Everything I know about bridge, I learned from the story of Noah and the Ark. How's this for wisdom?

DON'T MISS THE BOAT. As our Faithful Readers know, I believe in bidding till my nose bleeds. It's better to overshoot the dock occasionally than underbid and have the opponents win the race.

PLAN AHEAD. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark, and we don't want to be surprised when we run into that bad trump split.

FOR SAFETY'S SAKE, TRAVEL IN PAIRS. At least half the fun of bridge is knowing someone has our back. This is why we always start with a "Thank you, Pard!" We need to treasure our Pard... after all, who else would put up with us.

DON'T LISTEN TO NAY-SAYERS. Just get the job done! Don't over-think, don't be overcome with paralysis by analysis. Make your plan and hop to it. Or swim to it.

And sometimes we'll get half-way through the bidding, and realize we and Pard are hopelessly mis-matched and mis-fitted. We see a big leak in the boat developing. That's what today's hands are about. Let's see if we can stay afloat with these hands.