Karma and Dharma

(or how to prevent your stupid partner from making a mistake)

                                                                                       by Bernard Marcoux, Sainte-Adèle

Karma is a trendy word. 

 Many use it as an excuse : It’s my karma, they say, to explain that destiny has decided for them, that they cant do nothing, that they are always bad lucky.  If everything was written beforehand, people with the same karma should arrive at the same result, which is not the case. 

 Some, born with a silver spoon in their mouth, waste their lives, while others, born with absolutely nothing, achieve astonishing success.  Why is that ?

 Well, it is because we forgot dharma.  Karma is maybe what we receive when we are born, but dharma is what we do with it.  Thus man is always free, whatever his debut in life.

 The bridge player also is free, whatever the cards he receives.

You have :

Q 9 2

8 4

K 8 6 4 2

10 5 3

Your partner opens 1

Part.     RHO    You      LHO

1       1         Pass   Pass

Dbl      Rdbl       2       2

End

You lead the 8 of hearts.

Dummy

J 7 2

K 10 3

7 5

J 9 7 6

You

Q 9 2

8 4

K 8 6 4 2

10 5 3

Declarer plays small in dummy, partner wins the Queen, plays the Ace and comes back a heart.  You ruff and play a club: Queen from partner, Ace from declarer, who then plays AK of spades, 10 tricks.  You get almost a bottom and start the usual complaint :

-          It’s our karma.  How can I know you have the Ace of diamonds and not the Ace of clubs?

Examining the score sheet, you find all sorts of results, typical of a local club game.

Contract           Score

4                   - 420

4                   + 50

3                   + 50

3                   + 100

2                   - 170 (you)

etc.

A ‘’normal’’ score sheet in your club.  How is this possible? 

All the players have the same cards, no ?  How can they make 10 tricks at one table and 7 at the next ?  Is Karma all mixed up ?  NO.  

Some players invoke karma to explain their incompetence, others use dharma.  Let’s have a closer look.

Dummy

J 7 2

K 10 3

7 5

J 9 7 6 2

You                       Partner

Q 9 3                    5 4                               

8 4                       A Q 9 6 5

K 8 6 4 2               A Q J 10

10 5 3                   Q 8

                                                             Declarer

A K 10 8 6

J 7 2

9 3

A K 4

8 of heart lead, small, Queen, small; then Ace, small, small, small. 

Now what card must partner play to suggest a diamond return?  

A big heart obviously, to tell you to come back the higher suit, diamonds.  So you ruff and play a diamond to partner’s Ace who comes back a 4^th heart.  Declarer discards his losing diamond, you ruff, end of defense, 2 making.  How can 2 go down ?  You can’t see.

On the last round, you are bye and you decide to kibitz the best pair of the club.  You’re in luck : they are playing that famous 2 board.  Same bidding, same lead.

But, on the big heart return from his partner, signalling diamonds, the player with your cards, after ruffing, makes a play that astonishes you : he plays the King of diamonds.  His partner then makes another play that stupefies you even more : he takes the King with his Ace, then cashes the Queen. 

Defenders now have 5 tricks : 2 hearts, 2 diamonds and 1 spade.  After the diamond Queen, the player now plays back a 4^th heart.  What is he doing ?  He is giving ruff and sluff ?

Declarer, witnessing all this marvellous play, cannot help being amazed: he knows very well he will get a zero, but he can only admire the beauty of this sequence of play, this dazzling and infallible logic.  He ruffs with the 10, knowing very well it is useless.  West over ruffs with the Queen, 2 down one.

This result has nothing to do with luck or bad luck.  The only bad luck for declarer was to play this board against those players.  The cards are the same for everybody (karma) and everyone has the possibility to play them for the maximum result (dharma).  Wanting to learn, you ask explanations.  You should always ask good players, they will always answer.  If you don’t ask, they will not tell you.

-          Why the king of diamonds?

-          As my partner has signalled diamonds, I play the king so he doesn’t make a mistake, to force him to cash the Ace at the second diamond play, so declarer cannot discard his losing diamond on the 4^th heart.

-          And why did you take the King with the Ace?

-          To prevent my partner from making a mistake.  As I have AQJ10, it is easy for me to take the King and play the Ace.  If I play the 10, who knows what can happen?

-          And why a 4^th heart, and not a club?

-          My partner passed on 1. With the King of diamonds and Ace or King of clubs, he would have negative doubled.  So partner doesn’t have a club honour.  Declarer has redoubled to show a good hand, so he has AK of clubs.  My club Queen is dead.  The only hope then is that partner has the spade Queen.  It is not certain, obviously, but it is the only chance.  If it works, good for us; if it doesn’t work, we couldn’t beat 2.

-          Thank you very much, it is very clear.  So, if I understand well, playing defence is mainly preventing partner form making a mistake.  I have to think for him?

-          Yes.  You know Murphy’s Law: if something can go wrong, it will.  If partner has the chance to make a mistake, I must prevent him from doing so.

-          Thank you again.

The next time you play bridge, instead of looking around and not think, think of preventing your partner from making a mistake.

Then think about karma and dharma.  When you open your hand, you see your karma.  You can leave it like that and then complain.  Or you can use your dharma : you can play your cards the best way you can.

Good players don’t care for karma.  They believe only in dharma.