Anyone For BridgeThe programme
The four steps.
One programme in four steps, from a first hand of cards to competing at the club table. Each step has its own question to answer and its own skill to build, and you can join at the step that fits you.
Step one is the two-day course. Hover or tap a stair to see what each step is, or read all four in full below.
1Have a go
Play Cards
New to Bridge: Learn the basics of bidding and making a contract.
“What am I trying to do?”
Next course: dates to be confirmed
Overall objective
Understand the fundamentals of Bridge and the Card Play. How to evaluate a hand, choose a contract, and plan both the declarer and defensive play.
Eight topics
- Discovering Bridge
- Understanding what No Trump and Suit Contracts are
- Evaluating Your Hand
- Choosing the Contract
- Planning a No Trump Contract
- Defending Against No Trumps
- Planning a Suit Contract
- Defending a Suit Contract
What you can do at the end
“I can look at my hand, understand the type of contract and level to play at, make a basic plan and play the hand with purpose.”
“If defending, know how to communicate with partners using my cards to try and defeat the contract”
2Communicate
Journey to Bidding
In the syllabus: The Journey to Bidding
Playing Social Bridge: Learn to communicate with your partner.
“What is my partner telling me?”
Overall objective
Move from simply playing cards to understanding how bidding is used as a conversation between partners.
Seven topics
- Introduction to ACOL
- No Trump Bidding & Responses
- Tools to Defeat a No Trump Contract
- Opening 1 of a Suit & Responses
- Tools to Defeat a Suit Contract
- First Level Competitive Bidding
- Beginners Convention Bids
What you can do at the end
“I understand what my partner's bids mean and can use bidding to find the right contract, while beginning to compete with the opponents.”
3Compete
Competitive Bidding
In the syllabus: Social Bridge to Competitive Bidding
Take your game to the next level.
“How do we compete?”
Overall objective
Develop confidence in competitive auctions and introduce stronger tools for describing hands and finding games and slams.
Five topics
- Next Level Competitive Bidding
- Pre-emptive Opening Bids
- Defending Against Pre-empts
- Basic Slam Bidding
- 2nd Level Convention Bids
What you can do at the end
“I can compete intelligently, recognise opportunities to disrupt opponents and work with partner towards games and basic slams.”
4Improve
Tricks of the Trade
In the syllabus: Continued Improvers
Better judgement, partnership understanding and improving results.
“How do I make better decisions?”
Overall objective
Turn knowledge into better decisions at the table.
Five topics
- Intermediate Competitive Bidding
- Defending After a No Trump Opening
- Defending After a 1NT Penalty Double
- Improver Defensive Play
- Slam Bidding
What you can do at the end
“I can use judgement, partnership agreements and more advanced techniques to make better decisions and achieve better results.”
Running through every step
Think. Bid. Play.
Three layers that come back at every step, so the programme is one game getting deeper rather than four separate courses.
- Think
Count the hand, read the auction and form a plan before a card is played.
- Bid
Tell your partner about your strength, your shape, your fit and what you want to do.
- Play
Turn everything the bidding told you into a plan, as declarer or in defence.
How conventions are introduced
The problem first. The tool second.
No convention is taught because it is next on a syllabus. You meet the problem at the table first, so that when the tool arrives you already know what it is for and why it works.
- 1The problem
- 2Why do we need a tool?
- 3Introduce the convention
- 4Practise it
- 5Use it at the table
It means conventions stick, and it stops anyone leaning on a convention they do not understand.
The next course
Have a go. Two days.
Sixteen places. Four tables of four, and a two-course lunch on both days.
Dates to be confirmed