December Bridge Edition
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Table of Contents
- Section One - Commentary and Current Articles
- Section Two - Links to Articles of Interest
- Section Three - Links to New Bridge Web Sites
- Section Four - Personal Web Pages on Bridge
- Section Five - Bridge Periodicals on the Web
- Section Six - Bridge Basics for Seniors - See below
| Section One - Commentary and Current Articles |
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Update April 1 - Will people still play the game of Bridge in another 30 years? So many of the older card games have been discarded by the younger generations; is this the fate of Bridge? I think not....as our busy baby boomers start retiring, what could be better than taking up the game of Bridge. Many of the boomers played while in college, then
gave it up because of their demanding schedules with family and careers. If you, or someone you know, is soon retiring from a career then consider Bridge as a game that will provide balance in their or your life while keeping you in touch with interesting people. If your Bridge is rusty, then this web page will be of great help in getting the basics under your belt. If you know someone who will benefit from learning Bridge, be sure to tell them about this web page.
I think we have most of the key web sites on Bridge available on the Web. Just check out Section Five - Bridge Periodicals on the Web.
With our new format, I will be emphasizing the newest and best web sites about Bridge on this page. The number and creativity of web sites in all subject areas is increasing rapidly. My job will be to provide my readers with the best of them. So, when you think of Bridge on the Internet, this should be your first stop.
| Section Two - Links to Articles of Interest |
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Will will try to provide links to interesting articles covering the subject of Bridge here:
| Section Three - New Bridge Web Sites |
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March Picks
Try this site if you are looking for bridge clubs anywhere in the world:
great bridge links and bridge clubs around the world from Caversham Park Bridge Club
PlaySite Games -- Rules and Ratings for many popular games
February Selections
I thought this month we would go back to school by looking at three web pages discussing doubling. Most of us social players can get into a peck of trouble interpreting doubles during the bidding. These three sites build on each other to round out the discussion of this subject. Thanks to Karen Walker of Karen's Bridge Library for these links:
December Picks
Christmas gifts for bridge players
Jim Loy's Bridge Software Review
Baron Barclay Bridge Supplies: Sheinwold on Bridge
Stanford Bridge Club Home Page
The Bridge Companion Internet Home Page
November Selections - Back to the Basics
October selections
Searching for new web sites on the game of Bridge takes one down many roads. It seems that bridge players have many interests to share, along with their bridge theories. Here are a few sites that stay on the subject:
playBridge Home Page--Hand Generator
THE BRIDGE TRAVELER, ACBL MAPS AND CLUBS LIST
September Selections
ACBL DISTRICT 21's DIABLO & LIVERMORE VALLEYS BRIDGE UNITS AND GAMES
Bridge Base Inc. - Software Reviews
All of the Bridge Conventions You Could Ever Want
Standard American 5-Card Majors
The Theraputic Value of Bridge
| Section Four - Personal Home Pages on Bridge |
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There is a lot of creativity among bridge players when it comes to setting up web sites. We are continuing this month in pointing out some of these sites:
December Picks
November Selection
October Selections
| Section Five - Periodicals on Bridge |
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Great Bridge Links
Switchboard Personal Page--THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF BRIDGE
Here is another page for checking your bidding basics THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF BRIDGE
Now check out other features on Great Bridge Links. Just click here:
Great Bridge Links
Bridge Today - For People Who Love to Play Bridge
Family Background and Genealogy
Sign my guestbook and tell me which subjects you like.
Bridge Today
Here is web site featured in Manhattan Bridge Club Web Site that is worth visiting often. You will go to the home page of Manhattan Bridge Club; then simply click on "Bridge Today" in top left panel:
Karen's Bridge Library
Here is a good place to check out your bidding procedure for all levels of play, including duplicate bridge. There are separate sections for the following types of players:
Here is a web site to check out all the popular software bridge games. Karen links to several sites relating to the review and description of bridge play software. These links include ratings of all the software. So check it out right here:
Now check out the other features here:
My Approach to Bidding for Social Bridge
I play social bridge twice a week at the Walnut Creek Senior Center; and twice a month with SIRs-Chapter 116. I haven't played duplicate for some time. Like many of us, I used to play bridge at Harrison's Bridge Center which was an institution around Contra Costa County for several years. For the last few years, the social aspect has become more important than the competitive aspect.
Now that I play only socially, I seem to have developed my own bidding system which is somewhat "undisciplined." My regular group understands this and knows how to react to my style of bidding. However, when I play in the local tournaments with players who don't know me, it can be tough on them. Anyway, for those of you who occasionally play with me in the local tournaments, here are some of my bidding tendencies:
I start out basically with Goren five card majors or the best of the minors for opening bids at the one level(except 1NT) I also play Blackwood and Stayman, but only will respond to Gerber after NT openers. My Gerber response to 4 Clubs would be up the line, just like Blackwood responses; with 5 Clubs asking for kings.
The big thing with me is my two bid openers! For the type of tournaments I play in(with the level of play so varied among the players)I stick to strong twos with a kicker! I use the so-called local two club opener which only tells partner: I have 19-21 HCPs. This is a one-round forcing bid for my partner. He\she replies with two diamonds with less then 7 points. With more then 7 points, we have a force to game(or slam if partner has close to opening hand values.) Some times a slam is the difference in getting agreement on a trump suit, and a singleton or void in the responder's hand.
Now this opening two-club bid is not favored by many players. In our SIR group, very few players will even consider the bid. The "all strong two" players say they would rather open at the one level and use the jump-shift to show 19 points. The problem with this, in my opinion, is that "all strong two openers" are rare. To me, the two-club opener is a good alternative between playing weak twos and the "all strong two bids." If I open two clubs and my partner comes back two diamonds, I can sometimes convert to two or three NT depending on my middle values(10s, 9s and 8s.) The two NT would be an invitation if partner is at the top end with 5-6 points.
Here are some of my other bids in certain situations:
All of the bridge tournaments in which I participate are rubber bridge played under Chicago rules. All players rotate partners and\or table every four hands. So each table consists of four hands with partial scores carried forward until the fourth hand. At that time the scores are totaled with partial scores getting 100 points. In this type of play
I will tend to play the score in my bidding. For instance, if it is the last hand, I might open light with a partial score to try "stealing the bid." My partner, in these situations, should be aware of the possibility of my opening bid possibly being light. On the other hand, with a 15-16 pts. I might overbid in responding to my partner's opening bid for the sole reason of indicating a possible slam hand. In this case partner would need extra values over opening hand count to encourage any further exploration.
The reason for stretching here is the premium paid for
slams.
See Additional Articles in the Bridge Archive
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This page was last updated on December 02, 1999