Introduction

I'm a software engineer. I live in NYC where I work for Google. I've been playing tournament bridge for 32 years, with some successes here and there. My first national championship was the Blue Ribbon Pairs in 1992. My most recent were the IMP Pairs and the Fast Pairs in 2008, both with Doug Doub of West Hartford, CT.

I started playing with Doug on more than an occasional basis in 2002. We had some great results, winning the Reisinger BAM that Fall, then the Team Trials in the Spring of 2003, and finishing 3rd in the Bermuda Bowl in Monaco in the Fall of 2003. We've continued to play regularly since.

I'm one of the best amateur players around, but there are many stronger players, most of whom are full-time bridge professionals. One reason I've done as well as I have is because of the way professionalism works in bridge. Most top teams have a sponsor who plays as a member of the team. This sponsor may be an expert in his own right, but typically he is not as strong as his teammates. Because the teams are handicapped in this way a team of all amateurs has a decent chance against them. Even though their best players may be better than ours, ours are usually all better than their sponsor.

I don't see anything wrong with professionalism in bridge. It's great in that it gives the top players a way to earn a living while devoting themselves to improving their game. I play professionally myself sometimes, but so far I prefer to earn a living writing software, something I also enjoy tremendously.

I often wonder whether I could improve substantially if I were to play full time. There's only one way to find out! I'm not ready to switch careers just yet, though.