As George Burns demonstrated, you can play bridge to a very ripe age. What’s the best way to begin?
THERE IS NO good or bad way to learn bridge. Just a sad day if you don’t start, because you will miss out on one of the healthiest addictions in life. Comedian George Burns showed up for his daily bridge game at the age of 100. Warren Buffet bought his first computer to practice bridge online with his long-distance partner. Actor Omar Sharif was quoted as saying he’d rather play bridge than make bad movies.
So, just learn it.
I learned the game as a child at a hill station in India called Ooty, where the entire family ascended for a month’s vacation every year to escape the summer heat. The learning was by osmosis – by watching the adults play for hours on end.
Then, my life took me to the US and I got busy with family and career, but I still found time to play. The only problem was that the bridge-playing community in my small Ohio town were in their 80s and it got depressing reading the obituary column.
So I stopped, and that’s a real regret. I didn’t return to the game until my son was grown and independent.
It became clear to me that I had to start from scratch: what I knew barely got me out of the bridge sandbox. I wanted to play serious bridge, I was eager to learn, I needed a like-minded partner.
In fact, most people come to bridge as adults, but this is set to change. The US has recently started to do what Europe and China began some years ago: introducing bridge as a school subject to teach children inferential thinking (Google it). China and Poland have gone one step further by making it a part of the national curriculum. Bridge is a compulsory subject.
Here are five pieces of advice on how to learn bridge, move up to the level of tournament play – in other words, how to play your cards right.
Start Low, Aim High
As a pure beginner, the only place you can start is playing social bridge with other beginners. This form of bridge is simple, relaxing, challenging and has kept many a player absorbed for years. But if you want to improve your game, you must graduate to duplicate bridge. It is only when you compare what other pairs achieved with the very same cards you held that you will become a better player. Duplicate bridge is social bridge plus. Because you are rated against the rest of the playing field, it jumpstarts your brain into competitive mode, coaxes you into communicating more precisely, challenges you to dream up winning strategies and gives you an adrenaline rush.
Teacher, Oh Teacher
Find a good teacher. Ask around at the local bridge association and clubs. Register for a four-week session of eight bridge lessons. It would really help your cause to organize practice games at your home so that you can have questions answered and doubts clarified by the teacher at the next session. An important step is doing the homework to reinforce the concepts being taught. And try to remember the rules of the system and conventions you are playing.
As you transition from beginner to intermediate, it is time to expand your skill-set, so find a teacher once again. Just prior to tournaments, I find private lessons with expert players very helpful in working out problem areas and getting new insights in bidding, declarer play, defense and strategy.
Practice Makes Perfect
Keep playing and practicing whether it is dealing out hands on the dining table, as one of my partners preferred, or playing against the computer. Bridge played at clubs allows for 20 hands in three hours, while computer bridge can achieve the same output within an hour, with the added bonus of you playing as declarer all the time. There are many bridge websites that can be trial downloaded, like Bridge Baron, Bridge Master, and Bridge Base Online. My favorite is Bridge Baron for solitary practice. Beware: it is more addictive than solitaire.
Sources, Resources and the Resourceful
- Online Research There is more reading material than you ever wanted: tips, conventions, quizzes and all free. There are superb bridge lessons for beginner and intermediate players; my pick is the ACBL bridge software tutorials developed by Fred Gitelman.
- Online Play Whatever your skill level, beginner or expert, there are many websites on which you can play with the international bridge community. I highly recommend Bridge Base Online (www.bridgebase.com).
- Books and CDs Read anything and everything by one of my teachers, Mike Lawrence. Second favorite is Ron Klinger.
- Tournaments In bridge terminology, to “kibbitz” means to be a spectator. Kibbitzing at duplicate bridge tournaments, whether on an online site such as Bridge Base Online, or at a real venue is a good way to learn and to prepare for the possibility of tournament play in the future.
We’re Partners!
Picking the right partner in bridge is almost as important as it is in life. My preference is to pick someone with more skill and experience than me because I want to improve. I prefer that person treat me with respect at the bridge table when I make mistakes, and then give me constructive criticism after the game. I prefer the strong, silent type because I tend to be emotional. I enjoy trying out new conventions and want my partner to be open to new ideas. Finally, I want us to laugh a lot, have fun and travel together for tournaments. When tension or conflict arises, I work very hard at saving the partnership because I have a lot invested in it.
