BRIDGING MINDS
There are two major parts in a bridging game - one is called the auction or bidding , and the other is the play of cards by the declarer of the auction , to reach his bid.
Bridge is the most famous, and most absorbing and entertaining card game created by man. It is played by exactly 4 people sitting around a table, with players opposite each other being partners constituting a team . One team is the North- South team and the other is called the E-W team.
The 52 cards in the pack are distributed amongst the 4 players ( 13 cards each ). The idea of bidding is to efficiently communicate to your partner as to the strength of your cards and your distribution of your cards ( distribution as in the breakup of the 13 cards among the 4 suits - spades, hearts, diamond and clubs . Once either of you know something about the cards held by the other , you can optimally bid for your contract .
A round of cards played ( 1 by each person ) is called a trick . In the auction , you bid as to how many tricks you can make out of the total of 13 . If the opponents think they can make more tricks than you , they are obviously going to bid too . So , one can understand that bidding is all about communicating well to your partners and comprehending what they mean by their bid . If you want to communicate , you obviously need a language that both you and your partner understand .These languages are called conventions in bridge . There are several conventions like Standard American , Precision etc which you can follow to tell your partner what lies in your hand.
Next in line comes the concept of trumps . A trump is a suit chosen during bidding . I a round of card play the suit of the round is decided by the person who starts the round .If others have the suit played ,they have to follow . If one does not have the lead suit but has a trump , then he can play trump to cut the card played and claim the trick . If you don?t have a round trump , then the person who plays the highest strength card ( ace to 2 are in decreasing order of strength ) wins the trick .In bidding , you analyze as to how many tricks , your partner and yourself can put together make with some trump of your choice . You also may choose to play without trumps game in which throughout the game no one can cut a lead suit .
The bridge game is often considered more brain involving than chess . Even at the highest levels of chess , you think only up to 6-8 moves in advance . But in bridge , you can think up to 13 levels in advance ( of course at the highest level ) . Moreover , in chess you know the positions of all the coins on the board for you to plan in advance . In bridge you get to see only 26 cards out of the 52 with witch you will have to plan your play . This aspect of bridge allows for the highest levels of logic and probability .You calculate the probability of how the cards may be placed with the opponents in play for the most probable case ( of course , that is the one which is going to give you success in maximum occasions ).
Higher levels of bridge also involve human technology. You try and understand the psychology of your opponents and play accordingly to lead them into making mistakes.
Such aspects are hardly found in any other man made game. These make the bridge an eternal game.
Why is bridge so famous ?
it is the best game for improving your communicational skills .
It has the ability to make one think
There is always a source for improvement
One can learn to bid in 5 minutes, but learning how to play the cards may take a few years
One can master the play of cards ( i.e. play for the best probability of where unknown cards lie ) , but one can never master bidding
It can be played from the age of 15 onwards
The right age to start playing is in your late teens when your mind is sharp and you have a decent knowledge of logic , probability and psychology .
The one and only detractor of bridge is that I can think off is that it needs exactly 4 people to play . In moving world of ours , it is very difficult to find 4 people , who know bridge , to come and play at an appointed time . However , the same fast moving world of ours has also found the solution . There are over 100,000 bridge connected sites on the net . All you need is some enthu to go and sit in front of a computer and play .
If you have read this article in full , it only means that you have passed the initial laziness .All you need to do is to put more enthu to walk across your hostel neighbour , knock at his door and tell him that you are interested . Enthu junta , please meet the undersigned .
-- -JP @ 114