The Setting Trick: Conversations with World Class Bridge Players: Recent Episodes
John McAllister
Hi, my name is John McAllister. I have spent the past six years playing bridge all around the world. My goal is to win a world championship. Doing so requires getting into the minds of the world's best players.
I can not think of a better, more fun way to do so, than to interview great bridge players and share their insights in podcast format.
In this captivating episode, John McAllister welcomes Tracy Brines, whose extraordinary background spans naval service, nuclear power plant operations, and competitive bridge. Tracy reveals engaging stories from his Navy days, shares intense experiences from his time managing nuclear power plant control rooms, and discusses how these high-stakes roles shaped his bridge-playing strategies. Tune in to explore Tracy's journey—from his introduction to bridge in college, navigating intense military deployments, to competing in national bridge tournaments alongside his wife.
Key Highlights:
- ⚓ From Navy to Nuclear: Tracy explains how rigorous Navy training prepared him for high-pressure roles in nuclear plant operations, where critical thinking and error prevention are paramount.
- 🔥 Critical Moments: Discover Tracy’s most intense experiences in nuclear operations, including emergency reactor shutdowns and managing complex safety protocols.
- 🃏 Bridge & Life Lessons: Tracy draws insightful parallels between nuclear safety protocols and bridge strategies, highlighting error prevention, risk assessment, and maintaining composure.
- 🏆 Competitive Drive: Listen to Tracy's experiences at national bridge events, including memorable matches against elite players, and his continuous pursuit of improvement.
- ❤️ Family and Bridge: Tracy shares humorous anecdotes about teaching bridge to his wife Maureen, their competitive dynamics, and their successes at tournaments.
Resources & Next Steps:
- Follow Tracy's bridge journey at upcoming national events, including the prestigious Spingold.
- Explore Tracy's recommended readings, such as Mike Lawrence’s bridge strategy books.
- 🎧 More Stories Like This – Subscribe to The Setting Trick wherever you listen to podcasts for more deep dives into the world of bridge.
- 📱 Follow @thesettingtrick – Stay connected on Instagram and for episode drops, tournament pics, and more.
In a special solo episode, John McAllister shares his own personal journey into the world of bridge. John takes listeners from his first bridge game with Aunt Kathleen to major tournament wins, highlighting the mentors, friends, and unexpected encounters that shaped his bridge career. Listen in for heartfelt anecdotes, insights into learning bridge, and John’s reflections on pivotal moments and memorable players he met along the way.
Key Highlights:
- 🎲 First Steps in Bridge: Discover how a casual game with family sparked John's lifelong passion for bridge.
- 🌉 Learning the Ropes: John recalls early mentorship from Chouky Neal and playing with promising talents like Jason Holderness.
- 🏆 Breakthrough Moments: Relive John's first significant tournament victory at the NABC and his ambitious venture into international competition.
- 🤝 Influential Connections: Hear stories about bridge legends and mentors like Gavin Wolpert, Jeff Hand, George Mittelman, and the late Eric Kokish.
- 💰 Rubber Bridge Adventures: John humorously shares his first encounter playing rubber bridge in London, meeting Zia Mahmood, and the memorable experience of cash winnings.
- 🌟 Major Wins: John reflects on his notable victories, including the Mitchell Board-a-Match, the Mixed Swiss, and the WBT Reykjavik Masters.
- 🃏 Friendship and Growth: Learn how playing with friends like Lilly Justman helped sharpen John’s competitive edge and joy for bridge.
Resources & Next Steps:
- Follow John’s upcoming journey at the European Championships.
- Explore John’s documentary Double Dummy for deeper insights into bridge.
- 🎧 More Stories Like This – Subscribe to The Setting Trick wherever you listen to podcasts for more deep dives into the world of bridge.
- 📱 Follow @thesettingtrick – Stay connected on Instagram and for episode drops, tournament pics, and more.
In this unforgettable episode, John McAllister sits down with Adam Grossack, fresh off his team's stunning victory in the US Open Trials. Adam shares candid stories from the tournament, detailing how his four-handed team navigated intense matches, strategic pairings, and unexpected twists to claim the prestigious USA-1 spot in the Bermuda Bowl. Dive into behind-the-scenes insights on the team dynamics, preparation tactics, and pivotal hands that shaped their incredible run.
Key Takeaways from This Episode: * 🎯 Strategic Team Building: Adam reveals why pairing with veteran Eddie Wold and allowing younger teammates Adam Kaplan and Finn to sort out their partnership proved crucial. * 🔥 Tension and Triumph: Relive intense matches against top teams like Nickel and Wolfson, and discover how Adam and his teammates maintained focus even during massive leads. * 👏 Celebrating Comebacks: Learn how Adam Kaplan's return to competitive bridge after a five-year hiatus helped propel the team to victory. * 😂 Behind the Scenes Humor: Adam shares hilarious anecdotes involving bridge legends, including humorous interactions with Jeff Meckstroth and Zia Mahmood. * 💍 Personal Milestones: Beyond bridge, Adam discusses wedding preparations, playing bridge with his fiancée, and the balancing act between professional and personal life.
Resources & Next Steps: * Follow the team's journey at the upcoming Bermuda Bowl in Denmark. + USBF Credentials Committee
- 🎧 More Stories Like This – Subscribe to The Setting Trick wherever you listen to podcasts for more deep dives into the world of bridge.
- 📱 Follow @thesettingtrick – Stay connected on Instagram and for episode drops, tournament pics, and more.
Ever feel like you have been cheated playing bridge online? Have you taken the time to report the pair by filing a player memo? Join John McAllister as he sits down with Jeff Edelstein, the ACBL recorder and a Grand Life Master, for a revealing conversation about the nuances of cheating detection, ethical prosecution, and the human stories behind bridge's biggest integrity challenges. From Edgar, the cutting-edge cheating detection software, to personal anecdotes and behind-the-scenes insights, this episode unpacks the complexities of keeping bridge fair, and human.
Key Takeaways from This Episode: * 🎖️ Grand Life Master: Jeff Edelstein shares his journey, including winning the North American Pairs with Matthew Weingarten. * 🧑⚖️ What Does a Recorder Do? – Edelstein explains his role in investigating player memos, and what happens once a complaint is filed. * 📊 Edgar's Precision – Learn about Edgar, a powerful detection software designed by Franco Baseggio and Brian Platnick, which analyzes bridge hands for cheating patterns. * 🕵️ Manual Investigation vs. Edgar – Edelstein describes the painstaking manual review process compared to Edgar’s lightning-fast analysis. * ⚠️ Real-life Consequences – Jeff shares the story of John’s misconduct, highlighting how disciplinary processes affect players. * ❤️ Compassion in Discipline – Edelstein discusses shifting from a strict disciplinary perspective to embracing compassion and rehabilitation. * 🗣️ Proper Conduct – What constitutes ethical breaches and how to appropriately address suspected cheating or misconduct at the table. * 🚨 Changes in ACBL Discipline – How Edgar has transformed disciplinary processes from handling a few cases monthly to managing hundreds.
Resources & Next Steps: * 🎧 More Stories Like This – Subscribe to The Setting Trick wherever you listen to podcasts for more deep dives into the world of bridge. * 📱 Follow @thesettingtrick – Stay connected on Instagram and for episode drops, tournament pics, and more.
What happens when a car rental mishap, a spur-of-the-moment bridge partnership, and a life-changing move from Iceland to Florida collide? You get Svenni Eiriksson, a bridge player whose story is equal parts hilarious, heartfelt, and deeply human. John McAllister sits down with his former partner and friend to relive the many twists, laughs, and breakthroughs of Svenni’s journey from Icelandic tournaments to an NABC win in the U.S.
More than just a fun loving, lover of laughing, Svenni impressed John, as his partner by pulling off a trump coup without breaking a sweat. Svenni shares how bridge shaped his life, his move, and his community.
Key Takeaways from This Episode: * 🎉 A Bridge Friendship for the Ages – John and Svenni met at the Icelandic Bridge Festival and went on to win their first NABC title as partners. * 🚗 The Infamous Car Rental Saga – A botched pickup turned Icelandic comedy of errors that somehow involved loaning one’s wife’s car to a virtual stranger. * 🏆 From 9 VPs to Victory – After a disastrous start in the Soloway, their comeback led to a dramatic NABC win at the Mitchell BAM. * 🇮🇸 Leaving Iceland for Bridge – Svenni moved to Florida for a directing job and ended up becoming a full-time pro player, thanks in part to the Cappelletti' hospitality. * 🤝 More Than Just Cards – From laughter to late-night dinners, Svenni reminds us that the best parts of bridge are often the people. * 🧠 Visualization and Technique – Why Trump Coups come easy to Svenni, and how different minds see bridge differently. * 🥶 Hot Springs and Spiked Tires – John and Svenni share Iceland travel stories, winter driving, and sausage shelf life. * 🏀 From OKC Fan to Life Philosopher – What NBA playoffs, bingo taunts, and emotional regulation all say about life at the table and beyond.
Resources & Next Steps: * 📘 Book Mentioned: 30 Minutes to Precision by C.C. Wei * 🎧 More Stories Like This – Subscribe to The Setting Trick wherever you listen to podcasts for more deep dives into the world of bridge. * 📱 Follow @thesettingtrick – Stay connected on Instagram and for episode drops, tournament pics, and more.
In this episode, John interviews Lynn Castoldi, fresh off two huge wins at the Spring NABC — the 10K Knockout Teams and the Women's Swiss Teams, the latter by a razor-thin margin of just 0.13 VPs. With her signature laugh, Lynn shares the stories behind her victories, her partnership with Ann Karin Fuglestad, and how she went from getting kicked out of bridge lessons at a senior center to becoming a national champion. Along the way, we hear about bridge cruises, recruiting Egyptian pros on BBO, and the stylish team scarves that helped tie it all together.
Whether she's playing with a world-class junior or her long-time partner the “Minister of Defense,” Lynn brings enthusiasm, optimism, and a love of the game that’s totally contagious.
Key Takeaways from This Episode: 🥇 Lynn won two events at the Spring NABC — including her first 10K title after finishing second the year before 🧣 Her Women's Swiss team wore matching scarves — her signature touch as team captain 🎲 She met her mixed partner Aly by chance on Bridge Base during COVID 💥 One highlight of the Women’s Swiss: a gutsy 4♠ bid leading to a +1100 against a pro 🌎 Lynn played international events like Four Jacks in Dubai, repping the US 🧠 She's constantly learning — like practicing hand patterns and soaking up insights from partners like Greg Hinze and Christian Lahrmann 😂 Her signature laugh is well-known, and she isn’t afraid to bring humor and lightness to even the most competitive tables
Resources & Next Steps: * 🎧 More Stories Like This – Subscribe to The Setting Trick wherever you listen to podcasts for more deep dives into the world of bridge.
📱 Follow @thesettingtrick – Stay connected on Instagram and for episode drops, tournament pics, and more.
In this episode, John sits down with Dennis Bilde, one of Denmark’s top bridge talents and a player with a reputation for being both formidable at the table and fun to be around. Dennis shares stories of missing flights, winning world championships, and his early card-playing days before discovering bridge. The conversation dives into partnership dynamics, life with two young kids, and how Danish coffee might be the bridge world's best-kept secret. From his time on the Lavazza team to his upcoming appearance at the Bermuda Bowl on home soil, Dennis reflects on what it means to grow, both as a player and a person.
Key Takeaways from This Episode: 🏆 Dennis won the 2008 Junior World Championship—after failing to qualify for the under-21 trials
🍷 Known for being a slow drinker, he’s still a favorite drinking buddy of Zia’s
🎲 He and Zia played 5NT in each of their first two tournaments together
🇩🇰 He’ll represent Denmark at the 2025 Bermuda Bowl, alongside his longtime partner Martin Schaltz
🧸 Father of two, Dennis talks candidly about balancing bridge with family life
🧠 On his first try at Rubber Bridge in New York, he walked away with $3,500 after reluctantly agreeing to play $1 per point
☕️ What’s a Danish coffee? Let’s just say you might need a solo cup…
🎄 His time with the Lavazza team included Christmas dinners at Maria Teresa Lavazza’s home
Resources & Next Steps: 🎧 More Stories Like This – Subscribe to The Setting Trick wherever you listen to podcasts for more deep dives into the world of bridge.
📱 Follow @thesettingtrick – Stay connected on Instagram and for episode drops, tournament pics, and more.
Andrew Robson describes Dennis as the best player in Denmark
My guest today is Adrienne Carter. She claims to be an aspiring bridge player. I know her from working with her as a performance coach and mindset specialist. She has worked across industries with everyone from CEOs to poker players, and has seen a recent uptick in interested golf players following her appearance on the Chasing Scratch podcast.
I reached out to Adrienne’s company, Primed Mind, in September of 2022 at the recommendation of my friend and former Setting Trick guest Nabil Edgtton, who used Primed Mind’s hypnosis services to improve his performance. You can listen to my conversation with Nabil here: https://www.thesettingtrick.com/episode-26-nabil-edgtton
You can learn more about Adrienne’s work here: https://primedmind.com/adriennecarter/
Here’s an affiliate link to Primed Mind for Setting Trick listeners: https://primedmind.com/thesettingtrick/
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Episode Highlights:
4:44 – Adrienne likes working with professionals across industries and getting a taste of her clients’ work.
7:47 – “The methodology matters, but less than you think.”
14:21 – Adrienne says that every board should be treated as practice for the next one, and to avoid ruminating on mistakes.
20:16 – Evolving alongside the game
21:09 – The path to the Bermuda Bowl
30:31 – How hypnosis helps you tune into the reactions in your body
36:23 – Setting your expectations and process
44:30 – Adrienne started her career as an occupational therapist, but fell in love with poker.
53:33 – Hypnosis deals with the part of your brain that processes feelings before you consciously notice them, making hypnosis a deeply emotional process.
57:04 – The difference between occupational therapy and hypnosis
1:05:59 – Adrienne’s mother is a bridge player.
1:10:21 – “I’m so grateful to have found poker when I did.”
1:13:29 – Adrienne says that regret happens when you make a decision out of obligation, and that decisiveness helps to prevent regret.
1:20:53 – The bar for success moves throughout a tournament as you advance and increase your expectations.
1:28:31 – Adrienne’s kids are also learning through sports and games. She sees both as an opportunity to teach them about decision making.
My guest today is Stefan Scorchev, a bridge player, friend, and the creator of IntoBridge. For those who are unaware, IntoBridge is a free platform for online bridge games. In his childhood, Stefan learned the value of online bridge as he spent hours playing bridge every day, and found that playing bridge online encouraged him compete at in-person tournaments.
Stefan is the first Bulgarian guest I’ve had on the show, and I fist met him in 2012 when he played on the Bulgarian team in the Junior Nationals. We talk about in-person and virtual bridge, the unique features of IntoBridge that borrow from modern gaming, and what it’s like to run a bridge startup.
You can learn more about IntoBridge on its website: https://intobridge.com/
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Episode Highlights:
4:58 – Stefan played bridge online constantly in his childhood, and moved into in-person tournaments at seventeen. He says he played bridge as much as fifteen hours a day.
12:05 – Stefan says he is the strangest looking person at tournaments because he always wears his IntoBridge merchandise.
16:05 – “We focused on inventing something that has the potential that you close it immediately and continue whenever you can.”
17:35 0:54 – Ranked matchups on IntoBridge
24:17 – The Daily exists to give people a reason to return to IntoBridge every day.
28:47 – Stefan has a lot of ideas for new bridge formats unique to IntoBridge
32:45 – Some unfortunate mis-clicks
40:12 – Bridge marketing is difficult, so word of mouth has been the best marketing channel for IntoBridge
48:22 – Running a startup is difficult as investors and employees rely on the performance of the business
56:46 – Having access to a free bridge platform as a kid was game-changing for Stefan.
57:59 – One great aspect of online bridge is that it naturally leads people into in-person bridge, encouraging them to meet more people.
1:02:41 – Stefan’s Fiance, Desi, is coming to the US Nationals for the first time.
In this episode of The Setting Trick, John welcomes his friend and bridge phenom Ami Zamir—one half of the ACBL’s top-ranked pair of 2023. From winning major events to missing the final session of a national championship for the birth of his daughter, Ami shares the highs, the heart, and the hustle of life as a rising star in the world of competitive bridge.
Ami opens up about his journey from high school sweethearts to fatherhood, his chess obsession, and what it’s like to chase glory across Europe and the U.S. with partner Oren Telodano. The two discuss how talking through hands (even off the clock) sharpens their game, the emotional rollercoaster of playing for national teams, and how coffee routines and NBA fandoms keep life on the road a little saner.
Plus, you’ll hear what it was like to almost win ACBL Player of the Year—and why Ami is still laughing about it.
Key Takeaways from This Episode: 👶 Bridge Meets Baby – Ami skipped the Reisinger finals when his daughter was born early. The team understood, proving real partnership goes beyond the table.
🏆 From Platinum Pairs to the Fishbein Trophy – Ami and Oren's standout 2023 included back-to-back top finishes and winning the most masterpoints at the Summer NABC.
🔥 Fights Happen, Wins Follow – After their biggest argument as partners, a long dinner conversation led to a tournament victory. Communication is key.
🎯 Pressure Is a Privilege – Whether tied in a Bermuda Bowl quarter final or in contention for Player of the Year, Ami thrives under pressure—and prefers it that way.
🧠 Daily Debriefs - Practice – Ami and Oren’s bridge “training” often centers around conversations—not drills. Talking through scenarios helps them stay aligned.
👟 Hoops, Habits, and Vegan Hacks – Ami shares his basketball battles with Adi, his vegan-at-home/freestyle-abroad food rule, and his partnership’s coffee ritual.
Resources & Next Steps: 📅 Follow the European Open in Poznań – Ami and Oren will be competing with an English team in this major event.
🎧 More Stories Like This – Subscribe to The Setting Trick wherever you listen to podcasts for more deep dives into the world of bridge.
📱 Follow @thesettingtrick – Stay connected on Instagram and for episode drops, tournament pics, and more.
Ep. 87 Tuva Nilsmark: BridgeQueen
Today’s guest is Tuva Nilsmark, who goes by BridgeQueen on YouTube. As a bridge lover and social media user, Tuva saw a gap in the YouTube landscape for bridge videos that are light, short, easy to understand, and fun to watch. She fills that gap with her tutorials and weekly Funbridge Friday videos, hoping to inspire new players to hone their skills.
Bridge isn’t just community for Tuva – it’s a part of her family. Tuva’s boyfriend is Simon Ekenberg, whom she met through bridge. She also picked up bridge as a teenager to play with her grandparents, whom she promptly abandoned for stronger players.
Boye Brogeland suggested I interview Tuva for this episode. You can listen to my conversation with Boye here: https://www.thesettingtrick.com/https/thesettingtricklibsyncom/ep-84-boye-brogeland-bridge-at-the-edge-and-in-person
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You can follow Tuva on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/bridge.queen/?hl=en
Tuva’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@bridgequeen
Episode Highlights:
2:00 – Tuva is in a fantasy football league with her boyfriend Simon Ekenberg other bridge players: “Really good bridge players; they suck at fantasy football though.”
4:58 –Tuva started her YouTube channel recently, to a largely positive reception. You can watch her videos here: https://www.youtube.com/@bridgequeen
8:14 – How Tuva got started in bridge
11:19 – Tuva’s father is the captain of the Swedish Open
12:48 – The first time Tuva saw Simon
15:14 – As if her bridge-playing family wasn’t enough, you might also know of Tuva’s mother, Catrin Nilsmark, who is a golfer and two-time captain of the European Solheim Cup Team.
22:15 – With her Funbridge Fridays series, Tuva hopes to show a different side of bridge. She wants to counter the overly serious image that bridge can have.
29:17 – Tuva and Simon played a bridge and golf event and beat Ola Rimstedt.
36:30 – Tuva’s first partner was her father
42:32 – The BridgeQueen YouTube channel has a video called “Learn Bridge in only Three Minutes:” https://youtu.be/MxWO8EFujbw?feature=shared
49:01 – The most pressure Tuva has felt playing bridge so far
55:04 – Tuva’s ultimate goal is to win the Venice cup
58:55 – Another long term goal of Tuva’s is beating Simon
Today’s guest is Drew Cavalier, a bridge player who lives in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2022, Drew won the Wernher Open Paris with Christian Jolly, who Drew describes as one of the smartest people he’s ever met. We discuss his bridge mentors and partners, the highs and lows of competitive bridge, and some of Drew’s most memorable hands.
Drew played in an online speedball with Owen Lien, another podcast guest, and had an extremely impressive score. You can listen to that episode here: https://www.thesettingtrick.com/https/thesettingtricklibsyncom/episode-81-owen-lien-does-it-all-in-bridge
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Episode Highlights:
4:00 – How Drew ended up playing with Disa Eythorsdottir at sectionals
9:09 – Drew has been lucky with mentors
19:02 – Drew’s disaster Imp Pairs hand. Learn more about the Imp Pairs format: https://www.bridgewebs.com/wncunit171/ImpPairs.pdf
23:10 – “This is the most important moment of my bridge career.”
30:10 – Dan Lev and Drew Cavalier played in Vegas recently. They led on Blue Ribbons on their first day, but they did not make it to day three. Drew speaks highly of Dan as a partner.
36:32 – Drew’s long term goal is winning a long-form knockout.
38:40 – The first time Drew and Christian Jolly played together, and “the only thing” Drew ever taught Jolly.
42:33 – One of Drew’s favorite bridge hands
45:44 – “When we won the Wernher, we discussed the system for fifteen minutes beforehand.”
46:55 – Drew’s experience at The Gold Coast Congress, and why he loves Australia.
50:55 – Bridge overseas and language barriers
56:49 – Why it’s important to have a growth mindset in bridge
Today’s guest is bridge player turned burgeoning social media star Jason Hackett, also known as Prime Mutton. A frequent traveler, guinness reviewer, and 2019 Eurotransnational winner, Hackett and I had much to discuss. We talk about the strangest food he’s tried during his travels, how he broke out on YouTube and Instagram, and his favorite bridge formats.
Jason’s mother Olivia introduced him and his twin brother to bridge at eleven years old. Though Jason does not discuss bridge much on his social media channels, he is a formidable opponent. He beat Boye Brogeland and Geir Helgemo in the Euro Juniors in 1994 and has represented England in the European Championships many times. Of bridge, he said “I just enjoy playing, it does not matter with whom.” You can read more about Jason in his recent Esquire feature.
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Episode Highlights:
4:59 – Eating brains, grasshoppers, and more
6:25 – Jason’s travel stats, and the types of places he likes to visit
8:51 – Where did the name come from? You can read more about the origins of Prime Mutton in this article
9:50 – Is Guinness better if it's flowing more?
12:10 – Hackett’s longest tenured partnerships in bridge even though they support opposite Manchester football clubs
16:41 – You need to watch some of Jason’s cameos. The products on his website are also fantastic, especially this pillow on his website - “you never get wet in the pub!”
21:15 – Jason explains how his YouTube channel took off
30:30 – Why Jason’s preferred bridge format is pairs
40:46 – The types of places where Prime Mutton gets recognized
48:41 – How Jason edits his videos
55:27 – Jason’s love for bridge started in his teens
57:40 – Rubber bridge
1:03:30 – You can keep up with Prime Mutton on his website
1:06:22 – How Jason learned to tell a good pint from a bad one
Boye Brogeland is a force to be reckoned with. He holds the World Grand Master title, with three European Open Championship wins under his belt, as well as several North American championships. He also played a prominent role in uncovering the Fisher and Schwartz cheating scandal when he noticed that his opponents were taking risks that would not make sense unless they knew the cards his team held. We discuss how he got into bridge, some of his most memorable competitions, and his role in the scandal.
In preparation for this conversation, Boye asked me to get on the World Bridge Tour App. I was reluctant at first, but when you get to interview someone like Boye, you follow orders. I played a couple virtual tournaments on the app before the events started in Iceland, and I highly recommend it. You get to play against Simon Holt, Sartaj Hans, and many more players, and compare your results. Check out the app here: https://www.wbtbridge.com/
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Episode Highlights:
2:12 – Boye’s first event on the Open team
8:46 – Boye’s grandparents taught him bridge
11:04 – Writing bridge books, which Boye says is the most work he’s ever done for the least pay
12:07 – The most memorable hand of Boye’s career
17:54 – The unique method that Boye used to memorize the best plays
21:32 – How Boye won Vanderbilt in 2022
32:55 – Boye doesn’t like the sheriff label he was given during the Fisher and Schwartz cheating scandal; he thinks of himself as more of a concerned citizen. You can read more about the scandal here: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/may/05/lotan-fisher-bridge-cheating-scandal-2015-documentary
42:53 – The backlash Boye faced during the scandal, and how he got away from it
46:15 – “They stole our name!”
Brian Reynolds is an LA-based bridge teacher who, with his wife, Samantha, runs an educational website, The Bridge Teachers. They specialize in teaching people who’ve “never touched a deck of cards.”
That’s how they got recommended to the production team for the bridge documentary film, “The Kids Table.” That initial meeting dramatically altered the film’s storyline. One player quit on the spot!
As a bridge pro, Brian is refreshingly candid about his bridge ability. This conversation covers a broad range of topics.
Today on The Setting Trick, we’re thrilled to welcome Richard Zeckhauser, a towering figure whose expertise spans both economics and competitive bridge. A professor at Harvard Kennedy School, Richard has spent decades exploring the complexities of decision-making, risk, and strategic behavior. His groundbreaking work has shaped the fields of economics and public policy, offering insights into how we assess uncertainty in everything from health to finance. But his talents extend beyond the classroom—he’s also a highly accomplished bridge player, with two North American Bridge Championships to his name, including the prestigious Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs. Join us as we dive into Richard’s unique perspectives on strategy, risk, and the fascinating intersections between his professional work and his passion for bridge.
John McAllister chats with 35-year-old Owen Lien of Oak Park MI about Junior Bridge, directing on BBO, playing professionally and reaching highs and lows in national events. Owen has won two limited NABC events: The 10K Swiss in 2016 and the 0–5000 Mini Spingold in 2009. He was second in those same events in 2014 and 2007.
A Platinum Life Master with over 18,000 masterpoints – 10,000 of them gold and 2100 platinum – Owen is a hardworking player who loves the game and still plays for fun at the club.
Matthew Granovetter is a six-time NABC champion. He also won a world championship, the Mixed Pairs, in 2006. He is a popular author and teacher, along with his wife, Pamela. They are best known for their theories on bidding via their system GUS (Granovetter Unified System) and their books on defensive play.
Matthew is Hasidic (a branch of Orthodox Judaism); his spirituality is woven throughout his life and bridge – the two are inseparable. His latest book on Method Bridge is his proudest contribution to the game.
Just before the Toronto NABC, John sat down with Ladawna Parham, executive director of the ACBL Educational Foundation, and Bronia Jenkins, executive director of the ACBL. Jenkins, “one year in,” still has the energy and vision she started with, if not more. Parham, who took the position in November, has had to start from the ground up, with no bridge experience (although she did do her own research prior to getting the job). She is amazed at the depth and vitality of the bridge world.
Listen to how these two women are working together within their organizations to engage and empower those who want to bring bridge to the masses.
John welcomes back his first-ever guest, Gavin Wolpert, a seven-time NABC winner, including the 2021 Soloway Knockout and the 2005 Blue Ribbon Pairs with his wife, Jenny, and a two-time bronze medal winner in Open World Championships. Gavin is one of the internet's favorite Bridge teachers, using interactive problems to allow students to make mistakes and learn from them, emphasizing practice as an essential component in becoming a better bridge player, and implementing technology to provide opportunities for targeted practice.
Gavin shares his thoughts on the need for more structured and accessible bridge programs for kids and families at national tournaments. He discusses the importance of enticing kids to play bridge and creating a fun environment for them, and that bridge can help kids develop respect for older people and learn how to interact with them better.
Today, my guest is in-demand tournament player, winner of one of Bridge’s crown jewels, the 2022 Vanderbilt, club owner, multiple club owner, and Junior Bridge mentor extraordinaire, Aaron Silverstein.
Aaron played in the first ever Junior World Championships in 1987, and his daughter, Avery, playing on a team that he mentored, won a silver medal in the 2023 Junior World Championships. See just how much has changed when it comes to Junior Bridge.
Getting Aaron’s perspective as a club owner was really insightful for me, and I think you’ll be surprised at who Aaron wants to partner when he plays in one of his own club games.
Finally, Aaron is very candid about what it’s like to have his main tournament partner win a mixed world championship without him, and playing in tournaments at the highest level, and I think provides some great insight into how to think about your own partnership and teammates.
My guest is Simon de Wijs from the Netherlands. Simon has a great bridge resume. He has won the Bermuda Bowl, the Olympiad, the mixed World Championship, and multiple European championships. He is a mainstay on the Dutch national team, always one of the favorites in open competition.
At the recent Louisville NABC, Simon showed up with his twin 19-year-old daughters, who are budding experts. Find out how his relationship with them has changed since they got the bridge bug (by the way they made the Dutch mixed team for the upcoming European championships).
Recently at the NABCs, Simon has been playing on the Goodman team. They are one of the hottest teams in the world, having made it to the semifinals of the last two Vanderbilts and the last Soloway.
Today my guest is Brian Platnick. He’s a world champion (1991 World Junior Teams and 2010 Rosenblum Cup) with six NABC+ titles, including two Spingold wins (2010, 2017) and a victory in the Blue Ribbon Pairs (2012).
Brian is a perfect example of what inspires this podcast: the opportunity to have longer-form conversations with fascinating bridge players. The genesis for this episode was getting eliminated from the United States Bridge Championships, by Brian’s team, for the second year in a row. I had too much fun talking with Brian and wasn’t focused enough on winning!
If you've ever wondered if you're a world-class player, Brian has a formula for deciding (Hint, I’m not.) He also speaks candidly about where he sees himself amongst some of the best in the game.
We talk about EDGAR (Everyone Deserves a Game Above Reproach), the anti-cheating software that he and Franco Baseggio have created that is now in use, testing an incredible number of online deals.
Anyone who likes hearing me laugh will greatly enjoy this episode. Brian kept cracking me up!
Today, we're debuting a new format called Event Review, where my partner and I get together and discuss some of the most amusing incidents and some of the best and worst plays from a recent event. It's going to be shorter than my typical long-form interview and also, hopefully, just kind of fun.
I'm speaking with my partner for the District 6 Grand National Teams Qualifying sessions, Sophia Baldysz, a champion player from Poland with many medals in world events, and also my teammate from the 2023 NABC+ Mixed Swiss.
Episode 73: Rise and Fly! Lamont Jones and The Gist of Bid Whist
Normally, this is a Bridge podcast, but today my guest is Bid Whist evangelist Lamont Jones. Lamont recently published the book called The Gist of Bid Whist culminating a project he began in earnest in 2012. He's on a mission to share his love for Bid Whist with a wider audience.
If you've ever been curious about Bid Whist, as I have been recently, Lamont and I go through a lot of the differences as well as the similarities between Bid Whist and Bridge. One of the things we don't have in Bridge is trash talk, and that seems to be a huge part of the Bid Whist culture. Whether it's trash-talking about taking your opponents to Boston or telling them to rise and fly, I definitely think Bid Whist has Bridge beat when it comes to talking smack.
I could not believe when I read in The Gist of Bid Whist that none other than Bob Hamman said, "Bid Whist is more complex than Bridge." My question to you as a listener, is that a good thing? Overall I've just found Lamont to be a super positive, delightful person, and I'll hope you enjoy engaging with him as I did.
John shares his experience of being hired to play bridge professionally for the first time. He talks about meeting and playing with a new partner and the challenges they faced. He also discusses the pressure and self-consciousness he felt as a bridge pro and how he overcame it to improve his performance and gain confidence.
Today’s guest is Denmark's Morten Bilde. In addition to being a world-class bridge player with a win and a second in the U.S. Vanderbilt, Morten left his day job in 2015 to focus on getting bridge in the schools in Denmark. Stay tuned to find out why Morten says that's the best job he's ever had, as well as what the challenges are in that undertaking. Morten and his wife, Dorte met through bridge and their son, Dennis, is a real bridge superstar.
The three of them teamed up at the recent Icelandic Bridge Festival and won the team event for both the festival and the World Bridge Tour event, which preceded it. Those of you with children might be interested to learn how Morten approached teaching Dennis the game. If you've got a passion for introducing youth to bridge like I do, then Morten is your guy. He's happy to answer any of your questions, and he gives his email address towards the end of our conversation. Please enjoy my conversation with Morten Bilde.
My guest today is Matthew Brown. Matt has been my partner for the last two North American Bridge Championships and for the upcoming March NABC in Louisville.
Matt’s partnership with Michael Whibley on team New Zealand has pulled off some big time wins and upsets. Stay tuned to hear how they went from zero to being one of the best pairs in the world.
As his partner, I’m happy to put down the dummy for Matt to play. As his teammate, I’m delighted for him to be playing a difficult contract.
See if you can see why I think our temperaments are quite different.
Ever wonder about the theme music that accompanies The Setting Trick and Double Dummy? Listen to this bonus episode, the first of John telling stories about the genesis of his bridge media.
The Setting Trick Episode 68 Game On – The Card Game Bridge Needs More People Like Steve Raine John McAllister talks with Steve Raine, a bridge player, vlogger and gaming café owner who lives in Nottingham, England. His video blogs about attending bridge tournaments and subsequent board review have earned him fans across the globe. You’re going to want to stick around to hear the new end-of-show question as suggested by Steve’s partner at the Atlanta NABC, Adam Hickman, aka Gizzy. We’re planning on making it a staple of the show going forward. Listen to Steve’s surprising and inspiring answer. Hint: it wasn’t about himself!
The North American Bridge Championships are truly an experience that brings people together. Walt Shafer, who runs an eponymous, invitation-only game online, hosted a party for the participants at the Atlanta NABC. John, who plays in the game, attended and met Bonnie Gellas, who was there because her partner, Erez Hendelman, plays in the game. The two hit it off and now Bonnie, who is a bridge teacher, is a guest on the show.
Bonnie lives in NYC and is responsible for teaching bridge to hundreds of players.
Alex Kolesnik: Bridge Dad +
Move over, Soccer Moms, there’s a new game in town. Alex Kolesnik and his wife, Sharon Beynon, are California-based professors who play bridge. Somehow, they got both of their children interested in playing bridge too. Now ages 25 and 19, Emma and Finn are top-ranked players.
Alex, a Platinum Life Master, describes his journey as a husband, professor, player and father, encouraging his kids in all their endeavors, maintaining balance and keeping perspective.
The Setting Trick
Episode 65: Nathan Gong – A Junior Ambassador for New Bridge Players
Seattle-area teenager Nathan Gong has distinguished himself as an excellent bridge player at regionals, NABCs, and, this summer, his first World Youth Championships. He’s also getting noticed as a teacher, having started bridge clubs in middle and high school. With his family and the support of the bridge-playing community, Nathan has helped to teach and mentor a group of kids – and even get some of their parents to learn bridge.
Amber Lin has already achieved a lifetime of success at age 26. A national champion and two-time world champion medalist (including gold in Morocco just a few weeks ago), Amber has found the time to develop as a bridge player, mentor and coach others, intern with the ACBL Educational Foundation, and work full-time as an energy consultant at Bain & Company. Listen to Amber’s amazing trajectory via the USBF Junior Training Program and the benefits of mentorship and learning together with friends.
TST Episode 63: Katie Sullivan is not pumping the brakes
Katie Sullivan, as a second-year student at the University of Virginia, has infused her love of bridge with her college experience, starting an officially recognized student organization and recruiting other college kids into competitive bridge. Hear about her meteoric rise in the game and her plans for UVA world domination.
3:47 “Chalk it up” – how creative marketing got Katie needed contacts to create a bridge club.
10:50 Obtaining CIO status and how the club fair was a game-changer.
12:26 Trumpet players and bridge. Who knew?
17:09 Hoos Playing Bridge on Instagram.
18:50 Trying to teach the fundamentals, struggling with supplies. Creating slide presentations.
28:21 A shout-out to any UVA alumni who might want to help. Many students have branched out to playing sanctioned events at clubs. Katie is proud.
32:51 Katie, in her first year of college at Amherst, meets Michael Xu.
38:41 Recovering from a painful misbid by partner.
49:06 After success at the World Youth Teams Championships, Katie plans to get “seriously serious.”
53:40 Loving the postmortem.
1:05 Katie encourages all youth bridge players to plan on attending UVA when it’s time for college.
Katie’s article on Bridge Winners about starting a bridge club at college.
Hoos Playing Bridge on Instagram.
Katie’s first BW post: a love letter.
Katie in the New Orleans NABC Daily Bulletin.
Like cards? Play bridge!
The Setting Trick
Episode 62: Patty Tucker, Youthful Enthusiast.
Patty Tucker might be responsible for creating more new bridge players than anyone on the planet. From developing teaching materials and running a non-profit to her new endeavor - getting bridge to be part of the curriculum in schools - Patty channels her love of the game into energy to keep it alive.
How bridge changed Patty’s life at age 11, finding her niche.
The origin of Atlanta Junior Bridge, how the camps became the Youth NABC.
The challenges of school systems and connecting with teachers.
A teacher in Lebanon KY inspired Patty’s new endeavor, Jump Start Bridge, resulting in 40 kids learning bridge via an afterschool program.
Patty’s amazement at the lack of knowledge of what bridge is; finding a way to spread the word via conferences, including the International Society for Technology and Education, which included tech giants like Microsoft and Google, reaching over 12,000 attendees and raising visibility.
Patty keeps learning: What to do differently for future conferences.
On feeling overwhelmed or “out of her element” with the enormity of the tasks of marketing her plan.
Don’t tell Patty, “It can’t be done.”
How bridge can connect people, creating lifelong friendships, even if you only see one another three times a year at NABCs. Kids deserve that too.
Patty’s three wishes (OK, only two).
How Patty learned to play bridge, and a story of a defining moment in her bridge life.
Why John will never be Goodwill Member of the Year.
Patty’s legacy.
How not everyone is cut out to be a bridge teacher.
Patty’s third wish.
Patty’s pre-game ritual and advice.
Links:
Atlanta Junior Bridge
https://atlantajuniorbridge.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFmp595UdNs
Jump Start Bridge
https://atlantajuniorbridge.org/jumpstart/
The Power of Bridge in Schools
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J8A-za2Wpc
The Setting Trick
Episode 61: Sartaj Hans Keeps Getting Better
This week's guest is many-time Australian national champion Sartaj Hans. Originally from India, Sartaj has several high finishes in NABC events, including making the semifinal of the recent Spingold Knockout Teams in Chicago, where he played four-handed with partner Andy Hung and teammates Nabil Edgtton and Michael Whibley.
John had his first big knockout match win in the 2014 Spingold teaming with Sartaj to beat the then 7th- seeded Cayne team.
Sartaj’s book, Battling the Best, won the 2107 IBPA Book of the Year award. He also won the declarer play of the year in 2019. On top of all that, he has a successful career and is married to fellow tournament bridge player Sophie Ashton; they have two young daughters.
Sartaj discusses the psychology of bridge and how belief can make you a better player.
The need for developing a way to categorize bridge mistakes because bridge problems have so much variance.
Why postmortems are “rubbish.”
Sartaj hits upon a hot-button issue: playing top-level events on computers.
A couple of book recommendations from Sartaj.
Sartaj’s belief that focusing too much on system in a casual partnership is not effective.
In bridge, everyone has a chance to win.
Working on improving and how even experts have coaches and mentors.
Finally, Sartaj philosophizes on enjoying the process.
Read Sartaj’s post on Bridge Winners about playing on tablets:
https://bridgewinners.com/article/view/the-case-for-tablets/
Sartaj Hans’ book, Battling the Best:
https://www.baronbarclay.com/battling-the-best/
Sartaj Hans wins Declarer Play of the Year:
https://www.abf.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2020_IBPA_Declarer_Play_of_the_Year.pdf
This week's episode of the Setting Trick podcast features Tom Hanlon, an accomplished bridge player with a remarkable track record in the game. One of his favorite bridge memories is winning the European Silver Medal in 2006, a significant achievement that highlights his skill and dedication. Tom has formed a strong partnership with Hugh McGann, a regular bridge partner who shares his passion for the game. Together, they have built a successful collaboration, leveraging their skills and strategic thinking to achieve notable results. Overall, Tom Hanlon's bridge journey is marked by his passion for the game and consistent pursuit of excellence continues to make him a respected figure in the bridge world.
During today's discussion, Tom talks about the global bridge discussions, where he exchanges ideas, shares insights, and collaborates with players worldwide. Also, Tom navigates the trials of decision-making and shares valuable insights into compelling gameplay. Tom shares his experiences to gain a deeper understanding of the strategic elements that drive success in the game.
Moreover, Tom reflects on his favorite tournament experiences, reliving triumphs, challenges, and personal growth moments. Lastly, discover the power of friendship and partnership as Tom celebrates many years of collaboration with his trusted bridge companion.
The Setting Trick
Episode 58
Olivia Schireson - Next Gen
Olivia and John talk about how they met and the opportunity to play on a last-minute team together at the Providence NABC.
Olivia’s mantra, “the two C’s,” confidence (and competence) – “never play bridge scared.”
The Cinderella Mixed Team at the US Team Trials.
Bay Area Junior Bridge, the Rosenbergs, Will Watson, rooting for friends.
Getting the best out of oneself.
John and Olivia discuss having their plays written up on Bridge Winners.
Playing “What Are The Odds” at the World Championships in Poland.
Can you guess Olivia’s favorite dance move?
Plans for the future. Starbucks?
More US Trials.
The best dad ever.
Olivia’s brother and the case of the mistaken identity.
This week's episode of the Setting Trick podcast features Tom Hanlon, an accomplished bridge player with a remarkable track record in the game. One of his favorite bridge memories is winning the European Silver Medal in 2006, a significant achievement that highlights his skill and dedication. In recognition of his accomplishments and commitment to the bridge, Tom has attained the rank of Life Master in the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). This ranking is a testament to his skills, experience, and commitment to the game.
Tom has formed a strong partnership with Hugh McGann, a regular bridge partner who shares his passion for the game. Together, they have built a successful collaboration, leveraging their skills and strategic thinking to achieve notable results. Overall, Tom Hanlon's bridge journey is marked by remarkable accomplishments, memorable moments, and enduring partnerships. His passion for the game and consistent pursuit of excellence continues to make him a respected figure in the bridge world.
During today's discussion, Tom shares about the global bridge discussions, where he exchanges ideas, shares insights, and collaborates with players worldwide. Also, we uncover the intricacies of bidding strategies and logical reasoning in the bridge as Tom navigates the trials of decision-making and shares valuable insights into compelling gameplay. Tom shares his experiences to gain a deeper understanding of the strategic elements that drive success in the game.
Moreover, Tom reflects on his favorite tournament experiences, reliving triumphs, challenges, and personal growth moments. Lastly, discover the power of friendship and partnership as Tom celebrates many years of collaboration with his trusted bridge companion.
Hence don't miss out on this captivating episode, where Tom's stories and experiences will ignite your passion for bridge and leave you with a renewed appreciation for the power of friendship, dedication, and the thrill of the game.
[01:32] Tom's Nickname: The Story Behind Tom's Nickname
[07:14] Bridge Adventures: Partnering Up and Chasing Success
[08:38] Bridge Bonding: Coffee, Conversations, and Learning Through Play
[10:22] Global Bridge Discussions: Exchanging Ideas and Solving Problems
[12:14] The Trials: Bidding Strategies and Logic in Bridge
[18:36] Bridging Passions: Tom's Favorite Tournament Experiences
[20:19] Fostering Friendship and Success: Years Old Partnership
Connect with Tom:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tom-hanlon-88822a82/?originalSubdomain=ie
Today, my guest is Selena Pepić. She is a computer science graduate from ETH Zurich, a rates trader at JP Morgan in Paris, and a member of the Serbian national mixed, women's, and junior teams. She won the gold medal at the World Youth Open Championship in Opatija 2015 (girls U26), the bronze medal at the World University Championship in Lodz in 2016, and also won an event at the Junior World Championship in 2016. Join us as we talk about Selena’s background, playing bridge in Paris, her thoughts on the American bridge community, winning women’s events, and more.
[04.11] Missing bridge – Selena shares the reason behind quitting bridge for 2 years at university.
[21.03] Problems – Selena shares why she loves talking about bidding problems in bridge playing.
[25.10] First partner – We talk about the relationship between Selena and her first partner Giovanni.
[47.19] Playing blackjack – Selena dives into the story of playing blackjack for the first time.
[1:01.19] Novi Sad Bridge Festival – We talk about the Novi Sad Bridge festival happening between April 28th to May 2nd of 2023.
Resources
Connect with Selena
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/selena-pepic/
bridgewinners.com/profile/selena-pepic/
bridgescanner.com/event/novi-sad-bridge-festival-2023
web.facebook.com/novisadbridge/
Today, my guest is Selena Pepić. She is a computer science graduate from ETH Zurich, a rates trader at JP Morgan in Paris, and a member of the Serbian national mixed, women's, and junior teams. She won the gold medal at the World Youth Open Championship in Opatija 2015 (girls U26), the bronze medal at the World University Championship in Lodz in 2016, and also won an event at the Junior World Championship in 2016. Join us as we talk about Selena’s background, playing bridge in Paris, her thoughts on the American bridge community, winning women’s events, and more.
[04.08] Selena’s background – We start the conversation with a brief bio about Selena and her first junior world bridge championship in 2016.
[10.27] Bridge in Paris – Selena talks about playing bridge in Paris and how the division system works.
[20.51] American Sponsor – Selena shares the story of how she met Steve, her American sponsor.
[23.37] Expectations – Selena’s thoughts on the American bridge community as national champions
[31.55] Women’s Event – We talk about Selena’s thoughts on winning a women’s event in New Orleans.
[35.20] Professional Events – Selena talks about the professional bridge events & culture in Europe before the USA
[41.13] Playing with Family & Friends – Selena talks about how she played card games with her grandparents and later with high school friends.
[50.09] Catan – A multiplayer board game
Resources
Connect with Selena
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/selena-pepic/
bridgewinners.com/profile/selena-pepic/
Greg Humphreys, a talented software engineer and accomplished bridge player features in this episode of The Setting Trick. He is the winner of the Mott-Smith Trophy at the recent spring North American Bridge championships, a three-time North American champion, and the best bridge player in Charlottesville, Virginia. He got hooked on Bridge in 1998 and quickly joined a local club, where he found success playing with Walter Miller's 49er club. Greg studied computer science at Princeton and Stanford before moving to Charlottesville, VA, to teach at the University of Virginia. Also, Greg has since left academia and worked for several startups and major tech companies like Nvidia, Google, and Twitch.
[07:00] Improving Your Bridge Game - Greg emphasizes the importance of immersing oneself in Bridge and discussing hands with better players.
[12:48] Recursive Diamond - Advantages of playing a solid diamond system and the benefits of opening with one club instead of one diamond.
[18:50] Streaming Bridge on Twitch – Greg mentions his experience of streaming himself playing Bridge on Twitch.
[28:16] Partner Support in Bridge - Importance of supporting your partner in Bridge and dealing with bad results.
[32:54] Competitive Bridge Strategies and Performance – Greg outlines his experience playing Bridge in a competitive event, including strategies, gameplay, and the desire to perform well and achieve a high ranking.
[57:04] Teaching beginners in Bridge - Frustrations and challenges
Resources:
Connect with Greg:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/greghumphreys/
Twitter: twitter.com/humper
Mentioned in the episode:
Physically Based Rendering: From Theory to Implementation: amazon.com/Physically-Based-Rendering-Theory-Implementation/dp/0128006455?redirectFromSmile=1
Greg Humphreys, a talented software engineer and accomplished bridge player is featured in this episode of The Setting Trick. He is the winner of the Mott-Smith Trophy at the recent spring North American Bridge Championships, a three-time North American champion, and the best bridge player in Charlottesville, Virginia. He got hooked on bridge in 1998 and quickly joined a local club, where he found success playing with Walter Miller's 49er club. Greg studied computer science at Princeton and Stanford before moving to Charlottesville, VA, to teach at the University of Virginia. Also, Greg has since left academia and worked for several startups and major tech companies like Nvidia, Google, and Twitch.
In addition to his impressive career in computer science, Greg has also made a name for himself in the world of bridge. He has succeeded in various tournaments, including the Mixed Pairs, Platinum Pairs, Mixed BAM, and Fast Pairs. Greg and Jenni Carmichael typically play together once a year in the Mixed Pairs, which they won in 2016 and have also finished second, third, fourth, and fifth. In 2018 they made it to the finals of the World Open Pairs. This spring in Reno, they finished second in the Mixed Pairs. Greg also finished 11th in the Silodor Pairs and won the Fast Pairs, playing with Adam Parrish.
On the other hand, when not playing bridge, Greg enjoys spending time in his woodshop, playing video games, and traveling. He also enjoys watching RuPaul's Drag Race. Also, Greg streams his bridge games on Twitch, where he plays against friends and robots on BBO.
In this conversation, Greg shares a wealth of insights and experiences about his journey in the world of Bridge. He discusses his best-ever result in a tournament, the pressure of leading, and the impact of small mistakes. He recalls an unusual game where the opposing team doubled their bid and made a strange opening lead. Greg explains how miscommunication about a bridge bidding system leads to confusion and the importance of immersing oneself in bridge and discussing hands with better players. He also talks about his accidental discovery of bridge on Yahoo and how he fell in love with the game through books and local clubs.
Additionally, Greg discusses his unique relay precision system with Jenni and the advantages of playing a solid diamond system. He mentions his experience of streaming himself playing Bridge on Twitch and the importance of supporting your partner in Bridge and dealing with bad results. Lastly, he shares his experience playing Bridge in a competitive event, including strategies, gameplay, the desire to perform well and achieve a high ranking, and the frustrations and challenges of teaching beginners in Bridge.
[06:37] Best Result Ever – Greg discusses what he considers to be his best-ever result.
[10:11] Pressure: The pressure of leading in bridge tournaments and the impact of small mistakes.
[19:53] Unusual Tactics – Greg recalls a bridge game where the opposing team doubled their bid and made a strange opening lead.
[23:27] Bidding Confusion and Resolution – Greg explains how miscommunication about a bridge bidding system leads to confusion.
[25:50] Discovering Bridge – Greg tells how he accidentally discovered Bridge on Yahoo and fell in love with the game through books and local clubs.
[34:03] Non-Standard Homebrew System- Bizarre Bridge System Leads to Unforeseen Victory
[43:43] UVA - Reasons for choosing UVA for an academic career
[52.48] Partnership with Jenny – Greg talks about playing Bridge with Jenny and the frequency of playing together. He also discusses their effort to practice online before a tournament and their unique relay precision system, which requires some study.
[57:00] Improving Your Bridge Game - Greg emphasizes the importance of immersing oneself in Bridge and discussing hands with better players.
[01:02:48] Recursive Diamond - Advantages of playing a solid diamond system and the benefits of opening with one club instead of one diamond.
[01:08:50] Streaming Bridge on Twitch – Greg mentions his experience of streaming himself playing Bridge on Twitch.
[01:18:16] Partner Support in Bridge - Importance of supporting your partner in Bridge and dealing with bad results.
[01:22:54] Competitive Bridge Strategies and Performance – Greg outlines his experience playing Bridge in a competitive event, including strategies, gameplay, and the desire to perform well and achieve a high ranking.
[01:49:04] Teaching beginners in Bridge - Frustrations and challenges
Resources:
Connect with Greg:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/greghumphreys/
Twitter: twitter.com/humper
Mentioned in the episode:
Physically Based Rendering: From Theory to Implementation: amazon.com/Physically-Based-Rendering-Theory-Implementation/dp/0128006455?redirectFromSmile=1
In this episode of The Setting Trick, you are in for a treat as you get to hear from Olin Hubert. Last summer he achieved the coveted title of American Contract Bridge League Grand Life Master
Resources:
Connect with Olin:
Website: bridgewinners.com/profile/olin-hubert-2-7fnpfuvmb2/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/olin-hubert-89409a250/
This week’s episode of the Setting Trick: Conversations with World-Class Bridge Players turns the tables and features professional player Greg Hinze interviewing host John McAllister. In this conversation, we cover John’s background, his favorite bridge books, his experiences at the national and world championships, his documentary movie about bridge, the reasons why he started the podcast, and more.
[01.29] John’s background – Starting the conversation, John discusses his Virginia roots, where he lives, where he went to college, and why he wants to stay there.
[08.40] Books – John and Greg talk about some of the best books about bridge.
[20.43] The summer nationals – We talk about John’s experience with mixed board-a-match teams in Providence at the summer nationals and the open BAM at the fall NABC.
[23.31] The movie – We talk about the movie called ‘Double Dummy’ produced by John, about bridge.
[32.10] The podcast – John shares the reasons behind starting his podcast and continuing until now.
[33:48] Meeting Migry – John remembers meeting partner Migry Zur Campanile and playing mixed teams at the world championships.
[43.50] Bridge conventions – John chooses his desert island bridge convention.
Resources
Connect with John
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/johnmca/
Website - thesettingtrick.com/
Book by John Carruthers
Bridge with Another Perfect Partner –
goodreads.com/book/show/60495965-bridge-with-another-perfect-partner
Book by S.J. Simon
Why You Lose at Bridge –
goodreads.com/en/book/show/1141603
Movie - Double Dummy
imdb.com/title/tt3531224/
doubledummymovie.com/
This week’s episode of the Setting Trick podcast features Kevin Rosenberg, a professional bridge player, and a full-time software engineer. Kevin comes from a family of professional bridge players, with Debbie and Michael Rosenberg as his mother and father. Kevin won the Soloway Knockout Teams in Phoenix and he also earned second place in the Reisinger at the Fall 2022 Phoenix NABC. He is a multi-time winner of the Youth World Open Championships (2022 Salsomagiorre, 2019 Opatija, 2017 Lyon). In this episode, we discussed getting stars from BBO, teaching bridge for beginners, Kevin’s thoughts on having parents who are world-class bridge players, impressive partnerships that Kevin came across, and more.
[02:12] BBO Star – Starting the conversation, Kevin shares how he got a star on Bridge Base Online (BBO). [13:42] Teaching Bridge – Kevin explains what he mostly focuses on when he teaches bridge. Further, he shares why engagement among beginners is not a huge issue in bridge playing. [33:35] Junior Trials – Kevin started junior trials in 2014. He shares some of his junior trial experiences with us. [45:46] Experiences in Australia – Kevin shares why he likes Australia and how he met a lot of bridge players while he was there. [57:11] Impressive Partnerships – We discuss Kevin’s most impressive partnership that he played against in the recent bridge tournament.
Connect with Kevin
bridgewinners.com/profile/kevin-rosenberg
This episode of The Setting Trick: Conversations with World-Class Bridge Players features John Kranyak. John is a professional Bridge and Poker player from the United States of America. He is a highly accomplished and respected member of the Spectre team, widely considered one of the bridge community's most successful and competitive teams. John's skill and expertise in the bridge are matched only by his exceptional character and integrity. In this episode, we shared several experiences that we had gained from competing in tournaments, playing with a number of other players, and accumulating the most memorable memories, along with the wonderful learnings and experiences that we had gained.
[00:40] Background – John fills us in on what's new in his life, including details about his family and what it's like for him to be in a new city.
[05:00] Regionals - Will the current trend in regionals is going to continue, or are people starting to return?
[11:32] Memories – John reflects on playing against the Swiss team and some of the interesting memories.
[22:06] Changes in Bridge - John discusses the changes in the world of bridge. He elaborates on the most underappreciated aspect of the game.
[47:31] Levels of Players - What is the most critical factor separating top-level players from those who are not top-level?
Resources:
Connect with John: bridgewinners.com/profile/john-kranyak/ bridgeinstructors.com/profile/30/info
“The secret to winning a world championship is great teammates, a good partnership, and good team spirit.”
Kitty Munson Cooper is a bridge blogger, genetic genealogist and world-champion bridge player. She has won eight North American Bridge Championships and the Venice Cup in 1989. She currently lives in San Diego, CA. Today we talked about her background, the secret to winning world championships, sexism in bridge, and more.
Kitty has won NABCs with two different husbands. Playing with someone close to you is a different feeling; they see what you don’t see, and you see what they don’t see.
[18.26] 1987 – forcing her way onto the British ladies’ team in the 1987 European championships.
[23.11] The dream team – winning a world championship with the help of a good partnership between teammates.
[27.35] The keys – Willing to play up, having a good partnership, and having the killer instinct are the keys to having success in open bridge for women.
[35.50] Stories about playing with the great players in the old days.
[42.02] Teaching bridge – talks about how satisfying it can be to teach kids bridge and designing a beginner curriculum.
[47.03] The 70s – walks us through the story of meeting her late husband in the 70s, then re-meeting and marrying him in 2000.
[51.49] Thoughts on what makes a serious partnership.
[57.39] Playing with your spouse – the difficulty of playing bridge when emotions get involved.
Resources
Connect with Kitty
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/kittycooper/
Website - openskywebdesign.com/
blog.kittycooper.com/
bridgeteaching.com/
Twitter - twitter.com/openskyweb
Today I have an abbreviated conversation with my good friend Joe Grew, who is one of the best bridge players in the world. This is my first in-person conversation and it took place at Congressional Country Club in September. It got cut short because, frankly we had to get on the tee!
Susan Morse is my kind of person, well humored and a lover of bridge. In one of her Bridge Bulletin articles she introduced me to the concept of the Bridge Base Online “hamburger”. This conversation came about based on a chance encounter at the Austin NABC. We’ve since gone on to break bread during the Hilton Head regional. In a just completed phone conversation Susan tells me she will talk to her team about playing the Spingold for the first time in Providence.
Episode highlights:
1:10- 'Good Evening Memphis'
14:55- How she began playing bridge
25:00- The all-too-familiar story of frantically pursuing masterpoints
48:35- New bridge book coming out soon?
53:10- The awe of meeting Meckstroth
1:03:27- The Migry (TST Guest #3) Hand
1:16:56- The tables are flipped and John gets interviewed
1:27:34- The Cardturner movie???
Returning from my hiatus, I am pleased to welcome Milan Macura to kick off our next season on The Setting Trick. Milan is a professional player and teacher. He is also a Youtube streamer and was previously president of the Czech Bridge Federation.. In 2009, through a series of amazing, fortunate events, Milan won the 1st World Youth Congress. Listen for the full story!
Milan Macura's Youtube Channel
Episode highlights:
6:56- His pathway in becoming a streamer
15:15- The story behind his improbable win in the 1st World Youth Congress
21:20- Milan can’t be intimidated
27:55- “Full-service pro”
30:37- How Milan learned bridge
39:48- Youth bridge
50:45- Streaming details
53:58- Blue shirt red shirt
1:01:30- Milan loves playing bridge on tablets
1:07:15- Celebrating the World Youth Congress victory
We have saved today’s guest to appear once the next in-person Nationals loomed near. Meet Jenni Carmichael, our first tournament director on the show and spouse of TST Guest #24 Tom Carmichael. A fine storyteller, Jenni finds the humor and draws out the drama.
Episode Highlights:
1:20- Chances of Austin Nationals happening
5:23- Requirements to become a director
11:15- 3SXX making is clearly an average board
15:00- “I just have four cards left to play”
17:05- How Jenny got into directing
24:00- “The only law we care about is God’s law”
28:46- “Does he have his bid?”
40:44- Bridge camps
46:30- Mixed Pair stories of absurd scores, intense pressure, and momentum
53:26- If no Greg, maybe no Double Dummy
55:20- Jenni once held a long grudge against her current director idol
1:11:12- It is useless to psych against Jenni
1:14:13- But her psychs are deadly
The Rimstedt family of Sweden is among the strongest bridge-playing families of all-time. Twins Mikael and Ola are the youngest players ever to win the World Pairs, and their sister Cecilia won the 2019 Venice Cup, sadly with their sister Sandra no longer on the team after having emigrated to the US. Today we have the pleasure of speaking to Mikael and Ola. In addition to being my friends and I’ve even been lucky enough to have them on my team on occasion.
Watch the video version here: https://john-mcallister-s52b.squarespace.com/episode-44-ola-and-mikael-rimstedt
Episode Highlights:
7:35- Mikael and Ola almost didn’t play in the world pairs they ended up winning
13:17- How Mikael got angry at Ola on a board where their side got a complete top late in the finals of the World Pairs
18:02- Rim job on Vugraph
20:12- Making the Swedish Open team
34:42- Rimstedt brothers better than the Grossack brothers???
38:48- Why they split and came back together
46:12- Their dad previously played for Sweden
1:04:28- How Ola and Mikael got into bridge
1:12:08- Dating status
I am excited to share the new version of Double Dummy with all of you. We created this film in hopes of spreading the word about bridge and inspiring a new generation of bridge-lovers. Please watch it and if so inspired do share it with others in your life who might be curious about bridge.
The film features a team of the best American bridge players under age 21, vying for the United States' first ever medal in U21 team play. This is your opportunity to get an inside look at youth bridge at the highest level.
The film is available through our fundraiser with the ACBL Educational Foundation through October 11th.
https://watch.showandtell.film/watch/acblef
We are informally designating Susan Bricken as the Chief Enthusiasm Officer for the ACBL Educational Foundation’s new program, BridgeWhiz. We hope she’ll be an inspiration to all who want young people to learn the game. After finishing this episode, make sure to tell three people about BridgeWhiz, and feel free to copy me at john@thesettingtrick.com! To date 1,250+ students have signed up.
WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxAmqb_pKWw&t=3s
Episode Highlights:
0:50- BridgeWhiz details
6:48- The bridge version of Queen’s Gambit
13:45- Immediately jumping into the deep end
20:20- Learning bridge from TST Guest 41 Robert Todd
23:08- Never play bridge with your spouse??
25:00- Doubling the size of her local bridge club
31:10- The interviewee becomes the interviewer
32:50- The history of Double Dummy
45:25- Saving Lives Susan
50:10- Swimming Susan
Shan Huang (technically Huang Shan) is a budding bridge legend. His frequent successes at tournaments earned him multiple Richmond trophies, the Canadian masterpoint race, before he immigrated to the US’ greener bridge pastures. He is in a formidable partnership with Floridian Kevin Dwyer.
Link to Video Version: https://youtu.be/yAMvFrjPfp0
Episode Highlights:
1:40- Huang Shan
11:33- Why Shan moved from Canada to USA
19:30- His experience at a Chinese monastery
24:10- Descriptions of Justin Lall (RIP)
28:45- How Shan’s partnership with Kevin Dwyer came to be
32:35- The power of preempts against precision players
35:30- The biggest advantage of strong club systems
41:45- Shan’s mentors
49:54- A tragic hand
1:02:45- Another minus 1660 hand that costed John $1600+
1:07:27- Who does Shan most want to partner with?
1:13:22- How rating bridge hands is like rating peoples’ attractiveness
1:19:00- Shan hates squealing
Robert Todd is becoming a force in the bridge teaching world and has been called “the next generation of great bridge instructor and entertainer.” Having taught in 48 States, lectured at countless regionals, nationals, and cruises, Robert is following the path of his mentors Audrey Grant, Larry Cohen, or Barbara Seagram—some of the world’s most renowned bridge teachers.
Besides teaching professionally, Robert is heavily involved in promoting youth bridge. Using his knowledge and expertise as a top-tiered educator, Robert is helping spearhead the new ACBL Education Foundation program, Bridge Whiz. If your child is interested in learning bridge online, this 20-week long class is perfect for their needs! Learn more here.
WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/5SKv693j0L0
Episode Highlights:
1:20- The history of the ACBL Education Foundation
5:50- How to make learning bridge enjoyable
7:15- Robert’s teaching style and method
11:57- ACBLEDF peddling Tricky Bridge
15:10- Robert was brainwashed into loving bridge
- His unique upbringing in the social bridge community influences his perspectives
22:05- Robert led a study to discover how many bridge players there are in America
27:05- Why the ACBL Education Foundation’s goal is different than the ACBL’s
32:35- Different bridge-playing communities
35:59- Professional teaching administrative details
43:52- Professional bridge and promoting bridge
50:53- Funny stories about TST Episode #31, Adam Kaplan
1:00:32- Robert’s analysis on the Meckwell partnership
1:02:44- The administrative thinking behind BridgeWhiz
Ever since my conversation with Jeff Meckstroth, I began asking a standard question to Setting Trick guests, “are you better than (Jacek) Kalita?” It was a fun or tough question, depending on the guest, which got a wide variety of responses in spite of Jacek being ranked 2nd in the World Bridge Federation’s rankings.
Hailing from Poland, Jacek is our first European based guest. Astute listeners will have noticed that I stopped asking the are you better than question when Jacek’s partner Michal Nowosadzki confessed to self-kibitizing in multiple online events last year. The partner with whom Jacek won two Bermuda Bowls and also his good friend.
Find out what Jacek had to say about all of that and see his fine sense of humor for yourself.
Episode highlights:
3:58- Are you better than Kalita???
6:35- Michal Nowosadzki (Kalita’s partner) cheating case
10:04- The aftermath reaction
15:00- Kalita’s pathway to becoming a professional
23:35- When a frequent opponent becomes a partner
27:40- For the system nuts
31:50- Why Kalita is pro-kibitzing
36:20- The secret sauce behind Kalita and Nowosadzki constant success
41:00- Bridge and traveling the world
44:20- When Kalita got to play with his childhood bridge heroes
46:15- Kalita’s former client helped create the stock market in Poland!
50:28- Kalita’s family and bridge
53:35- Michal Klukowski and Kalita
In 2017, there was no bridge club at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Then Andrew Rowberg, a recent PhD graduate in computational material science, came along. Four years later, during which bribery cookies were baked, practice sessions held, and talent developed, the UCSB Overbidders Anonymous emerged victorious in the 2021 Online North American Collegiate Bridge Championships. We’re excited to showcase the journey that this UCSB team took from having nothing to winning it all.
Episode Highlights:
2:40- The formation of the UCSB Bridge Club
4:05- How Danning learned bridge
5:34- The pieces of the champion team
12:20- COVID can’t stop dedicated college students
13:42- Defeating TST Guest 32 Richard Jeng the Georgia Tech bridge giants
19:10- Freshman clutching it up in the wild Finals match
23:29- Andrew’s teaching philosophy
28:00- Now is your perfect chance to hire a collegiate champion with a PhD in computational material science!
33:07- The overbidders in “Overbidders Anonymous” are no longer anonymous
39:30- The universally dreaded Berkeley monsters
45:35- Proof that playing bridge increases your job prospects
48:10- Danning plays the precise system and likes to take fitness
51:23- The expert’s advice on forming a collegiate championship team
56:00- The secret ingredient in bridge success: sugar
Our first ever sponsor to be featured on The Setting Trick is Mike Levine. As many bridge players know, a match up against the Levine Team should be dreaded, unless one enjoys being demolished. In tow with his ultimate dream team, which includes two partnerships considered by many to be the greatest pairs of all time, Mike recently won the first 3 North American Online Bridge Championships in a row, a feat of absolute dominance.
In life, Mike Levine has somehow managed to top his massive successes at the bridge table; he is one of the world’s most illustrious inventors, holding more than 60 patents. Through his shared insights on topics like population control, I got to see the creative force behind his many inventions. I am excited to share my conversation with this fascinating man.
Episode Highlights:
2:28- The progression to the inception of Mike Levine’s current team
8:34- Mike isn’t the weakest player on his team???
11:25- Mike’s approach to bridge is understanding concepts logically, rather than memorizing
15:50- Mike’s recipe analogy to bridge
18:10- Mike doesn’t fully subscribe to the common wisdom for pros that “Your job is not to win. Your job is to not lose.”
19:00- Why Mike is willing to spend so much money to hire top players
25:10- Why Mike’s physical disability does not hinder him
29:04- The Lake Trail that Mike brought to existence
34:30- Mike’s education
36:05- One of Mike’s joke patents
39:52- Mike’s solution to global warming: prevent overpopulation
44:05- More thoughts on population control
48:00- “All things complicated are not useful”
53:40- Is Stayman really a convention?
58:35- An example of Mike’s “wonder bids”
1:03:15- Take a glimpse into Mike’s mind as a bidding theoretician
We continue our popular series of “The Youngest Life Master” with long-ago former record holders Bill and Dough Hsieh, along with their older brother and inspiration David Hsieh. In this episode, they taught me just how much our game has changed. From the abolition of smoking at the table to masterpoint inflation, and to the resurgence of youth bridge, bridge has evolved. However, one thing continues to be the same: its power of leaving happy memories that survive over the span of decades.
Episode Highlights:
1:50- Be the once in a blue moon and pronounce their last name with “C”
4:05- How the Hsieh brothers got started on bridge
7:00- Imagine being interviewed by the local newspaper for every tournament you go to
7:55- 6-year-old-Doug’s opponents thought Doug was a joke and refused to play
10:20- The masterpoints inflation is real
11:05- Bill’s dad was the original engine behind his pursuit for the record
13:24- An unlucky split costed Doug beating the record by an additional 10 months
14:44- Bridge can consume you
15:48- The past versus the current state of youth bridge
18:50- The Hsieh brothers’ current exposure with bridge
22:40- David’s favorite partner
25:15- It was inevitable that Doug will beat Bill’s record
26:50- Ron is a great role model!
30:35- The Hsieh brothers’ influential mother
33:05- Back when everybody smoked at the bridge table
36:00- People still remember stories from Midnight Swisses that happened 40 years ago
40:15- Bridge opens up connections in the work place
In June of 2019, I asked now 17 year old Michael Xu to help me prepare for my interview with his bridge mentor/hero, Michael Rosenberg. This sparked his progression from The Setting Trick helper, to The Setting Trick intern, and finally to The Setting Trick guest.
One year after I first reached out, Michael co founded the Youth Bridge Association, a nonprofit organization based on the idea of youth teaching youth bridge. As co president, Michael has helped host multiple classes as well as a tournament that drew 140 juniors!
Michael has generously agreed to share the below letter, which upon reading, Kevin Rosenberg, Michael Rosenberg’s son said, “it sounds like you’re trying to date my dad!”
Fabled “dating” email
Dear Michael,
A few months ago, when asked by my college counselor who would be the best person to write a letter of recommendation, the first and only person that came to mind was you. Before bridge, before SiVY, before you, I never thought I would come to identify so strongly with a community. If you asked me back then whether I believe that I will have such a robust relationship with a non-family member, I would have scoffed at that idea. Yet, over the span of 4 years, I have developed a truly extraordinary connection with you. From our first encounter in Toronto, to the first bombardment of emails, to the first in-real-life post mortem (@Atlanta), to the first dinner together (@Dennys), to the first time playing against you, to the first time hearing a "well-played" from your lips, and finally to the latest email, you have seen my growth from a completely clueless youngling to a now still slightly clueless and learning adolescent who knows some things.
Michael, you are the only one. You saw me at the Trials, going past midnight to review boards. You saw me at WuJiang, China, where even at the World Youth Team Championships, I was more preoccupied with learning than sleeping/eating. You saw me flood your inbox with emails, and when you think you answered them all, I 'rewarded' you with countless follow ups and more new emails. In short, you saw my relentless pursuit to learn, my unprecedented level of insanity, my unrestrained intellectual vitality. Throughout my journey, you were my ultimate mentor, answering my plethora of questions, elucidating mysteries, and even providing me with life advice.
Given our lengthy, special history, I feel that you are unique in your capability to vouch for me. Genuine intellectual curiosity is highly coveted by colleges, and I think you are most suited to testify about that on my behalf. Just as you had strongly advocated for me back in 2018 for the U16 team, I hope you will be able to advocate for me for college.
Would you be willing to write me a strong and unique letter of recommendation for my college application? If you have any follow up questions or need any further information, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Sincerely,
Michael
Episode highlights:
1:50- Is YBA for college application resume stacking???
3:20- How the YBA came to be
4:40- YBA class details
14:00- YBA is about advanced youth players paying it forward and giving back to the community
19:15- Michael Xu = Michael 1(?)
23:10- How Michael came to partner Finn Kolesnik
25:50- The Setting Trick internship = ultimate girls attractor
30:35- Michael’s work with Professor Samantha Punch and BAMSA research project
33:10- Michael Rosenberg gets bombarded by Michael Xu with thousands of emails full of questions
36:50- MEAT and Kevin Test
39:30- Michael’s attempt at dating Michael Rosenberg
46:20- How Michael learned bridge through SiVY
50:15- How listeners can help out the YBA
54:45- Michael is getting beat in the Life Master race by the younger SiVY generation
The third and possibly final episode of the Youngest Life Master series has touched down! In this episode, we caught up with four former youngest Life Masters: Joel Wooldrige, brothers Sam and Dan Hirschman, and Steven Cochran. Joel is now a world-class expert and is one of the world's best players. Sam and Dan continue to celebrate their former record with the annual “The Party”. Steven was an absolutely wild teenager; he once woke up in the ocean while traveling across the country to play bridge, without his parents. At the age of 14. It really amazes me how different are the paths that people take!
Episode Highlights:
2:55- 11 year old Joel Wooldrige
3:55- How Joel learned to play bridge
5:25- How Sam Hirschman’s father played a role in getting his son’s record beaten
8:55- Joel was in the Guinness Book of World Records!
11:15- The real reason why Dan had to take back the YLM record for the Hirschman family
18:15- Sam and Dan Hirschman
20:30- Father Hirschman = Most Valuable Motivator
26:25- Sam was featured in Sports Illustrated magazine!
28:10- Bridge lost Dan to Magic: the Gathering
28:49- Dan was featured on the Leno show, the People Magazine, and NYT
32:19- The last times Sam and Dan can flex their former record
34:05- The annual “Dan Hirschman Youngest Life Master KO Teams” where 25 teams onced showed up to play at the Hirschman house
40:35- How Sam ended up on Sports Illustrated magazine
44:30- The decline of bridge’s cultural relevance
46:50- Meet Steven Cochran
49:25- Steven learned bridge at NASA
52:35- Steven taught his entire college fraternity to play bridge
- 14 year old Steven spent a whole summer traveling US and Canada to play bridge
59:48- Steven excels at declaring
1:01:35- Unfortunately, Steven couldn’t measure up for the attractive girl
1:02:35- Waking up in the ocean
1:07:40- Steven once was a professional soccer player
1:09:09- No fanfare for Steven becoming part of the first two-person ACBL Kings and Queens of Bridge
1:12:50- Played against a typical nobody: Omar Sharif
Andrew Robson is a giant, in both height and bridge; he is 6 feet 6 inches tall and has won a slew of titles, including back to back Reisingers in 1998 and 1999. On top of all his bridge accolades, he has met the Queen of England, received the prestigious “Other Buggers’ Efforts” award, and survived a 100 foot fall.
If you want to learn more about Andrew and his bridge adventures, there is a great page on his website called Andrew’s Life in Bridge, where I learned many of the stories I asked Andrew about today.
COVID finally got Andrew to start presenting a daily video series, where I’ve learned a lot of card play nuances in the advanced section https://andrewrobsonbridgecast.com
Subscribers to The Setting Trick email list may access Andrew breaking down Adam Kaplan's play on a deal featured in Double Dummy here.
Episode Highlights:
1:42- A horrible accident that broke his legs
9:22- He’s not a model student
12:27- Andrew’s education
- Imagine doing worse on a test than a monkey would
15:37- The tournament that was vital to Andrew’s confidence as a bridge player
18:52- A wildly successful psych
22:10- How Andrew met one of his partners, Rita Shugart
24:20- Andrew is an “Other Buggers’ Efforts” award winner!
27:42- When your team sucks at losing IMPS
29:52- The pain of losing in the semi-finals of a Bermuda Bowl by 1 IMP and then losing again by 1 IMP in the third place playoff
31:37- Amazing bidding by Andrew and his partner, David Gold
- David Thompson’s quote from Bridge Winners, “The video of auction is quite interesting: https://youtu.be/diMipYWGr3c?t=20293
The auction took 12 minutes including 3 minutes for the 7♦ bid and 5 minutes for David Gold's final pass. Whilst 7♦ was certainly a brilliant bid by Robson, Gold's pass was pretty impressive also having diagnosed the sorts of hands Robson could be holding and successfully determining the inferiority of a ♠ contract.”
38:07- Andrew Robson Bridge Club
41:27- John’s mother might have a crush on Andrew
45:12- The members of the popular rock band, Radiohead, went to Andrew’s school!
49:07- The future of bridge and youth teaching
53:07- Andrew’s memories of September 11, 2001
58:07- “Oh, you farted” ~Zia Mahmood
1:02:02- Andrew had to track Simon Stockten down in the Himalayas
Al Bender is an extraordinarily dedicated teacher for Bridge For Youth, a nonprofit organization that promotes youth bridge in the Seattle area. After the pandemic struck, Bridge For Youth and Al switched from a face-to-face teaching model to solely virtual instruction. He caught my attention through this Bridge Winners article on the benefits of teaching online. To say the article brightened my day would be a massive underbid. Read it!
The most important takeaway from Al’s experience is that virtual instruction is an incredibly effective teaching model. We want to see this model duplicated across the country!
Episode Highlights:
2:20- The many flaws of teaching face-to-face
4:25- Advantages to virtual teaching
5:05- Bridge For Youth’s journey in learning how to teach online
7:55- How Bridge For Youth got a staggering 110 students
9:50- Interesting gender discrepancy
12:40- The power of the Shark Teaching Console
- “I no longer have to watch my partner make stupid mistakes”
16:10- Testmoz and the allure of competition
18:55- A serendipitous success
20:40- The dedicated student
23:40- Summer camp will be taught by former Setting Trick guest, Tom Carmichael
25:35- Collaboration to on youth tournaments
29:20- SharkBridge is free for teachers who teach youth bridge for free
30:05- Teachers must be good with youths
32:10- Bridge For Youth is in search for teachers!
37:50- The important thing is having FUN!
40:35- A big weakness is the lack of social interactions when using Shark Bridge
45:00- Al warns you to not use the word “kid”
47:00- Al wants to make a difference in his students’ life
Meet Greg Hinze: Three time North American Bridge Champion, world champion and he also has a world class sense of humor! After first hearing there was such a thing as a professional bridge player, Greg made it his five year goal. He played a lot, read lots of books, practically went broke and now is a highly desired pro.
Episode Highlights:
1:35- How Greg first decided to pursue his goal of becoming a professional
3:15- How Greg got hooked onto bridge
6:10- Greg and his poker job
7:55- How Greg quickly improved into an expert
9:40- Live bridge and RealBridge
12:50- Greg’s favorite event
15:20- Reject those who rejected you
18:50- Strong club vs natural system
21:45- Greg’s 2D opening system
24:10- Winning a world championship on a team formed the night before the event
26:50- Greg, his wife, and fun midnight knockout deal
29:30- Broke North American champion
31:35- An interesting strategy to pick between two close calls and a happy accident
35:20- His prediction on the future of live bridge
40:50- “Swiss Master” ~ Justin Lall
43:55- Bridge connects
48:30- Greg’s biggest bridge tip
At the age of 10 years and 43 days Adam Kaplan set the record as the American Contract Bridge League’s youngest ever life master. A subsequent article in the ACBL Bridge Bulletin, commemorating Adam’s achievement, inspired his successor Richard Jeng who broke Adam’s record with ease at the age of 9 years, 6 months, and 12 days.
Both Richard and Adam are members of the USA1 Under 21 team whose journey in the 14th World Youth Team Championships we chronicle in Double Dummy. A film which Adam largely inspired. Here are two brief conversations about Richard and Adam’s quest to become the youngest life master and what the title meant to them.
2:16- The event where Adam won his last needed masterpoints
4:04- Two club games per day—the dedication needed to get those masterpoints
6:39- The fame ensuing after his achievement
7:46- What the achievement means to him
9:14- “I was a terrible partner” ~ Adam
12:14- Adam’s current level of bridge involvement
14:04- The story behind Adam’s nickname
15:39- Adam’s partner in Double Dummy
19:54- An optimistic grand bid by Adam
24:09- Adam’s current career plans
26:30- Richard’s first reaction on hearing about Andrew Chen’s achievement
27:05- How Richard first started playing bridge
28:40- Richard’s inspiration on becoming the Youngest Life Master
29:50- Richard’s meeting up with the teen whose record he planned on beating
30:35- This record is meant to be broken!
31:35- Life Master is a title given only to those who mastered life
31:55- The event where Richard won his last needed master points
Our latest guest, Andrew Chen, is our youngest ever, by a lot! 8-year old Andrew is the ACBL’s youngest ever Life Master, a feat many spend decades striving for. In May 2020, Andrew, at the age of eight years and three days, smashed the previous record holder’s mark by more than a year. He also was the first to set the record since the requirements for being a Life Master moved from three hundred to five hundred Masterpoints.
All four members of Andrew’s immediate family, his mother Sarah, his brother Charlie and his father Steve, are bridge players. He is also a product of Silicon Valley Youth Bridge, whose pizza parties are helping introduce many young people to the game. Steve also joins us, to whom Andrew gives a lot of credit for his amazing achievement.
Episode Highlights:
1:40- Andrew’s favorite bridge player—and no, it’s not his dad :)
4:20- Andrew enjoys punishing his opponents
6:43- How Andrew decided to pursue the youngest Life Master title
9:15- The players who helped Andrew in obtaining the title
12:35- A glimpse into Andrew’s bidding system
14:34- Andrew the ambassador
16:35- How Andrew’s parents met
17:05- How Andrew’s family plays bridge.
19:15- Andrew doesn’t neglect his reading
20:43- Video games that Andrew enjoy playing
22:35- Andrew’s height
25:08- Andrew as the narrator for Double Dummy???
27:45- Andrew’s language fluencies
Didn’t get enough of Ronnie? He’s back! Ron Smith returns to the show, bringing with him more hilarious stories.
Episode Highlights:
6:05- Ron’s opinion on Real Bridge
12:30- When your teammates go for minus 4600 in 4Cxx down 8 so you lose 24 IMPS, but you still win the match
15:35- Ron learns from his teacher who went minus 5800.Twice
16:05- Story of the only person to win the Vanderbilt while also losing two matches in the same tournament
18:30- Never give up during a match
25:05- Bobby Levin is so good looking, his partner needs to play with his head down lest he loses his focus
28:40- More hilarious Baby Levin stories
34:40- Ron believes in the great joys of having the social connections through playing bridge
38:10- Speculations on the future of bridge—will things ever be the same again?
40:15- Mahaffrey stories
44:35- Peter Weichsel’s most embarrassing moment
47:15- Reese stories
53:05- Ron’s worst three hands
59:48- Leo Lasota: the world’s greatest online player
1:03:05- Oren Kriegel is an upcoming super star
1:06:35- “Here comes the damn diamonds again” story
Among US Juniors, few adults’ names are as well-recognized as Ron Smith. But don’t let his title of “Honorary Junior” fool you; Ron began playing bridge back in the Roth Stone era, when he only would open the bidding with 14 points—3 points more than what he needs to open today. A true perennial all-star, Ron stands out for his work in fostering the rising young stars of our game. He’s also a pretty entertaining and genuinely good natured fellow.
Episode Highlights:
1:50- Ron’s mother used to think he was going to hell for playing bridge
3:40- Ron’s sister = ultimate bridge wing-woman
5:15- How Ron became hooked on bridge
12:05- Seymon Deutsch could get away with anything
16:00- The legend of Zia Mahmood
21:30- “I’ve got a partner for you” = Bobby Levin
23:00- Don’t cheat
32:20- Al Roth Stoned
36:55- A Justin Lall story
40:50- Ron + Juniors = win Midnight Zip KO
42:40- Ron is an honorary junior
44:30- How to get Bobby Levin to agree with your bidding
48:30- Bob Hamman’s unique perspective on Justin Lall
52:10- Brad Moss bamboozled Joe Grue with a legendary psyche
54:50- Ron believes in preempting aggressively when favorable
1:05:00- Edgar Kaplan and his diplomacy
1:14:40- Rubber bridge stories
1:23:40- “You’re not playing for anything either?”
1:35:28- How Joe Grue got his nickname “Joe Boo”
While Scott Hoffer professes to be the worst player yet to appear on The Setting Trick, he caught my attention as the developer of an iOS app called Tricky Bridge. Presently only available on iPhones and iPads, Tricky Bridge has become my go to destination for anyone who is interested in learning the game. The ACBL Education Foundation helped make the app’s series of 37 beginners lessons free. Hat’s off to both the Ed Foundation and Scott, you’ve answered one of my prayers!
Episode Highlights:
2:00- Tricky Bridge and how it came to be
9:48- Tricky Bridge’s retention rate with users
11:53- Apple’s massive stamp of approval
- Contest - Who is the Apple Editor playing Tricky Bridge???
19:33- Scott’s company Forklift Studios
- Meadowlark Bridge - Rodney Ludwig, the AI engine behind Tricky Bridge
21:18- Computer Bridge World Championships
26:03- Idea behind the Bots in Tricky Bridge
31:03- Grant from the ACBL Education Foundation founded the learning portion of the app
33:38- Please advertise the app to any young person interested in learning bridge
43:23- Thanks to BridgeWinners for helping provide feedback on bugs and crashes
48:43- Scott’s ideas about the best way to stream bridge
50:03- Scott’s acting career
50:46- Yale student, Reese Koppel, is a Tricky Bridge Intern
53:13- Robert Todd from ACBL Foundation
58:08- Double Dummy Film
I first saw Nabil Edggton at the 14th World Youth Team Championships in Taicang. I remember being in the Vugraph room and hearing fellow Aussie (Nabil is from Oz) David Stern say something to the effect of, Andy (Hung, Neil’s junior and current partner) likes to bid game and let Nabil play it. It still strikes as the type of compliment on which I would love to be on the receiving end.
Nabil and I became friends when we teamed up for the Rosenbloom in 2018. We don’t talk about it here, but Nabil is a total hunk. He’s a good friend and I am pleased to share this conversation with our listeners.
Highlights from Episode:
1:30- Nabil’s thoughts on how to get young people into bridge
6:30- Nabil’s potential area of growth in bridge
21:00- Nabil’s thoughts on a hand that John played
29:10- John’s growth in the skill of moving on after a mistake
32:00- What Nabil thinks is the key to working on improving one’s flaws
35:40- Nabil’s preparation before a bridge tournament
38:50- What Nabil loves most about John
43:10- Nabil’s general life advice
46:10- Nabil’s advice on a partnership relationship
52:30- How Nabil tackles the problem of improving as a bridge player
1:05:10- The mental edge that babies have
1:09:40- Why Nabil thinks there is a lot of value in simulations
1:36:20- A story of John teaching Hool
1:44:40- Nabil’s thoughts on the problem with society
1:51:10- An area of improvement for John
On March 13th Walt Schafer began organizing bridge games on BridgeBase in response to the global shutdown. Walt continues to organize what has become known as “The Schafer Game,” selflessly out of his love for bridge. I got to play with the legendary for Bob Hamman for the first time in Walt’s game and we went on to win. Beating Episode 23 guests Finn Kolesnik and Jacob Freeman among others.
A friendship has developed between the two of us thanks to this podcast conversation and I am delighted to share this conversation with a fine player and fellow bridge lover.
Episode highlights:
2:55- Previously organized bridge games at the exchange
- 8 player
- 7 week schedule
- $5 per imp
7:35- How Walt’s directed tournament came to be what it is now
14:45- Walt’s Bob Hamman story of a great declarer play which to this day, Walt still does not understand why it was necessary
- Written up in the bulletin
- Took a double dummy software two and a half days to make the same play
19:55- Another Bob Hamman declarer play story
22:20- a Tom Fox story
- Strong club system
- New Orleans
- Walt set up Greco and Hampson
28:40- Baby Levin
31:50- A Spingold story involving Kit Woolsey
- Ed Manfield: “Those are the best 16 boards I’ve ever been involved in my life”
39:00- Sometimes getting knocked out on the first day of the Spingold is a blessing in disguise
43:45- D22 GNT Qualifiers story
45:55- Junior star Finn Kolesnik
47:45- How Walt learned bridge
51:40- Walt’s mentors: John and Bart Bramley
55:25- Bridge players succeed in trading options
1:13:05- Walt’s first compound squeeze and how Bart just deflated him
1:15:05- Walt’s greatest/favorite played hand where he uses the delayed duck squeeze
- Redouble can be a great psychological weapon
1:26:05- Walt’s role in the history of the Helgemo hand
1:30:30- Walt’s physic abilities
1:35:50- Walt is a bridge player at heart
- Bridge versus poker in terms of prize money
1:45:30- Walt’s invented conventions
- Look out for the Shaferton
1:50:55- Hamman still got it in bridge
1:52:00- Junior bridge
1:59:55- Instant classics
In August of 2012, Tom Carmichael and I spent 12 days together in Taicang, China. Tom as the non-playing captain (NPC) of the USA1 Under 21 team, and me as the executive producer of a documentary film with the working title Lost in the Shuffle. We decided to focus on Tom’s team owing to the appeal of the players on it and their chance to win the first ever medal for the US in the Youngsters (Under 21) Series. This conversation is eight years in the making.
As an outside documenter, it’s fascinating to hear Tom talk about the dynamics between his fellow NPC’s and how they discussed and learned about which teams and players were good. Tom earned silver medals as both a player and NPC in junior bridge and has represented the US in The World Mind Sport Games.
For all of the junior bridge players out there, Tom and Joel Wooldridge’s partnership started when they met at the junior reception at a Summer NABC. You never know where you might find your world class partner!
Episode highlights:
1:35- How Tom got into bridge
3:55- Parents met at a bridge club
12:15- How Tom met Joel Wooldridge
14:20 - System development with Joel Wooldridge by mail. Joel became ACBL youngest Life Master in 1990 at the age of 11 years 4 months and 13 days.
18:20- Bridge spans across generations
21:30- Tom believes it is awesome how bridge allows you to compete even against the world best
25:40- Tom’s interesting relationships with ACBL Youngest Life Masters
26:50- Atlanta Junior Bridge, Atlanta Super Sectional hosted first ever Youth NABC in 2010
29:20- Tom’s memories of the 2012 World Youth Team Championships (the event covered by Double Dummy)
40:15- The competitive pressure and emotions of the game
47:10- Serious Pie Neapolitan pizza in downtown Seattle
48:05- Tom’s wife Jenni won the 2016 Reno NABC Mixed Pairs with Greg Humphreys.
50:05- Tom’s system with Joel Wooldridge
57:15- Tom’s attitude towards Joel’s success in bridge
1:00:40- Shireen Mohandes’ site http://www.barbu.co.uk/barbu.htm
1:06:45- Tom’s history with Atlanta Junior Bridge
1:10:00- Tom’s story of kibitzing his team as NPC and how he handles the non-bridge aspects of NPCing
1:20:00- Celebration of Justin Lall’s Life
1:25:30- You need to be able to move on from losses
1:31:00- Deal on which Tom won the IMP Pairs + other crazy hands
Not all professional bridge players are world class. I will comfortably posit that Chris Willenken is. Having watched a director ask Chris about a bidding problem at an NABC I've been dumbfounded about how much Chris knows with just a few words introduction. Demand for playing lessons with him has skyrocketed during Covid as bridge players seek to improve their games online.
I love the role Chris' mother played in helping him find this lifelong pursuit. Find out how she and bridge communities in both the Poconos and New York City's initial nurturing helped turn Chris into a top American expert.
Episode highlights
2:45- How Chris started playing bridge through his mother
9:05- The Collegiate School and Manhattan Bridge Club
13:40- Chris’ relationship with one of his first partners
16:00- Chris’ quotation on Ernest Hemingway to describe how he started his bridge professional career
20:05- Chris’ heartbreaking story about losing the Blue Ribbons Pair on the last board
25:20- Chris’ story of a funny hand played with Roy Welland
30:20- Chris’ story of making it to the semifinals of the Rosenblum with Michael Rosenberg, Chris’s hall of fame bridge partner for five year
38:20- Chris’ mindset on all his incredibly close calls in winning major tournaments
41:30- Chris’ answer to when he felt he could be considered a great bridge player
47:10- Chris’ epic history with parliamentary debate at Williams College
Amanda Amert, Chris’s debate partner at Williams.
51:45- Chris’ style of bride with his current partner, Jan Jansma
57:15- How Chris views the use of deception in bridge
1:04:50- How Chris decides with his partner their bidding system
1:07:10- Chris’ family and quarantine time
1:15:50- Is Chris better than Kalita???
1:18:45- Youth Bridge Association
Jacob Freeman and Finn Kolesnik are 20 and 16 years old respectively. They first proposed the idea of appearing on The Setting Trick, seemingly as a lark, at the 2019 Fall North American Bridge Championships. As the podcast’s founder and host, I was delighted that it mattered to them, and amused by being asked during a chance run in on a street corner!
Find out the amazing story about how these two teenagers put together the “amateur” F Kolesnik team, calling on four hall of famers each of whom are more than twice their age.
These two up-and-coming bridge players who have already found much success in the game. Even though they are both still teenagers, they made waves in the bridge world when they recently tied for first place in the inaugural NAOBC Knockout.
I got the chance to chat with them about both of their backgrounds and how they got into playing bridge. The two young men tell the story of how they became a team. I ask them about their thoughts on the future of Bridge and about their short-term and long-term goals.
After losing the first 30 minutes of our first recording session, Jacob and Finn were generous enough to chat with me for a second time. In this episode, I have put together both interviews so you as a listener can gain all the insight!
Thanks for listening, and if you like what you hear, give us a review on iTunes.
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Show Notes:
Bridgewinners thread on Andrew Robson and David Gold bidding to 7 diamonds from 2017 Transnational Teams Playoff
Episode Highlights:
2:25 - How the Kolesnik Team came together
15:55 - Finn’s and Jacob’s favorite tournament
21:55 - Bob Hamman is a hilarious man
25:00 - Finn’s college and future plans
27:50 - Jacob’s future plans
34:25 - Finn and Jacob discusses co-championing in the NAOBC KO
42:30 - How Jacob and Finn met
46:05 - What it was like after realizing they tied for first and the celebration afterwards
50:25 - Hamman said sorry when Finn placed fourth in the Life Master Pairs
52:50 - How Finn and Jacob became so good at bridge
56:40 - Finn’s partnership with Michael Xu
1:00:10 - How Finn and Jacob work on their partnership
1:01:50 - How they decided to play together in the NAOBC
1:09:10 - Why John made Double Dummy and started this podcast!
1:14:55 - Funny story about Finn’s dad superstitious occurrences
1:15:40 - Finn and Jacob’s professional bridge scene
1:20:45 - Finn and Jacob’s youth international bridge plans
Phil Clayton is a regular listener. When he recently won the first ever Premier Pairs we decided to invite him to be a guest. Phil wrote this post on Bridgewinners describing his win with his regular partner Andrew Gumperz. The ACBL’s ultimate masterpoint reward is Grand Life Master. Unfortunately for Phil, none of his major wins will qualify him for the distinction. Nonetheless, he says the Premier Pairs is his best result to date.
Phil recently moved to Dallas and seems to be greatly enjoying the bridge culture there. Here’s a photo of him and Hall of Famer/ Episode 12 guest, Bart Bramley.
0:30 - Phil Clayton’s regular partner and home-grown system
2:40 - what it was like winning the pairs
5:15 - Even a bad session led to a win
7:00 - Phil’s environment as a junior player
10:05 - bidding problem and funny system win
15:00 - defensive problem
20:55 - Phil’s advice on defensive signaling
30:10 - Phil’s prediction on future National events
37:45 - Playing with Hamman
13 pages of notes after 90 minutes of discussion
44:35 - How Phil got back to Bridge after his hiatus
48:30 - Mountain biking with Chris Compton
- “Over the falls”
56:05 - Finalist for ACBL CEO Job
1:11:40 - Nerve wracking nature of barometer scoring
1:16:35 - Bidding problem
Jack Zhao is a two time world champion in pairs and one of the funniest men in the bridge world. While this is an audio program, when Jack laughs wholeheartedly, it looks like his face is going to explode. I’ve had the pleasure of partnering Jack for a week long regional tournament and visited him in his home city of Tianjin, China.
In this conversation we discuss Jack’s improbable journey to living in America, learning bridge as a teenager and the importance of Jack being welcomed into the bridge scene in Rotterdam. In spite of his team missing the first six boards of the semifinal, Jack won the 2017 Reisinger. In 2006, he won the Vanderbilt as the 44th seed, and the World Pairs, partnering Fu Zhong in both events. He won the World Mixed Pairs in 2014 with Kerri Sanborn.
Jack’s ultimate bridge goal is to win a major world team championship, preferably the Bermuda Bowl. In spite of having been asked, he is not yet eligible for senior events.
Highlights from Episode:
1:25- The Edge - “It was like someone lit the touch paper on this bomb. I had never seen anything like it. It was like a switch went on.” From It Might Get Loud when he saw the Jam on Top of the Pops.
2:30- Introduced to bridge by a casual player
11:50- 50% slams
14:12- Bridge in Rotterdam
15:25- The importance of bridge books
- Kelsey
16:46- Bridge bible, Better Bridge with Bergen
- Carried it everywhere with him
19:18- Most helpful was Terrence Reese over my shoulder
23:49- Playing with 1966 World Pairs champion Hans Kreijhns
- One club four cards, one diamond four cards, one heart four cards
- Underled ace of diamonds
-
- Only lead to beat the contract
29:40- Jack’s lifetime hero, Barry Westra, always curious about what Jack was thinking
36:35- Exams at Erasmus University
39:28- Playing with Fu
43:14- 2nd in Transnational teams
44:25- “Easy” last day of Bermuda Bowl Round Robin
47:19- Dream for all bridge players
52:11- Bridge does not require a lot of calculations
53:54- Reaction when he underled ace of diamonds
- He can still see his p’s face
56:16- Top players in Netherlands were open to Jack
1:02:00- How Jack learned about Michael Rosenberg
- He was the guy who could make THOSE hands
1:04:27- Opponents cards
1:13:08- Winning Vandy as 44th seed
1:16:24- A grand slam in diamonds
1:19:30- Winning the Reisinger
1:30:32- Better than Kalita?
Kim Frazer is an Olympian, three time Commonwealth Games gold medalist in rifle shooting and author of Gaining the Mental Edge at Bridge. Seeking a hobby in retirement, Kim took up bridge in 2005 and in 2018 made the Australian women’s team in her first attempt.
In this episode Kim shares how the mental techniques that brought her such success in shooting are just as applicable in bridge. Kim discusses the path she took in writing her book and explains with simple practices how to improve one’s mental bridge game. Kim is rigorous about improving hers.
When she encounters a new card combination, she makes sure to look it up in the ACBL Encyclopedia. Her diligence is contagious. Playing in a BBO speedball a few days after we spoke, I encountered AQ762 opposite J954 and wondered, hmm, I wonder if there is more to this combination than I know. (Encyclopedia still in storage)
I played two slams in the same speedball which required careful play and handling. I noticed myself thinking I don’t know how to play slams well. Thanks to having talked to Kim, I was able to acknowledge this negative self concept and notice how it didn’t serve me. I went on to make both contracts. Thanks Kim!
I echo what Ron Klinger shared in the introduction, “I would just like to bar all of my regular opponents from reading this book.”
Here’s the fantastic photo of Kim from her shooting days mentioned in the outro.
Highlights from this episode:
19:00 Dont give yourself an excuse to fail
26:24 Ron Klinger’s way of writing a forward
43:19 How Kim credits her partner’s mental toughness for her first Commonwealth Games Gold Medal
49:47 How Kim thinks about affirmations
1:1:14 Studying card combinations
1:02:34 Shooting results versus bridge results
1:05:15 BLOW
1:06:15 How Kim’s partner looks at the dummy as declarer
1:08:09 Kim’s method for tracking the bridge if live bridge ever returns
1:14:36 Kim’s bridge goals
1:18:27 Kim’s cue word
1:22:01 How she started writing bridge articles
1:24:08 Does Kim hunt?
1:25:10 Better than Kalita?
1:26:59 Why she wrote the book
Equal Justice Initiative
Black Lives Matter
Bridge is one of my favorite subjects. I love hearing stories about how people got started, a great play or how they approach a hand. The Setting Trick podcast is the forum where I share conversations with world class bridge players and fellow lovers of the game. As the host and founder, it is my pleasure to share highlights from Seasons One and Two in our first ever Best of The Setting Trick.
Since we had our initial conversation with Bridgewinners co-founder Gavin Wolpert over two years ago, we are grateful to have spoken with 20 individuals over the course of 18 episodes. A portion of the audio from every conversation, save legendary Zia Mahmood’s discussion of a bidding problem, can be found in this Best of.
We started this process with our intern Michael Xu having transcripts created for each episode. Michael read through every transcript and made a list of suggestions for what content should make our highlight reel.
My goal was to include audio from each one of our guests. I chose not to include Zia’s discussion of a bidding problem to make this episode more accessible for less advanced and non-players alike. Playing with Zia is the subject of both Zach Grossack and Anam Tebha’s segments and he is mentioned by former partner’s Michael Rosenberg and Bob Hamman as well.
It has been a pleasure to be coached and encouraged by so many of our listeners. I can remember being in Scotland for a Double Dummy screening at Stirling University and going out for a drink afterwards. It made my day when one of the attendees told me he had listened to my conversation with Migry and enjoyed it.
My practice of how I am approaching interviews has been greatly influenced by listener Leonard Epstein whom I have never met. He stressed to me the importance of having an idea what I want to learn from the guest beforehand, sticking to it and making each guest the star. If you have suggestions, please pass them along!
If you gave up because an episode was “unlistenable” in the words of one friend, please give us another chance. I took Dave Caprera’s advice and have edited some of the clips from this episode to minimize my interruptions. We have also hired a sound engineer to optimize this audio.
It hit me as I was putting the segments into place what an accomplishment it is to have recorded and published these 18 conservations. I am giddy at the prospect of sharing it with bridge playing and non-bridge playing friends alike.
These stories go beyond bridge. Eight time world champion and three time player of the decade Jeff Meckstroth, after playing his first ever duplicate, his father said, “you were almost average, that’s really good!” Jeff thought, “that didn’t sound good to me at all!” (21:40)
Or the focus which Migry had when she was able to break up a squeeze at trick two on the last board of a disastrous quarter to help win an NEC Cup match. (46:10)
You are going to hear Meck talk about the danger of pulling a false card too early (32:50), Bob Hamman size up his partners for a match against Sam Lev and Mike Moss (9:58). Gavin Wolpert talking about how September 11th influenced him to choose his passion for bridge over university (5:55). Nabil Edgtton, briefly, on what it’s like to play in the Bermuda Bowl (1:13:05) and Michael Rosenberg, even more briefly on his record playing the Bermuda Bowl with Zia (1:12:45).
One of my favorite arrangements in the entire show was having Steve Weinstein gush about playing with Bobby Levin and Paul Soloway (48:45) (57:40) intermixed between Dave Caprera talking about playing with his wife of 44 years Anne Brenner (51:15). For my own personal safety I made sure to include from the head of the US Junior Program Michael Rosenberg how Dave is the best mentor (1:17:00). Dave, don’t forget this!
Kare Gjaldbaek talks about the day he improved the most as a bridge player (40:20) and Adam Wildavsky elaborates on what he calls the Keller convention (42:00). From Adam’s system notes: bit.ly/adamw-notes
- Keller
-
- We don’t discuss hands at the table.
- No apologies.
- No comments when dummy goes down.
Finally, here’s Walt Schafer’s scorecard in what Bart Bramley described as “a hand for Edgar.” On board 26, playing with Edgar Kaplan, Geir Hegelmo made six diamonds on a double intra finesse in Kaplan’s last ever major win.
If you don’t like this episode, then there’s not much hope for you as a listener to the podcast. This is the best we’ve got. We hope to set a standard with this Best of, that will be carried over to future TST interviews, including improved practices for recording audio going forward.
Please enjoy!
Anam Tebha is a professional bridge player, who learned the game during summer school as a teenager and fell in love. Shortly afterwards, her and three classmates went to the junior world championships knowing “only KC.” Afterwards, she returned home and “must have logged like over 50 boards a day” on Bridge Base Online, playing with any and everyone. Her hard work and passion paid off when she won the Mixed Swiss in a spontaneous partnership with Zia Mahmood. In the words of junior star, Finn Kolesnik, Anam “is a beast”.
Highlights from Episode:
2:00- How Anam learned bridge
3:45- Anam’s parents (disappointing) view towards bridge
6:05- Anam’s housemates
7:45- How Anam likes to allocate her bridge questions
9:40- Anam played in the Junior World Championships with a team of people who all had been playing for fewer than 6 months
12:35- Anam’s story of playing with Zia Mahmood and winning the Mixed Swiss
23:50- Anam’s experience of playing in a regional right before the coronavirus outbreak became very severe
32:10- How Anam played on the Zimmerman team
34:50- How Anam played with Joe Grue in the Mixed World Series
38:25- What Joe Grue taught Anam about opening 1N
41:15- Anam’s experience playing against team Kranyak in the 2019 trials
45:20- Is Anam better than Jacek Kalita?
46:05- Why we should all emulate Finn Kolesnik
When I invited world champion Geoff Hampson to be a guest on The Setting Trick, he shot back, “What’s the Setting Trick?” Crushed, I sent him a link to our website along with question marks and exclamation points. To which he responded, “I just bust chops, I’m down.”
It’s a pleasure to welcome one of the finest bridge players in the world with a sense of humor to match.
Highlights from Episode:
2:55- Geoff talks about how he is sick
12:10- Geoff’s favorite bridge memory
14:00- Geoff talks about Fantunes and how he suspected they were cheating
23:20- The impact of the Covid-19 virus
26:50- A high level declarer play young Geoff made that changed John Gowdy’s opinions about him
31:35- Geoff’s college experience (or lack thereof)
33:05- Geoff’s experience with playing money bridge
37:20- Funny comment Geoff made when he was in the Well
39:20- How Geoff first started playing bridge
41:20- Funny story back when Geoff was still a beginner
42:35- Geoff’s initial motivation to get good at bridge
45:10- Geoff’s idea of using this time of quarantine to help spread the game of bridge
48:20- John and Geoff discuss golf
55:15- The biggest advice Geoff has for players is to COUNT
1:01:50- Geoff plays Barbu. Here is the site where we play Barbu and the Barbu ladder, currently led by Episode (?) guest Zach Grossack 3/25
1:08:35- Geoff likes to read the Game of Thrones books
1:10:30- Geoff says he isn’t even the best player in his partnership
1:11:45- Is Geoff better than Kalita?
If you are interested in joining our online barbu group please apply to join our Facebook Group so that Shireen Mohandes may send you the particular set of rules by which we play.
Steve Weinstein speaks highly of his partners, demands a lot out of his students and plays to win. As a 17 year old, Steve became the youngest ever winner of a North American Bridge Championship, winning the Life Master Pairs with his stepfather Fred Stewart. While Steve is one of the best professional bridge players in the world, he considers himself “lucky that I have gotten to do things that I’ve loved and enjoyed and (I’ve) never had a job.”
Today, his regular partner is Bobby Levin whom Steve describes as “without a doubt, unquestionably one of the best players in the world.” When asked what makes them such a formidable pair Steve said their biggest strength is they “we consistently hit the ball hard to the opponent’s backhand.”
A constant theme in our conversation is the importance of focus. From watching the spots at the table to not mixing bridge and poker, which Steve also plays at a very high level. Steve sets an excellent example for anyone wanting to be the best they can be. Make sure your goals and actions are in alignment and enjoy the wins.
Jeff Meckstroth needs no introduction. His name is synonymous with winning. When I first laid eyes on him, some eight years ago, at the Williamsburg Regional, I thought, "Wow, there's Jeff Meckstroth!"
Now, amazingly, here he is, full of good humor, stories and even some encouragement for my own game on The Setting Trick podcast.
In our wide ranging conversation, Jeff shares about meeting Eric Rodwell, how he knew Rod was the partner for him, getting started professionally and getting fired by both George Rosenkrantz and Nick Nickell!
One of my favorite parts of this interview came from a throwaway question about Jeff's partner for the upcoming Platinum Pairs. The only NABC event Jeff doesn't play with Rod. Jeff has partners lined up seven years out!
Meck is open about making mistakes, the importance of putting them behind you, underachieving on the Nickell team of late and his appreciation for those who have helped pave the way for his incredible success at the highest level.
Jeff recently befriended Jeopardy champion James Holzhauer. If you only have time for one story, starting at the 3:22 mark, check out how Jeff too quickly pulled a false card, in a friendly match against James and Josh Donn at the recent San Francisco NABC.
Other highlights from the episode include:
6:30- Jeff’s advice to James and all bridge players
7:20- How Jeff met Eric Rodwell
10:40- A multi-system that Jeff used to play with Rodwell until it was banned
12:30- How Jeff learned bridge
13:40- Jeff’s experience with winning the King of Bridge award
18:25- The 1979 Reisinger
24:30- Jeff’s favorite bridge victory
28:00- How Jeff views his titles when he sits down to play
30:30- What Jeff cherishes about bridge
34:00- The aftermath of Jeff’s departure from team Nickell
38:20- How Rodwell loves to tinker with their system
49:10- One hand doesn't mean anything
50:30- More on how Jeff started playing bridge
59:40- How Jeff helps up and coming professionals
1:01:00- Jeff's thoughts about the future of professional bridge
1:08:40- Jeff’s father’s heart attack episode
1:15:20- Jeff’s funny story about a creative bid that led to a change in scoring
1:22:25- Jeff’s family
1:31:50- Jeff on bridge dreams
1:34:00- Starting out with Nickell
1:41:49- The importance of moving on from your mistakes
1:49:23- Jeff's lineup for the next seven platinum pairs
Originating from Denmark, Kare Gjaldbaek is our next guest. Kare is currently pursuing a PhD in mathematics. This coupled with the fact that he has new children to take care of means he is forced to take a hiatus from bridge. But once life calms down for him, he plans on “returning to the bridge scene with a vengeance.”
Similarly to our previous guest, Bart Bramley, Kare has interesting stories to share. Unlike Bramley though, Kare has more …. wild stories to tell. One particular narrative involves a combination of alcohol and late-adolescence hormones, leading to a lack of clothing in adverse locations. Reflected by a feisty and jolly personality, Kare effectively demonstrates the thrills and vicissitudes of junior bridge.
Highlights from Episode:
3:50- What Kare misses about playing bridge
6:30- Difficulties that prevent Kare from playing in tournaments
8:00- Kare’s best accomplishments in grand events
9:20- Kare’s story about swimming naked in public
10:30- Another story of dubious-teenage-actions
17:30- A hilarious story about teaching bridge
26:40- Kare’s best bridge advice
35:40- Kare’s reason for not asking about his teammates’ results
49:00- Kare’s thoughts on leaving his math career to pursue professional bridge
53:10- A bridge lesson that Kare learned from Bart Bramley
1:13:40- How bridge should be taught
Being on our longest interview yet, Bart Bramley, a world-class bridge champion, delivered throughout the entirety of the podcast. This episode was not a typical interview. Indeed, it was Bart who steered the conversation, captaining the exploration of his fruitful life. As a master storyteller, Bart recounted innumerable adventures and provided an incredulous level of detail in each of his stories.
At the age of 71, Bramley has lived life. He may be old in terms of the myriad memories he can reminisce about, but he still has the sharp humor of a young man. Bart invites you, listeners, to experience vicariously his life journey and encounters with some of the world’s greatest and most renowned players.
Highlights from Episode:
5:30- Bart’s relatively low weight and his experiences with it
12:50- John Mcallister’s weight and height
17:00- Bart’s recollection of tournaments that he played in
21:10- Stories about Lou Bluhm
37:00- Stories about Bob Hamman
40:10- Bart’s outside-of-bridge- career path
48:40- Bart’s experience partnering with Bob Hamman
57:40- Bart’s explanation for why Bob Hamman is a great bridge player
58:50- The importance of putting a bad board behind you
1:01:15- Bart’s love for baseball
1:07:00- A funny space work project
1:27:40- A story about Harold Lilie
1:36:30- Stories about Sidney Lazard and the famous 6D hand
1:45:30- The famous Geir Helgemo hand
1:53:40- Bart’s favorite event
Best known for being the inventor of the now famous game, Hool, and other bridge-related apps - like Kida -, Amaresh Deshpande is our next guest to share his thoughts. Originating from India, Deshpande began his career as a math teacher, but he now finds himself mainly teaching bridge.
Concerned by the current difficulty in introducing bridge to short-attention-spanned children, Deshpande had set off on a quest to solve the issue of how to teach bridge in a society governed by distractions and immediate pleasures. He ended up designing Hool: a game that could be a stand-alone experience or a “soft” introduction to bridge. Hool has now taken a life of its own, with there already being Hool tournaments in colleges. Perhaps being our most lively guest, Deshpande turns this interview into a truly natural conversation.
Highlights from Episode:
1:20- Amaresh’s career in teaching
2:45- Amaresh’s thoughts on when to transition from Hool to Bridge
4:20- the goal that Amaresh hopes that Hool will accomplish
11:05- Amaresh’s view on the current problem with introducing bridge to newcomers
12:50- A new game called Double Dummy
17:30- Amaresh’s funding for his programs
18:30- Amaresh’s current work with other projects
22:45- insights that Amaresh garnished through teaching Hool
31:20- A potential event where Hool and Bridge is combined
35:35- Amaresh’s experience with Mahjong in Wuhan
36:55- Amaresh’s thoughts on why the Bridge world needs Hool
39:45- John’s current work with his documentary Double Dummy
James Holzhauer is, by far, the most famous interviewee we have had on the show. Breaking several records in the game show Jeopardy!, Holzhauer and his massive win streak have astonished the world. During his winning streak Jeopardy! viewership grew from 10.4 million to 13.3 million a week. He is already in the Jeopardy! Hall of Fame. Holzhauer is more than a Jeopardy! champion; he is also a bridge player. James can execute a double squeeze yet prefers to play one way new minor forcing(?).
Highlights from Episode:
2:30- James’ first exposure to bridge
3:20- James’ relationship with books in general
5:15- James’ engagement with bridge today
7:20- James’ skill level in bridge
10:20- Las Vegas Bridge World
11:50- James’ level of celebrity
14:30- James’ tactics in sports betting
17:50- Applications of strategies in sports betting and poker to bridge
19:10- An interesting bridge deal encountered by James
20:10- James’ mentors
23:20- James potentially quitting sports betting
24:00- James’ aspiration to become a world class player
31:50- Project 150
33:20- James’ experience with Jeopardy and his preparations
39:50- James’ reputation now as a sports bettor
43:20- The impact his fame has had on his relationship with his friends
Dave Caprera is the author of the recently published bridge book, Sleeping on the Couch. All proceeds from the sale of Dave's book go towards the USBF Junior Fund. Dave is on the USBF board and serves as a coach for some of the junior teams.
Dave's regular partner is his wife of 42 years Anne Brenner. For all those non-bridge players who are thinking of taking up the game with your, spouse listen to this episode.
Dave averages about 10 points a day at a tournament which has made him a Platinum Life Master. He has also participated in every Master Solver's Club in the Bridge World since 1978 without ever having gotten a perfect score, Dave, we are rooting for you.
The title of Dave's book is a testament to his sense of humor. I first ran into Dave at the Manatee Regional in Bradenton, FL and have seen him as far away as the Gold Coast of Australia and Tromso, Norway. He has encouraged me time and again with Double Dummy and I am grateful to be his friend.
Samantha Punch started playing bridge as she finished up her PhD in Sociology. Now she is on the Scottish Women's bridge team. Placing 7th in the 54th European Team Championships, allowed her team to qualify for the Venice Cup for the first time.
Sam is a sociologist at the University of Stirling and is helping them to start the academic study of the Sociology of Bridge. Sam hosted a screening of Double Dummy at the Macrobert Filmhouse in June. In this episode Sam shares how that screening has led to the creation of a university bridge club with people aged 8-78 making appearances.
The University of Stirling is in the process of setting up a crowd funder for the Sociology of Bridge research that Sam is leading. If anyone would like to find out more, including the best way to make a donation (which can be tax efficient), please contact alumni@stir.ac.uk or email Sam directly: s.v.punch@stir.ac.uk
Sam is also happy to hear from those who would like to be added to the bridge research mailing list (you would be sent a summary 1-2 times a year) or who are keen to participate in future research collaborations. You might like to follow them on Twitter: @soc_of_bridge
She also mentioned the Bridge Zone, which is a 30 minute radio programme dedicated to bridge topics and supported by New Zealand Bridge. You can listen to the recent podcast (or via https://oar.org.nz/event/the-bridge-zone/)
http://accessradio.org/ProgrammePage.aspx?PID=6379a3ce-8450-482c-bad1-6b4cc2574313
On the phone with Adam Grossack this May, we started talking about the regional tournaments he plays with Jeff Meckstroth and Eric Rodwell and a husband and wife. It's an unusual pairing because Meckwell never play together. Rather, Adam plays with either Jeff or Eric depending on whether the husband or wife is playing with the other half of the famous partnership.
I started to ask Adam questions about what system he plays with each of them and he told me, "let's save this for my podcast episode." I love that Adam thought so far in advance about being able to share these types of insights with our listening audience. It's typical of how he is at the table and how he approaches bridge.
The second half of this episode is a conversation with Morris Jones, commonly referred to as Mojo. Mojo is hosting our first Tugg screening of Double Dummy on September 18th in Pasadena and moonlights as a bridge teacher/director for newcomers two nights a week on top of his full-time job as an engineer for Dreamworks Animation!
Adam Wildavsky is recognized as a Grand Life Master by the American Contract Bridge League. He has represented the United States finishing as high as third in the Bermuda Bowl and won the Reisinger Board a Match teams partnering Doug Doub with whom he had not even planned on initially playing the event.
In addition to my conversation with Adam we have bridge superstar Zia Mahmood discussing a bidding problem shared with me from my friend Anindra Sarkar.
Zach Grossack can play. He could do so as a fifteen year old star of Double Dummy
Now as a twenty year old, he is developing into one of the world's best. He and older brother Adam Grossack form one of the top young partnerships in the world. In this wide ranging conversation, Zach is both insightful and playful, much like he is at the table.
Here are some highlights:
9:18 - Get Zach’s thoughts on Danish starlet Christina Lund Madsen, including playing with her when she almost called the director on him.
15:38 - How Zach feels like he missed the golden age of professional bridge.
20:33 - On what Zach is doing to help bring new players into the game including starting a bridge club at Tufts, and how it takes so much time before one can even say that they “suck” at bridge.
29:35 - Adam Grossack might like it here where Zach refers to himself as a, “professional projector.”
30:18 - How Zach and his brother Zach recovered from almost not qualifying for the finals of the NAPs to winning in Philadelphia in March, including Adam and Zach’s partnership rule on Adam tanking and what it’s like to play with your brother.
38:38 - How you put into practice the age old rule about not talking about hands during the game.
48:15 - Learn about Zach’s previous experience with podcasting.
51:37 - Double Dummy is going to be available through Tugg.com more likely May 11 for screenings, including Cinema-on-Demand.
59:53 - Zach’s backup plans if being a bridge pro does not work out.
1:07:23 - Best win of Zach’s career to date in his mind.
1:11:05 - Listen as Zach hatches his plan to keep me from ever becoming a Platinum Life Master.
1:19:32 - Zach’s bridge hero, playing against him and with him.
Enjoy!
I first met Migry at the Phoenix NABC in the Fall of 2013. Shortly thereafter I received an email from Christina Lund Madsen asking if I wanted to hire her and Dennis Bilde for the 2014 World Mixed Teams Championship. My only concern became finding a female partner. Christina suggested Migry and thus a great friendship born.
Migry is no shrinking violet! She has been a best friend, confidante, substitute mother, bridge partner and sounding board ever since we had lunch together on January 27th, 2014, her birthday, in New York City. We agreed to play the Mixed portion of the world championships together and after coming in 12th in the platinum pairs the entire 2014 World Bridge Series and cycle.
I have had some of my best results partnering Migry. She is a pleasure to play with and has a fantastic sense of humor. We love to laugh together. She continues to have great one liners, such as at the when I asked her about playing the Nickell team in the recent Vanderbilt. "We are not here to kibitz the opponents."
I have spent countless evenings at her New York City apartment talking about bridge and life with her and her equally delightful husband Pietro Campanile.
Our partnership almost never got off the ground because I had such difficulty understanding her on the phone initially. Migry did express concern about this for our listeners when I first asked her about doing the interview. One evening, over dinner, a waitress asked Migry what language she was speaking. Migry handled it with her typical grace and aplomb.
Through our time playing together Migry has graciously introduced me to countless friends of hers throughout the bridge world who I am now lucky enough to call friends as well. I am grateful that at no point during the interview did she call me by my one time nickname, "Baby John," and consider this an excellent sign of my increasing maturity.
Bob Hamman requires no introduction in bridge circles. His name is synonymous with success at the games highest level. Find out what makes him such a dynamic personality away from the table in this rare conversation.
Gavin is a top professional bridge player who has represented both the United States and Canada in international competition. He is also the founder of brdgewinners.com a fantastic resource for learning the game. In our wide ranging discussion he talks about psychology at the table, including not underestimating your opponents, conserving energy, great plays and overcoming mistakes. How he changes his strategy when the situation dictates and how he generally plays to avoid making errors.
I really appreciate Gavin for sharing so generously of his time and being my first guest.