Teaching My Bride to Bid
Story by Ashok (BBO: ashok1966) It was in 1966 that I joined an engineering coll...
Story by Gary Haldane (BBO: xfisher)
My parents taught me how to play bridge in the early '50s. It was much more fun than Canasta. We would deal four hands and turn over 12 of the 13 cards in the dummy and then bid for the contract. The high bidder took the dummy as their partner and the other two defended.
Later in college I would spend most of every day playing rubber bridge in the Student Union building (HUB) at the UW Campus in Seattle, missing, of course, an occasional class or two. The Barnes brothers ran a duplicate club on the campus and Dick and I would sometimes partner in the evening, then hit a local tavern to discuss all the hands and when it closed take off for the N. Fork of the Stillaguamish (Stille) to flyfish for Steelhead. That evening we'd drop by another club for another game. Sleep was a scarce commodity.
Emery Seylmes, a Hungarian refugee, who by the way now lives on the Stille, ran the best bridge club in Seattle and over the years had at least six or seven different locations. I would save my money up to cut into the high stakes game, high for me, against players like George Steiner, Neil Ballard, Kenny Gorfkle, Neal Chambers, John Shermer, Viester Sieglins (former Washington State Chess Champion), Don Glad and others. My stash wouldn't last long so then I'd sit and kibbitz to try to become a better player.
My favorite club of his was on Westlake on Lake Union. When we had six or ten for bridge the odd pair would battle over a game of backgammon, or if 5 or 9 and I was out, I might go downstairs for a drink at the disco and perhaps take the floor for a dance or two. Still get goose bumps when I hear Hot Stuff, Stayin Alive or More Than a Woman.
Over the years I've played various systems, KS, Blue Team, Precision and others and love the complexity of the game. Between bridge and golf, there's never a dull moment in life. They keep me young. Of course, being married helps too.
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My grandmother Helen Edwards played in Seattle in the ‘50s. She was a high level player who was often paid to play with others who needed big points, even playing with Omar Sharif and other big names. I wish she was still alive now that I’m enjoying the game so much!
great to hear about Seattle. i spent 10 years there some time ago but was not yet a bridge player. I lived on Lake Union and wish I had known back then.
My husband and I were going to Singapore and our friends said we should know how to play Bridge before we go. They offered to teach us but failed miserably because they always ended up arguing. Nevertheless they said enough for us to want to learn more and when we got there we met a Dutch couple who offered to teach us. Their language was very straightforward and we became very interested and wanted to learn more by buying books etc. in no time at all I was a fanatic and enjoyed playing friendly fours and hosted the occasional bridge party. I have been a widow since 1990 but continued to play bridge at my Club in Aberdeen and then in Edinburgh for seven years. Subsequently I moved to Banchory and now enjoy a regular game at the Banchory Bridge Club..