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Learn Bridge: The Bridge Centre Podcast

by The Bridge Centre

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Latest episodes

  • Scoring tactics, penalty doubles and sacrifices

    October 8, 2026 · 7 min

    “Helen, I made an overtrick on Tuesday and my partner high-fived me. Then I made one in a teams match on Thursday, and my teammate said, "Nobody cares."” Rules to remember: At pairs, overtricks matter and no-trump scores most. At teams…

  • Slam bidding

    October 8, 2026 · 7 min

    “Helen, I bid my first slam last week.” Rules to remember: Agree trumps first. Show interest below game. Control bids find the suit with two quick losers. Blackwood counts key cards. And don't use Blackwood with a void. Read the lesson…

  • Signals and discards

    October 8, 2026 · 6 min

    “Helen, last week my partner played the nine of hearts, then stared at me very hard.” Rules to remember: Attitude when partner leads. Count when declarer leads. Suit preference when giving a ruff, or when the rest is obvious. Pick one…

  • Defence against no-trump

    October 8, 2026 · 6 min

    “Helen, when I'm defending no-trump and my suit isn't working, I switch to something new.” Rules to remember: Pick one suit and keep attacking it. Third hand high, but only as high as needed. Return the right card. Unblock for partner…

  • Defence against suit contracts

    October 8, 2026 · 7 min

    “Helen, I worked out that when I'm defending, I mostly just follow suit and wait for something to happen.” Rules to remember: Decide your defence when dummy goes down: active, passive, trump attack or forcing. Count declarer's tricks…

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  • Opening leads

    October 8, 2026 · 6 min

    “Helen, I have a system for opening leads.” Rules to remember: Listen to the auction first. Lead partner's suit. Against no-trump, lead your long suit. Against a suit contract, read the clues: trump leads stop ruffs, aggressive leads beat…

  • Declarer play technique

    October 8, 2026 · 7 min

    “Helen, when I'm declarer, partner puts down dummy and goes to get a coffee.” Rules to remember: Pause and plan before trick one. In no-trump, hold up with one stopper. In a suit contract, count losers, and ruff in the short hand. And…

  • Moysian fits and misfits

    October 8, 2026 · 8 min

    “Helen, my beginners' teacher said: find an eight-card fit, or play in no-trump. Never anything else.” Rules to remember: A four-three fit beats no-trump when a suit is wide open and the trumps are strong. Ruff in the short hand. Don't…

  • Conventions worth adding next

    October 8, 2026 · 8 min

    “Helen, my partner and I agreed to play a convention last week. Then she used it, and I'd forgotten it, and we ended up in four clubs with three clubs between us.” Rules to remember: The rule to take away: write every convention on your…

  • Competitive bidding

    October 8, 2026 · 8 min

    “Helen, in beginners' class, the opponents always passed. It was very polite. One side bid, the other side waited its turn.” Rules to remember: Use the Suit Quality Test before you overcall. When partner doubles, you must bid. A double…

  • Hand evaluation beyond high-card points

    October 7, 2026 · 9 min

    “Helen, I have a confession. Last Tuesday I opened a hand with thirteen points, partner raised me to game, and we went down three.” Rules to remember: One: honours are worth most in long suits and least in short ones. Two: the Rule of…

  • How the game works

    October 6, 2026 · 7 min

    “Helen, I went to my first class. I played a whole hand of bridge.” Rules to remember: One: follow suit if you can, and the highest card of the suit led wins, unless someone trumps. Two: ace four, king three, queen two, jack one, forty in…

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About the show

Free contract bridge lessons you can listen to. Helen has played for longer than she'll admit on a recording; Tom has just signed up for beginners' class. Season 1, Bridge Homework, follows the six-week Learn Bridge course week by week. Season 2, Next Steps in Bridge, is for improvers: hand evaluation, competitive bidding, conventions, declarer play, opening leads, defence and slam bidding. Every episode has a written lesson, rules to remember and a full transcript at victorianbridgecentre.com.au. The system is Standard American (five-card majors, 15–17 1NT), played the way it's played at Australian duplicate clubs. Helen and Tom are fictional hosts voiced with text-to-speech.