Bidding is one of the aspects of the game that can take the longest to master, and it can even be what a lot of newer players feel is standing in their way of being better.
Certainly, bidding was one of the things that mystified me most in the very beginnings of playing bridge for the first time as a usual poker player.
Here are 5 great YouTube videos (and a few bonuses) that you can use to improve your own bidding – or introduce a new player to nuances.
1. Learn Bridge Bidding in 5 MInutes
Peter Hollands is one of the most productive YouTube video producers when it comes to bridge, and his channel is a literal fountain from which hundreds upon hundreds of bridge videos spring forth.
For anyone learning bidding, he’s condensed some of the basics down into five minutes, just like he did with Learn How to Play Bridge.
He has a great way of explaining things, and his channel is one of the first places I send anyone who I’d like to show bridge for the first time.
He also has other great bridge bidding lessons on his channel, including one that covers the basics of Stayman if you have time for a just-under 30 minute video on the topic.
(Link: YouTube)
2. Basic Bridge Responses
(Link: YouTube)
LearnBridgeNYC is a bridge club based in New York with an emphasis on teaching. They have plenty of useful videos on their channel, including one that specifically covers basic bridge bidding responses – an essential topic once you’ve gotten the hang of opening bids in relation to what you have in your hand.
3. Bridge with Ron Klinger
(Link: YouTube)
If you’re looking for a few videos on the same topic, here’s Bridge with Ron Klinger that’ll run you through everything you should know when it comes to basic and more advanced bidding. When it’s time to step up your game beyond this, Ron Klinger has videos on nearly everything else, too.
4. Bridge Bidding Overview
(Link: YouTube)
BridgeBFF is a newer online bridge video series that aims to teach the game to more youth players in a friendly format – which these days, means YouTube. Each video in their series covers a different topic any bridge player should know, and this is the link to the appropriate video that covers bidding.
5. Bridge Bidding Lesson
(Link: YouTube)
If you want to familiarize yourself with bidding from the ground up and you prefer a chilled out, lecture format video that doesn’t feel like you’ve been hit by the Truck of Knowledge, lesson 2 of the lesson series from the Australian Bridge Federation will show you everything you need to know. Once you’re done with that, proceed to the next lesson.