98
| SUNRAYS JANUARY 2015
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
I
was pretty sure I was in the wrong
roomwhen I went to the Social Bridge
meeting. I suspected it would include
a discussion group focusing on George-
town infrastructure problems, like the
Austin Avenue bridges, or that some-
one might propose a monorail from City
Market to Walgreens with a connection
to HEB. At the very least, I was pretty
sure there’d be coffee and cookies. But
to my great surprise, there was no cof-
fee, no cookies and no discussion group.
Instead, I entered the Activities Center
on Texas Drive and found a whole bunch
of people playing cards.
Social Bridge, as it turns out, is a card
game, and an incredibly popular one,
at that – according to the World Bridge
Federation (the game’s international
governing body), anywhere from 25-
36 million Americans regularly en-
gage in bridge which, apparently, has
635,013,559,600 possible hands of play.
All that from just a standard 52-card
deck! Makes your head spin just think-
ing about it.
The game is played in groups of four,
with two partners in each group. The
Sun City Texas Social Bridge Club al-
lows players to arrange partnerships in
advance or simply to show up and find a
partner at the game, making for a very
welcoming, low-pressure group. After
four hands of play, players switch part-
ners and tables, giving everyone plenty
of opportunities to meet new people and
engage in a variety of play styles.
I can tell you that this is one card game
that will take more than just luck. Re-
quiring analytic skill and communica-
tion between partners, bridge is a game
of strategy that will help keep your brain
active. In fact, bridge and chess are the
only “mind sports” which have been rec-
ognized by the International Olympic
Committee (alas, they were not found
eligible for the main Olympic program).
I witnessed many smiles between play-
ers and acquaintances at the SCTX
Bridge Club, though I did notice that, de-
spite the veneer of sociability, one player
at every table was being openly called
a dummy. In all fairness, the dummy
rotated around the table giving every-
one a chance at dummyhood, though it
seemed a bit mean that dummies were
never allowed to comment on anything
happening during the game.
Despite this lapse in nicety, all of the
folks seemed to have a good time. I
heard furtive laughter, as well as a guf-
faw or two and a chortle and a snicker.
Of course I don’t know the game well
enough, but they may have been talking
smack to each other.
The Social Bridge club plays four times a
week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thurs-
days and Fridays. New players are al-
lowed to join in play up to three times
before being asked to join. Annual dues
are $8. For additional information, con-
tact Dee Pokluda at 361-935-6124.
Social Bridge
By Mike Gullickson
The Social Bridge Club gets together four times a week and encourages a friendly, enjoyable atmosphere in which to
play the game of bridge.
PHOTO BY JAIME CALDER
