Optimal bridge training techniques

[mrdct]

I'd like to start a discussion about optimal bridge training techniques. It seems that for many bridge players and bridge partnerships, training is generally limited to system discussion and actual playing of bridge. Some take it a bit a further and bid constrained hands, either offline or online, but that generally seems about it.

If one looks to other sports, the actually playing of the game tends to be a fairly minor part of the training regime with a strong emphasis on skill repetition, fitness, strength and cross-training in other disciplines.

Translating this to bridge, a more comprehensive training regime could include things like:

- non-bridge-related memory exercises;
- sports psychology;
- sports physiology, particularly as it pertains to mental fatigue;
- cross training, possibly with something like poker where the skill of picking up on opponents' body language ("tells") is very important and could give a bridge player an edge;
- rote learning common card combinations and percentages (including testing of same);
- mathematical training on statistics and probabilities;
- discussion and consideration of emerging international expert treatments;
- discussion and analysis of bidding and play from major international finals which are readily available on BBO;
- discussion and analysis of play and defensive problems; and
- completion of "full disclosure" documentation of the partnership bidding system (a new tool available on BBO).

With Oz-One players expected to devote 2-days per week of their time to "training" there should be some scope to put together formal training programmes that encompass the above items.

What are other people's thoughts?

[Kieran]

Lots of good ideas here.

For the cross-training, I suspect poker is the wrong idea. For one thing, most of us are playing online now, so physical tells don't exist. Better might be games that explore spatial reasoning (like Ricochet Robots) or logic (like Eleusys) or both (like Go). Even Sudoku might be useful.

[PhilM]

For the cross-training, I suspect poker is the wrong idea. For one thing, most of us are playing online now, so physical tells don't exist

i think the idea that tells might be the source of advantage to playing both is misconceived but as someone who plays lots of both they feel like much the same game

translating skills and perspectives from one game to another is a huge edge - the most obvious thing i get from poker when i play bridge is patience - patience in poker is like waiting an hour and a half for the bus to arrive - in bridge its more like being pissed when someone gets off before your floor in the lift

[sartaj]

- cross training, possibly with something like poker where the skill of picking up on opponents' body language ("tells") is very important and could give a bridge player an edge;


I dont think regimented cross training will have any beneficial impact. The reason is that it takes a fair amount of time and application to get to a stage in any game before one starts seeing parallel benefits in other streams.
Unless one has a serious, personal interest in poker,go,chess etc. its unlikely that superficial work in it would be of any use bridge wise.

However, its undoubtable that someone who is an expert in more than one streams will feel a ripple effect across the two. In my own personal case, i was a fairly conservative but succesful chess player. For the first 4 or 5 years of playing bridge, my chess style remained the same. However, as i became seriously proficient at bridge and realized the merits of an aggressive, pressure-based approach, of the imperfect nature of the bridge struggle, i saw my chess style evolve. Today, i play chess far more aggressively, with much less personal fear.

- rote learning common card combinations and percentages (including testing of same);

So true. An Australian representative was unsure what the best way of playing Jxx opposite AK98x for no losers was a couple of months ago. The clue is that his initials are SH.

On the whole, OP made an excellent post. Most of these areas are worth exploring.

[Rex Fox]

It was Gary Player who is usually credited with saying: "The harder you work, the luckier you get."

Lee Trevino is quoted as saying: "There is no such thing as a natural touch. Touch is something you create by hitting millions of golf balls."
:)

[Estienne]

I've done a couple courses and a fair bit of work both training and coaching for various sports over the years, and most of it seems applicable to bridge as well.

Mrdct has several good ideas, so most of which I'm going to say can be taken as building on his ideas. The only area I disagree with is that of cross-training. My experience has been that the more specifically targeted the training, the more useful it is.

In general, training can be broken down into three areas. A drill will either focus on fitness, a specific skill (passing to your teammate), or on game tactics (working as a defensive unit). Assuming we're talking about relatively experienced players here, the point of a drill is quite specific: to enable the player to execute it in a game situation *without thinking*.

That last bit is very important - if you have to look up and think about the best way to pass the ball, you're going to miss the good opportunities every time. What you want the player to do is to use their mental energy in other areas - flow of the game, opposition tactics, judging who's playing well, and so on.

This same idea applies to bridge. If you are sitting their working out the right play on a fairly normal card combination, you're likely to miss other lines of play, not put the suit in context of the hand, or not pick up on an opponent's hesitation. Therefore, drills should concentrate on the basics.

In my opinion, the things you don't want to have to think about at the table include:

- the meaning of anything in your system
- partnership style
- carding agreements
- a priori suit combinations
- basic odds for suit breaks

Training towards nailing all of these down is essential. If you get these building blocks down, performance must improve.

Falling into the "fitness" category is, maybe surprisingly, physical fitness. Exercise improves mood, mental alertness, and concentration. In addition to following good practices at tournaments, a fitness regime at other times should see benefits.

Additionally, mental fitness should be addressed. Areas to target include:

- memory & concentration (flip through a deck of cards and be able to reconstruct the sequence)
- probability (bridge problems - odds of various lines of play)
- reading body language (IMO, best done at the bridge table. The decisions in poker seem too far removed to be useful, but that may be because I don't play a great deal of poker.)
- tempo

Approximating game situations include things like:

- bidding practice
- post-mortems after sessions, so that poor play is addressed while the hands are still fresh
- play problems

The Aces practices seem like a good model, with their "seven deadly sins" and the charge system. So much of bridge is cutting out the errors, and discussing them with other experienced players openly must help reduce them.

[mike777]

Good luck and win.

1) What are your goals?
2) How do you measure if the training is moving towards those goals?
3) What does Kokish suggest as goals and a measurement tool?
4) What do the former Aces suggest as goals and a measurement tool in achieveing those goals?
5) Fuzzy goals, fuzzy results
6) Fuzzy measurements, fuzzy results.
7) Best wishes

[mike777]

btw, how is playing 2 days a week going to beat players who learned by sleeping on cots at the playing clubs and sweeping the floors for food money. They played 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, not 16 hours a week.