Bridge Blog 709: Streak (updated 8/23)

Streaks don’t last forever, but losing streaks feel like they do, especially when they’re as deep as the one I fell into a week ago. The dismal procession began back on the 14th, with a 41.67% game with Wednesday partner Celine Murray. Dead last, if I’m not mistaken.

After Marietta Kalman and I experienced a miracle of stratification a week ago Thursday – .74 points for second place in the B strat with only a 46.58% game – it was downhill. Dead last with Alicia Kolipinski on Friday with 40.22%. (Actually, not dead last. Some other pair in our direction was in the 30s.) Even deader last Saturday with Beverly Dale with 38.44%. (Ditto here, someone else had 37%.)

“We’ll do better today,” I assured Alicia when we paired up again on Monday. And we did. 43.37%. But it was still dead last. (In our direction, but not overall. Someone in the other direction had 41%.) The cards on Tuesday wouldn’t let Barbara Sadkin and I play the aggressive bidding game we did so well a week earlier. Our 45.37% wasn’t last, but it was well beyond the reach of miracles. Same on Wednesday. Celine Murray and I improved upon our previous week’s effort, but not enough. 45.35%.

But on Thursday with Eva Schmidt, I could tell my luck had turned, right from the very first hand, when John Kirsits and Ken Meier failed to cash their two winning Hearts and I trotted away with two overtricks in a 4 Spade contract for what clearly was going to be a top board.

From that point on, we were hot. We bid and made the only slam of the day (although four others also do that). We took Vince Pesce and Harry Cheung down five doubled vulnerable on an extremely ill-advised 3 No Trump contract. This after beating them when they doubled us at 5 Diamonds.

Our bubble didn’t burst until the final round against Paul and Barbara Libby, who hung us with two bottom boards. In all, we had six absolute top boards and three ties for tops. Before the Libbys got to our table, we had a 71.5% game. When they finished with us, we deflated to 63.69%. Second overall, but still first North-South for 2.25 points. After a week of wishing and waiting and hoping for the losing streak to end, I’m finally over 10 points for the month.
Don't know if two in a row constitutes a new streak, but an exhiliarting game Friday with Myra Razik resulted in a 57.91% score, second in A among nine East-Wests at the Airport Bridge Club, and first in B. The master points? 0.85 red, 0.84 black. Totals for the month so far: 12.39 points, 5.12 red and 7.27 black.