The goal is to get better at bridge; the question is how. I want to build a training regimen for myself that will help me think faster and better at the bridge table and make me a better player.
What should that program look like?
I reached out to a lot of top players to get their input. I asked them how they got good, and also how they would design a training program for me.
The advice was almost unanimous: play a lot with and against the best players you can.
This is advice that I give my students all the time. If you feel comfortable in the limited game, try the open game. If you’re going to the Nationals, try some of the 0-10,000 and Open events.
I haven’t always played in the big team events—the Vanderbilt, Spingold, Soloway, Reisinger, and Team Trials (USBC). Sometimes I am playing with a student in another event. My partner Greg usually can’t play the Team Trials—he has a stupid JOB. The Soloway starts the day after Thanksgiving, and I usually prioritize time with family over bridge.
So this year I’m going to make an effort to play in the best events I can. That might mean a little less income at the NABCs, but part of this enterprise is making sacrifices to improve my game. If I can really improve, it might be a good investment.
I started by going out to Las Vegas the day after Thanksgiving—much to my mother’s chagrin—and playing in the Soloway. We had a good team and were on the bubble to make it to the knockout stage. In the last match, Greg and I bid a grand slam that turned out to be on a finesse. You can guess the outcome. If it had succeeded, we would have advanced. If we had just bid the small slam, we wouldn’t have. So I guess we made the right decision, even though it didn’t feel great at the time.
Playing bridge is only as useful as the study you put into it. Reviewing your results afterward is crucial. So that’s part of the plan—every duplicate game, every robot game, take the time to see where I did well and where I fell short. And you can’t do it all on your own, so I’m enlisting a group of friends to be sounding boards as I analyze my play.
A few of the pros I talked to recommended reading bridge books. Others said that was a waste of time. I’ve always liked bridge books—hey, I’ve written six of them—and have learned a lot from them. So part of my regimen will be reading. I’m hoping to get through at least a book a month. I’ll write up my thoughts on each, including some of the insights I take away from them.
There were some other suggestions like getting good sleep (which I already do, thanks to my CPAP) and staying in physical shape. That’s one I’m not as disciplined about. I’m going to work on that this year. How original, a New Year’s Resolution to work out! I’m not looking to become super buff or lose a ton of weight—just to be generally in good health. Since there is a goal beyond fitness for fitness’s sake—improving at bridge—I’m hoping I can stick with it a little better than I have in the past. I found a gym a couple of blocks from me that offers classes.
A couple of people suggested dealing out four hands and bidding and playing them. They all suggested doing it with actual cards rather than on the computer, which I thought was interesting. (I wonder if there is something different about seeing the actual cards, or whether that was just easier than dealing hands on the computer when they were coming up.) I guess one could also just look at hand records from tournaments in the same way. That has two added benefits built in: double-dummy analysis and the results from the game. It could be interesting to see how your “result” compared to what actually happened at the tournament.
One or two people (Zia of course among them) suggested playing money bridge. The arguments were a.) that you play more boards per hour and b.) the tangible risks and rewards create a different incentive for avoiding mistakes and playing better. I’m not sure where I could find a good money bridge game. Maybe the Regency Whist Club in New York? Anyone have any suggestions?
David Gold suggested looking at VuGraph archives. You can usually “kibitz” one player—put yourself in their shoes and make the decisions yourself before you see what they did. What a great way to study! It would be even better if you could call up the expert who did the thing you didn’t find and ask them why. So I’m going to start by reviewing recent matches from some friends who are likely to answer questions for me. What a great idea!
I’m interested in other ways of learning. How do you practice? What would you do if you were me? If you’re going to do your own version of Leveling Up this year—I really hope you do!—what will it look like? I hope this can start a discussion that is useful for everyone.
Adam - I like the idea of trying to play Vugraph deals. I've tried this in the past though and haven't come up with a good way of doing so. Maybe I'm missing something but it seems that you can't play them on BBO. You can download a .lin file and play it on SharkBridge but that hasn't worked well for me either. I was thinking of just using it for declarer play - just utilize the actual auction and compare card play to whoever was in that seat. I think it is more difficult if you have to bid the hand with a robot. If you have specific thoughts for how you might utilize Vugraph deals please let us know. Thanks!
First I wish you luck in your plan.
In my case, my 2 big steps this year will to play with Robert Todd 1-2 times in open game each month and to play more open games in general