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We are of a different breed than most, I think. I don't know about you, but Mrs. Tek and I were both born with a deck of cards in our hands. Pinochle is a natural progression for card players.
An example: when we were saving every penny for a down payment on our first house we opened Hoyle and taught ourselves every two player card game in it. Saved a lot of money that year.
My dad loved to play Rook. Starting about age 11, I became his Rook partner playing against my older brothers. He took it seriously and would get mad at me if I made a mistake. I became a reluctant player but learned to keep track of what had been played and strategies. Taking up bridge after I retire sort of appeals to me as I need to find some hobbies that require social contact. I also enjoy Scrabble and Dominoes.
Since this is a thread about bridge, I hope it stays that way. So far as duplicate bridge, I know there are plenty of "barracuda" type players who can be so nasty. Fortunately, the game in my town isn't nearly as bad as it used to be. Mainly because the nasty ones died. I once dropped out of playing duplicate, then returned after about 3 players left this world.
So far as knowing the conventions, of course none are necessary to be a good player. What IS necessary is to have a partner who agrees with what you want to play. Any partnership can be successful if both play the same game. Partnerships decide what they will do and that's how it is. I play with several different partners and some are better than others. There will always be something to learn. There are silver life masters who made mistakes. They probably don't make the same mistakes as a novice, but they make them. People can breezily say the game isn't difficult; however, it requires study and practice.
Since this is a thread about bridge, I hope it stays that way. So far as duplicate bridge, I know there are plenty of "barracuda" type players who can be so nasty. Fortunately, the game in my town isn't nearly as bad as it used to be. Mainly because the nasty ones died. I once dropped out of playing duplicate, then returned after about 3 players left this world.
So far as knowing the conventions, of course none are necessary to be a good player. What IS necessary is to have a partner who agrees with what you want to play. Any partnership can be successful if both play the same game. Partnerships decide what they will do and that's how it is. I play with several different partners and some are better than others. There will always be something to learn. There are silver life masters who made mistakes. They probably don't make the same mistakes as a novice, but they make them. People can breezily say the game isn't difficult; however, it requires study and practice.
I wonder why mods caution about not changing the topic? I realize they wander a bit, but it's easy to wander too far. I only made a little comment about it, but I'm sure I needed correcting.
Don't over react, please. All I did was point out something that happens in almost every thread. If it's so important to you report me to the mods. You won't be the first or the last.
Which I will be doing sometime in the future. I am looking forward to having my wife as a bridge partner again. Of course she's light years ahead of me since she's been playing duplicate bridge for a couple of years. On the positive side I know she'll take time to help me relearn everything I've forgotten.
We just have to get past moving into this house so we have the time.
Eddie Kantar's book - Bridge for Dummies - is great for learning bridge. I love the fact that he spends a lot of time on the actual play as opposed to bidding. Bidding is of course challenging and complicated, but many Bridge books just concentrate on that and skim over how to play the hand you are dealt.
Online websites can be tough to navigate. Once you are into it, a good summary of the ACBL convention (slightly different from Kantar's) is at Standard American Yellow Card
When in my 30-40's, family and friends wanted to teach me to play bridge. While I am a card player, I hated the game. I did not like the talk and ways of saying things (conventions?), etc. I also saw some nice people argue and shout at each other more then in any other card game.
Want to play card games, then there are plenty of other card games. Just find folks that play other games.
You got me all excited OP. Can't believe someone started a thread about my favorite game!
Someone mentioned Bridgebase.com earlier, I strongly second that. That is hands down the best way to play. I've been playing there for ages, was one of the first members. You can also play at a local club, it is really a great way to socialize. Online or off, give yourself about 3 months to find your bearings and make friends. It's like learning how to ride a bike.
You probably want to know the basics before you plunge in, and lemme tell you, anyone can learn. No need for expensive software unless you're really getting into it. Bridge Base Online
On the left hand side, look at "Learn to play bridge". You should go with the beginner version, grab the free software and read it when you have time.
At the same time, Bridge Base Online - Just Play Bridge
Click this and load a quick and free game. You play with robots here, so there is nobody to yell at you, haha.
I find playing the game instead of just reading rules helps me learn faster.
Only after you have tried the free game, and decided you really enjoy this card game, should you go looking for a teacher/software. Just my opinion.
PS: I also play WOW, another good game, but very different from Bridge. Bridge is a very intellectual game and really sharpens your mental faculties. I met this person on bridgebase who was involved in a Parkinsons case study. He was stricken when young, but disease progression halted when he picked up bridge and started playing a lot of it. There are youtube clips of him somewhere on the internet.
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