I’ve often fretted about tge lack of new players taking up the game so I’ve started helping teaching efforts for beginners and improvers at a local club. Got to put the effort in somewhere!
Regards,
Iain
Bobby WolffJanuary 22nd, 2023 at 3:40 pm
Hi Iain,
We need more ambassadors to the game like you, who have a real love for our spectacular enterprise. Not everyone is as enchanted by all phases of what I think to be, the overall best mind game ever discovered.
Lead us with your deeds and we will follow.
ClarksburgJanuary 22nd, 2023 at 6:11 pm
Bravo Ian
Curious: how will your approach treat the relative priority of card play versus bidding?
Bobby WolffJanuary 22nd, 2023 at 6:48 pm
Hi Clarksburg,
I understand you are addressing your question to Iain, but I will interrupt your question with, card play can be a lot more fun, simply because the puzzles pieces are available to inspect.
Iain ClimieJanuary 22nd, 2023 at 7:00 pm
Hi Clarksburg,
So far I’m just supporting some existing efforts but, if I were starting from scratch, I’d begin with Whist basics, progressing to having one hand turned up, before later getting onto bidding. I may be biased here (I learned Whist well before bridge) but I think getting a good feel for play is crucial at an early stage. You can always make a few bad or lucky contracts but reaching what you’re told is the right spot and messing it up will probably be more discouraging in my view.
Thanks for your comment Bobby, and feel free to shoot me down if you disagree Clarksburg. Over the years (and especially in 2011 then 2013 to 2015) I’ve written up a fair number of articles pitched at different levels. Feel free to contact me at iain.climie@btinternet.com if you’d like copies – free to use with suitable acknowledgement (e.g. this next hand was supplied by this mad Brit I correspond with….).
Regards,
Iain
clarksburgJanuary 22nd, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Interesting, and not unexpected priority from both!
Based upon my own learning experience:
Typical teaching does far too much on Bidding
Were I to do introductory sessions the main focii,, all built around card play, would be:
Declaring: learning to recognize a good/great offensive hand and a good/great fit, without fussing about “points”
Defending: recognizing a defensive hand shape, finding good leads, carding
Always: counting!
Iain ClimieJanuary 22nd, 2023 at 9:30 pm
Hi Clarksburg,
Many thanks for that and I’ll certainly bear that in mind.
Regards,
Iain
Steven ConradJanuary 23rd, 2023 at 1:07 pm
Hi Guys,
I regularly teach and run bridge games on cruise ships. On the Queen Mary II, I teach first timers, who never played bridge before, how to play. On the 7 day crossing between New York and Southampton, I teach first timers for 6 days, one hour each day. I always begin with 2 days of minibridge. The first day, at the end of the first hour, they will have finished two games of bridge. On the second day, they bring their friends and I normally go from 7 tables to about 11 tables, and they stay for the duration of the cruise, till we cross the pond. Starting with the third day, I begin to teach bidding with 4 open hands and prepared deals. I search for a few years to find material that lets me do well on ships. I am not a fan of Audrey Grants, but the book by Audrey Grant that’s titled BRIDGE BASICS 1: An Introduction is the best I have ever seen for first timers. I have never taught beyond deal #9, but I do know the material has errors. For example, one of the first 16 is really a dummy reversal (she does not do that), so once or twice the instructor must modify the deal.
If you use the deals from that book, your students will profit for sure.
Steve
Bobby WolffJanuary 23rd, 2023 at 1:12 pm
Hi Clarksburg, Iain,
Methinks the hardest part is the “finding good leads”, brought on by the not being able to inspect. And simply put, the attempt to rise from no better than average to competitive is totally dependent on “COUNTING EVERY HAND” EXCEPTING WHEN DUMMY” and for improving partnership, even then.
Bobby WolffJanuary 23rd, 2023 at 1:25 pm
Hi Steve,
Much thanks for your valuable post. My guess is that you are an amazing bridge teacher, saddled with the responsibility of developing new bridge players to make up for the sometimes crippling, truth of lowering the average age of current bridge enthusiasts.
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Hi Bobby,
I’ve often fretted about tge lack of new players taking up the game so I’ve started helping teaching efforts for beginners and improvers at a local club. Got to put the effort in somewhere!
Regards,
Iain
Hi Iain,
We need more ambassadors to the game like you, who have a real love for our spectacular enterprise. Not everyone is as enchanted by all phases of what I think to be, the overall best mind game ever discovered.
Lead us with your deeds and we will follow.
Bravo Ian
Curious: how will your approach treat the relative priority of card play versus bidding?
Hi Clarksburg,
I understand you are addressing your question to Iain, but I will interrupt your question with, card play can be a lot more fun, simply because the puzzles pieces are available to inspect.
Hi Clarksburg,
So far I’m just supporting some existing efforts but, if I were starting from scratch, I’d begin with Whist basics, progressing to having one hand turned up, before later getting onto bidding. I may be biased here (I learned Whist well before bridge) but I think getting a good feel for play is crucial at an early stage. You can always make a few bad or lucky contracts but reaching what you’re told is the right spot and messing it up will probably be more discouraging in my view.
Thanks for your comment Bobby, and feel free to shoot me down if you disagree Clarksburg. Over the years (and especially in 2011 then 2013 to 2015) I’ve written up a fair number of articles pitched at different levels. Feel free to contact me at iain.climie@btinternet.com if you’d like copies – free to use with suitable acknowledgement (e.g. this next hand was supplied by this mad Brit I correspond with….).
Regards,
Iain
Interesting, and not unexpected priority from both!
Based upon my own learning experience:
Typical teaching does far too much on Bidding
Were I to do introductory sessions the main focii,, all built around card play, would be:
Declaring: learning to recognize a good/great offensive hand and a good/great fit, without fussing about “points”
Defending: recognizing a defensive hand shape, finding good leads, carding
Always: counting!
Hi Clarksburg,
Many thanks for that and I’ll certainly bear that in mind.
Regards,
Iain
Hi Guys,
I regularly teach and run bridge games on cruise ships. On the Queen Mary II, I teach first timers, who never played bridge before, how to play. On the 7 day crossing between New York and Southampton, I teach first timers for 6 days, one hour each day. I always begin with 2 days of minibridge. The first day, at the end of the first hour, they will have finished two games of bridge. On the second day, they bring their friends and I normally go from 7 tables to about 11 tables, and they stay for the duration of the cruise, till we cross the pond. Starting with the third day, I begin to teach bidding with 4 open hands and prepared deals. I search for a few years to find material that lets me do well on ships. I am not a fan of Audrey Grants, but the book by Audrey Grant that’s titled BRIDGE BASICS 1: An Introduction is the best I have ever seen for first timers. I have never taught beyond deal #9, but I do know the material has errors. For example, one of the first 16 is really a dummy reversal (she does not do that), so once or twice the instructor must modify the deal.
If you use the deals from that book, your students will profit for sure.
Steve
Hi Clarksburg, Iain,
Methinks the hardest part is the “finding good leads”, brought on by the not being able to inspect. And simply put, the attempt to rise from no better than average to competitive is totally dependent on “COUNTING EVERY HAND” EXCEPTING WHEN DUMMY” and for improving partnership, even then.
Hi Steve,
Much thanks for your valuable post. My guess is that you are an amazing bridge teacher, saddled with the responsibility of developing new bridge players to make up for the sometimes crippling, truth of lowering the average age of current bridge enthusiasts.
Hi Steve,
Many thanks for that – useful.
Regards,
Iain
Hi Bobby,
Any sign of a fix for my daily fix?
Regards,
Iain