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The opponents were seasoned players, and there was no way that anyone would duck the Jack of Hearts! Here's a fun puzzle for you to ponder during the next few days. Sure enough, he was passed a middle Heart (the Jack) and the K-Q of Spades. Pretty awful, eh? Because he held two dreadful (minor) suits, Orin decided to unload his weak Heart suit and hope for the best. (The pass was to the left the first hand of the game.)
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He was dealt a rotten hand, which I present here. Many years ago, at one of the New England live events, tournament player Orin Johnson performed superbly in a tournament finals. Smaller tournaments were resumed on a local basis in the mid-1990s however, the big turnouts of the old days never materialized. In 1980, I relocated to another area, and the Hearts tournaments were disbanded. The high-water mark was reached in late 1979, with a 200 player tournament that was held at the Prudential Center in Boston. More than $10,000 was raised in four years - a tidy sum for those days! The Boston Globe, Games Magazine, and Popular Bridge Magazine featured full-length articles about the events and the players. In 1975, a charity series called Hearts for Hearts was added, and proceeds from two designated tournaments were donated to the American Heart Association. During the next few years, attendance averaged more than 120 participants. As the series grew, more events were added, and a Tournament of Champions was offered as the last event of the season. The entry fee was only $3.00, and a three-game format, plus playoffs, was offered. Boston is a college town, and it was rather easy to attract students who enjoyed the game.
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From a modest turnout of 12 players at the first tournament, the size of the events grew to an average of more than 60 players during that school year. The New England Hearts Players' Association was launched (by yours truly) in the fall of 1971 at Boston University.