HAPPINESS IN BRIDGE.........( Article by Carp )

Strange as it may seem, bridge players are looked upon as a whinging, forlorn, downcast, miserable,  bunch of sour losers, given the expressions on their faces as they exit another tournament with little to cheer about. Indeed, bridge was once defined as " the most fun a person can have without laughing ". 
Nevertheless, I see bridge players with happy faces wherever I look, but I do acknowledge there are varying degrees of happiness..... from a flicker of joy to sustained merriment. Happiness is such an abstract concept,  it is very difficult to give a precise definition. However, one can be precise about what we observe at the bridge table. By studying players' stereo-typical table behaviour, one can start to unravel the true meaning of this word.

• A smile can sometimes start the proceedings, being nothing more than a whiff of optimism as a player sits down with his partner to play the first board 
• A fixed, feigned or fake smile religiously occurs when greeting new opponents 
• A grin usually occurs when a finesse works, or when trumps break favourably
• A hee-haw takes place when the opponents squander an advantage handed to them earlier on    
• A chuckle occurs when for the first time an attempted squeeze actually comes off
• A snicker occurs when an opponent's silly mistake hands you an easy top
• A guffaw occurs when an opponent allows you to make a singleton two of trumps 
• A smirk takes place when a player sticks one across his closest challenger , ex-partner, or club expert
• Crowing occurs when one good score is followed by another....and another 
• Repeated hoots of joy can be heard when yet another psych brings off a galactic top
• Laughter occurs when an anti-percentage bid or play results in a rather fortuitous top
• Huge belly laughs echo around the room when the opponents end up in a grand slam missing Aces and/or other key cards
• Outrageous roars can be heard for miles when seemingly competent opponents self-destruct on 3 consecutive boards 
• Extremely boisterous laughter occurs when successful players get together for a drink after the game to mock the unfortunate pairs who (a) made silly mistakes, (b) fell into cleverly laid traps, and (c) had good results converted by the TDs into bottoms for alleged breaches of the rules 
• Uncontrolled rip-roaring laughter continues well into the night when a completely false and fabricated complaint to a TD gets the alleged offender ( a long sworn enemy ) removed from the competition or tournament 

So yes, happiness is there to be seen in the game of bridge if people just simply keep their eyes and ears open.