Bridge; next Sunday 29/7/2007

[ghoti_mhic_uait]

Benedict is desperate to learn Bridge, but it's often difficult to find a gathering prepared to include a very beginner. I suppose we only really need a fourth - but it needs to be an experienced and tolerant fourth.

Anyway, we thought that next Sunday, 29th July, would be a good time to gather people together at our house to play bridge - we'd like a mixture of experienced people and beginners, so don#'t be shy, now's your chance.

Comment if you're interested, and what time you can make.

Comments

[mobbsy.livejournal.com]

Does he already play whist type games? If not, it might be worth trying to find people to play knockout whist, estimation whist or similar for a few weeks as a way into Bridge. I imagine it'd be a very hard introduction to Bridge to have to learn the bidding and whist at the same time.

[angoel.livejournal.com]

Once you've got the whist down, there are two further elements you need to work out - bidding how many tricks you have, and partnershipness. In order to ease these, you probably want to have fairly fixed 'if this, then that' rules about bidding.

[phyphor.livejournal.com]

I love Whist, and even Solo Whist, but I never made the "jump" to Bridge.

I really ought to attempt to do so again, at some point.

[eldar.livejournal.com]

Try mini-bridge for starters. It takes away some of the complexity whilst still introducing basic concepts, in particular counting points and dummy. The Independent had a booklet explaining it on Saturday, we have a copy if you want it.

I'd offer myself as an experienced and tolerant fourth but I'm not sure what A. would say about me disappearing off for another Sunday to play bridge....

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

I'm unaware of mini-bridge, but it sounds like a good idea. I see there's lots of resources online, and EBU has a computer version. Thankyou!

You could always bring A with, but then we might spend all our time cooing at baby instead of playing :)

[aiwendel.livejournal.com]

Oli and I play bridge (at a fairly basic level - we haven't understood doubling yet) and would be happy to play with you all. Just have to catch us when we're not horribly busy! (we're still trying and failing to catch up with all the things that got neglected over wedding time, with family commitments whisking us away at every available weekend!)
But in principle. Yes, us we can play.

We also have a good card book that has a 3 handed bridge game.
(deal to 3 hands all the cards but 4 (actually you can vary the number you reserve for dummy), everyone throws away the excess cards until you are all down to 13, (and people have an idea of what is in the dummy from their own throw aways). Then you bid against each other to win the dummy. So you each have to score individually as pairs won't stay paired, but it's quite a good game for 3.

[uisgebeatha.livejournal.com]

I don't know how to play bridge at all, otherwise I'd have been at Ian's bridge do yesterday. If you fancy a game of blackjack, poker or some weird 2-deck card game I used to play at school, then that's fine. ;)

In any case, I think I'm free that day, but I suspect I'd be seriously dim and crap at learning something as complex as bridge... :/

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

I think I might change it to Mini Bridge as suggested by eldar above. Would that be more tempting?

[uisgebeatha.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that looks less complicated. G'wan then. So long as it's not going to be strip bridge or something...;)

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I second the mini-bridge idea. I'd also be willing to join you.

A couple of people at New Relativity said they might be interested; Colin said he was going to email the mailing list. I guess it depends if you'd rather have a quiet group of one or two specific extra people (possibly more conducive to learning mini-bridge) or a larger group (that might set up two tables and introduce a greater variety.)