| Today, you can ask any serious card player "What is | | | | in the late nineteenth-century the game was known as |
| the greatest card game ever played?" Without | | | | Bridge Whist which evolved from the original version |
| exception, the answer you are most likely to hear is | | | | of Whist some 300 years earlier in England. So there |
| "Bridge of course!" And why shouldn't they be so | | | | you have it in a nutshell: The game which started as |
| confident? Bridge is a card game enjoyed by more | | | | Whist eventually became Bridge Whist, then briefly |
| people around the world than any other. It can be | | | | enjoyed popularity as Auction Bridge, then ultimately |
| enjoyed by a casual group of friends that get together | | | | morphed into Contract Bridge which is the game we |
| only occasionally for an evening of cards, or it can be | | | | know today. |
| played more seriously at clubs, or in tournaments. | | | | Some variations of the game exist today: |
| Either way, you will find the game to be truly | | | | - Four Deal ( a.k.a. "Chicago") as the name suggests |
| fascinating, challenging, and most importantly, always | | | | last only four deals. Played with 52 cards. |
| enjoyable. | | | | - "Rubber" has no predetermined length, and is often |
| How did the game of Bridge evolve? Lets' look | | | | played for money. Played with 52 cards. |
| backwards from today and discover its' origins. When | | | | - "Duplicate" is where the same set of hands are dealt |
| one says they play Bridge today, it is generally | | | | and played by different sets of players. A game for at |
| assumed they are talking about Contract Bridge. This | | | | least eight players. Played with 52 cards. |
| version is the most popular variation of Bridge played | | | | - "Honeymoon" is designed for only two players. |
| today; other versions exist, but Contract has been the | | | | Played with 52 cards. |
| world leader for the past eighty years. We play Bridge | | | | Bridge cards are slightly narrower than traditional poker |
| today according to the scoring rules which were | | | | cards due to the fact that players are typically holding |
| developed by Harold Vanderbilt in the mid 1920s. For | | | | many cards in their hands at once, and are preferred |
| the 20 years or so that preceded Mr. Vanderbilts' | | | | by serious players. Finding a place to play Bridge |
| revolutionary scoring system, Auction (also known as | | | | should be no problem at all. nearly every town of any |
| Straight ) was all the rage. | | | | size has a local club already established. |
| If one goes further back in time, you will discover that | | | | |