American Contract Bridge League

FACT SHEET    
BRIDGE

THE GAME

Reasons to play bridge:
·       Bridge is the most popular card game in the world.
·       Bridge is an enjoyable game, either on a competitive or social basis.
·       Good exercise for the brain.
·       By learning bridge you will improve your communication skills.
·       By learning bridge you will improve your problem-solving skills.

BASICS OF THE GAME

·       Bridge is a partnership between two teams North-South and East-West.
·       The object of bridge is for your partnership to accumulate more points during the deals that are played than the opposing partnership does.
·       All bridge hands contain 13 cards. Everyone places a bid on the minimum number of tricks they hope to win. Bidding and the actual card playing are equally important.

·       There are two types of bridge: rubber (social) and duplicate. Duplicate bridge is the game played in clubs, tournaments and matches.

·       The ultimate goal for bridge players is to achieve the rank of Life Master, a milestone not easily accomplished and requiring the accumulation of more than 300 Masterpoints.
For more information on contract bridge call (901) 332-5586 or visit their web site www.acbl.org . 

Des Moines Bridge is about having fun:

·        About 600 households in central Iowa belong to ACBL. 

·        Iowa Bridge is Good Bridge!  Two Des Moines players are nationally rated.  Helen and John Gustafson are Grand Life Masters (10,000 master points) - the highest national rating.  Both Helen and John play frequently in local club games.  

·        New players are always welcome to play bridge at any game.  For new players we offer free lessons before the  Monday evening, Tuesday afternoon Thursday afternoon  and Saturday at noon games.  Our friendly atmosphere allows questions at the table and before or after the game.  Our mentoring program in the fall and winter pairs experienced players with newer players. We have a free lunch and a game of bridge which is usually a learning experience for everyone.  It's a lot of fun.

·        Here in the greater Des Moines area we have one of the best Bridge Centers not only in the state but also in the nation. We know this to be fact by the numbers of people who have traveled extensively to other bridge locations only to return to say that none can compete with what we have here.  

·        People from all over the country attend our tournaments.  Our Two Rivers Regional Tournament held the end of June and early July frequently draws participants from as far away as New York, Florida and Arizona, Canada and other countries.

Email us:  manager@bridgeunit216.org if you have any questions. Call Nancy Wilson if you play bridge but want to start duplicate bridge.  Nancy has a quiet game Monday evenings for beginners.  Joan Anderson has a beginners game on Thursday day or Gregg Walsh for Saturday afternoon. Click here to see the schedule and phone numbers to call for more information.