Alcohol is a common sight at casual parties and home bridge games, but avoided at all costs for the serious tournament or club. While it’s okay to have a drink and play bridge, pushing your blood-alcohol limits too high is never a good thing.
Studies have shown that the rate of casual drinking (and possibly, serious drinking) could be higher for online card players than table-based ones.
Drinking should never stand in the way of life, and certainly not in the way of bridge. Genetic factors and environmental ones can make some people more prone to drinking than others – but if you find the habit getting out of hand, stop and seek help.
Inevitably, booze makes for bad bridge playing. Here’s a closer look at the mechanics of why.
Great… in moderation
Like most other compounds in existence, the consumption of alcohol can have medical benefits – but when taken in moderation, and often under the watchful eye of your medical professional.
A simple glass of wine can improve circulation and benefit cognitive function, say some studies.
But once drinking gets out of hand, the potential health benefits go out the window. According to many resources out there (and stories to be told, I’m sure), cards and alcohol don’t mix well.
Alcohol abuse carries a large general health risk
Once casual drinking no longer becomes casual, it carries a large long-term health risk to anyone doing it. It’s more than just scary health tales from the internet, but a long list of potential symptoms and conditions that alcohol abuse could trigger.
Alcoholics carry an increased risk of high-blood pressure, heart disease, circulation problems, liver function problems, and more.
Long-term, hard drinker only increases the potential damage it could do.
Alcohol abuse affects fine motor skills
Even after just a few drinks, drinking is likely to affect fine motor skills. If you’ve watched enough YouTube videos of drunken night out mishaps, you’ll see how fast this can take effect – and either how disastrous or dangerous it can prove to be.
When you’re playing bridge, you’ll really need your motor skills to hang on to your device (or your cards).
Alcohol abuse triggers short- & long-term memory loss
Good bridge playing requires memory skills – and the better your memory, the better I imagine your long-term bridge playing record might look. But that’s not the case with an increasing amount of alcohol.
For any game, it’s imperative to remember what’s been played (and things like why you’re there in the first place).
The more you drink, the worse your memory and comprehension gets. Long-term effects can also be associated with excessive drinking.
That’s not great for bridge (or a happier life).
Click here to read the article How Alcohol Is Linked to Memory Loss
Alcohol use leads to riskier behaviour
It’s a known fact that alcohol lowers inhibitions, and makes even the average person more inclined to do things they wouldn’t sober. But when it happens at a card table, you’re taking a different (and sometimes monetary) risk.
Betting and bidding can be completely out of control for any player who has let their blood-alcohol level rule their behaviour.
Within gaming, this has already been studied before.
Quoting from one such study:
“…alcohol increased rates of risky betting (“doubling up”) among probable pathological gamblers relative to non-pathological gamblers…”
Don’t mix excessive drinking and bridge – and if you often do, seek help now.