Reasons a Playing Card Holder Is Ideal For Someone With A Disability
Every bridge player, or prospective player, knows how popular the game of bridge is. It’s a great, fun way of having a full social life and helps keep your brain working at its best.
Older folk will often decide to retire to a new area or to move into a retirement complex. Sometimes this can mean moving away from the people you know and finding yourself amongst a group of strangers. Bridge players are at an advantage in these situations. Bridge is very popular and many older people enjoy a game in the company of friends. If you can play bridge you will probably find yourself being invited to join a club, fun social group or just to join new friends in a game or two over tea and cakes. Bridge players are rarely lonely.
Suppose, though, that you have a disability, injury or age related condition that means it is difficult for you to hold the cards? Bridge requires you to hold 13 cards, difficult for anyone whose hands are weak or shaky.
If you are n amputees you may find that sorting your cards, whilst keeping them private from other players, is not as easy as it used to be.
Many players find themselves with a neurological condition, perhaps due to a stroke, or Parkinsons Disease, or a brain injury, that means their hands are weak or shaky. Does this have to mean that you can no longer play bridge simply because holding the cards is difficult?
You might have an arthritic condition, carpal tunnel or have a temporary arm injury all of which will cause difficulty with holding cards. A regular player who has broken arm or wrist may feel that they cannot play the game they love until their injury has healed. Yet this is the very time when it is important to be able to continue socialising.
Don’t worry. If you have a condition that makes holding or sorting your cards difficult, you don’t have to stop playing bridge. If you are considering learning, then difficulty holding cards doesn’t need to be a barrier to taking part in your local club or group. There is a simple and effective answer – use a playing card holder. Simply place the card holder on the table in front of you and slot the cards into it one at a time. Only one hand is needed and you handle the cards one at a time. There is no need to be able to hold and grip your entire hand of cards.
There are different types of card holders, so you will need to do a little research to find the style best suited to your needs. Some are straight, some are curved and some resemble a small fan. For bridge, you might find the curved ones handy to help keep your cards private from the opposition.