It’s no coincidence that many card players excel at both bridge and poker. The poker legend Gus Hansen plays a mean game of bridge and regularly turns up at tournaments. The American bridge star Steve Weinstein is also a poker pro who goes by the name of ‘Thorladen’.

The attributes needed for both games are remarkably similar: a knowledge of probability, an ability to ‘read’ people, an outstanding memory, the confidence to bluff, the ruthlessness to go for blood…But I’m pleased to report that Weinstein believes what I’ve long suspected: that bridge is the  more skilful and difficult game. ‘You can’t be a prodigy in bridge like you can in poker,’ he maintains. ‘It takes years to become anywhere near a master.’ He does, however, credit poker with giving him the psychological edge for which he is famed at bridge. The above deal comes from the recent Las Vegas Regional. Weinstein (West) was on lead.

Weinstein and his regular partner Bobby Levin made life difficult for the opponents with some aggressive pre-emptive bidding. N-S did too much, but as you can see, the grand makes on a trump finesse. Or at least, it was going to make until Weinstein led… the ♥3! Declarer (Kitty Cooper), never believing he would lead away from the queen, understandably rose with the ♥A and cashed the ♥K. One down, and I think she still has nightmares.