5,4,3,2,1 Golden Rules

F = Five More Rule
The set may not be going well, or you are doing some practice bidding/playing and you have had it. Get your second wind by the conscious decision to just play FIVE MORE hands right. In practice, continuing to concentrate when your brain is tired is the key to S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G your attention span and building mental endurance.

C = Cards
Car, cards and nothing but cards should be your mantra

O = One Think At a Time After a bad result, or distracting event, make your mind a deal it can't refuse. Instead of telling yourself NOT to worry about something. I will list a few techniques in the next post

U = Use Your Hands as Blinkers
Picture your mind as a camera and your eyes as its aperture. Be aware of the various focus styles required throughout the game. If you need to switch to narrow focus, cup your hands around your eyes so you have "tunnel vision" and are looking solely at the cards. Placing your hands on the side of your face blocks out surroundings so they are literally "out of sight, out of mind." If you cup your hands around your eyes every time you want to switch from wide-angle to telephoto focus, that physical ritual becomes a Pavlovian trigger. ( You know, Pavlov rang the bell, fed the dog, rang the bell and fed the dog, until the dog started salivating as soon as he heard the sound of the bell)

S = See As If For the First or Last Time
You mind will work best if you know how to be "here and now" and fully present instead of mindlessly rushing in your mind through a millions other concerns. Looking at something as if for the first time will bring your mind back to the task