Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Rigged decks (also sometimes called “marked” card decks) have been utilized by magicians and card cheats for about as long as card decks themselves have been around.  Would you spot a marked deck if you encountered one at a game or club? Anyone who plays cards for pleasure, awards or cash should know what to…

The word “trick” is one of the most-used in the bridge world – and here, it means something completely different than it does anywhere else. I’m a linguist by nature, and the alternate definitions of the word trick have been attracting my attention for a while this week.  It’s possible to play a trick on someone,…

Stock images of people playing bridge never quite resemble real people playing bridge.  While the hand has the right amount of cards, the players themselves are usually never looking at them. Instead, there’s a slightly deranged, android-like look in its place and they look like they’re about to power up and boot. When I was looking at…