I have found that puffery always fails because sooner or later you have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. And bridge people are seriously competitive.
You know bridge players well, and we are. That’s why I was incredulous at his “expert” self-designation. It’s not like the real experts can’t see through his pretense when we meet them at the virtual table and he botches an auction. His card play is decent so he can fake it better there. SMH