Where to play
Your first bridge club
A bridge club runs regular sessions, usually duplicate pairs, that new players can join. This article covers what happens at a session, the usual worries about going for the first time, and how to find a club.
What actually happens
- You arrive, pay a small table fee, and are given a table number. Somebody will tell you where to sit.
- Deals come in boards: trays holding four hands, already dealt, with the dealer and vulnerability marked on them.
- You play two or three boards against one pair, then a bell goes and either you or they move to the next table.
- Cards go back in the board rather than into a pile, so the next table plays the same deal.
- Scores go into a tablet or on a slip. Results are usually ready soon after the last board.
Because every table plays the same deals, weak cards don't cost you on their own: every pair held them, and your score depends on how you did with them compared with the others. This is the main difference from social bridge.
Worries that stop people going
I have not got a partner
This is easy to fix. Ring or email the club before you go. Most have a partnership secretary, and many run a host system where somebody is on hand to play with anyone who arrives alone. If you turn up alone without warning, there may be nobody free to play with you.
I will be too slow
Sessions are timed, and you'll occasionally be hurried. A new player isn't expected to be quick. Speed comes from playing a lot of hands, and practising online helps with that.
The habit that saves the most time is deciding your lead and your plan while the auction is still going.
I am not good enough
Clubs expect newer players. Many run a separate beginners' or supervised session, often gentler, with somebody who will answer questions mid-hand. Ask the club which sessions suit a newer player.
Etiquette, in five lines
- Bid and play in tempo. A long pause tells partner something you're not allowed to tell them.
- Alert your partner's conventional bids. The opponents are entitled to know your agreements.
- Don't discuss the hand until the board is back in the tray, and keep it brief then.
- Be kind to your partner in public. Save the post-mortem for after the session.
- Call the director for anything irregular. Calling the director is normal and doesn't accuse anyone.
Finding a club
Your national bridge organisation keeps the list, and it will be more current than anything else you find:
- North America: the American Contract Bridge League runs a club finder.
- England: the English Bridge Union lists affiliated clubs by county.
- Elsewhere: your national body will have the equivalent.
Ring before your first visit. The club can find you a partner, suggest a session and tell you the fee in one call.
What to do first
The bridge at a club is no harder than bridge online. The difference is that you play at a set pace, face to face, and can't undo a card.
So prepare by playing a lot of hands:
- Play enough hands that the opening bids and responses come without thinking.
- Get used to pausing at trick one and making a plan.
- Agree a short convention card with your partner beforehand. Keep it to agreements you will both remember.