Meet the Parents: Little Fockers

For today, I’ve decided to throw in a little something else to distract us from Bridge. The title is self-explanatory, & yeah, I’ve just recently watched it. If you're living somewhere more chronologically advanced in the movies scene you may find this review a little outdated, so oh well... Can't help living here in Singapore, can I?

I’m not a professional movie critic like filmcritic or rottentomatoes but I'll give the formal tone my best shot. :)

For starters, the title is somewhat misleading. Although, the writers did make an attempt to shift the story in that direction with Stiller’s desperate attempts to bond with his kids during mealtimes & his progressive decision to enrol the kids into a quality education system, it didn’t help that both kids happened to be one-dimensional stereotypes of your everyday child. As such, what at first glance appears to be a plot focusing on Stiller’s ‘Little Fockers’ is inevitably skewed into myriad of situations designed to conjure the same rivalries between victimized Greg Focker & dogmatic, status-conscious Jack Byrnes. 

This approach, however, ends up working to a certain extent. This dynamic has the unfortunate consequence of locking the Little Fockers into a certain franchise routine; a handful of gimmicky catchphrases (the ‘Godfocker’, ‘watching me watching you’ etc) and several slapstick moments. Nothing really spectacular though IMO. The rival/buddy dynamic that seems to characterise the two protagonists throughout is never really given an opportunity to develop either. Then again, most of the fun comes from simply watching the exaggerated extents to which CIA-trained Jack Byrnes would go the spy on his son-in-law (won’t spoil it for u), so I’m guessing depth wasn’t the central focus anyway.

Apart from the sake of utility (he needs to be around to handle the plot’s logistics) Wilson’s role as the all-rounded super-achiever Kevin is decidedly forgettable. His saving grace being that he gets more-than-average screen time to overshadow both Pam & Jack’s wife who both seem, as always, content to simply appear as the other-halves of their respective husbands. Andi Garcia (Jessica Alba) however, plays her role fairly effectively. She’s funny, flirtatious and sexy. Especially during the climax when she, ecstatic with lust, threw herself onto Greg with reckless abandon into the depth of the sand-pit. Whoops I’ve said too much. All the other characters; Greg’s parents, the pets & the ‘Early Human headmistress’ perform what seems like brief cameo appearances throughout the film though by the end everyone is reunited & a everyone gathers round for a big Christmas reunion. Awww… 

Ok, there’s obviously much more to cover. But as u can see by the hasty previous sentence I’m frankly getting tired of writing & trying to sound formal (haha) so I’ll quickly sum up. Many online critics have given ‘Little Fockers’ a negative review because of the points highlighted above & from an objective point of view I would agree. Despite all of this however, the movie would still continue to draw in large crowds and millions at the box office. Why?

Because more than anything else, there is an underlying humanity to this albeit over-repeated formula that immediately captures the hearts of its viewers. The movie is light-hearted, wholesome & most importantly universally relatable, making it an ideal Family’s Choice. Everyone can identify with various awkward moments during certain situations, conversions & relationships they’ve had at one time or another; and value-driven communication differences amongst family members happen to be the most prominent. So screw the critics. There’s nothing epic about the movie & its faults are all there, but it light-hearted fun & you’ll leave the theatre with that familiar warm, fuzzy feeling inside which feels ever-so-satisfying (Especially after watching Tron…). I’ll guarantee it. :)

Bidding at the 1 Level Basics (Part 3)

We've had a number of requests lately asking me to explain the rules of the game clearly, (cause the wiki article links' a little sketchy...). So we promise that we'll get down to doing it within the next 2-3 posts & put a link at the side for convenience :)

But in the meantime, here's the conclusion to our 3-part series on Bidding. Picking up where we left off last; here's a final tip to add to our arsenal of bidding strategies

Unless you're a really skilled player, is usually better to bid the lower of 2 suits with equal length & total points 

How so? Bidding lower frees up more bidding space for future bids. And it helps you get a feel of what everyone else's hands are like. However this isn't really a rigid rule so feel free to experiment around with it :)

Bear in mind though that everyone will get the same information as you through the bidding. So the net benefit that you would gain is proportional to your skill in other aspects of the game. Hence the 1st part of the rule.

Back to out 2 dubious hands (as seen in Part 1):

·         Spades: A, 8, 3, 2

·         Hearts: K, Q, 3, 2 

Bid Hearts, it has 5 total points compared to the 4 total points in Spades

·         Spades: K, 8, 3, 2

·         Hearts: Q, J, 3, 2 

Bid Hearts, both suits have an equal number of total points but Hearts rank lower. 

And finally just to clear things up...

·         Spades: Q, 8, 5, 3, 2

·         Hearts: A, 7, 6, 3, 

Bid Spades, although Hearts has 4 total points & Spades has only 3, remember: the Length of a suit is always more important than its Strength

In summary:

• To bid 1 of a suit: that suit must have AT LEAST 4 cards within that suit & 3 total points within that suit. 

• When choosing between 2 suits of SUFFICIENT total points but different lengths, always choose the longer hand regardless of total points.

• When choosing between 2 suits of SUFFICIENT & equal total points & length, choose the lower-ranking of the two suits

• If no suit in your hand fulfills the first condition, PASS or BID NO TRUMP (more on that next time)

The last rule is new but especially important, especially if you don’t wish to get blamed by your partner at the end of the game, lol…

As a closing note, if you think the above rules are rigid (& believe me they really are not). Consider this. In Contract Bridge, there are bidding conventions like:

A bid of a major at the 1-Level signifies a hand with a minimum of 12 total points & at least 5 cards within that suit.

A bid of Clubs at the 1-Level signifies a hand with a minimum of 12 total points, no 5-card major, with more Clubs than Diamonds, or a 3-3 split between the minors.

Now aren’t you relieved?

Bidding at the 1 Level Basics (Part 2)

Previously, we needed a more objective system to help evaluate the strength of the cards in a player’s hand. 

Good news! You probably already know about this system! You use it whenever you decide whether or not your hand is crappy enough to be re-shuffled or “washed”.

 

Just a refresher. To call for a wash you count the number of “points” in your hand using the following system*:

• Aces are worth 4 points
• Kings are worth 3 points
• Queens are worth 2 points
• Jacks are worth 1 point (All these are known as High Card Points, HCP)
• Every extra card within a suit beyond the 4^th card is worth an additional 1 point (These are known as Long Suit Points, LSP)

HCP + LSP = Total points. If the total score of all your cards falls below 4 points, you may call for a re-shuffle.

*(Historical Note: This card counting convention was adapted from Contract Bridge & popularized by famous bridge player Charles Goren in the late 1940s where it was given the groundbreaking title of the 4-3-2-1 point count…)

Sorry u had to read that, I really should be hiding my footnotes… :P

So what’s the point of all this? Basically we can apply this 4-3-2-1 thingy in another way in Floating Bridge. The following rule below is far from concrete but it’s worked well for most people I’ve seen so far… 

Bid 1 of a suit whenever that suit has at least 4 cards within that suit & 3 total points within that suit. 

I’ve already discussed about the 4 cards part, but why at least 3 total points? I can’t give a 100% factual explanation as to why but hopefully the following examples will convince you…

Here are all the possible ways to obtain the minimum of 3 total points within any suit. (x is any card below the Jack)

• K, x, x, x
• Q, J, x, x
• Q, x, x, x, x
• J, x, x, x, x, x
• x, x, x, x, x, x, x 

This might seem inadequate, but when you consider that the Ace of that suit would also be on your side if you win the bid (please pick the Ace) things suddenly seem a little rosier… And let’s be honest: If u & your partner have at least 8 cards of a suit along with the Ace & any one of the patterns above wouldn’t you feel, at last intuitively that it’s enough? Just picture that in your mind for a moment… 

The fact is: In an average game, you & your partner will be able to win at least 3-4 tricks with the trump suit alone (provided no one screws up badly of course…).

 I'll leave you guys with that thought today. Stay tuned for the conclusion to this 3-part series on Bidding at the 1-level!

FriXion Singapore

"A perfect man doesn't exist, but a pen that erases completely does."

Most non-sequitur slogan for an advert ever... wonder who comes up with these?

Bidding at the 1 Level Basics (Part 1)

In this 1st official post I’ll be covering the basics about opening the bidding with 1 of a suit. Why? 

What’s the very 1^st thing you do after the hands r dealt? (besides rearranging ur cards -_- “)

Yes, u look at them & decide how to start off with your opening bid. 

Most people have an intuitive sense of how to do this…

•  “Hmm my hand has the most Hearts, so I'll bid Hearts”
•  "My hand has an equal amount of Spades & Diamonds but I have an Ace in Spades but only a K in Diamonds, so Spades 4 me” 

So what’s the biggie, right? However, the decision is sometimes made tougher under certain scenarios...

• “Err, I have 5 Clubs the highest being the Q. I also have 3 Spades but they’re like the A, K & Q… So how?” (Scenario 1)
• Wow 6 Diamonds, but the highest is only a J. Besides, the rest of my hand is crap except for the A out of my 4 Spades. Hmm what should I bid?” (Scenario 2)

& here’s the answer. Most of the rules in bridge btw are never concrete, in fact there are always exceptions to every rule where u have to exercise your own judgment. But this first one is almost as concrete as they come:

The Length of a suit is more important than its Strength

Apart from having a nice little ‘ring’ to it, what does this ultimately mean? Simply: Having a lot of cards within a suit is more important than having high cards of a suit.

So in Scenario 1: We bid 1 Clubs even though they are much weaker than the spades & in Scenario 2: We bid 1 Diamonds

Why? Hmm, there are many reasons but this is the most important one. & to do that, we have to dive for the 1^st time into the world of Contract Bridge…

Whenever any contract is reached (besides playing NT), the ideal situation is always for the partnership to have an 8-card suit fit between their hands. So if the trump is Hearts, the winner of the bid or “Declarer” (as it’s known in Contract bridge) + his prospective mate err… I mean partner should have at least 8 Hearts between them. This widely excepted standard is applied to Contract Bridge & is just as applicable here… Obviously to play a suit as trump you must have more trumps than your opponents or “defenders” & 7 cards of the trump suit is simply too risky. 8 represents a safe majority.

Ok, u might say. That sounds reasonable… but it doesn’t tell me what to bid -_-

To bid at the 1-Level in any suit requires u to have at least 4 cards in that suit.

Having 4 cards in any suit means you have an above average number of cards in that suit, since 4 is greater than 13/4 = 3.25… but also because of this.

Everyone has come across one of those moments when for instance you bid 1D then sometime later another player goes 2D and what this? You’ve found yourself a partner! :D 

Why is this good? Because if the guy who bid 2D isn’t a complete noob & bid with at least 4 cards as well (thankfully, most people do) & if u guys end up being partners then the partnership already has an 8-card suit fit, yay! (In fact this happens a lot more often than you may think...)

But hold on? What if I have:

·      Spades: A, K, 3, 2

·      Hearts: Q, J, 10, 9

·      Diamonds: Don’t care

·      Clubs: Don’t care

Bid Spades. Both are equal length but Spades are stronger. This hasn’t been covered yet but it’s really just common-sense…

But how about now?

·      Spades: A, 8, 3, 2

·      Hearts: K, Q, 3, 2

Bid Hearts. Hmm this is slightly less obvious...

& now?  

Spades: K, 8, 3, 2

·     Hearts: Q, J, 3, 2

·     
   K think u get the point. Sometimes it’s a really close call between 2 suits. We need a more objective system to help evaluate the strength of the cards in a player’s hand. 

 But oops, I'm running out of stamina, so more on that next time!

Disclaimer!

This isn’t an official post about anything in particular. It’s a disclaimer. Which, by default actually makes it an 'official' post… -_-

Instead, its a warning to anyone who decides to read this blog, since it’s far from your typical blog. There is one thing you should know

More than 60% of the content here will be on Floating Bridge strategies & most of the posts will be loooong… at least longer than your average post. 

This is necessary since, some of the concepts are difficult to explain in a few sentences. Furthermore, I’ll also keep having to give some sort of proof or at least substantiation that the strategies provided have & will work so as to avoid being flamed… lol

But long as they may be, I’ll promise to nevertheless make them as reader-friendly as possible so that u will enjoy your stay here! :)

Always bear in mind that is no such thing as a 100% foolproof strategy. At the risk of trying to sound ‘cheem’ or complex, the playing of Bridge is an art, not an exact science. At the end of the day, a 4-point hand is still a 4-point hand & regardless of the strategies used, you're still probably gonna lose in the end :p

And finally, my apologies to all those viewers with still completely no idea on how to play the game. I promise that I’ll get down to explaining the rules in the near future. However, if you live within Singapore, chances are that many people around you are already into the game so no worries, you can learn from them!

Happy viewing! :)

A "Brief" Introduction...

First post!

After moments of pondering, I finally decided to jump right into the subject-matter since I’ve generally not that good @ conducting a proper introduction. Anyhow, the wonderful profile page is always at hand.

So, without further ado… What is this blog all about?

A number of things. Like most other blogs out there r the usual ingredients: a smidgen of realism, a pinch of commercialism, a spoonful of individualism, a quart of levity & a truckload of randomness. But (speaking objectively now), its mainly about one thing…

Floating Bridge

As u all might have guessed, I mean the card game, not the buoyant overhead structure *Groan…*. “Floating Bridge” is a card game. 

For those out there not located within Singapore or anywhere around its immediate geographical region, it’s also known as “Singaporean Bridge” which differs in a number of ways to the much more internationally-acclaimed sport of “Contract Bridge”. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporean_bridge (Note that this particular overview of the game will not be clear unless you’ve initially played Contract Bridge b4. If you’re a complete beginner at Bridge, well… I’ll try to explain it better within the near future)

On the other hand, if u ARE a Singaporean, u might be utterly amazed that the well-known game of bridge you’ve been playing since maybe Sec 2-3? is not the original version at all. That’s right, the majority of our country has been living a lie & frankly it’s a little ironic… But our version is still fun nonetheless.

So why play Floating Bridge in the 1^st place?

• Like most card games out there (with the exception of Go-Fish, lol) it provides players with a mentally enriching experience

• It’s an excellent game for socializing esp in Singapore since you’ll find that many Secondary, JC & Poly students are already into the game. Why not jump on the bandwagon?

• As opposed to most of the “hardcore” intellectual games like (Chess, Chinese Chess, Contract Bridge etc) that all the top students seem to be experts at. Floating Bridge is a less-daunting alternative simply because 1) The play of the game is far more interactive, intuitive & informal by nature. 2) Most ppl don’t seem to know how to play it properly -_-. So if you’ve just started playing well you’re prob already better than 50% of everyone else. lol

• It’s a much better game than Bluff, Blackjack, or Chor-Dai-Ti :P

• It’s tremendous fun, really

And now just a brief little segment to counter all the claims by ‘certain’ Contract Bridge players who claim that Singaporean Bridge is an inferior & perhaps ‘lower-skilled’ version of the original. So if you’re not one of these folks, you may skip over this segment, cause frankly it’s a little nerdy. Heheh…

I’ve played both versions & have found Floating Bridge to be just as fun & Contract Bridge but for different reasons: I’ll try to be as objective about this as possible…

·         The fun element in Contract Bridge comes from working out the best possible ‘contract' with your partner (or defending against it) & working out the most effective solution to attain that contract. Along, of course, with all the technical intricacies associated with the game that at first glance appears to be largely absent in Floating Bridge.

·         The fun element in Floating Bridge comes from understanding the psychologies of the various players around the table (Since the partners are not fixed or “Floating”) & using that to your advantage to make appropriate decisions during the bidding & playing. Most of the fun of the game comes from the “Surprise” factor & your ability to construct an internal order out of all the chaos… (& you might be slightly sceptical, but there are certain rules & techniques that can be used to turn the game into your advantage) so the game is not exactly totally “random” as some ppl claim.

Whew, glad that that’s out of the way…

So in conclusion: the main purpose of this blog is (hopefully) to spread the word & enlighten more ppl about this amusing & amazing game. Currently, Floating Bridge seems to be just a game with seemingly untraceable origins that most Singaporean students & several grown-ups have at one time or another in their lives stumbled onto & learnt how to play. 

The goal of this blog is to show that there is so much more to this game then most ppl think. Just knowing & applying all that will make your gaming experience so much richer…

Most of the way I’ll be dropping various special tips about the game. Some of these have been adapted through Contract Bridge strategies, while most have been formulated though my personal experience. Some of them may be a little technical but then again, it’s not Contract Bridge :P so it shouldn’t be too hard to grasp. Whenever I’m in the mood there will be postings on other stuff such as other board/card games, latest movies, rantings on current events & etc, all other kinds of stuff as well…

Ok, that’s a bit too much for a 1^st post, so I’ll should probably stop now… :P Watch this space!