Amusements - Commuter Card Games

20 Hands of Bridge (and That's Just on the Ride In)

When Gene Girden and his friends play bridge, they don't shuffle the cards. They don't want to waste the time.

The principle of playing bridge on the train is not whether you win or lose," Mr. Girden said, "but whether you can get one more hand in before you reach the station."

"It's kind of like the 24-second rule in basketball" said John Cook of Stamford and one of the regulars in Mr. Girden's group. On a typical ride from Springdale to Manhattan, they will play 20 hands. Often, they're still finishing a hand long after the train has pulled into Grand Central.

For Mr. Girden. 73. a lawyer from North Stamford, bridge is a passion. He has been commuting for 46 he said, and in that time not more than one day has passed without a game. Mr. Girden buys his playing cards in bulk at Costco, where he can get a dozen decks for $10. He is the score keeper for the group, and he is also the unofficial manager, making sure there are enough players every day.

"My philosophy about it is, hey, you can look at the two-and-a-half hours you spend every day on the train as a minus," Mr. Girden said. "But if you look at another way, its quiet time, it's a plus." His fellow players on the 7: 09 a.m. train out of New Canaan share his enthusiasm. "When I first started riding the train, I was far serious to spend the time playing a game." said Tim Benthall, a native of London who has been commuting from Springdale for 33 years "But I eventually decided that if I were to survive. I'd have to find something to while away the time."

He said his family could vouch for the benefits. "When I started playing in the game," he said, "my mood when I got home improved considerably." Still , unlike his fellow players, he indulges in a bit of multitasking. As Mr. Girden put it, "Tim 1s a double-threat because he also reads The Economist while he plays."

Mr. Girden and his companions are one of the last vestiges of a great commuting tradition. "When I started 46 years ago, there were four games in the same car." Mr. Girden said "Now we're lucky to get one -- We're always on the lookout for new recruits."

As recently as 10 years ago it was hard to get into a game. Mr. Cook said. "Somebody had to die or retire." he said. "We had principles and alternates!' Of course, that was before laptops, cellphones and Walkmans provided a new universe of distractions for commuters.

The games have always been male-dominated, though Mr. Girden insisted women are welcome. "We're equal opportunity bridge players," he said. "It's just that in the old days, all the commuters were men."

Back then, conductors would provide a deck of cards and a board to play on for 25 cents person. Today, the bridge players take down advertisements to use as the table, and they write down the scores on the back.

"But we always put them backup," Mr. Girden said. "Sometimes when I take one down, I see my scoring on the back."

I'm not a bridge player myself, but when I rode with Mr. Girden and his friends, I was impressed by their easy camaraderie, their enthusiasm, and their single-mindedness.

The games proceeded almost silently. Fierce concentration was evident in each player's face, and even though the stakes are only a tenth of a penny a point, they counted out the change carefully as they settled up at the end of the trip.

Mr. Girden said that over five decades. "I'm probably up a couple of hundred dollars." But Bill Harding of Wilton, who has been a the game for 25 years, said with a laugh. "We might say Gene has been contributing back his winnings over the last few years."

The same group assembles for the ride home on the 5:26 p.m. train to New Canaan. The rule is that no hand can be dealt after they pass the Glenbrook station, 17 minutes from the end of the line in New Canaan. The game is often the highlight of their day. The players said, and Mr. Cook admitted "it would a bit of an adjustment to ride without the game "

Mr Girden said he has no intention of doing without his daily fix. "Sometimes I take Friday off," he said, "bur if I know we'll have four players. I'll come in for half a day" just to play. He added that he has no plans to retire. "Not as long as there's a bridge game," he said. "If this ends I might reconsider."

From COMMUTER'S JOURNAL/ JACK KADDEN
Jack Kadden is an editor at The Times.