<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612</id><updated>2012-02-03T19:22:27.190Z</updated><category term='No Trump Rebids'/><category term='learn bridge holidays'/><category term='rule of 11'/><category term='bridge scoring'/><category term='Beginners bridge holidays'/><category term='Responder&apos;s second bid at bridge'/><category term='losing trick count'/><category term='How to Play Mini Bridge'/><category term='Stayman bidding practice'/><category term='Acol'/><category term='No Fear Bridge Club'/><category term='Andrew Robson'/><category term='learn bridge bidding'/><category term='Learn ACOL bridge bidding'/><category term='health benefits of playing bridge'/><category term='Beginner bridge holidays'/><category term='improve immune system'/><category term='No fear bridge'/><category term='Acol bridge scoring'/><category term='learn to open the bidding at bridge'/><category term='Bridge jargon'/><category term='stayman convention'/><category term='bridge and retirement'/><category term='immune system boosters'/><category term='Opening the bidding at bridge'/><category term='Practice bridge bidding'/><category term='bridge bidding practice'/><category term='learn mini bridge'/><category term='Practice ACOL Bridge Bidding'/><title type='text'>How To Play Bridge</title><subtitle type='html'>Learn how to play bridge online.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>34</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-1288159938683387595</id><published>2011-08-09T20:30:00.000+01:00</published><updated>2011-08-09T20:30:45.961+01:00</updated><title type='text'>Bridge Bidding Boxes</title><content type='html'>&lt;iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?t=lavendarcosme-21&amp;amp;o=2&amp;amp;p=8&amp;amp;l=as1&amp;amp;asins=B005CV3PYU&amp;amp;ref=tf_til&amp;amp;fc1=000000&amp;amp;IS2=1&amp;amp;lt1=_blank&amp;amp;m=amazon&amp;amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;amp;bc1=000000&amp;amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;amp;f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?t=lavendarcosme-21&amp;amp;o=2&amp;amp;p=8&amp;amp;l=as1&amp;amp;asins=B005CV2NX4&amp;amp;ref=tf_til&amp;amp;fc1=000000&amp;amp;IS2=1&amp;amp;lt1=_blank&amp;amp;m=amazon&amp;amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;amp;bc1=000000&amp;amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;amp;f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Many clubs, and some home players, use bridge bidding boxes. &amp;nbsp;If you use these then you make your bid by displaying the relevant cards, rather than speaking it out loud. &amp;nbsp;This has obvious advantages in a large club, where spoken bidding could be distracting to players on other tables.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Each box contains a set of cards, with one card for each possible bid.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When a player makes a bid he places the relevant card (together with all the cards behind it in the box) on the table.  Every player can see the bid without any words having to be spoken.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When the bidding has finished the player gathers up the cards and replaces them in the box.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The box also contains extra cards which are used for special functions such as passing and doubling.  There is also a stop card which is used before making a jump bid and an alert card which you use if your partner makes a bid that has a special meaning for your partnerships - for example if you are using Stayman or Blackwood.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-1288159938683387595?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/1288159938683387595/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2011/08/bridge-bidding-boxes.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/1288159938683387595'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/1288159938683387595'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2011/08/bridge-bidding-boxes.html' title='Bridge Bidding Boxes'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-7452606474644726713</id><published>2011-08-04T22:41:00.000+01:00</published><updated>2011-08-04T22:41:57.675+01:00</updated><title type='text'>Learn to Play Bridge Online</title><content type='html'>I'm getting lazy I think. &amp;nbsp;It's over six months since I posted to this blog. In that time it's been found by many people who want to learn to play bridge online. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Learning to play bridge can be daunting and many beginners feel intimidated about playing with more experienced players and will become flustered and play badly. &amp;nbsp;The joy of learning to play bridge online is that computers have endless patience and you can practice your play over and over again without your fellow players becoming bored or frustrated.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are learning Acol bridge there really is only one place to&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=l2"&gt; learn to play bridge online&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-7452606474644726713?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/7452606474644726713/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2011/08/learn-to-play-bridge-online.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/7452606474644726713'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/7452606474644726713'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2011/08/learn-to-play-bridge-online.html' title='Learn to Play Bridge Online'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-1107301980039116454</id><published>2010-12-29T14:48:00.001Z</published><updated>2011-01-02T12:24:14.955Z</updated><title type='text'>Novice Bridge Players - Residential Weekend in Winchester</title><content type='html'>Harold Schogger is running a residential weekend for novice bridge players at the Pederson hotel in Winchester from 13th - 15th May 2011.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The weekend starts at 6pm on Friday with a sherry reception, followed by dinner and a supervised competition. On Saturday tuition starts at 11am with a Q&amp;amp;A seminar. &amp;nbsp;There is another tuition session in the afternoon and the day finished with a gentle introduction to duplicate bridge. &amp;nbsp;On Sunday, tuition starts at 11am with another Q&amp;amp;A seminar, followed by Sunday lunch and then a supervised topic session. &amp;nbsp;The weekend finishes at 3.45 on Sunday afternoon.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The hotel is in the heart of the historic town of Winchester and non-playing friends and partners are welcome. &amp;nbsp;The cost for the full weekend in £185, with a £30 reduction for non-playing guests. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Download full information and the booking form &lt;span id="goog_1976601941"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.learnbridge.info/bookingform.pdf"&gt;HERE&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span id="goog_1976601942"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is a .pdf document, so you will need Adobe Reader to open it.&lt;br /&gt;If you LEFT click on the above link, the document will open in a window in your browser&lt;br /&gt;If you RIGHT click on the above link, you can save the document to your computer and then PRINT it.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-1107301980039116454?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/1107301980039116454/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2010/12/novice-bridge-players-residential.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/1107301980039116454'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/1107301980039116454'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2010/12/novice-bridge-players-residential.html' title='Novice Bridge Players - Residential Weekend in Winchester'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-8004464659808519238</id><published>2010-12-28T20:35:00.005Z</published><updated>2010-12-29T15:25:16.530Z</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Beginners bridge holidays'/><title type='text'>Beginners Bridge Holidays - 2011</title><content type='html'>Are you looking for a beginners bridge holiday? &amp;nbsp;Once again I've produced a list of beginners residential bridge holidays.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Harold Schogger is running a weekend for novice players in Winchester from 13 - 15th May. &amp;nbsp;Full details and booking form &lt;a href="http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2010/12/novice-bridge-players-residential.html"&gt;HERE&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.hfholidays.co.uk/holidays/introduction-bridge/dates-and-prices"&gt;HF Holidays&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;are offering four 3 - 5 night holidays in 2011 in Bourton-on-the-Water, Malhamdale, Freshwater Bay and Abingworth.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.urchfontmanor.co.uk/index.php/our-courses/residential-courses-2010/january-march-2011/445-bridge-for-beginners-r110109"&gt;Urchfont Manor&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;Have a course from Jan 21 - 23. &amp;nbsp;This course is for people who have never played bridge – or for those who have not played the game for a long time.&amp;nbsp; The atmosphere will be relaxed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.earnley.co.uk/index.asp?upid=15&amp;amp;msid=2"&gt;Earnley Concourse&lt;/a&gt; in Chichester have a weekend for complete beginners in February.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.begin-bridge.co.uk/events_list.html"&gt;Begin Bridge&lt;/a&gt; run weekends in a variety of locations throughout the year.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-8004464659808519238?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/8004464659808519238/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2010/12/beginners-bridge-holidays-2011.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/8004464659808519238'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/8004464659808519238'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2010/12/beginners-bridge-holidays-2011.html' title='Beginners Bridge Holidays - 2011'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-2690041637711470076</id><published>2010-01-20T11:05:00.001Z</published><updated>2010-01-20T11:22:03.341Z</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bridge bidding practice'/><title type='text'>Bridge Bidding Practice</title><content type='html'>Like most skills the game of bridge needs practice! &amp;nbsp;You might be a member of your local bridge club or class - and meet once a week. &amp;nbsp;It's easy to forget what you have learnt in between sessions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Imagine trying to learn to drive a car with just weekly lessons and no practice in between. &amp;nbsp;It would take much longer to get proficient, wouldn't it?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's exactly the same with bridge bidding. &amp;nbsp;To improve your skill you will want to do some bridge bidding practice in between. &amp;nbsp;The good news is that you can easily practice your bridge bidding online at any time at&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt; No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;No Fear Bridge is the UK's leading bridge practice site. &amp;nbsp;You will find hundreds of fun, interactive tutorials, hands, quizzes and handouts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are loads of interactive, bridge bidding practice hands. Choose your bid and click. &amp;nbsp;If your answer is incorrect you will be prompted to "Try Again". &amp;nbsp;Some of the hands also have audio feedback if you make an incorrect bid, to help you learn why your bid was incorrect.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/S1bmklpk1pI/AAAAAAAAAo0/YF_y_ou0kLs/s320/bridge+bidding.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;No software download is required - all the interactive activities are played online. &amp;nbsp;You can practive bridge bidding and practice strategies for play. &amp;nbsp;There are activities for beginners, improvers and advancers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Try the weekly quiz and see if you can get your name on the leaderboard. &amp;nbsp; Look at your own personal progresss graph and see how &amp;nbsp;your skills improve.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Best of all, you get two week's completely free membership, with no credit card details required. &amp;nbsp;Head over now for some&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt; bridge bidding practice&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-2690041637711470076?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/2690041637711470076/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2010/01/bridge-bidding-practice.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/2690041637711470076'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/2690041637711470076'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2010/01/bridge-bidding-practice.html' title='Bridge Bidding Practice'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/S1bmklpk1pI/AAAAAAAAAo0/YF_y_ou0kLs/s72-c/bridge+bidding.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-2014763695936084293</id><published>2010-01-15T18:20:00.000Z</published><updated>2010-01-16T12:45:54.783Z</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='rule of 11'/><title type='text'>The Rule of 11</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="color: #4b4b4b; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div id="body"&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"&gt;If you are learning to play bridge, sooner or later you will come across the Rule of 11. But what is it and how should you use it?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What is the Rule of 11?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"&gt;It is usually used in a no trump contract, by the third player in a game of bridge. If you are the third player, you use it if you think that your partner led with the 4th highest card in their longest suit.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"&gt;After your partner has played, you can see the cards in dummy's hand and you also know the cards in your own hand. The Rule of 11 will let you work out if the remaining player has any cards that are higher than the card led by your partner. If they don't and dummy played low, then you don't need to play a higher card than your partner in order to win the trick. It helps you win the trick as cheaply as possible.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How to Use the Rule of 11&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"&gt;Here is an example. Your partner has played the 7. Dummy played 2 and you can see that dummy also holds Q and 8. You hold A, 10 and 3. Should you play a higher card than your partner to win the trick?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"&gt;You think your partner played their 4th highest card so you can use this rule to work out which card to play. Deduct 7 (the card played by your partner) from 11. This gives you 4 - which tells you that there are four cards higher than 7 NOT held by your partner. You hold A and 10 and dummy holds Q and 8 - so you can see all of those four cards. This tells you that the declarer doesn't hold any card higher than 7, so you can play your 3 and your partnership will still win the trick.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;" valign="top"&gt;&lt;div class="sig" id="sig" style="color: #4b4b4b; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"&gt;Now you know what the Rule of 11 is, you can practice it online for yourself at&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;&amp;nbsp;No Fear Bridge.&lt;/a&gt; Join for a two week free trial and enjoy all the fun, interactive learning and practice hands.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-2014763695936084293?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/2014763695936084293/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2010/01/rule-of-11.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/2014763695936084293'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/2014763695936084293'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2010/01/rule-of-11.html' title='The Rule of 11'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-4897286893186434450</id><published>2010-01-10T19:36:00.004Z</published><updated>2010-12-29T15:26:35.904Z</updated><title type='text'>Bridge Holidays for Beginners and Improvers</title><content type='html'>If you are looking for a beginners bridge holiday for &lt;a href="http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2010/12/beginners-bridge-holidays-2011.html"&gt;2011 - Click here.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In January last year I spent a happy hour or so searching the internet for beginners bridge holidays. &amp;nbsp;It turned out to be a very popular post - so here is a new list, for 2010.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.urchfontmanor.co.uk/"&gt;Urchfont Manor &lt;/a&gt;in Wiltshire have a weekend for complete beginners in January and a couple of weekends for improvers. &amp;nbsp;Their brochure is a pdf document, so you will need Adobe Reader on your computer.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.hfholidays.co.uk/activities/bridge"&gt;HF Holiday&lt;/a&gt;s are offering 4 or 6 night breaks for complete beginners as well as a selection of breaks for improvers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.farncombeestate.co.uk/courseslist.asp?fac=34"&gt;Farncombe Estate&lt;/a&gt; in the Cotswolds offer a selection of weekends for improvers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.burtonmanor.com/courses-br.htm"&gt;Burton Manor&lt;/a&gt; in Cheshire offers a bridge weekend for complete beginners in March. &amp;nbsp;(This is strange website to navigate!)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.earnley.co.uk/index.asp?upid=15&amp;amp;msid=2"&gt;Earnley Concourse&lt;/a&gt; in Chichester offer a selection of weekend courses for beginners and improvers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.mcsummerschool.org.uk/courses.asp?cid=24"&gt;Marlborough College Summer&lt;/a&gt; school offers week long courses from absolute beginners to advance techniques&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://arca.uk.net/missendenabbey/we_09-10/spec_interest.html"&gt;Missenden Abbey &lt;/a&gt;in Buckinghamshire offer a selection of weekend courses for improvers&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-4897286893186434450?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/4897286893186434450/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2010/01/bridge-holidays-for-beginners-and.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/4897286893186434450'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/4897286893186434450'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2010/01/bridge-holidays-for-beginners-and.html' title='Bridge Holidays for Beginners and Improvers'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-3409408138610195052</id><published>2009-10-11T12:12:00.007+01:00</published><updated>2011-01-04T13:45:17.436Z</updated><title type='text'>Christmas Present for Bridge Players</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/giftvoucherc.htm"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="129" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/TSMkU2CHd6I/AAAAAAAAAqs/2u9Us5haNBg/s320/gift+voucher+2011.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;It's October and people's thoughts are starting to turn to Christmas.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you have a friend or family member who is learning to play bridge, then give them a &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/giftvoucherc.htm"&gt;No Fear Bridge membership voucher&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The No Fear Bridge membership site has lots of fun, interactive hands to practice bridge bidding and play, quizzes, a progress chart, handouts, hands of the day.  New activities are constantly being added to the site.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A year's membership will give your loved one full access to the site so they can practice their bridge bidding and play in the comfort of their own home.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is a fabulous way to build bridge playing confidence between lessons or club sessions.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-3409408138610195052?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/3409408138610195052/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/10/christmas-present-for-bridge-players.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/3409408138610195052'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/3409408138610195052'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/10/christmas-present-for-bridge-players.html' title='Christmas Present for Bridge Players'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/TSMkU2CHd6I/AAAAAAAAAqs/2u9Us5haNBg/s72-c/gift+voucher+2011.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-3777701668931656286</id><published>2009-08-27T18:07:00.006+01:00</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:45:21.714+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bridge bidding practice'/><title type='text'>Bridge bidding practice</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/Spa-ORg_twI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/ys6wtsicLC0/s320/weekly+quiz3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374692357742507778" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;Each week at &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt; there is a quiz to help you practice bridge bidding.  Each quiz has 20 questions with four multiple choice answers.  There is a leaderboard - you can have fun trying to beat the competition into first place.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;div&gt;There is also a "My Progress" graph where you can see your scores plotted week on week.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;If you choose the wrong answer to a question you are given an explanation of why your answer is wrong.  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;You can have as many goes as you like at each weekly quiz, although only your first attempt will count towards your place on the weekly leaderboard!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;If you'd like to have a go at this week's quiz, just go to &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt; and register for your two weeks' free trial.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-3777701668931656286?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/3777701668931656286/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/08/bridge-bidding-practice.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/3777701668931656286'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/3777701668931656286'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/08/bridge-bidding-practice.html' title='Bridge bidding practice'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/Spa-ORg_twI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/ys6wtsicLC0/s72-c/weekly+quiz3.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-6454012525166921463</id><published>2009-08-26T13:15:00.002+01:00</published><updated>2009-08-26T13:28:23.139+01:00</updated><title type='text'>Bridge classes</title><content type='html'>Autumn is coming.  If you want to start learning to play bridge this is the time of year to enrol on a local class. &lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Many organisations run bridge classes for beginners.  Some bridge clubs run classes, many schools run adult classes in the evenings as do colleges and Adult Education services.  Your local U3A might run bridge classes. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Check your local paper or ask in your library for classes in your area.  You can (of course!) use the internet to search for classes too.  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-6454012525166921463?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/6454012525166921463/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/08/bridge-classes.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/6454012525166921463'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/6454012525166921463'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/08/bridge-classes.html' title='Bridge classes'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-3909224122104646173</id><published>2009-07-13T15:57:00.005+01:00</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:46:07.882+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='losing trick count'/><title type='text'>Losing Trick Count</title><content type='html'>One of the activities at &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The losing trick count is frequently used as a more accurate way of valuing an unbalanced hand.&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;It is based on the premise that an Ace should never lose; a King shouldn't lose if you hold 2 or more cards in a suit and a Queen shouldn't lose if you hold 3 or more cards.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Only use the Losing Trick Count if you have already established that you and your partner have an 8 card fit.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;You don't count more losing tricks per suit than the number of cards held in that suit, and you never count more than three per suit.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;To count your losing tricks:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Singleton:  A is a winner.  K -2 (as a singleton) = 1 losing trick&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Doubleton:  AK = no losing tricks.  Ax &amp;amp; Kx = 1 losing trick, all other combinations = 2 losing tricks&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Three cards:  AKQ = no losing tricks.  AKx, AQx, KQx = 1 losing trick, Axx, Kxx &amp;amp; Qxx = 2 losing tricks, all other combinations = 3 losing tricks&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Add these to the assumed number of losers in your partners hand (assume 7 if partner has bid 1 of a suit) and then subtract from 24 to arrive at the number of tricks you should win and then bid accordingly.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;At &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt; you will find a printable handout and interactive tutorial and some interacive practice hands to play to help you learn how to use the losing trick count.  Head over to&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt; No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt; now and sign up for you totally FREE two week trial.  No credit card details required.  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-3909224122104646173?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/3909224122104646173/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/07/losing-trick-count.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/3909224122104646173'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/3909224122104646173'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/07/losing-trick-count.html' title='Losing Trick Count'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-2188827935421323651</id><published>2009-04-28T13:21:00.005+01:00</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:46:41.862+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Acol bridge scoring'/><title type='text'>ACOL Bridge Scoring</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/Sfb1bsKJp-I/AAAAAAAAAZc/gZVpv6x3TQs/s1600-h/scoring.JPG"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 237px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/Sfb1bsKJp-I/AAAAAAAAAZc/gZVpv6x3TQs/s320/scoring.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329717065098569698" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;As a member of the No Fear Bridge site you will find a range of helpful handouts, including two on &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;bridge scoring&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The extract shown here is from the one for duplicate bridge.  There is also a handout for rubber bridge.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;You can find this and a range of other helpful handouts in the "handouts" section of the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge membership site&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Sign up for your completely free, two weeks trial.  If you'd prefer to &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;join for a year&lt;/a&gt;, membership costs just £30 and gives you unlimited access to all the quizzes, tutorials, videos, handouts, flash cards and help you need to help you become a better bridge player.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-2188827935421323651?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/2188827935421323651/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/04/acol-bridge-scoring.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/2188827935421323651'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/2188827935421323651'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/04/acol-bridge-scoring.html' title='ACOL Bridge Scoring'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/Sfb1bsKJp-I/AAAAAAAAAZc/gZVpv6x3TQs/s72-c/scoring.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-5934860223163823695</id><published>2009-04-22T11:16:00.005+01:00</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:47:12.586+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Learn ACOL bridge bidding'/><title type='text'>Learn ACOL bridge bidding with the Weekly Quiz</title><content type='html'>&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style="color:#000000;"&gt;On the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge &lt;/a&gt;membership site you will find a weekly quiz to help you practice your ACOL bridge bidding.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 183px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327458287295575666" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/Se7vFhH2tnI/AAAAAAAAAYM/2rYRBLP734c/s320/weekly+quiz.JPG" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Each week you will find a set of 20 questions. See how many you can answer correctly.  Your answers are recorded so you can see a graph of your personal progress.  A great learning tool.  There is also a weekly leaderboard (only usernames are displayed, not real names).  See if you can score 20/20 and be top of the weekly leaderboard.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;&lt;img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 147px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327459427484022850" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/Se7wH4p9uEI/AAAAAAAAAYU/zjfpmbcUMyw/s320/weekly+quiz+2.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;This quiz is so popular that there will soon be a more advanced version for users who regularly score 20/20.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;If you would like to try the quiz, head over to the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge &lt;/a&gt;site and sign up for your free two week trial (no credit card details required).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-5934860223163823695?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/5934860223163823695/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/04/learn-acol-bridge-bidding-with-weekly.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/5934860223163823695'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/5934860223163823695'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/04/learn-acol-bridge-bidding-with-weekly.html' title='Learn ACOL bridge bidding with the Weekly Quiz'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/Se7vFhH2tnI/AAAAAAAAAYM/2rYRBLP734c/s72-c/weekly+quiz.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-766333479511296616</id><published>2009-04-19T18:26:00.006+01:00</published><updated>2010-01-02T11:31:13.475Z</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Bridge jargon'/><title type='text'>Bridge Jargon</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"&gt;&lt;img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326457262041471330" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SetgqLdIGWI/AAAAAAAAAXs/iRhEhxAPN8k/s320/glossary.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 177px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Like any game - the game of bridge has its jargon.  This can be daunting for beginners - struggling to learn how to play and learn the meaning of terms.  At the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt; membership site you will find a printable glossary of terms to help you. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;There is a free two week trial, but membership costs just £10 for 3 months or £32 for a year.  Join for a year and have unlimited access to the best bridge learning resource on the net.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-766333479511296616?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/766333479511296616/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/04/bridge-jargon.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/766333479511296616'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/766333479511296616'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/04/bridge-jargon.html' title='Bridge Jargon'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SetgqLdIGWI/AAAAAAAAAXs/iRhEhxAPN8k/s72-c/glossary.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-4399942232596375457</id><published>2009-03-31T13:40:00.007+01:00</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:48:04.089+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='No Trump Rebids'/><title type='text'>No Trump Rebids</title><content type='html'>There's a new "millionnaire" quiz over a&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;t No Fear Bridge. &lt;/a&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SdIQkaR6feI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/a4p6ev0VCIE/s1600-h/notrumprebids.JPG"&gt; &lt;/a&gt;All the answers require a bid of No Trumps, but can you work out which level to bid at, and why? &lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;This quiz is a fabulous learning aid.  If you choose the wrong answer, you are given a clear explanation of why your answer was incorrect. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Can you answer all the questions correctly and score a million?  Membership at &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt; is free for two weeks - but at just £30 for a year, why not sign up for full membership?&lt;/div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;&lt;img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319334556349998018" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SdISmJCzo8I/AAAAAAAAAUY/HR2WgQ5qE5E/s400/notrumprebids.JPG" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-4399942232596375457?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/4399942232596375457/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/03/no-trump-rebids.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/4399942232596375457'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/4399942232596375457'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/03/no-trump-rebids.html' title='No Trump Rebids'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SdISmJCzo8I/AAAAAAAAAUY/HR2WgQ5qE5E/s72-c/notrumprebids.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-6510616110109597552</id><published>2009-02-10T16:34:00.004Z</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:48:25.144+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bridge bidding practice'/><title type='text'>Practice your bridge bidding</title><content type='html'>The latest tutorial added to No Fear Bridge helps you practice overcalling after an opening bid of 1NT.  In lesson 1 you are first responding bidder, in lesson 2 you are opener's partner and in lesson 3 you are second responding bidder.  This tutorial gives you a chance to practice your bidding in all three situations.&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SZGswWUJqkI/AAAAAAAAATY/ISfV2o14drM/s400/penalty+double.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301208183015582274" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-6510616110109597552?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/6510616110109597552/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/02/practice-your-bridge-bidding.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/6510616110109597552'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/6510616110109597552'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/02/practice-your-bridge-bidding.html' title='Practice your bridge bidding'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SZGswWUJqkI/AAAAAAAAATY/ISfV2o14drM/s72-c/penalty+double.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-4861797108939174515</id><published>2009-02-07T10:50:00.006Z</published><updated>2009-02-07T11:05:24.408Z</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Responder&apos;s second bid at bridge'/><title type='text'>Responder's Second Bid</title><content type='html'>Practice your bridge bidding.  Once you have started to master your opening bid as a responder, you will want to practice your second bid as a responder.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With this quiz you are given 10 questions to help you practice.  You can take the quiz several times as you won't be given the same questions each time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=b1"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 229px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SY1pYTWQndI/AAAAAAAAATA/H9XVKgrWWAw/s400/responders+2nd+bid.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300008202716356050" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Click to select the answer.  When you have answered the questions, click on "submit" and see how many you answered correctly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When you make a mistake, you are given a clear explanation of why your answer was wrong.  Here's an example:&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SY1qLvhZhMI/AAAAAAAAATI/jbnrY9Ye_Ww/s1600-h/responders+2nd+bid+answers.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 170px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SY1qLvhZhMI/AAAAAAAAATI/jbnrY9Ye_Ww/s400/responders+2nd+bid+answers.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300009086452597954" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;If you'd like to try this quiz for yourself, head over to the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=b1"&gt;No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt; membership site and sign up for the two week free trial.  It really is free - no need to give your credit card number.  New material is being added to the site all the time.  This quiz was added yesterday.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-4861797108939174515?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/4861797108939174515/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/02/responders-second-bid.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/4861797108939174515'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/4861797108939174515'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/02/responders-second-bid.html' title='Responder&apos;s Second Bid'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SY1pYTWQndI/AAAAAAAAATA/H9XVKgrWWAw/s72-c/responders+2nd+bid.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-573116659295482089</id><published>2009-02-04T12:29:00.003Z</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:48:46.255+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='learn bridge bidding'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='stayman convention'/><title type='text'>Learn Bridge Bidding</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Learn Bridge Bidding - responding to 1NT&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SYmKeLAcDOI/AAAAAAAAASc/Ys3ihECGVFo/s400/Responding+to+1NT.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298918687533436130" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;The latest addition to the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge &lt;/a&gt;membership site is a set of 24 hands on the topic "responding to a 1NT opening". &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You can use this practice exercise as many times as you want to improve your responding.  Each time you will be given a selection of 12 hands from the 24 available.  Plenty of variety to keep you interested and a different selection every time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You can choose to include the Stayman convention, or to exclude it.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-573116659295482089?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/573116659295482089/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/02/learn-bridge-bidding.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/573116659295482089'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/573116659295482089'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/02/learn-bridge-bidding.html' title='Learn Bridge Bidding'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SYmKeLAcDOI/AAAAAAAAASc/Ys3ihECGVFo/s72-c/Responding+to+1NT.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-5235555293861902070</id><published>2009-02-02T08:23:00.004Z</published><updated>2009-02-02T08:33:21.528Z</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='No Fear Bridge Club'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Andrew Robson'/><title type='text'>Andrew Robson visits No Fear Bridge Club</title><content type='html'>&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;Hot News&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Andrew Robson is visiting the No Fear Bridge Club in New Haw in Surrey on Thursday 19th March.  The evening session, from 6.30pm - 9.30pm, is for intermediate/club players with at least 3 years' experience (or equivalent).  The session costs £15 and is open to non-members of the club. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Advance booking IS ESSENTIAL.  You can download the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/club/AndrewRobson2009eve.pdf"&gt;booking form&lt;/a&gt;.  Full details are on the form.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The subject of the lesson will be "Defending Trump Contracts – Observing Dummy".  It isn't necessary to bring a partner.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Don't miss this opportunity to have a lesson from one of the UK's top bridge teachers.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-5235555293861902070?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/5235555293861902070/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/02/andrew-robson-visits-no-fear-bridge.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/5235555293861902070'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/5235555293861902070'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/02/andrew-robson-visits-no-fear-bridge.html' title='Andrew Robson visits No Fear Bridge Club'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-1384820484431181719</id><published>2009-02-01T16:04:00.002Z</published><updated>2009-02-01T16:07:58.699Z</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Acol'/><title type='text'>How Acol Got its Name</title><content type='html'>Have you ever wondered how Acol got its name?  It's named after a road in Hampstead in London.  Here it is:&lt;div&gt;&lt;iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&amp;amp;source=s_q&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;geocode=&amp;amp;q=acol+road,+london&amp;amp;sll=51.556689,-0.17458&amp;amp;sspn=0.007418,0.019312&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=AARTsJrhLGChbNp6_ZUGtGuZ0ZLu6fkFpg&amp;amp;ll=51.541838,-0.190372&amp;amp;spn=0.004671,0.00912&amp;amp;z=16&amp;amp;output=embed"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&amp;amp;source=embed&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;geocode=&amp;amp;q=acol+road,+london&amp;amp;sll=51.556689,-0.17458&amp;amp;sspn=0.007418,0.019312&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;ll=51.541838,-0.190372&amp;amp;spn=0.004671,0.00912&amp;amp;z=16" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left"&gt;View Larger Map&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"&gt;According to &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acol"&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;, a bridge club used to meet there in the 1930s and it was the members of that club who started developing the bidding system we use today.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-1384820484431181719?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/1384820484431181719/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-acol-got-its-name.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/1384820484431181719'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/1384820484431181719'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-acol-got-its-name.html' title='How Acol Got its Name'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-5130724953324232094</id><published>2009-01-30T17:04:00.005Z</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:49:50.506+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Practice ACOL Bridge Bidding'/><title type='text'>ACOL Bridge Bidding Practice</title><content type='html'>Want to practice ACOL bridge bidding?  This is an exerpt from one of the many bridge bidding practice exercises on the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge membership site&lt;/a&gt;.  It's fun and interactive and the *** latest feature *** (sorry, couldn't resist the asterisks there) is &lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;audio&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;to explain incorrect choices.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The great thing about this site is that if you choose a wrong answer you are always given a clear explanation of why the answer is wrong.  Which is a fantastic way to learn.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"&gt;MIXED BIDDING PRACTICE WITH OVERCALLS&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"&gt;Here is a set of 12 mixed bidding hands selected at random from a set of 24.  Quite a few of them will require good knowledge of overcalling.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The suggested bidding uses basic Acol (Standard English) with Strong Twos, Stayman and Blackwood. No Transfers.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"&gt;Can you bid them all correctly first time?!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"&gt;Audio feedback for incorrect bids.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"&gt;Automatically checks if hand bid correctly and removes it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"   style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);   font-style: italic; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"&gt;Incorrectly bid hands are repeated at the end of the set so you can try again and work on your weaknesses.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; "&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"   style="  ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"&gt;If you want to practice your bridge bidding, the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt; site offers a FREE two week trial.  &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;Try it now.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; "&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"   style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);   font-style: italic; font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-5130724953324232094?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/5130724953324232094/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/bridge-bidding-practice.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/5130724953324232094'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/5130724953324232094'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/bridge-bidding-practice.html' title='ACOL Bridge Bidding Practice'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-5356354501371592200</id><published>2009-01-27T12:42:00.006Z</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:50:07.884+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='No fear bridge'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='health benefits of playing bridge'/><title type='text'>Stimulate Brain Activity - Play Bridge</title><content type='html'>The health benefits of playing bridge. In the last post I told you about a study done by Berkeley University, looking at how playing bridge can help boost the immune system and  stimulate brain activity.&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I've found a US news clip, telling you about the study and interviewing bridge players. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.cbs2.com/video/?id=67182@kcbs.dayport.com"&gt;Here it is&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I guess the old adage applies - "use it or lose it".  Playing bridge is the perfect opportunity to "use it".  You don't even have to leave home - join the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt; membership site.  Lots of interactive quizzes, hands, tutorials and help to keep your brain active and interested and help improve your bridge game.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-5356354501371592200?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/5356354501371592200/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/stimulate-brain-activity-play-bridge.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/5356354501371592200'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/5356354501371592200'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/stimulate-brain-activity-play-bridge.html' title='Stimulate Brain Activity - Play Bridge'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-4402048707367818562</id><published>2009-01-26T11:24:00.006Z</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:50:26.630+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='immune system boosters'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='improve immune system'/><title type='text'>Improve Your Immune System - Play Bridge</title><content type='html'>Joining the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge membership site &lt;/a&gt;could improve your health.  Really.  &lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;In the last post I talked about how playing Bridge can help keep your brain active and improve your social life.  But did you know that playing bridge is a great immune system booster?  It seems the mental concentration needed to play bridge has a positive effect in boosting the  levels of key immune system blood cells.&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;In 2000, Professor Marian Diamond, of Berkeley University in the US, did a study to try and determine if it is possible to improve your immune system by using the dorsolateral cortex - a part of the brain which can be controlled voluntarily.  In other words, can you "think about improving your immune system"?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Playing bridge stimulates the dorsolateral cortex.  For the study, 12 women in their 70s and 80s were asked to play bridge for 90 minutes.  Then their blood was tested.  Two thirds of the women had significantly increased levels of T cells in their body.  It is the T cells that attack foreign cells in the body.  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;It seems that playing bridge acts as an immune system booster, raising the levels of T cells in your body and helping you fight infection.  (It's fun too!)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;What are you waiting for!! &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt; Practice your bridge playing now&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1017181.stm"&gt;Read&lt;/a&gt; the original story on the BBC website.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-4402048707367818562?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/4402048707367818562/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/improve-your-immune-system-play-bridge.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/4402048707367818562'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/4402048707367818562'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/improve-your-immune-system-play-bridge.html' title='Improve Your Immune System - Play Bridge'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-6546939431925162835</id><published>2009-01-25T17:30:00.004Z</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:50:50.004+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bridge and retirement'/><title type='text'>Learn to play bridge for a happy, healthy retirement</title><content type='html'>If you are newly retired, or due to retire, this is the perfect time to start learning bridge.&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Bridge requires concentration and every game is different.  It is the perfect activity to keep your brain active.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Learning to play bridge will also guarantee you an active social life.  You will be able to join your local bridge class or club.  You will meet new people and make new friends. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;If you decide to retire to a new area, where you don't know anyone, being a bridge player is guaranteed to help you make new friends quickly.  If you are single you will find yourself in great demand as a bridge partner.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Not only will you have an active social life, you will be able to go on holiday with your new found friends to bridge weekends/weeks/cruises across the country and around the world.  The perfect excuse to travel!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-6546939431925162835?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/6546939431925162835/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/learn-to-play-bridge-for-happy-healthy.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/6546939431925162835'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/6546939431925162835'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/learn-to-play-bridge-for-happy-healthy.html' title='Learn to play bridge for a happy, healthy retirement'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-7296409387730769184</id><published>2009-01-24T16:21:00.009Z</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:51:15.491+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Opening the bidding at bridge'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='learn to open the bidding at bridge'/><title type='text'>Opening the Bidding</title><content type='html'>In many ways the opening bid is the most important of the game.  If you get your opening bid wrong there is nothing your partner can do to help.  &lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;How to make the correct opening bid is one of the first skills you will learn when you are a bridge beginner.  It is a skill that takes practice and ----- well -----more practice!  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I have found a brilliant quizz on the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge Membership&lt;/a&gt; site.  There are thirteen questions (is that an unlucky number?  I hope not, my opening bidding needs all the help it can get.)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;&lt;img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SXtESUI4lYI/AAAAAAAAARs/dneOh8R39IU/s400/opening+the+bidding+quiz.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 120px;" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294900868338455938" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div&gt;Each question has a choice of four answers.  If you choose the wrong answer, you will be given an explanation of why it was wrong.  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;You can try the quiz as many times as you like.  No-one's watching you - and your computer won't count how many tries it takes to get the answers correct.  Take your time and learn from your wrong answers.  It isn't a competition - take as long as you need to learn.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-7296409387730769184?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/7296409387730769184/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/opening-bidding.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/7296409387730769184'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/7296409387730769184'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/opening-bidding.html' title='Opening the Bidding'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SXtESUI4lYI/AAAAAAAAARs/dneOh8R39IU/s72-c/opening+the+bidding+quiz.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-5435943400934109265</id><published>2009-01-23T08:53:00.005Z</published><updated>2009-02-01T17:59:56.699Z</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='How to Play Mini Bridge'/><title type='text'>How to play mini bridge (lesson 2)</title><content type='html'>At the end of lesson 1 on mini bridge, the person with the most points in their hand became the declarer.&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The declarer's partner becomes the dummy and lays their cards on the table so that everyone can see them&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Declarer now starts the bidding.  Thanks to Leigh Harding for writing this lesson on bidding for this blog.  As she says, you need to read pages 4 and 5 of her beginner's bridge leaflet.  Just sign up for the mailing list on the right of this blog and you can download the leaflet for FREE. &lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;(Note:  this post may not display the hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades symbols correctly if you don't have the original font installed on your computer!  I've annotated the first occurence of each symbol so you can see which symbol your computer does display for each of the suits.)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "&gt;FIRST CHOOSE TRUMPS OR NO TRUMPS&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;b&gt;You have 8 (or more) cards in hearts or spades:&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;1.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;If you have an ‘8 card fit’ (this means at least 8 cards between your hand and dummy) &lt;u&gt;in hearts or spades&lt;/u&gt;.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Choose that suit as trumps.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;(&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;color:red;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;ª&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; (hearts) or &lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;«&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; (spades) scores 30 points per trick) &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;&lt;b&gt;You DON’T have 8 (or more cards in hearts or spades):&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:21.3pt;text-indent:-21.3pt"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;2.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Usually choose No Trumps&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt; (NT scores 40 for the first trick and 30 for subsequent tricks)&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;3.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;If you have an 8 card fit in clubs or diamonds, choose clubs or diamonds as trumps &lt;b&gt;only as a last resort.&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;   &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;It is normally better to play in No Trumps with an 8 card fit in clubs or diamonds unless you have a serious weakness in one of the other suits (i.e. the opponents could get a lot of tricks)&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-tab-count:1"&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;(&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;¨&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; (clubs) or &lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;; mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;color:red;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;©&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; (diamonds) score only 20 per trick)&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "&gt;THEN CHOOSE GAME OR PART SCORE&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;See page 4 and 5 of the booklet about scoring. (Join the mailing list to download the FREE booklet)&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;Basically: &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;If your points add up to 25 or more your targets will be: &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-tab-count:1"&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;No Trump&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;        &lt;/span&gt;9 tricks&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;(3NT)&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-tab-count:1"&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;color:red;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;ª&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; or &lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;«&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-tab-count:2"&gt;             &lt;/span&gt;10 tricks (4&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;color:red;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;ª&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;/4&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;«&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;&lt;span style="color:red;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-tab-count: 1"&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;¨&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; or&lt;span style="color:red;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type: symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;color:red;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type: symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;©&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-tab-count:2"&gt;             &lt;/span&gt;11 tricks (5&lt;span style="font-family: &amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-hansi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;¨&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;/5&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;¨&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;) note because you have to make 11 tricks&lt;span style="mso-tab-count:7"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;you really need more like 27+ points&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;(these are called ‘game’ contracts) &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;If your points don’t add up to 25 your targets will be: &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-tab-count:1"&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;No Trump&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;   &lt;/span&gt;7 tricks 1NT&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-tab-count:1"&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;color:red;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;ª&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt; or &lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;«&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;         &lt;/span&gt;7 tricks (1&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type: symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;color:red;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type: symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;ª&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;/1&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;«&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;&lt;span style="color:red;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-tab-count: 1"&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;¨&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color:red;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;or&lt;span style="color:red;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;; mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;color:red;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;©&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="mso-spacerun:yes"&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;7 tricks (1&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;;mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;¨&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;/1&lt;span style="font-family:&amp;quot;Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;; mso-ascii-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-hansi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;color:red;"&gt;&lt;span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-Monotype Sorts&amp;quot;font-family:&amp;quot;;"&gt;©&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoBodyTextIndent"&gt;(these are called ‘part score’ contracts)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-5435943400934109265?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/5435943400934109265/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-play-mini-bridge-lesson-2.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/5435943400934109265'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/5435943400934109265'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-play-mini-bridge-lesson-2.html' title='How to play mini bridge (lesson 2)'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-438160983706594573</id><published>2009-01-22T16:46:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-01-22T18:35:48.681Z</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='How to Play Mini Bridge'/><title type='text'>How to Play Mini Bridge (lesson 1)</title><content type='html'>Mini bridge is a fun game for four players.  Anyone can play and it is a good game for children as it involves counting and adding up.  If you have never played bridge but want to learn, Mini Bridge is a good way to start.&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The players sit around a table. There are two pairs of players, known as partners.  Each player sits opposite their partner.  For ease of reference the four players are called by the points of the compass, North, South, East and West.  North and South are partners and sit opposite each other, similarly for East and West. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SXYFAibuQgI/AAAAAAAAARc/cTYtjFAal7o/s200/seating.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 152px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293423918821818882" /&gt;Deal all the cards - each player should have 13 cards in their hands.  Each player sorts their cards into suits (hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs).  To make it easy to read the cards, sort them into a red suit, then a black suit, then a red suit, then a black suit.&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Next add up the points value of your hand.  4 points for each ace, 3 points for each king, 2 points for each queen and 1 point for each jack.  Starting with the dealer, and working clockwise around the table, each player announces the number of points in their hand.  The total should add up to fourty.  If it doesn't - count again!!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Now add the value of your hand to that of your partner.  The pair with the highest point score becomes the declaring side.  If both pairs have a total of 20 points then deal the cards again.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The person with the most points in the declaring side becomes the declarer and their partner becomes the dummy.  (If both partners have the same number of points, then the person who announced their score first becomes the declarer.)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;If you can't wait for lesson 2 - sign up to the mailing list on the right of this blog and download  the FREE beginner's bridge notes, which contain instructions for playing mini bridge.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-438160983706594573?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/438160983706594573/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-play-mini-bridge-lesson-1.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/438160983706594573'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/438160983706594573'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-play-mini-bridge-lesson-1.html' title='How to Play Mini Bridge (lesson 1)'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SXYFAibuQgI/AAAAAAAAARc/cTYtjFAal7o/s72-c/seating.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-210617800715194374</id><published>2009-01-21T18:35:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-01-22T22:33:23.295Z</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Beginner bridge holidays'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='learn bridge holidays'/><title type='text'>Learn to Play Bridge on a Bridge Holiday</title><content type='html'>A great way of starting to learn to play bridge is to book a bridge holiday.  Don't worry, there are bridge holidays for complete beginners.  You won't be alone - everyone will be a beginner and you can learn in a fun, relaxed way and enjoy a well earned holiday at the same time.&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;You will find these holidays set in beautiful, historic locations throughout the UK.&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Whilst writing this entry I found beginner's bridge holidays at a variety of venues.  Here are a few to help get you started.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.hfholidays.co.uk/bridge/"&gt;HF Holidays&lt;/a&gt; - offer 4 night breaks in a variety of picturesque locations, including the Cotswolds and Northumberland.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.earnley.co.uk/"&gt;Earnley Councourse&lt;/a&gt; near Chichester in W Sussex&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.mcsummerschool.org.uk/"&gt;Marlborough College Summer School&lt;/a&gt; - in glorious Wiltshire&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.crantockbayhotel.co.uk/"&gt;Crantock Bay Hotel&lt;/a&gt; by the sea in Cornwall&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;These place are in no particular order, and I'm sure if you search the internet you will find many more places for yourself.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-210617800715194374?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/210617800715194374/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/learn-to-play-bridge-on-bridge-holiday.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/210617800715194374'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/210617800715194374'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/learn-to-play-bridge-on-bridge-holiday.html' title='Learn to Play Bridge on a Bridge Holiday'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-4604626391945067660</id><published>2009-01-16T10:06:00.006Z</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:53:35.902+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Practice bridge bidding'/><title type='text'>Responding to one of a suit</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SXBcfjwpWSI/AAAAAAAAAQU/tLmT8PRkW_o/s320/bridge.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291831259405310242" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Who wants to be a millionnaire?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyone can be a millionnaire on the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge &lt;/a&gt;website.  The membership area has a set of fun, millionaire quizzes to help you practice your bidding.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Just answer 15 questions correctly and you can win a million points!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;No need to worry if you get an answer wrong.  You are given an explanation of why your answer was wrong and then you can restart the quiz.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Learn and have fun at the same time.  &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;Join today&lt;/a&gt; and get a completely FREE, no obligation, two week trial.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-4604626391945067660?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/4604626391945067660/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/responding-to-one-of-suit.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/4604626391945067660'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/4604626391945067660'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/responding-to-one-of-suit.html' title='Responding to one of a suit'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SXBcfjwpWSI/AAAAAAAAAQU/tLmT8PRkW_o/s72-c/bridge.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-8190948571134358523</id><published>2009-01-14T10:49:00.007Z</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:54:10.905+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bridge scoring'/><title type='text'>Bridge Scoring</title><content type='html'>How to work out the score at bridge is a fundamental lesson.  There is no point in playing bridge, at home, at a club or in a class, if you don't know how to work out your score.  Bridge is a competitive game, after all.  You want to know if you've won ----- or lost.&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;It's one of the first things that a beginner needs to learn.  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt; No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt; &lt;/a&gt;membership site has a convenient handout that you can print out and keep. You can study it in your own time, or take it with you to your class or club so you can practice your scoring.&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;  &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;&lt;img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SW3E0p9DSQI/AAAAAAAAAQM/_x5Tn8e4cmk/s320/bridge+scoring.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 311px; height: 57px;" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291101546124364034" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div&gt;Like all new skills, it may seem a bit daunting at first, but with a little practice you will soon find that you remember the scoring system and won't need to use the handout anymore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-8190948571134358523?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/8190948571134358523/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/bridge-scoring.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/8190948571134358523'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/8190948571134358523'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/bridge-scoring.html' title='Bridge Scoring'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SW3E0p9DSQI/AAAAAAAAAQM/_x5Tn8e4cmk/s72-c/bridge+scoring.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-868427544210841383</id><published>2009-01-13T14:18:00.005Z</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:55:28.669+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Stayman bidding practice'/><title type='text'>Stayman bidding</title><content type='html'>If your opening bid is 1NT your partner may want to ask if you hold 4 or more cards in one of the major suits.  Sadly you can't just ask!! &lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Fortunately, an American bridge player called Sam Stayman developed a bidding convention which allows you to "ask" your partner that question if you need to.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The member area at &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt; allows you to choose a personalised set of on-screen flashcards.  One of the topics you can choose is Stayman bidding practice. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;At the time of writing this post up to 24 cards are available.  Choose how many you want to work through.  Each card has your hand and the bidding displayed.  On the reverse you will find the bid you should make and an explanation of why. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;&lt;img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SWylipOe6kI/AAAAAAAAAP8/T9E6p7mkCrc/s320/stayman+flash+card.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 236px;" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290785676854225474" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-868427544210841383?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/868427544210841383/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/stayman-bidding.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/868427544210841383'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/868427544210841383'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/stayman-bidding.html' title='Stayman bidding'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SWylipOe6kI/AAAAAAAAAP8/T9E6p7mkCrc/s72-c/stayman+flash+card.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-2136475671690786748</id><published>2009-01-12T10:48:00.006Z</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:56:19.752+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='learn bridge bidding'/><title type='text'>Learn bridge bidding with the weekly bidding quiz</title><content type='html'>As a beginner I am trying to learn bridge bidding.  Fortunately for me, the &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;members' area&lt;/a&gt; at No Fear Bridge includes a weekly bidding quiz.  I thought I'd have a try.     &lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;There are 20 questions in each week's quiz.  With each question you are shown your hand, told which position you are playing and given the bidding history.  It is your turn to bid and you are given 4 options.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;You just use your mouse to select your answer.  When you have finished you submit your answers.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The correct answers are shown.  The REALLY helpful bit comes if you chose a wrong answer.  You are given a clear explanation of why the answer was wrong. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;This is a fantastic learning tool.  It is fun and there is a weekly leaderboard.  Challenge yourself to improve and make it to the top of the weekly leaderboard.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I forgot to tell you.  &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;Membership of this site&lt;/a&gt; costs just £3 per month, or £30 for a whole year.  Be warned - you might find yourself addicted!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-2136475671690786748?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/2136475671690786748/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/learn-bridge-bidding-with-weekly.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/2136475671690786748'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/2136475671690786748'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/learn-bridge-bidding-with-weekly.html' title='Learn bridge bidding with the weekly bidding quiz'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-1861340424001337769</id><published>2009-01-11T09:05:00.000Z</published><updated>2009-01-11T09:46:20.128Z</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='learn mini bridge'/><title type='text'>Learn Mini Bridge</title><content type='html'>If you've decided you want to learn to play bridge but don't know where to start - don't worry. Start by learning Mini Bridge.  Mini Bridge is a simplified version of bridge that gives you a chance to practice playing hands and counting points.  It's a fun game that all the family can play. Or invite your friends round and learn together.&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;All the techniques you learn will apply to the full game.  If you decide to join a class or beginner's club you will find learning Mini Bridge is a good introduction.  You will arrive at the first class or meeting with some basic knowledge to help boost your confidence.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;How can you learn Mini Bridge?  The instructions are in the FREE booklet that you can download when you join our mailing list.  If you missed the pop-up box for joining, fill in the form on the side of this blog now.  We look forward to welcoming you aboard.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-1861340424001337769?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/1861340424001337769/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/learn-mini-bridge.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/1861340424001337769'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/1861340424001337769'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/learn-mini-bridge.html' title='Learn Mini Bridge'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7621249575676694612.post-5835143704677001531</id><published>2009-01-10T11:07:00.002Z</published><updated>2009-10-10T11:56:46.930+01:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='No fear bridge'/><title type='text'>No Fear Bridge</title><content type='html'>Welcome to the No Fear Bridge blog. &lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Learning to play bridge can seem like a daunting prospect.  All that bidding to learn and jargon to get your head round.  Sometimes it seems that everyone apart from you is an "expert" bridge player.  You want to join in, but where do you start?&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Luckily - help is at hand.  In the form of  &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt; , a leading website for UK beginners and improvers.  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Expert help from an experienced and highly respected bridge teacher.  The site has lots of fun exercises, quizzes and advice.  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;If you can't find a bridge club or course close to home, or prefer to learn the basics in the privacy of your own home,&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt; &lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt; is the site for you.   &lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;amp;i=13"&gt;Take a look NOW&lt;/a&gt;.  You won't be disappointed.  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.nofearbridge.co.uk/zmember/go.php?r=215&amp;i=l0"&gt;Learn With No Fear Bridge&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7621249575676694612-5835143704677001531?l=no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/feeds/5835143704677001531/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/no-fear-bridge.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/5835143704677001531'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7621249575676694612/posts/default/5835143704677001531'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2009/01/no-fear-bridge.html' title='No Fear Bridge'/><author><name>it teacher</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04326437641667624464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rloA7ROhGPU/SR8ZqDZSqoI/AAAAAAAAAM8/actIV9bOojA/S220/sept+021.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
