I’d like to take a moment to get up close and personal with readers of the Prime Club.
The world of card playing is filled with a wealth of interesting stories, and if you’ve been at enough card nights I’m sure that you will have a few stories yourself.
What are some of the most embarrassing, introspective, or strange card-related stories you can report?
As a card player, I can confess a couple of things myself.
As a writer, I cannot help but to confess these things in writing – and who else would I tell about these shameful things but the BBO Prime Club?
I can’t palm cards, and I’m not great at shuffling.
I’ve learned to double-check names for bridge, and I’ve embarrassingly spelled more than one Bridge Great’s name wrong in a personal e-mail.
Here’s a look at 3 embarrassing card confessions from the other side of the table.
1. I’ve played bridge very, very drunk… Once.
Drinking and card games don’t mix, and I think history can show us enough stabbings and pistol-duels to prove the point. Even if it doesn’t end in a card table brawl, playing drunk means you’ll play badly.
Musicians rely on muscle memory to find the notes, and I know from experience that there’s a point of tipsy where you can still find your way.
The same technique doesn’t work for cards.
I’m grateful that the game was exclusively against bots so that nobody had to see how horribly bad it was.
2. I can’t palm cards properly, and I can blame my health.
It’s amazing to see what experienced card players can do with a deck in their hands. I love watching expert card magicians at work, especially because I know that I’ll probably never join their ranks.
Thanks to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, I have unnaturally slender hands; thanks to the same condition, I have associated arthritis with occasional issues.
What does this mean?
I can’t palm cards worth a damn.
The same goes for coins: no matter the perspective, there’s always a gap where you can see the damned coin.
It almost defeats the point! But it doesn’t mean I’ve stopped practising how to do it.
3. I’ve played bridge in the bath, but I’ll never tell anyone when.
Agatha Christie famously said that the best of her earlier book plots originated while she was doing mundane things, such as stacking apple cores alongside a bathtub rim.
Now, speaking of things that you can do in a bathtub, playing bridge on a smartphone is one of them.
But just because it’s possible, does not mean you should tell any other players at the table that you’re doing it.
What’s your card confession?