[HeavyDluxe]

Hi everyone.

I've always been fascinated by bridge. I think it's all rooted in the Friday night bridge games my parents would have with my grandparents every week during my childhood.

When I was 13, I learned the *very* basics of the game and played with the 'rents unti I went off to college. No one there played bridge, so I transitioned to spades...

I'd love to get back to playing bridge, so I signed up here on BridgeBase. I'd love to find a couple other people looking to learn (for argument's sake, let's say I'm a brand-newbie) who might like to meet online and work on our games. I think it'd be great to get a book, work through it, and then put the skills to the test.

Getting our tails kicked severely in the process, no doubt.

If anyone's interested in learning along with me (or has godlike bridge knowledge they'd like to pass on), respond to this thread or shoot me an email. We can chat offline from there.

By the way, I'm cheap and recently thrown out of work. So, I'm not interested in solicitation for 'paying' lessons. Though that might change down the road....

Thanks all!

Brian aka HeavyDluxe

heavydluxe at gmail DOT com

[HeavyDluxe]

Quote

Learning with others is a good idea, I recommend reading a lot and playing even more  5 weeks to winning bridge was the first bridge book I read and is a classic.

Thanks, JLall... I appreciate the welcome and the suggestion.

I've read a lot of bridge books over the years and (generally) do ok once the contract is set. I've played enough cards to do well as declarer and I'm alright on defense. Bidding is where I'm 'crapping the bed'.

So, I've been reading through Common Sense Bidding and ABCs of Bridge to brush up on both.

But I agree, playing is where it's at... I just want to find a few people who are willing to be patient and supportive through the whole process. I hate to mess up other people's evening by stumbling into too many slams off every ace in the deck. Tends to make some people a little tense. ;-)

You aren't one of *those* are you?

[bestguru]

Hi Brian.

I'd be happy to play a few hands with you when I manage to get back to the online tables. Unfortunately I don't have any godlike knowledge and I probably won't be able to play regularly for a while.

You might want to check out the Beginner and Intermediate Lounge (BIL). There are many resources there for learning players. The attitudes at the table are generally very nice and most are much more forgiving of mistakes.

[joker_gib]

HeavyDluxe, on Jun 24 2005, 04:15 AM, said:

I've read a lot of bridge books over the years and (generally) do ok once the contract is set. I've played enough cards to do well as declarer and I'm alright on defense. Bidding is where I'm 'crapping the bed'.

Hi Brian and welcome to the forum !

This is the typical sentence I've heard the most by beginners !

They think they can play cards and that they only have to learn how to bid. It is a big mistake and please do not ignore this great and essential part of the game.

Good luck !

Alain

[ochinko]

Hi, Brian.

I'd recommend you the excellent lessons from ACBL: Learn to Play Bridge (they are free, btw ). They lead you through bidding with SAYC, declarer's play, leads, defending, signals... The user interface is the same as this of the BBO client, which is hardly surprising, given the fact that they are developed by the same person - Fred Gitelman.

Have fun!

Petko

[rigour6]

1) Join BIL

2) Buy or borrow a copy of Harry Lampert's "The Fun Way to Serious Bridge". Harry's system is not dead-on SAYC, but it is close and easy to learn. Understanding page 33 is the key.

3) Look around for other players. I learned to play bridge with 5 other guys, only 2 of which had played before and that was over 20 years ago. We were all on the same level, so we all made the same mistakes over and over. It was great fun, the games were competitive, and we all went up at more or less the same speed.

4) If you can, learn to play duplicate style. This makes it easier to review the bidding after the hand has been played.

5) If you can, find a regular partner. Preferrably a really good looking and understanding one. If you have to pick, choose understanding.

6) Bid lots and lots and lots of hands. Practice "calling" the hand - i.e when your partner bids, say out loud what you think the bid tells you.

7) There will come a moment of frustration when your skill will improve enough that you will perceive how bad you are doing. Just ignore that phase, on the other side of it is improved play and a lifetime of learning.

[Double !]

You might want to go to acbl web site or (I think) bbo website and download "Learn to Play Bridge", 1 & 2. Last time I looked, both programs were free downloads.