Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall -Who is the Greatest Bridge Shop(per)of Them All?

I am afraid it is not you.

This last week I won. Me for a change.

I am the Queen of Carts.  Shopping Carts. And I have just discovered the best shopping cart of them all at the Bridge Shop in Australia.  My cart runneth over with all the fabulous stuff you can buy.

Yes, bridge playing aficionados – the Bridge Shop in Sydney Australia is the place to check out.  Visit it if you happen to be in the sunning yourself in the southern hemisphere, or simply go on-line.  Your cart will be full by the time you finish – I am simply shopped out.  But I can’t wait to tell my bridge dummies.  I mean chummies.

The Bridge Shop has been going since 1974 – what an accomplishment.  Something must be working.

As far back as the 90’s it became the first bridge shop to open an on-line store.  It has an excellent reputation for providing all things bridge, so, I am suggesting here that you treat yourself to some serious shopping and get those dummies, you know whom I mean, jealously engaged at your next bridge game gathering.

Cruella Deville will be crawling the walls waiting to rush out and get herself a new bridge table (I bought on-line), and a selection of beautiful bridge mugs (I bought on-line).  And some fab poker cards for my husband’s poker school/drinking club. (I bought on-line)

But wait there is more.  I am laying all my cards on the bridge table here.

Whether you are a serious player of the game of bridge or a novice, you need a proper bridge table, or two.  So, I invested in a new one, because I am a serious and novice bridge player taking  bridge protocol very seriously. You dear bridge game aficionados, need to take this seriously too.  Nothing will ruin the game of bridge, other than Cruella Deville as your partner, as a bad place to play.

You wouldn’t play golf on a rock, or chess on the beach, or put your beautiful poker cards on the floor. So, No. 1 Tip: play your game of bridge (please) on a proper bridge or card table.

If you have not worked this out yet – there are four people in the game of bridge.  You, your partner, Harry the Hog on your left with his partner, Dilly the Duck. Four people who need to feel comfortable and secure in their little space.  The dining room table will not do, nor will the kitchen counter.  Invest here, and yes you can buy on-line from the Bridge Shop – a new bridge table.  There is a 30-day money back guarantee, and shipping is fast and reliable.  No need to shop anywhere else.

You can always do with two, too.  They are easy to stack away and can be used for every non-bridge playing occasion as well.  I once took my old, hand-me-down one on a camping trip in the desert and it worked like a charm.  And believe it or not, we were able to play few hands of bridge in the campfire light, once we had emptied it of the kitchen stuff.

How to Shop for Your Bridge Stuff. 1st Port of Call: The Bridge Shop Australia

You know when you discover a new shop in your area that is just up your “I want this alley” and you are not quite sure whether you should share this gem with others, well that is how I feel about the Bridge Shop Australia.  It is not too good to be true – it is in fact, true.  So I suppose, being the generous soul that I am at this very moment, I will tell you all about it.

It has everything you need if you are a contract bridge fanatic as I am; books, software, club supplies, home supplies and giftware and all at a click of a button if you are not fortunate enough to be physically in Sydney where it is located.

This Is a Virtual Reality Bridge Gem of a Shop. Shop. Play. Learn.

There is nothing it doesn’t have or can’t get. Being in the top 10 contract bridge supply shops in the world-expect the best and you won’t be disappointed.  Give it a go fellow bridge-boffs – you will love it.

When I discovered it, I immediately signed up for the newsletters and so it sits comfortably on my “favourite sites” list.

The Sum of All Technical Knowledge Cannot Make a Master Contract Bridge Player.

But, folks, wait a moment. This does not apply to those of us who play bridge games on the computer.  My best times are spent on Vu-Bridge which you can access by clicking on the Bridge Shop’s website and play the hand of the week.  You can get the benefit of professional commentary from top players and teachers and it is great fun.

The other must do is Bridge Baron 27 which is the world’s most popular contract bridge game on the computer. And also recently discovered is Jack 6 which you can download a sample of the manual and “getting started guide” to see if it is what you like.

So What Else Is There in This Bridge Shop? Bridge Art of course.

How about collecting some bridge art for your club or your home? I love the Saturday Evening Post posters of people playing the game of bridge. As I am a fan of Normal Rockwell I recently ordered this poster. It is a typical Rockwell painting as it depicts a simple scene of 4 players sitting around a table playing bridge.  It was on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in May of 1948.  Slick hair and black suits. Coiffed women and comfort.  He always stated the obvious, but with a delving deeper into the scene, you see some foibles and wit.  The red-head is scratching her head in confusion and her male partner (no doubt her husband) is sitting back and smiling smugly.

Words after the game – that is for sure! This bridge art poster gives my bridge chummies endless amusement and you start to see all sorts of hidden innuendos – as in real life in a bridge game.

The Bridge Shop: Shop, Play and Learn

We Could All Give Up Shopping, But We Are Not Quitters Are We?

Wondering what to give as the perfect gift for your fellow bridge playing dummies? Or what about to dearest me, with lots of love, from me? Look no further bridge enthusiasts. The Bridge Shop awaits. It has the best bridge stuff online, it will deliver in an instant, you can rely on its 30-day money back guarantee and you are able, at a click of a button, to instantly download books and software.  Beat that Santa, Tooth Fairy or whoever you are claiming to be!

Bridge Basics – You Need a Card Table to Play On and Yes, You Need Bridge Cards to Play with.

To complete the basic setup, you will also need 4 x bridge players (these are probably the only bridge paraphernalia that you cannot buy at the Bridge Shop), preferably of sound mind and 4 x chairs to sit on around the card table …and you are off to a winning start.

Lay Your Cards On the Table…You Are in Need of a Card Table.

Serious about your bridge? You can’t possibly make a grand slam sitting at a dining room table with your shabby bridge cards. There is no finesse in that my friends.  Tools are what market the bridge game. Whether you are playing contract bridge or duplicate bridge, you need the right tools. Trust me no-one goes onto the golf course with a hockey stick.  And the first tool in your superior game technique is to invest in a proper card table; one that has collapsible legs and can be folded away into your storage space. The Bridge Shop has two varieties for you to choose from: The Deluxe Card Table which has wooden legs and surrounds and is covered in a green baize, and a Vinyl Card Table that is a cheaper option. I am still using my mother’s wooden bridge table manufactured in the olden days, and it still works like a charm and I love it!

One Card Short of a Deck?

Perhaps it is the Ace of Spades?  The only one bridge card you don’t need in your deck is the Joker. You can leave him as the dummy, but not in the deck. Again, a little finesse is required here.  1^st Rule of bridge cards – only play with good ones. Check out the bridge cards at the Bridge Shop.  You will want to start collecting.

Your Heart Lies in Art?

I think the Bridge Shop’s set of 3 Saturday Evening Post bridge art posters is a winner. To dearest me, with lots of love, from me.

The Bridge Shop – A bridge over Doubled Waters

The Bridge Shop Shelves Are Full of Creative Ideas

The variety of bridge paraphernalia available at The Bridge Shop is truly fascinating. Real kudos to the clever designers of these items both in their artistry and style. But then of course, if you look at a deck of playing cards and the history and intrigue around these, you realise that it is not such a difficult thing to bring art into bridge or good design into all aspects of the bridge game, whether it be in bridge table napkins, bridge playing cards, golf accessories etc.  The jargon of bridge is in itself a creative lexicon.

In the shop’s book section, not only is there a fabulous supply of how-to bridge books, but you will also find some drama in the novels on offer.  Some of these titles and covers are art works in themselves. Take for instance, Murder at the Bridge Table or I Shot My Bridge Partner. Yes, indeed we have all wanted to do away with our bridge partner at one stage or the other. The best title I think is:  Death in Duplicate!  What a good present to give that old Cruella de Ville at the bridge tournament. Creative gifting at its best!

Art in Hearts 

When I played socially years ago in Germany, I made special bidding box cards for my partner’s birthday: Get me My Gun, Let’s Leave Now and Stop! This is not fun Anymore! Help! Was the one she used most, much to my delight and amusement, but sadly not to our Germanic opponents whom we used to play with.  They thought the game of bridge rather more serious than that. But hey, a little creativity in your bridge game can be good fun.

My dear partner loved them so much she commissioned me to paint some greeting cards that were copies of playing cards.  My hand painted cards, or bridge art as she described them, were sourced from the beautiful designs of playing cards throughout the centuries. I have to tell you here, that I only got as far as painting the King, Queen and Jack of Hearts.

Playing Cards are a Perfect Example of Good Design Principles of Symmetry

After all, your bridge cards should be attractive surely? We like symmetry both in art and in our surroundings. Think how clever playing cards are, in that there is no such thing as upside down. As you pick them up after the deal, you simply place them in your hand. Over the ages symmetry and functionality in playing cards have evolved, but they are still things of beauty and one should study them carefully to understand the subtle differences between the different suits and royal cards.

Your Collection of Bridge Art – Display it on your Bridge Table for all to Envy

There are some beautifully designed playing cards available from The Bridge Shop that you will be proud to display at your bridge game.  Copy of art works are available in the Picasso, Renoir, Bruegel’s Tower of Babel, Monet’s Lilies playing cards.  Do yourself a favour and start collecting them. Not many of us can afford the real art, only the bridge art.

Shop online for Bridge Equipment, Products and Playing Cards to enhance your home bridge games

Bridge is a fun and educational card game played between four people (two against two). You don’t need much more than a pack of cards to play bridge but enthusiasts can avail themselves to a vast range of bridge equipment to enhance their game.

Apart from playing cards, the sorts of bridge products that someone might need could be a table, a bridge cloth, scorebooks, pens and pencils or all sorts of paraphernalia and gift ware like mugs, t-shirts, hats or jewellery. There really is no limit to the sorts of products available.

There is a wide variety of playing cards available and a wide range in quality. The best brands are Kem and Piatnik, two companies that have been manufacturing playing cards for over one hundred years. Their quality and reputation are world class. Both companies offer beautifully designed and patterned playing cards that will appeal to all bridge players.

Choosing the right bridge table is also important. You want to make sure the table you select and use is sturdy and ideally with fold away legs for easy storage. The best tables have inlaid cloth tops but bridge players can also buy bridge cloths separately from bridge product shops. The best cloths are made from hard wearing fabrics such as felt, velveteen or corduroy. You can find cloths in any colour to suit your décor if you look around enough.

If you don’t have a group of three other friends to form a bridge game, then why not consider playing bridge on your computer using Bridge Baron. Bridge Baron is the world’s most popular bridge computer game and it’s not hard to see why. It’s easy to use, has a beautiful graphical interface is full of features. At its most basic level, you just play a hand at a time against Bridge Baron but there are better uses of the product.

The Learn module allows the user to practice any of over a hundred conventions to practice. If the student is, say, learning a new convention, they can ask Bridge Baron to specifically deal out a range of hands that focus on that convention. That way, through a process of repetition, the important aspects of the convention are learnt by the player.

The Blackwood Challenges in Bridge Baron are ideal for improving your card play. There are over 500 hands to play – the bidding is given and the player is asked to play the cards out to make the contract. But the computer will not allow you to play the wrong card! The user will be forced to keep trying until they select the right card to play – reinforcing good card play skills. At the end of the hand is short movie which describes the tricks and traps of the hand and what the player needed to keep an eye out for.

These are just two of great features of the Bridge Baron software. Try it yourself, you will find your bridge game quickly improves. Most sellers of bridge products will be able to provide to for you.

Bridge world: Select the best bridge program and enjoy, play and relax

Bridge is an interesting, but tricky and mind twisting game. Even if you know how to play the game, you need to develop and improve the game always. There are bridge books and some of them are unique and have been written by experienced and intellectual writers who are game passionate as well. If selection of books become a daunting task for you, you can rely on search engines that are designed specifically for searching books. There are websites that can help you find and compare the prices of different books available. These websites provide you unbiased suggestions because they are entire independent.

To get the best deal in bridge books you can opt for the site that provides you price comparison and also offers many out of the print books and above all, it offers a free service. You may find that all these things are very good to be true, but they are available. You simply need to spend some time and effort looking for them. Once you are able to find the best and most suited site for you, bookmark it so that you do not have to do the entire research work whenever you get back to your search.

Some of the sites provide you with the facility of surfing several sites at a time so that you compare the quality and price comfortably and quickly as well. Just like books, there are online stores providing bridge supplies of different types for bridge lovers. So, if you want to buy something for a near and dear one who is game enthusiast, the best gift would be any product related to the game. Nothing could be more appropriate as a gift for people who are passionate about bridge, than giving them products related to the game.

If you are a member of club and you want to have a bridge playing program to be carried out at the club level, you have one of the best options. Jack Bridge is a complete bridge program for player of all levels. The best thing about this program is that it is developed by the bridge players for the bridge players and so is absolutely flawless. So, even if you are a beginner in this game, Jack will improve your possibilities of giving your best performance.

In addition to exceptional bidding and playing strength, Jack Bridge offers a user-friendly interface and offers many additional interesting features as well. You can relax and enjoy playing while you are using Jack. It offers settings for almost everything so that you adjust it to your likings especially if you are not satisfied with the default looks and offerings. The playing cards are not just outstanding ones, but also help you play with them on screen. An understandable manual is offered along with Jack so that you can read and learn about the most important features. Not only this, you get the tips of the day which will help you master the possibilities of Jack faster.