getting started

Come and learn to play bridge - the world's most popular indoor game - at the world-famous Acol Bridge Club! You will be made to feel very welcome and will thoroughly enjoy the start of your journey learning this exciting game.

Our beginners' courses are available as seven two-hour weekly lessons or as one intensive weekend and are designed for people with little or no experience of the game. They cover the basics of bidding and declarer play, preparing you for supervised play.

Beginners Refresher

Seminar

Saturday, 9^th September: 11am-4.30pm

Teacher: Sean

Member Price: £75 (includes lunch)
Non-Member Price: £90 (includes lunch)

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Beginners Weekend

Saturday/Sunday 30^thSeptember/1^stOctober

11am-4.30pm

Teacher: Ingar

Member Price: £150
Non-Member Price: £150

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Beginners Course

Wednesdays 7 - 9pm

Seven weeks

4^th October - 15^th November

Teacher: Sean

Member Price: £150
Non-Member Price: £150

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Beginners Weekend

Saturday/Sunday 11^th/12^th November

11am-4.30pm

Teacher: Sean

Member Price: £150
Non-Member Price: £150

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Once you have completed the beginners' course, you will be a fully- fledged member of the Acol Bridge Club and should aim to do supervised play at least once a week until you are ready to move on...

getting better

Once you've completed our Beginners' Course and have played supervised bridge on a regular basis for a while, you can enrol on the Next Step course, which is available either as six two-hour weekly lessons or as one intensive weekend.

On the Next Step course, you will learn about overcalls (bids made in the auction after an opponent has opened), defensive techniques & strategies, and doubles (the exciting-looking red card with the X on it!).

Next Step Course

Tuesdays 11am - 1pm

Six weeks

3^rd October - 7^th November

Teacher: Ingar

Member Price: £150
Non-Member Price: £180

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Next Step Weekend

Saturday/Sunday 21^st/22^nd October

11am - 4.30pm

Teacher: Ingar

Member Price: £150
Non-Member Price: £180

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Once you have completed the Next Step Course and have done enough supervised play to feel confident about everything you have learned so far, you can enrol on the Improvers' course, either as six two-hour weekly lessons or as one intensive weekend.

The Improvers Course aims to consolidate what you have learned on our Beginners and Next Step courses and to prepare you for Gentle Duplicate by introducing more advanced bidding topics such as Stayman, Transfers, Opening 2♣ and 2NT, Weak Twos and 3-level pre-emptive openings.

Improvers Course

Tuesdays 2 - 4pm

Six weeks

3^rd October - 7^th November

Teacher: Ingar

Member Price: £150
Non-Member Price: £180

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Improvers Weekend

Saturday/Sunday 18^th/19^th November

11am - 4.30pm

Teacher: Sean

Member Price: £150
Non-Member Price: £180

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getting clever

After the Improvers' Course you can choose from a range of courses/seminars concentrating on more sophisticated aspects of declarer play, defence, bidding and duplicate tactics.

Six of the Best

Thursdays 2.30 - 4.30pm

Six weeks

5^th October - 9^th November

Teacher: Ingar

Member Price: £150 for whole course; £30 per individual lesson
Non-Member Price: £180 for whole course; £35 per individual lesson

Lesson 1: Unassuming Cue Bids
Lesson 2: Control-showing Cue Bids
Lesson 3: Roman Key Card Blackwood
Lesson 4: Splinters
Lesson 5: Jacoby 2NT
Lesson 6: Fourth Suit Forcing

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Declarer Play Course

Thursdays 6.30 - 8.30pm

Six weeks

5^th October - 9^th November

Teacher: Ingar

Member Price: £150 for whole course; £30 per individual lesson
Non-Member Price: £180 for whole course; £35 per individual lesson

Improve your declarer play with this exciting course, suitable for all, that concentrates solely on this most challenging aspect of the game.

Lesson 1: Counting winners (NT)
Lesson 2: Counting losers (suit)
Lesson 3: Playing with trumps (more on how to use your trumps to your advantage)
Lesson 4: Finessing
Lesson 5: Finesse or Drop? Guideline on when to reject the finesse
Lesson 6: Putting it all together. Playing a lot of boards where you must use the knowledge from previous lessons. Retaining the Finesse Position.

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Competitive Bidding Weekend

Saturday/Sunday 2^nd/3^rdSeptember

11am-4.30pm

Teacher: Sean

Member Price: £150
Non-Member Price: £180

This weekend course explores the many ways in which you and your partner can enter the auction once the opponents have opened and, equally importantly, how to cope when the tables are turned! Topics covered: Overcalling, Advancing, Negative Doubles, Landy, Michaels Cue Bid and Unusual No Trump.

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Advanced Conventions Weekend

Saturday/Sunday 7^th/8^th October

11am-4.30pm

Teacher: Sean

Member Price: £150
Non-Member Price: £180

This weekend course is designed for players who want to move out of Gentle Duplicate and into serious competition. It is also suitable for people who are already playing in our stronger sessions. You will be expected to be familiar with the conventions in our Six of the Best course. Topics covered: Lebensohl, Inverted Minors, Extended Stayman, Smolen and 4-level transfers.

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The Trouble with Doubles

Seminar

Saturday, 4^th November: 11am-4.30pm

Teacher: Ollie

Member Price: £75 (includes lunch)
Non-Member Price: £90 (includes lunch)

Takeout doubles with an emphasis on how to respond to them;
Negative doubles;
Reopening doubles;
Penalty doubles.

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