OK… my Bridge blog is nearly 2 months old and has had about 2,200 hits. Today, its on and upwards because I am publishing the first ever iBridge Player guest-blog. In the future, I am hoping to publish a regular midweek guest-blog slot. If you want to write one yourself, send me a line. So here it is… a warm welcome to John Gillespie: (clap clap clap!!)
Hi, I am John Gillespie and along with Carole Berry have been teaching Bridge to youngsters in Canada’s capital since 2002.
North American Youth Championships
We are a part of the School Bridge League family (www.schoolbridgeleague.org) and road tested a simple change to the game of Mini-Bridge last fall. It showed enough promise that The School Bridge League has adopted it for the coming term.
Our New Approach to Mini-Bridge
At present each player announces their high card points to determine the declarer and dummy. The dummy hand is then laid out and declarer picks a trump suit and contract of game or part-score.
With our new approach, instead of exposing the dummy hand, we have them chant “spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs” followed by the 4 numbers of their “shape”, i.e. the number of cards in each of their suits. Then declarer picks the trump suit and contract i.e. before the opening lead and before the dummy hand is exposed, in a manner more consistent with the full game of Contract Bridge following bidding.
The Benefits of this Approach
- I have not yet seen a declarer pick the wrong trump suit based on quality instead of quantity!
- When students first start learning bidding, it’s crazy tough for many to remember to keep the dummy hand hidden until after the opening lead – Unlike the old Mini-Bridge method, our new approach does not create a habit that is hard to unlearn.
- We used to tell them that the most important number in Bridge is 13 but now we say that most important thing is counting UP to 13 and in chunks of 4 numbers.
Our typical lesson starts with a couple of minutes on a pre-dealt hand or concept, followed by hands on the cards. We interrupt every 15 minutes for a quick pointer and work the room in between. As we work the room, we pepper any or all of the 4 players with “What’s your shape? How many points do you have?” – We get those 4 numbers rolling.
We can illustrate another use of the 4 sets of numbers on the blackboard with the example, AKQxx opposite xxx. How are the remaining hands distributed between the two hands?
- 5-0, 4-1 or 3-2?
And what’s most likely?
Add another small card to the example and what are the possible hidden hand distributions?
- 4-0, 3-1 or 2-2.
And what’s most likely?
Maths, Odds and the Big Picture
Like most Bridge players, I can tell you the odds of 5 missing trumps dividing 4-1 but I only know this because I read it somewhere. Our next mission is to uncover a natural progression in teaching how to calculate odds, from the 50-50 finesse to the 75% double finesse and beyond, in a manner suitable for quick hitting classroom instruction. The mathematically inclined amongst you may be able to can help us in this regard.
Have you any ideas that we could implement that will keep the kids on the learning curve for years to come?
- John Gillespie is a diamond life master and along with his partner, Carole Berry are thrilled to be a part of the School Bridge League family. Together, Carole and John have been active in youth Bridge since 2002 and have taught over 3,000 elementary school students in Ottawa, Canada over that period.
I have been out of teaching bridge for many years. I must say that this is the first I’ve heard of mini bridge. I think it’s a marvelous idea and I want to congradulate and encourage John Gillespie and his team for doing more to advance bridge than anyone else in the past half century! Atta boy and continue your good works!
Rod Phillips
Thanks Rod for these encouraging words. There are a few individuals doing great work like John. But they need more support and to be given a voice, so that others can begin to learn how to apply the proven techniques.
My only experience with Mini-Bridge is blogging at http://bridgetable.net about a club in the mid-west. But intrigued me enough that I googled and found a neat pamphlet (from England some place) with all the rules and such.
It is SO sensible. How come nobody ever thought of that before–first teach playing so that all becomes routine, THEN do the bidding part. So encouraged me that when four people here in my condo asked me if I’d get them started on bridge, I actually did. Won’t go any further than that pamphlet — they’ll have to find best website to continue after that–I’m not FIT to teach anybody to play bridge!
I wish there were a website I could send them to where they could continue Mini Bridge to point where distribution is counted in setting bid, et cetera. Only place I found was British and ACOL. Seems like inU.S. Mini Bridge is intended only for school settings?? I think that’s the way EVERYBODY should get started.
This may seem like a dumb question (but consider I’m 90 and strictly a sociable player)– why do you HAVE to teach the kids how to calculate odds, why can’t they just get to know it the way you did — cause you read it somewhere??
maggy simony recently posted..18-1. Bridge: The Retro 50s or Learning to Play Bridge Like Grandma
In the ACBL schools manual we first use minibridge and then something similar to the form of minibridge described above which we called BridgeIt. Each player writes down their distribution and high cards and puts it in front of them then they can compete with the other pair for the contract ..
IMHO students will be intimidated by “we are going to work on prabability”‘ but,
if they are told that you will show them a new game and that you will teach them how they can have an advantage if they pay attention to thinking about whether
the other players can beat them. They may be willing or even anxious to learn.