5 ms·

I'd like to tout an increasingly rare hobby among younger people (non-retirees): Bridge, the card game. It has a rule structure and that hidden-information elem

I'd like to tout an increasingly rare hobby among younger people (non-retirees): Bridge, the card game. It has a rule structure and that hidden-information element that appeals to nerds, but it forces you to think critically and rationally instead of analytically (usually--opportunities for highly analytical plays pop up), and forces you to be able to relate with another person both at and away from the table, since it's played by pairs of 2. There's a reason it's Bill Gates' favorite game. A lot of fascinating older people play the game, as well. I met a small business owner who was formerly the first computer salesman for a major mainframe company--IIRC it was Honeywell, but don't quote me on that. At least one famous international financier occasionally shows up to the bridge clubs in Chicago (unfortunately I've never ran into him). The downside is it's hard to find a critical mass of bridge players in your age and "hang-out-ness" category.

mrduncan 16y ago
Based on a CNBC special I saw a year or two ago, I believe Warren Buffett is also regular bridge player.
- raganwald 16y ago
  My friend Fred Gitelman would suggest that some of Warren Buffet's best friends are bridge players: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Gitelman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Gitelman
- failquicker 16y ago
  I can back this up as being a true statement. He regularly plays bridge (and ping pong)on the Sunday following the Shareholders meeting. He does it out in public for people to watch. He is also a pretty strong advocate of the game.
- mhartl 16y ago
  Indeed. In fact, Buffet and Gates often play bridge together, both online and IRL.
  - qq66 16y ago
    Tough to go against those guys in a cash game :)
  - mhartl 16y ago
    Oops, I just realized I misspelled 'Buffett'. I don't know how that happened. I guess pobody's nerfect.
- mrduncan 16y ago
  Here is an Op-Ed in the NYTimes I managed to dig up written by Buffett's partner Sharon Osberg: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/opinion/27osberg.html http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/opinion/27osberg.html
rikthevik 16y ago
Where I'm from (Saskatchewan, Canada) everyone plays Kaiser, a variant of Bridge. It's hugely popular here, but I guess it's only played by Ukrainians in Saskatchewan, and is completely unheard of outside the province. It's a little frightening when you play someone and they say, "ok, you have the Ace and I take the next 5 tricks."
kashif 16y ago
I play bridge too. http://bridgebaseonline.com http://bridgebaseonline.com is my online bridge resource. For those who want to get started this is a basic bidding overview - http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~hde/bidding.htm http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~hde/bidding.htm
- cynicalkane 16y ago
  Cool, what's your screenname? I go by ckane.
  - kashif 16y ago
    keios
notauser 16y ago
Playing bridge can get very expensive though. Some of the old guys with 70 years of practice are as good as you would expect. It's certainly much more interesting then poker though!
lsternlicht 16y ago
Can you give me an example of thinking critically and rationally vs thinking analytically?
- cynicalkane 16y ago
  I tried to use 'thinking analytically' to describe the calculation-evaluation cycle that is present in so many strategy games, especially chess-style games. I guess it wasn't a very good descriptor. Anyway, it's too late to edit it. The typical chess mental game involves chains of calculations to visualize future positions, then evaluating those positions based on the potential of good or bad chains of moves. "Strategic" plays are based on the possibility of generating or preventing future tactical plays. Bridge is more a game of inferences; out of the 26 or 39 cards you can't see (depending on the phase of play), the most important part of the game is guessing how those cards are distributed and planning for the contingencies that might arise (or the ones you need to arise). There are very few situations that involve long chains of calculations and possible positions; most of it is planning correctly, estimating probabilities (unless you're one of those talented people who can do the exact math in their heads), and good guesswork. Or at least that's how I play it... It's very refreshing to play a game that works out those areas of the mind, which are so important, but for which there are few direct workouts. The best play is usually clear post-mortem, and hands change every 7 or 8 minutes, so you get a lot of quick, direct feedback. The second most important part of bridge is communicating with your partner based on the limited language of putting cards down on a table, and the reason it's not the first most important part is because communicating correctly depends on inferring correctly, planning, and understanding partner's plans.

mrduncan 16y ago

Based on a CNBC special I saw a year or two ago, I believe Warren Buffett is also regular bridge player.

raganwald 16y ago
My friend Fred Gitelman would suggest that some of Warren Buffet's best friends are bridge players: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Gitelman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Gitelman
failquicker 16y ago
I can back this up as being a true statement. He regularly plays bridge (and ping pong)on the Sunday following the Shareholders meeting. He does it out in public for people to watch. He is also a pretty strong advocate of the game.
mhartl 16y ago
Indeed. In fact, Buffet and Gates often play bridge together, both online and IRL.
- qq66 16y ago
  Tough to go against those guys in a cash game :)
- mhartl 16y ago
  Oops, I just realized I misspelled 'Buffett'. I don't know how that happened. I guess pobody's nerfect.
mrduncan 16y ago
Here is an Op-Ed in the NYTimes I managed to dig up written by Buffett's partner Sharon Osberg: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/opinion/27osberg.html http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/opinion/27osberg.html

rikthevik 16y ago

Where I'm from (Saskatchewan, Canada) everyone plays Kaiser, a variant of Bridge. It's hugely popular here, but I guess it's only played by Ukrainians in Saskatchewan, and is completely unheard of outside the province. It's a little frightening when you play someone and they say, "ok, you have the Ace and I take the next 5 tricks."

kashif 16y ago

I play bridge too. http://bridgebaseonline.com http://bridgebaseonline.com is my online bridge resource. For those who want to get started this is a basic bidding overview - http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~hde/bidding.htm http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~hde/bidding.htm

cynicalkane 16y ago
Cool, what's your screenname? I go by ckane.
- kashif 16y ago
  keios

notauser 16y ago

Playing bridge can get very expensive though. Some of the old guys with 70 years of practice are as good as you would expect. It's certainly much more interesting then poker though!

lsternlicht 16y ago

Can you give me an example of thinking critically and rationally vs thinking analytically?

cynicalkane 16y ago
I tried to use 'thinking analytically' to describe the calculation-evaluation cycle that is present in so many strategy games, especially chess-style games. I guess it wasn't a very good descriptor. Anyway, it's too late to edit it. The typical chess mental game involves chains of calculations to visualize future positions, then evaluating those positions based on the potential of good or bad chains of moves. "Strategic" plays are based on the possibility of generating or preventing future tactical plays. Bridge is more a game of inferences; out of the 26 or 39 cards you can't see (depending on the phase of play), the most important part of the game is guessing how those cards are distributed and planning for the contingencies that might arise (or the ones you need to arise). There are very few situations that involve long chains of calculations and possible positions; most of it is planning correctly, estimating probabilities (unless you're one of those talented people who can do the exact math in their heads), and good guesswork. Or at least that's how I play it... It's very refreshing to play a game that works out those areas of the mind, which are so important, but for which there are few direct workouts. The best play is usually clear post-mortem, and hands change every 7 or 8 minutes, so you get a lot of quick, direct feedback. The second most important part of bridge is communicating with your partner based on the limited language of putting cards down on a table, and the reason it's not the first most important part is because communicating correctly depends on inferring correctly, planning, and understanding partner's plans.