How to Become Better at Bridge

THERE can be no doubt that Bridge is a complicated game. Like all things though there are some universal rules that will aide your development in the game. Taking inspiration from the world of sport, this guide on how to become better at bridge, focuses on things you can put into practice that will greatly improve your game over time.

Learn from the Best

When learning something new, especially a card game like bridge, it pays to get lessons. Your friends may offer their help, but a better bet would be a good bridge teacher. Teachers will help you learn in a structured way, to take you through the very basics of the game and week on week progress and build upon what you’ve already learnt. This is a great way to build confidence and it takes the pressure off learning as it means you won’t feel you’ll be holding up play if your friends are more advanced.

Practice Makes Perfect

This is obvious, but like with anything playing the game as often as possible is a brilliant way to improve. If you don’t feel ready to play with a group yet there are many online games of bridge or bridge apps, where you can play against a computer (AI player) or against other people. We reviewed and comipiled on this blog a run down of the Top 10 Bridge Apps available. Some are free and others require a small subscription

Push Yourself

When you’re starting out this is easy. Every hand of bridge will feel like you’re stretching yourself – unless the game comes naturally to you. In short, always strive to play with partners that are slightly better than you. Stretching yourself this way is a great way to build confidence (especially if you win) but you’ll also learn tips and tricks from the other players, even if you lose. Once in a while reverse this advice and play with partners that are slightly less adept. This works as a massive confidence boost as you should be able to play confidently and comfortably.

Share Your Knowledge

A great way to consolidate your learning is to teach other people. It may not be anything grand, but just teaching someone a little tip or trick that you’ve learnt could be exactly the break through that other person was waiting for. This technique again builds confidence in your knowledge and helps you to get a much needed outside source of confirmation that what you’ve learnt really has stuck.

Read About Bridge

Because of the depth of bridge, there’s no shortage of books about the game, more so than any other card game. Books are a brilliant way to increase your knowledge and aptitude in the game. They can focus on specific topics like bidding or side topics that will help your play like books on improving your bridge memory. To help you decide which books to buy take a look out our top 5 bridge best selling bridge books, or if you’re trying to reduce clutter we have curated a list of the Top 10 Bridge E-books for iPad or iPhone

What Have You Done to Become Better at Bridge?

We’d love to hear about how you have improved your game. If you have any tips for other readers of this blog, why not put them in the comments below!