Thursday, June 23, 2011

Did you ever wonder if you would enjoy playing the card game, duplicate bridge?


Did you ever wonder if you would enjoy playing the card game, duplicate bridge?

 By David McClelland

 This blog is intended for only those who do not now play duplicate bridge.

Those who do play duplicate will already know all that is contained herein.

To my way of thinking, there are only two card games that share national and international popularity. They are poker and bridge. I play poker twice a year at a fundraiser and enjoy it. What makes it fun is that you are betting on every hand. In fact, you have to put money into the middle of the table, the ante, just to have your hand dealt to you. However, unless you are a really good bluffer, you won't win many poker hands, and certainly will not be the big winner of the night, unless you are dealt good cards on a fairly regular basis. The better your poker hands, the more often you win and the more fun it is to play poker.

I have also played duplicate bridge since my college days and believe it to be even more fun than poker. Why? Because, it doesn't matter how good or how bad the hands are that you are dealt. You are competing against only the other players who are dealt the exact same hands as yours. This is by design. At the beginning of the game, all hands to be played in that game are dealt and placed into the 4 sides of a "duplicate board" so that each and every time that hand is played, the East player, for example, will have the exact same cards as every other East player who plays that hand. Say the game consists of 32 boards, or hands. Each player in each of the four positions, (N, S, E & W) will play the same cards as every other player in their relative position. The N/S players stay at the same table all game and the E/W players move from table to table and the cards/boards move in the other direction.

I think you can see why it makes no difference on a given hand, whether you get a strong, average or weak hand. It is the exact same hand the players you are competing against will hold when it is that player's turn to play that board. That is why skill is more important than the cards which you are dealt to you in bridge.

Some people think bridge is just too difficult to learn. I don't buy into that idea. You are dealt 13 cards and must first evaluate your hand. That isn't too hard. The bidding process is more difficult, but not overly so. It just takes practice to learn the game. The play of the hand by the successful bidder is challenging and makes the game and fun to learn. Then, when you begin to play duplicate, it is even more  fun.

There are bridge books aplenty to assist the beginner and I urge you to try the game.The American Contract Bridge League has an online service to assist you. Go to:www.acbl.org/LearnToPlayBridge.  

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