?

You didn’t mention your age which, I say from personal experience, is a major factor for some.

I’ve played in a number of long events and also long tournaments where I played every day. When in my 20s and 30s I simply never got tired of bridge. Back then I once played 18 sessions in a regional. Charity game Monday evening, morning KO every day (we reached the Saturday final), 2 session pair games, midnight game on Friday…yes, that was 4 sessions and we were playing the finals of the KO a few hours after the midnight game ended). I couldn’t come close to that these days.

I didn’t start competing at a pretty good level until I was in my 40s, and I learned a lot from a couple of more experienced players. So:

1. Take some fruit to the game. It’s scientifically proven that our decision making ability declines with lowering blood sugar. Fruit gives you a controlled boost with no let down.

2. Sleep as much as you can. If you can’t sleep…which was often a problem for me….at least close your eyes. Listen to calming music. Relax. Avoid thinking about the hands unless it’s to fix a systemic problem that arose

3. Don’t socialize much. Go to your room early.

4. If you enjoy partying, give it a break. Do not drink much, if anything….i never made the anything…..during the duration of the event.

5. While you need to eat, eat sparingly between sessions and don’t eat just before going to bed. Do eat a breakfast.


Points 2-4 are about reducing stress…and reducing stress enhances stamina. I empathize with your description, years ago I was playing in a major Swiss event. I’d played 9 days straight to that point…LM Pairs, Spingold to round of 16, and then the 3 day NA Swiss. We’d been 4 handed in the Spingold. By the last day I sat there as declarer with a 10 5-5 heart fit and after one round of the suit I no longer knew how many trump were missing…I either didn’t see or promptly forgot if either opp had shown out. We were 6 handed for that event so I sat out the last three matches.

These days, I doubt I could play 10 days of intense bridge without time off, even though I’m in decent physical shape. I think most of my friends feel the same way.

Btw, I’m guessing but from your description I infer that you are, understandably, thinking a great deal about things that went wrong. Here’s some advice that is very easy to give and very hard to follow: stop worrying about what’s happened. Ok, if it’s a system issue on which you and partner disagree then think about it/discuss with partner. But even then, don’t insist partner do it your way…say ok and move on. Otherwise quit the post mortem.

That’s why I don’t socialize much….too many post mortems….and why I bring some device on which I can play relaxing music. I’ve owned pretty much every format possible.

So focus on not reliving the game between sessions. Look after your sleep and your diet.

I didn’t mention exercise. Many would, but these days my brain slows or is foggy for too long after a workout so I’m lazy at tournaments.

[AL78]

If you are playing with an inexperienced partner, lower your expectations and forget about doing well, just do your best and try to be encouraging to partner. Be grateful if you finish in the middle of the field or better. Getting stressed about bad boards saps energy and can lead to more bad boards.

[mike777]

Thanks for starting this thread. Great timing.

Over Halloween I am playing in my first week long local Regional after many decades.
Have same concerns over Stamina and focus.

Great advice.

However...


I wonder where are all the fun parts??

[mycroft]

"For the INTP, work is work and play is work."

Yeah, I know, MBTI is slightly scientific woo, but if you're a bridge player, at least one that wants to play to your level, it's true. Playing bridge is work; playing bridge multiple sessions a day for multiple days is hard work.

If that's fun for you, great! If it's not, figure out how to play bridge so that it isn't as much work. Whether that means "playing the big events; if we get knocked out, take the next day off and be ready for the next big one", or "I'm mush after lunch Sunday if I play both Friday and Saturday, so I won't", or "parties are fun, but they impact my play the next day, so if I enjoy Wednesday Night, I know I'm expecting 90% of my best Thursday. I'll enjoy what I get, and forgive myself a few (only a few!) misses." or...find something.

If the answer is "I'm playing all week, and I need to keep up", then do look to all the suggestions for helping (do it anyway!) But also (apologies in advance; this is going to sound mean):

• This is not the time to teach. Unless there is a hole in the system you have found and can easily patch (and will likely come up again this weekend), score it up and go to the next. If you *have to* teach, take the hand records and go for coffee a couple days later. Know it won't help.
  
• This is not the time to play "whose fault is it". It "took you 5 minutes" to explain why you were right, and that sapped your energy. Of course it did. But you chose to do that anyway because for you at that time, "being right" was more important than "having energy for the rest of the week". Oh, and also "partner having energy for the rest of the week" - you do realize it costs partner more than you here, right? Yes, I know *she* was fixated, but you don't have to encourage her. "Sorry, I thought I needed to unblock, I was wrong" will break her fixation - even if *you were right*.
  
  Not doing so is a decision you made; it's a decision you will have to make many many more times in your bridge life. It's a perennial fight for almost all bridge players - "90% of whom are better than their partners", and there's a real need in many to continually prove it.
  
  Note, there are many people for whom "being right" is more important than "scoring well". If that is you, fine - but know that it will impact your stamina, and therefore your play.
  
• This is not the week to get frustrated. It's really hard not to, but you have to try. Apart from the energy it saps that doesn't go into playing bridge, partner will recognize it, and will spend some of her energy working out what the problem is. That is, unless you're going to spend her energy telling her, which reduces to the previous joke.
  
• This is not the week to watch what partner is doing when you're dummy. Frankly, there is no week for this, unless you are specifically being paid (something) to teach. My partner told me 30 years ago "[mycroft], you don't have enough stamina to play 26 boards a session. When you're dummy, go to sleep." I don't have any *more* stamina now than 30 years ago...
  
  Note, when he said this, he prefaced it with "Do you think I can play?" (to which the answer was "yes, of course, you're better than I am") and then "then why are you trying to second guess what I do with 26 cards, looking at only 13?" Wow, I didn't even know I was doing that - but of course I was. Are you?
  
• When a hand is over, it's *over*. Good, bad, or random, when you write your score (and your estimate, if you do that) in your scoresheet, blank it out and go to the next hand. Again, very hard to do, but you can't play well if your attention isn't completely on the cards you're currently holding. If you *absolutely have to*, mark the hand as one to discuss (discreetly, if possible). And even then, maybe don't :-).
  
• If you're playing with someone who just wants to play her game in the novice game, maybe the answer is "let her, find a different partner". Or don't commit to both events with her. Or compromise on your style to be closer to hers when you play with her, and save your "need to win" attitude (and stamina) for your fellow Spike.
  
  There's a fallacy that exists everywhere, bridge included, that everyone *should* have the same aspirations that you do, and if they don't, a little bit of "help" will convince them to think the correct (i.e. *your*) way. Agreeing to a partnership style should be a huge part of partnership development, and I don't (just) mean "are you conservative or aggressive". And it's usually the better player that has to adjust (again, or find another partner), because they're the more capable of doing so. If you can't see this as a stamina issue, please reread.

[pescetom]

I am scheduled to play 5 sessions both tomorrow and Sunday, Regional teams. Well aware it is beyond my stamina level: I can play my best for ten boards, reasonably well for the next twenty then it goes downhill quickly. So I have no unrealistic expectations (especially after reading here) but am at least curious to see if I have made any progress in this respect. Thanks to all for the advice.

[mike777]

Just played in the local club GNT qualifiers. Lost all three matches. All three teams clearly better than us.

I kept thinking of Mycrofts post to stay calm during the comparisons. Getting pissed would be waste of energy..

At least for one day Stamina not an issue.
Pretty slow paced matches.

We lost but certainly glad we competed.
Felt partner and I held our own.


By far our worst board was when I went for 500 in a ridiculous contract. Still not sure how we got there..🥴🙃Other table went for 800 and we won imps.

[mycroft]

As frequently, I have the ghost of The Emperor whispering in my head (#21, one of my favourites):

Quote

If partner makes severe errors two hands in a row, offer to get him a Coke. It will break the losing rhythm and maybe get you back on the right track.
If you make an error two hands in a row, offer to get your partner a Coke. Same reason.
(If partner or you don't drink Coke, know what the appropriate substitute is.)

For me, on team comparisons, it's okay to apologize for your bad boards. Once. It is not okay to ask about theirs - in fact, the answer should they admit to it is "okay." You're not going to play a day of bridge without coming back with one bad result, and neither are they. But you win as a team and lose as a team, and if you weren't okay with your partners' skill, well, next time you'll pick someone else, won't you? (assuming - of course - that someone who plays as well as you want for teammates will want to play with *you*...)

There are those who go farther than I do - "no apologies, we're a team." If you get one of those pairs, *believe them*. It'll be hard (especially if you're Canadian), but most of them can work out without you apologizing that it was a bad board. Now, if they're the "no apologies, we're a team" types, but then ask "how did you go 800?", well then, time to listen to the Emperor again:

Quote

If your teammates don't want to talk about it, don't push
If they push after you tell them you don't want to talk about it, lie to them.
Try not to be believable.

[mike777]

Thanks, exactly the reinforcement advice on comparing I needed.

[jillybean]

If I've blown a board I will apologize, I don't care if my teammates want to do the same or not but I do want to sit down after the event, go through the boards and see where I can improve.

[mike777]

Most frustrating is not blowing boards

It is when teammates seem genuinely surprised games and slams being bid and made at our table and we lose 10 or 12 imps bd after bd.

We think perfect normal games and slams, nothing fancy.

At end we tally lose by 4 or 9 in total after they miss game after game or slms