[eagles123]

So I thought long and hard about making this topic but here goes:

Recently I've become very frustrated with my Bridge. I am not at all a confident person and for me even small steps can seem massive. For example around 6 months ago I took my first trip to a big UK club having only previously played at the local one. I now regularly play at the Acol on a monday night and the Ace of Clubs on a Wednesday night. It was a big step for me to go to these places but now I kinda feel in limbo.

At both places, obviously AOC on wed is a higher level, I average around 60% for declarer play, in fact slightly over. I am just getting fed up of getting tops for making basic plays, and getting away with ridiculous errors - I feel like I am just treading water and not really learning anything at all.

I have a regular partner at the Acol and a semi regular p at the AOC - at the Acol my partner is a very good card player but the bidding is just nuts: at least we play strong and 5 but apart from that our system is so basic and he will often make bids that to me are totally uncomprohensible. At the AOC it's even worse and to be honest I will be calling off the "partnership" tomorrow night before it ends on bad terms.

I am not a particularly sociable person - I have to be honest I am ***** at networking and have only in the past found partners either through bbo or in the case of the Acol by turning up and playing with another random. I like to feel that I have potential in bridge but I just dunno how to execute it.

So I am considering hiring a pro. I am not a millionaire so pls be realistic lol, but I am interested.

What I would be interested in

- Someone to evaluate my game. I dunno what I'm good at what I'm not good at, what bad habits I have etc etc
- Someone to sort out conventions. I feel like I know many conventions but I'm a bit stuck as to what is best. Simple example, 1430 3041 obviously i can do both but do I know which is better and why? No chance
- Someone to help me find partner - Ambitious I know but I would love to find someone with contacts that could potentially help me find a partner. I know the old saying is that 90% of players are better than their partner but I honestly think I'm better than my current partners and feel that at this stage of my bridge career I really need to be playing with someone that is better than me.

What I am not interested in

- getting a random top at a duplicate: Honestly I wouldn't do this just to get a one off top or whatever. Pro hogs all the hands and we end up with 70% - what do I learn?
- someone that is just after pay check: i.e. turns up plays the boards, goes home - no pre game chat no post-mortem.

I work during the week so ideally I'd be looking for a weekend game in order to fully prepare before hand.

My question is - does anyone else have an experience of hiring a pro and how did it go and more importantly, does anyone have any recommendations.

to clarify: I'm potentially looking for a pro for a weekend session in London or the surrounding areas

Many thanks,

Eagles




=

[Vampyr]

I am not sure how you can find a partner, but if you go to clubs that always have a host (eg Woodberry, BTONS) you might find someone you click with.

As far as recommendations for a pro who will help you improve your game, I have someone in mind but I will send it in a PM.

[sfi]

I've been neither a pro nor a client, but I know lots of both quite well so have some thoughts on the matter.

There are several reasons why someone might hire a pro, and the best one (from both parties' point of view) is wanting to improve your game. From the pro's point of view, they don't have to distort their play to try and ensure a win, which also means that you will be more involved in the decision-making process throughout the game. From your point of view, the benefits are likely to include:

- solid advice on judgement and cardplay, which can accelerate the learning process significantly. You will want a pro who is committed to sitting down after every session and reviewing the hands.
- increased ability to understand how the partnership interaction works during the hand. You will be able to trust that a pro can field more of the problems you give them than other partners will. Part of the game is making things easy for partner, but another big part is working with partner to exchange the right inferences and make the right decisions, and that's a skill you can only really work on with a good partner.

You will also get increased exposure in the bridge world. This can be a two-edged sword, since being a client can have a negative connotation in some circles. Not sure whether that's relevant in the UK at all though. What you will get is more people recognising you, which means you are more likely to find other partners as part of the process. The pro will certainly be able to advise you in this area.

My experience is that pros are often less interested in conventions than other people, at least in their pro-client partnerships. The reason for this seems to be that too many conventions often get in the way of good evaluation and decision-making. Unless you specifically discuss this as a goal, the pro is likely to simply play your (standard-ish) system and look to modify it over time.

Key points to consider:
- Pros differ enormously in temperament, style, and strengths. When choosing one, arrange a game or two and see if you are compatible. You want someone with whom you are comfortable and who spends time with you after the session. I see lots of pros who berate their client at the table and find this really unimpressive behaviour, but that may not bother you. If it doesn't feel right, then you're probably wasting your time with that particular pro.
- Discuss your goals with the pro. You are paying for a service, so make sure what you want out of it is clear. They should tailor their approach to meet your aims.
- Don't overburden the partnership with system. You will find conventions are far less important than the logic and decision-making process of the game, and conventions can't make up for faulty logic. Work on that instead - it's more transferable as well.
- There's more going on in the cardplay than you know. Listen to your partner and learn from them in this area.
- Make sure you are having fun when playing with the pro. It's a game after all, and you're not going to get better if you stop enjoying it.
- Be ready to call the relationship quits if you are no longer getting what you want out of it. Do it on good terms though - the bridge world is a small community.

[broze]

Eagles, have you thought about getting involved in the England junior bridge scene? They run several training weekends throughout the year and I doubt you would be out of place at all. If you are interested PM me and I can point you to the right people. They might also be able to help you find a partner.

As for the pro thing, from what you say it seems that you could get what you are looking for just by being in a decent partnership. I'm sure if you approached players who are better than you in your club they would be glad to give you a game. Finding a pro who suits you might require just as much effort.

[eagles123]

many thanks all

[Phil]

Eagles you are fairly active here. What kind of holes in your game have you identified?

Say its declarer play. A pro needs to get inside your head to find where the thought process is breaking down. Is it not counting tricks? Not drawing the right inferences? Counting? Lack of focus?

While I'm not trying to take business from professionals (especially since I supported my clan for five years teaching and doing this), maybe post some hands where you had trouble with. Instead of just saying, "here's one I had problems with", say, "I started by playing (such and such) because I thought (this and that). Where was my reasoning off?

Oh, and READ a lot (I mean at least 4-6 hours a week) and brush on your Bridgemaster Level 3 and 4. You should literally be able to run the table on these.

[Trinidad]

Just to add my $0.02.

In addition to all the good comments you got already, I would suggest you realize -thoroughly- that bridge is a partnership game and a mental game.

Your game will improve a lot more from improving your psychological/social skills than from learning a few more conventions.

If you can train on:

• focussing
  
• being a good (which also means forgiving) partner
  
• enjoying the game
  
• ignoring anything bad that happens (bad results, rude opponents, mistakes by partner or yourself, spilling your beer) and focus on letting it go

you will see that your game will improve. You will:

• bid more accurately
  
• count better
  
• judge better
  
• be more imaginative when it is needed (because you can mentally afford to be wrong)

There may be some pros that are particularly good at helping you with that.

Rik

[eagles123]

Many thanks again to everyone that has messaged me on here or on BBO, I am shocked and humbled by the amount of helpful advice and suggestions I've been given.

I need to go and think about what will be best for my games - and I can't do any pro/client stuff for a few weeks anyway as I need to get paid - but I thank you all for your help

Eagles

[CopeyJ]

Hey Eagles

I am a regular in the AoC and the Acol. I play morning and evening duplicates there and can totally understand where you are coming from. Whilst I am a Pro myself, I am not replying to plug my own cause. But I think some things are vital when considering a pro - to find someone who understands your goals and is prepared to try their best to help you achieve them. Sally Brock, Ben Green and Myself have put together a "Pro Bridge agency" - where you can peruse the various professionals on offer, and look what they are able to assist with and what they are not. Some have prices on the website, others ask you to enquire within (you can email them directly). I'd suggest you have a look at www.pro-bridge.co.uk as it will certainly offer you a bit of an insight into the world of Pro-Client bridge, which unfortunately remains mysterious to some. But we believe it is *THE* way to improve - for example I want to get better at golf so I have a lesson a week with a Pro - and he helps me work out how to improve and get the best out of myself. Why should bridge be any different?

Feel free to message me if you'd like to - and you can email us through the website to ask us to help you try and find someone appropriate, if you'd like us to.

Yours

Simon

[shermangao]

If anyone thinking of hiring a pro, I'm glad to help here.
I came US and start play as a Pro about one and half year, and so far I already help clients won 900 master points( not include online points) and 2014 Young Life Master 2nd place. Last year I also won Mini-Mckenny 200-300 with 501 points,
I can help you improve soon and enjoy wining in bridge tournaments, no matter how big your goal is, even NABC+ champions, I can help you achieve that, I like clients with big ambitious.

First I'll offer online lessons first, after a couple month online lessons, I promise we can win in any regional open pairs. Win meant at least top 5 in A or 1st in B
My email is Free0022@hotmail.com
I live in Los Angeles area

Yours


Sherman

[gordontd]

shermangao, on 2015-February-20, 10:46, said:

I promise we can win in any regional open pairs. Win meant at least top 5 in A or 1st in B

That's an unusual interpretation of the word "win".

shermangao, on 2015-February-20, 10:46, said:

I live in Los Angeles area

Not terribly convenient for the original poster, who lives in London

[wanoff]

gordontd, on 2015-February-20, 13:30, said:

That's an unusual interpretation of the word "win".

You must have misunderstood. On offer is good bridge, wining and dining and a guaranteed top 5 finish. Fantastic.

[PhilKing]

Lot's of pros guarantee a happy ending, but they are seldom bridge players.