WIGAN BRIDGE CLUB BEGINNER’S LESSON SCHEDULE -  MARCH 30th 2026.

If you are interested, there is no need to book, just turn up on the night.

All lessons are on a Monday evening at 7pm.

The cost for the course of eight lessons is £65. Wigan Bridge Club is now cashless and fees are payable by bank transfer. Details will be given in a welcome pack available on the night.

Follow up lessons will be scheduled later in the year.

Course Tutor is John Gooch, 01257 266288.

Or contact the club directly for further information.

Why play bridge?

Played by over 220 million people worldwide, bridge is the most popular card game in the world. James Bond, Omar Sharif, Bill Gates, Martina Navratilova, Mike Gatting, Radiohead and Blur are numbered among its devotees. Just what is it about bridge that inspires such passion?

Bridge is social. As a social game, bridge is unparalleled and a great way to meet new people. It can be played at many different levels, ranging from a social foursome, right up to local, national and international competitions. At whatever level you play, you are guaranteed to make a new network of friends!

Bridge is a game for all ages. Bridge is probably the only competitive activity that all generations can do together and all have an equal chance of winning. It is a myth that bridge is an old person’s game. It is a game best learnt when you are young and enjoyed for the rest of your life. It is a game that you can spend your whole life studying, learning and playing yet never fully master!

Bridge is good for the mind. It is a mental workout unlike any other and is one of the few activities to stimulate both halves of the brain in equal measure. Playing bridge uses and develops logical thinking, inferential analysis, problem solving skills, sequencing, visualization, lateral thinking, long and short-term memory, observation and psychology (or cunning).

Bridge brings health benefits. It is believed that bridge can boost the immune system through its stimulation of the dorsolateral cortex, which is involved in the higher order brain functions needed to play the game. Playing bridge regularly will keep your brain young and your mind alert and recent research has suggested that it may even stave off degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Bridge is great fun & Bridge is exciting! If you can play bridge, you will never be bored. It combines the best qualities of all games – the cerebral challenges of chess, the suspense and psychology of poker and the excitement of a competitive football match. Bridge truly offers a unique combination of challenges and with every deal different, success depends on a combination of technique, teamwork and tactics.

Bridge is good value for money. It requires very little in the way of equipment and is thus a relatively inexpensive pastime. Unlike poker, it is not usually played for money.

What is Bridge -Some useful information

Bridge requires four players - formed into two partnerships. You sit opposite your partner, all the equipment you need is a pack of cards.

There are four main stages to each bridge deal:

DEALING THE CARDS

BIDDING or AUCTION

PLAYING THE CARDS

SCORING

Stage 1 - DEALING THE CARDS

All the cards are dealt out round the table so that everyone has thirteen - their HAND. The cards should then be sorted by each player into suits; spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs.

Stage 2 - BIDDING or AUCTION

The two partnerships enter a bidding war, which is similar to bidding in an auction, in order to try and win the right to name the TRUMP suit and how many TRICKS your partnership proposes to make. Each person in turn now makes a bid (which may be pass) which must be higher than the previous player’s bid until everyone passes and the highest bid has won the auction.

Stage 3 - PLAYING THE CARDS

The bidding is over and one of the partnerships has won the bidding.

They have said how many tricks they intend to make and which suit is the trump suit.

It is now time to play the cards.

Both partnerships try to take TRICKS.

What is a TRICK?

A trick is a one card played by each player – 4 cards. Players must follow the same suit as the first card led and the highest card in the four wins the trick.

Stage 4 - SCORING

The partnership who won the auction said how many tricks out of the thirteen that they were going to make.

If they achieved their goal or better, they score points.

If they fail to achieve their goal the other partnership score points.

Several games are played until a final winner is declared.

And that’s it! Simple to learn but it gets more and more devious the more you play.