Bridge

What is the best card game ever invented? Hands down, it's contract bridge (pun intended).

I learned to play bridge back in the early nineties, teaching myself with a number of books (Joy of Bridge by Audrey Grant, On Bidding by Alan Truscott, and the "Bridge in the Fifth Dimension" series by Victor Mollo). I had only one opportunity to play against humans, drafting a spades player named Todd Stokes who was a fellow-volunteer at Watchtower Farms. We played against another couple, who happened to be married, and who were quite good. We got our clocks cleaned.

The Macintosh computer was my partner after that, as I never got around to teaching bridge to my friends (although I may have tried to show my family once). I got a kick out of the game, and would occasionally try game out eventually against a program called "Easy Bridge" (available free on the 'geek).

Recently I introduced the game to my Texas Hold'em group, as we were all seeming to experience fatigue after monthly play since last December. It's been a hit with Mark, Chris, Jamie, Trudy, and Colin. We've played weekly on Friday nights, and have had a blast! We've played 4 nights so far, and we're building our player base and expertise.

I stumbled accross a book called "The Backwash Squeeze, and other improbably feats" by Edward Mcpherson. Reading that lead me to bridgebase.com, where I've played a few tournaments online. Turns out that bridgebase is apparently part owned by Bill Gates (!?), and is a fantastic site, with thousands of serious bridge players on from around the world at any one time. Pretty cool.

I managed to finish 14th out of 140 in a recent tournament (see screenshot above, I am "Phunt0m"), so I'm getting better...