I have been involved in the game of bridge for several years by now, and I can swear that bridge players have developed a natural and pretty accurate instinct for spotting other bridge players.

When there’s more than one bridge player in the same space, there’s always a moment of recognition from one player to the next.

They might nod, they might shake hands, they might not say a word, but somehow a player almost always happens to know when there’s another player in the room.

I call them Encounters Of The Bridge Kind.

I’ve had many encounters like this since my bridge beginnings. Have you?

If you don’t believe it, test my theory the next time you’re in a room with several people.

My theory came about in a liquor store, pretty early one morning. I was passing through to buy a pack of cigarettes, and in walked two older gentlemen. I heard them arguing about the price of a beer like an old married couple, turned to them, and said: “So, bowls or bridge?”

It turns out that the answer was bridge.

While there’s no single shirt, ring, or piece of regalia that will tell you someone plays bridge, there are other ways to find the other bridgeur in the room.

Mention anything related to tricks, trumps, Gates, or playing cards and see what happens next. Throw a fact or a sentence into the mix of your conversation, and see who takes the bait first.

That right there? That’s how you’ll spot the bridge player.

We like talking about cards, and we love talking about bridge. In a group of people who don’t play bridge, just this simple fact can reveal who we are.

Bridge players also have buzzwords. If you say them, they will come. Say Stayman or Blackwood and watch the bridge players flock to the person who mentioned it, while regular people will just ask what the heck a Stayman is (or why they should stay, man).

Bridge players can also be spotted by the way they sit down at a table or desk. When sitting, most bridge players glance to the spot their cards would have been (or arrange the things on their table in order). We like order, and we can’t really help it. Again: If you see someone doing it, ask them if they play bridge!

The average bridge always shows their cards, at some point or another. That’s a good thing.

Our ability to spot another bridge player in a crowd means we’ll always know who to ask when a table needs a plus-one!

Have you ever seen another bridge player reveal themselves in a crowd? Have you ever walked past someone and just known they’re probably a bridge player, too?