Bridge in Barry County: A New Year's Resolution

Bridge in Barry County: A New Year’s Resolution

By Gerald Stein

            How are your 2012 New Year’s Resolutions going two or three weeks into the New Year? If you are like most folks, your New Year’s Resolutions went out with the Christmas wrap. The problem with New Year’s Resolutions, as I see it, is that they are not fun. Who wants to diet? Who wants to exercise? Of course, we all know that we should do these things, but come on, do we ever make it past the third week of the New Year with those same old resolutions we have made the past ten years?

            New Year’s Resolutions then should be fun, and I have a fun resolution for you to consider for this year. It is not too late to start this resolution. You are just in time, in fact.

            This 2012 is the year that you should consider learning how to play bridge, as fun an activity and a New Year’s Resolution as you will ever find. Bridge, you say? Isn’t that a complex and difficult-to-learn card game?

Let me share with you some ideas before you dismiss what could be your best learning activity for 2012. Do you know what a deck of cards is? Do you know that there are four suits in a deck of 52 cards? Do you know that there are 13 cards in each suit of Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades? See how much you already know. I will bet that you answered all three questions with a resounding “Yes, of course!”

            Do you know how to play a number of card games? Do you know how to play Euchre? Pinochle? Old Maid? Hearts? If you are still saying yes to even one of these, then you are a candidate to become a new bridge player in Barry County.

            Let’s look at Euchre for a minute. Now Euchre is a relatively simple card game consisting of two parts: a bidding part with a partner, and the play of the hand. It moves along rapidly with each hand probably taking no more than a minute or two from start to finish. Five cards are used in a shortened deck, and there are a few eccentricities with Right Bowers and Left Bowers, but that is just one of the fun aspects of the game.

            Now if you play Euchre or other bidding and playing card games, then you have the basic notion of playing a bridge hand. Instead of using a shortened deck of 24 cards as in Euchre, bridge players use all 52 cards for each hand. A partner is essential for playing bridge, so four people are needed for each hand of bridge. Bridge also has a bidding part and a playing part. Because there are 52 cards instead of the shortened deck as in a Euchre deck, each hand takes slightly longer to bid and play the hand. Eight or nine minutes are about average for most bridge hands.

            The bottom line is if you play cards, then learning bridge will be just an extension of what you already know. What about the complex part of bidding that you have heard so much about? Like any card game, there is a learning curve that begins with the basics and moves to higher levels as you gain experience. The fun thing about playing bridge is that you are always learning something new about the game or about yourself.

            Am I too old or too young to learn how to play bridge? This may be another question that has you stumped. Fear not! Snowbirds in Florida in their 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s have enjoyed learning new tricks about playing bridge. High school students in our area have learned how to play bridge; students in middle schools have learned how to play bridge. My six-year old grandson knows how to play the basics of bridge. He loves it. A group of ladies play together in Kalamazoo at the Kalamazoo Bridge Club. Their claim to fame? All of them are in their 90’s. They feel playing bridge keeps them young, mentally sharp, and gets them out socially as often as they wish. So, age is no hindrance to learning how to play bridge.

            Where do I start my 2012 fun New Year’s Resolution? I am glad you asked that one as I have a number of answers for you to consider. First, beginning bridge classes are offered in surrounding areas much of the year. It so happens that a “Beginning Bridge in the 21^st Century,” a basic beginning bridge class, begins soon in Battle Creek through the Institute for Leaning in Retirement’s Winter Program. This class will be an introduction to playing bridge through a nine-week course every Monday morning from 10 AM-12 noon. While specifically for beginners who have never played bridge before, the class also serves as a place to refresh your bridge memory if you played long ago in another time and want to get back into playing bridge. Making new friends, getting out each Monday for a trip to Battle Creek, fun playing cards: Now that is the ideal New Year’s Resolution! Resolve to make it happen in 2012.

January 19, 2012