I realize how lucky people are to be living in an era with access to the internet, and it’s a thought that hits me almost every day.

Whenever I need to know something about bridge, it takes a few keystrokes and a search bar. If I had to know the same information back in the sixties or seventies, it was going to take a phone call, a friend, or a few trips to the library for the same.

But the internet age has several sharp edges.

If you’re learning bridge online right now, have you thought of considering a bridge teacher?

Experienced players and novices both can benefit from professional bridge lessons. When self-taught, we might have access to all the information at our fingertips (but that doesn’t mean we have a teacher’s experience yet!).

Here’s a look at what a bridge teacher can do for you.

1. Assessing your abilities

If you’re self-taught, it can be difficult to tell where you’re at. It’s true because directions change and learning pace differs. Every self-taught student will know different things (and in different orders) after a month’s worth of study.

Step one for many teachers is student assessment. That’s important for everyone, but difficult to do yourself.
 
With experience, teachers can establish what you’ve learned – and exactly what you should work on. Without a teacher, the same assessment is guesswork and often timeous.

2. Answering your questions

Every student eventually comes up with a complicated (or weird) question within their direction. It’s a good thing, and it shows that you have learned enough to start asking – as a new student, it shows excellent initiative.

Without a teacher, how many times will you have to Google it to figure out your question? Sometimes the answer is hundreds.

But with access to a teacher, you should know that bridge teachers like questions. It cuts out a lot of time trying to figure things out yourself when a teacher could just have explained.

Hey, it’s another thing that comes with their experience.

3. Recommending new things

Excellent teachers have their ears to the ground within the subject they teach. It’s why they stick with their chosen direction, and it allows them to be closer to the overall pulse of things.

What does this mean for a bridge player?

Well, it could mean a great deal.

Teachers know their student. A teacher will also know appropriate resources, from books to online videos, that you might not have spotted yet.

If you’re wondering about books, movies, or clubs, ask a bridge teacher and you’ll be richer for it.
What have you learned from bridge teachers that would have taken you practically an eternity to learn from Google or the internet?