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    Express Bridge Complete
    Express Bridge Complete
    Express Bridge Complete
    Ebook162 pages1 hour

    Express Bridge Complete

    By David Tscherne

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    About this ebook

    Express Bridge Complete is a large print book teaching the game of Express Bridge.

     

    Express Bridge is a training version of contract bridge using simple no-bid contracts. It is the easiest way to learn, play, and master the basics of contract bridge. It's everything standard bridge is — minus the bidding.

     

    Simply put, Express Bridge doesn't require memorizing (and recalling) complex bids like standard bridge does. Two partners who have never met before can begin playing Express Bridge right away. No mysterious bidding codes required. So it's great for singles, particularly single seniors.

     

    Express Bridge Complete, as the name indicates, fully explains how to play the game. After a brief introduction, the book is divided into six logical chapters:

    • Chapter 1. Deal the Cards
    • Chapter 2. Announce Your HCP
    • Chapter 3. Call Pass or Play
    • Chapter 4. Declare Your Contract
    • Chapter 5. Take Your Tricks
    • Chapter 6. Score the Result

    The book also has five appendices with additional material.

    • Appendix 1: The History of Bridge
    • Appendix 2: Hand Evaluation - 201
    • Appendix 3: Hattersley Point Count
    • Appendix 4: Hand Patterns
    • Appendix 5: A Few Extras

    "Express Bridge is to standard bridge what pickleball is to tennis."

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDavid Tscherne
    Release dateOct 10, 2022
    ISBN9798215836101
    Express Bridge Complete
    Author

    David Tscherne

    David Tscherne is a retired teacher and pastor. He learned how to play bridge at age 10 from his grandparents, Deloy and Hazel Peters. He teaches bridge in Yuma AZ at a 55+ active senior community. After seeing the difficulty that some seniors have in learning and memorizing complex bridge bids, he decided to rework Mini Bridge for children into Express Bridge for adults. He has been teaching it to seniors in addition to standard bridge with good results.

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      Book preview

      Express Bridge Complete - David Tscherne

      Introduction

      Express Bridge is a training version of contract bridge using simple no-bid contracts. It is the easiest way to learn, play, and master the basics of contract bridge. It’s everything standard bridge is — minus the bidding.

      Origin of Express Bridge

      Express Bridge has been adapted from an after-school program called MiniBridge, which was developed in the 1990s in Europe as an introduction to contract bridge for school children. It is now sanctioned by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) and is being taught in schools in the U.S and Europe.

      Express Bridge is similar to MiniBridge, but it is considerably more challenging, having been designed specifically for adults, rather than for children. It was developed in 2020 by David Tscherne, who teaches bridge in Yuma, AZ at a 55+ active senior community. After seeing the difficulty that some seniors had in learning complex bridge bids, he decided to rework MiniBridge for children into Express Bridge for adults.

      Like standard bridge, Express Bridge is a four-person card game played by two competing teams. If you are familiar with the concept of tricks and trumps, you can be playing Express Bridge within an hour.

      Contract Bridge

      In all forms of contract bridge, including Express Bridge, one of the players commits to a contract, which is simply a statement of the number of tricks they must win in order to earn a score.

      The contract must be stated, either with or without a trump suit, after the cards have been dealt but before card play begins. The goal is to take at least the number of tricks declared in the contract.

      Players score bonuses based on the level of the contract. Fulfilling a low-level contract earns a small bonus, while fulfilling a higher-level contract earns a larger bonus.

      In fact, most of the points in contract bridge are earned from bonuses. So players naturally vie for high-level contracts where they can score the highest bonuses. The result is a very competitive game.

      Of course, players earn zero points for failing to fulfill their contract, with the defense scoring penalty points instead. So players limit their contracts to those they think they can reasonably make.

      The Six Phases of Contract Bridge

      Contract bridge is played in six distinct phases. These phases are similar in standard bridge and Express Bridge, since both are versions of contract bridge. However, there is a key difference, as outlined below.

      As you can see, the key difference between the two is the manner in which the contract is declared. In standard bridge, the contract is determined by the highest bid made by a player. In Express Bridge, the contract is simply expressed by the player who calls out play after everyone has announced their high-card points.

      The Same Outcome

      Interestingly, even though the manner of declaring a given contract in Express Bridge is different than in standard bridge, the outcome tends to be the same.

      The declaring side tends to be the same, the declarer tends to be the same, and the contract tends to be the same. And most importantly, the card playing and scoring are the same.

      Once you learn Express Bridge, you can either continue playing it without bidding, or you can go to the next step and learn how to bid for contracts. All the skills you develop in Express Bridge can be transferred to standard bridge. It’s entirely up to you.

      Common Bridge Variants

      ●  Standard bridge: Synonymous with regular contract bridge. Has a strong focus on bidding.

      ●  Rubber bridge: A version of contract bridge played socially. Uses traditional scoring.

      ●  Duplicate bridge: A version of contract bridge played in card clubs. Uses more modern scoring.

      ●  MiniBridge: A training version of contract bridge without bidding. Geared toward children. Uses simplified scoring.

      ●  Express Bridge: A training version of contract bridge without bidding. Geared toward adults. Uses modern scoring identical to duplicate.

      How to Play

      For a quick guide to how to play Express Bridge, see the next page. The quick guide is also included in Appendix 5 at the back of this book.

      At the time of publication of this book, there is no online version of Express Bridge.

      However, you can play MiniBridge Plus online, which is very similar, at https://dkmgames.com/minibridge.

      Chapter 1. Deal the Cards

      Bridge is played by four players usually sitting around a small table, ideally one that is about 36 inches square (i.e. card table size).

      The Deck

      An ordinary 52-card deck is used. Jokers and any extra cards are removed. Each player receives 13 cards dealt clockwise one at a time.

      There are four suits per deck:

      ●  Spades (♠)

      ●  Hearts (♥)

      ●  Diamonds (♦)

      ●  Clubs (♣)

      Suits are ranked in the order shown above, with spades the highest and clubs the lowest. The cards in each suit are ranked from high to low sequentially.

      A-K-Q-J-T-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2

      Clubs and diamonds are called minor suits because their tricks have the lowest point values at 20 points for each scoring trick. Hearts and spades are called major suits because their point values are higher at 30 points for each scoring trick.

      And ranking above any trump suit is notrump because it has the highest point values, 40 points for the first scoring trick and 30 points for each one thereafter.

      Partnerships

      The game is played in two partnerships, often called teams or pairs. Each player is identified by their seating position at the table corresponding to the points on a compass. The team seated North and South competes against the team seated West and East.

      The Dealer

      The first dealer is the player seated North. While there is some advantage to being the dealer, the choice of who deals the first hand is of little consequence since every player will have their turn during the round. However, you may wish to cut the deck to see who will occupy the North seat.

      Once everyone is seated, the player to the left of the dealer shuffles the deck thoroughly. He then passes the shuffled deck to the dealer. The dealer then offers the shuffled deck to the player on their right to cut, who has the option of cutting or not.

      Note: In standard bridge, cards are pre-dealt when playing duplicate, in tournaments, or online.

      Normally, Express Bridge is played using two decks. While the dealer is dealing the cards, their partner is shuffling the other deck so it will be ready to pass to the next dealer on the shuffler’s right when the hand is over. Each deal is dealt by a different player. The responsibility of dealing rotates clockwise, which is shown on the scorecard.

      The Deal

      After the deck is shuffled, the dealer starts on their left, and deals out all the cards in a clockwise fashion. The cards are dealt one at a time face-down until each player has 13 cards. Do not touch your cards while they are being dealt.

      Here’s an example of a deal with North as the dealer. Of course, players would not know which cards the other players have, just their own. This and similar examples of deals will be used throughout the book. Please take a moment to become familiar with it.

      Checking for a Misdeal

      After the cards are dealt but before looking at them, count your hand to make sure you have exactly 13 cards. If there is a misdeal, the hands must be redealt by the same dealer.

      When all the players agree that the hands were dealt properly, you can look at your hand. Always make sure that none of the other players can see your cards.

      Sorting Your Hand

      It is good practice to immediately sort your hand by grouping them into individual suits and alternating the suits by color: red, black, red, black. Double-check to be sure you

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