Bridge provides challenge to national champion Roy Martin

Hoover resident Roy Martin recently completed a lifelong goal of winning a national bridge championship, but the fun of the game keeps him coming back.

Martin took home the title in the 2019 Summer North American Bridge Championships in Las Vegas this past summer. He won with Denny Cahan of Cumming, Georgia, a temporary partner he met in Atlanta. Martin competes in the American Contract Bridge League, which is the ruling body in North American bridge.

Martin said his usual partner is his father, Guy Martin, and winning without him was bittersweet.

“It was a little sad because he has been my partner,” Martin said. “I told him on the phone after we won, ‘I hate you’re not here.’ He taught me everything.”

A big final round propelled Martin and Cahan to the national title, with the duo besting 52 other bridge pairs to earn the title in the Bean Red Ribbon Pairs event. Martin said he was confident going into the last round with the lead even though he knew other players were trying to push them out of the top spot.

Winning is fun, but that’s not why Martin plays the game.

Martin’s love and skill of bridge was passed down from his grandmother, Eula Martin, who taught his father. Martin learned bridge at an early age before starting to compete in tournaments during college. He and his father came in third place at a national bridge event in Chicago in 2015.

The Las Vegas win was Martin’s first championship in bridge, but the card game continues to hold a special place in his life.

“It is the great intellectual game,” he said. “It’s very addicting and a challenge to learn and compete. You make life-lasting relationships.”

Martin continues to strive for greatness in the world of bridge, even after his national championship. He practices at least an hour a day with online bridge matches. When he can, he also said he visits the Birmingham Duplicate Bridge Club in Hoover. He said it is a great place to learn with instructors who help people at any skill level get better.

He also reads bridge columns to stay in shape when he can’t play or practice bridge.

Martin has earned the title of Ruby Life Master, with a total of more than 2,100 masterpoints. Masterpoints are earned over time, with players starting at the rookie level and working their way up to 10,000 points to be a Grand Life Master. The points are awarded through various accomplishments in bridge.

Martin said bridge is hard to learn, but the reward for learning and improving in bridge is worth it.

The game of bridge has seen a decline in players, but Martin said it’s a great game for all ages to try.

“Back in the day, everyone played bridge,” he said. “Now there are so many other things to do, so people don’t play bridge as much as they used to. I hope more people start to play.”