Opening The Bidding With Equal Length Suits

How do you decide which suit to open with if your hand contains two equal length suits - with either 5 or 6 cards in each?

Take a look at this new post on Blueberry Bridge - which will tell you the answer.

http://blueberrybridge.com/which-suit-to-open/

Bridge Holidays For Beginners 2015

My ever popular, annual (or sometimes biannual) post with a round up of the bridge holidays for beginners that I find by trawling the internet.  (It's a fun way to pass half an hour or so with a good cuppa.)

HF Holidays run a range of bridge holidays in beautiful destinations around the UK.  This year, their Introduction to Bridge holidays will run in Brecon in April and in Dovedale in November.
Click Here

Bridge Overseas are running 4 day beginners courses in Basingstoke and at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel in Lancashire.  Click Here

Stockenbridge Breaks are running beginners courses in the glorious surroundings of the French Alps.  They claim they have 300 days of sunshine a year.

Bridge Holidays For Beginners - 2014

Time for the ever popular round up of bridge holidays for beginners.  Ever since I added the first selection of holidays, these have been the most popular posts on this blog.  So here we are - a selection of beginners bridge holidays that I have found by surfing the web.

Acol Bridge
HF Holidays are running a 4 night course for absolute beginners in October 2014.  It's in the glorious surroundings of Beddgelert in North Wales in the UK. http://www.hfholidays.co.uk/holidays/introduction-bridge

Bridge Overseas will have beginners rooms on 4 night bridge holidays at the Bedford Park Inn in November 2014 and February 2015.  http://www.bridgeoverseas.co.uk/learning_bridge.html

Stockenbridge are offering beginners courses in the beautiful French Alps.  Contact them for full details http://www.stockenbridgebreaks.com/beginners.php

Begin Bridge offer a selection of bridge tuition holidays around the UK, including several for Absolute Beginners. http://www.begin-bridge.co.uk/events_list.html

Dordogne Bridge Holidays will run beginners courses if a group of players want to learn together.  Minimum 4 participants.  Take your friends and learn together. http://www.dordognebridgeholidays.com/bridge.php

St Ives Hotel - in Lytham St Annes (near Blackpool) offer breaks for all abilities including beginners.  Contact them for details. http://www.thestiveshotel.co.uk/breaks/bridge

Standard Bridge
Joan Butts is running two holidays for all standards of players, including beginners, in Australia. Full details on her website http://www.joanbuttsbridge.com/holidays/

Bridge Bidding Cheat Sheet

There's a lot to remember when you start learning to play bridge.  How many points do you need to open the bidding?  Can you open the bidding if you hold fewer points?  When should you make a major suit bid?  When to make a minor suit bid, or a No Trumps bid.  Should you support partner's suit or bid another suit?  Do you have enough points to bid for game, or maybe to bid for a small or large slam?

There's a lot to remember and it can be embarrassing and stressful if you forget or get it wrong.  The perfect answer is a bridge bidding cheat sheet.  Then you will have all the basic bidding facts in a handy, easy to read guide to help you to make the correct bid quickly and without embarrassment.

Where will you find a bridge bidding cheat sheet?  At No Fear Bridge, of course!  Members can download the crib sheet, print it out and have it handy whenever they are playing bridge online - or practicing their bridge bidding and play exercises.

How do you become a member?  That's easy too.  If you want to learn to play Acol bridge just click here NOW. (Acol bridge is widely played in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand)

If you want to learn to play American Standard bridge, just click here NOW. (American Standard bridge is widely played online and in most of the rest of the world)

Whichever system you choose to play, the bridge bidding cheat sheet will help you on your way.

Bridge Bidding Cheat Sheet

Bridge Bidding Flash Cards

Bridge bidding flash cards are a simple and easy way of improving your bridge bidding.

How Do They Work?

The front of the card has a question on a bidding topic of your choice.  You just read the question and work out your answer.

You might find it helpful to use a real pack of cards.  Deal yourself the hand shown on the flash card, which will help bring the question to life.

When you have worked out the answer - or if you don't know the answer - click on the card to display the answer.

Here are a couple of Acol bridge samples for you to try.  (Unlike on the real site, these aren't clickable, just scroll down for the answers).

Sample 1
This sample is on the topic of Stayman bidding

Sample 2

This sample is on the topic of opening bids in Acol bridge

Here are the answers.  Did you get them right?

Sample 1

Sample 2

Now you can see how the flash cards work, why not join No Fear Bridge for your two week free trial.  Look in the "My Flash Cards" section and  you will find flash cards on a wide range of topics for you to practice.  You can see more samples at Blueberry Bridge.

Bridge Holidays For Beginners 2013

Each year I put together a round up of all the bridge holidays for beginners that I can locate online.

Here is the list for 2013.

HF Holidays - each year HF run short breaks for absolute beginners.  Good company, good food in beautiful surroundings.

Dordogne Bridge Holidays run one week courses for beginners on a 50 acre estate in the French countryside.  Courses can be in Acol bridge or 5 card majors, although much of the material taught is relevant to both systems.

Arbuthnot Holidays are running 4 night holidays in Spain, which includes provision for beginners.

Begin Bridge offer several weekends, including weekends for absolute beginners, at various locations around the UK.

** NEW ** - Site For American Standard Bridge Players

Until Jan 2013 this site has been aimed at Acol bridge players.  This is the system of bridge that is played in the UK and a few other countries.

However, most of the world uses a different system.  And there is now a No Fear Bridge website for beginning and improving players of American Standard bridge.

As well as being widely played across the world, this is the system used by most online bridge websites.  So if you want to play bridge online - this is the system for you.

You can now choose which site to join.

To learn Acol bridge - click here

To learn American bridge - click here