Majority Calling and Value Bidding in Auction Bridge; a little bit of history
The centuries-old game of Whist mutated through various stages into Contract Bridge as we know it today in a little over thirty years. Here Tony Hall describes and contrasts one small, but significant, stage in the process as it evolved on the two sides of the Atlantic.
By Tony Hall
United Kingdom • Member since January 30, 2015
I started my interest in card games about 70 years ago, playing cribbage with my grandfather. Collecting card game materials started 50 years or so later, when time permitted. One cribbage board was a memory; two became the start of a collection currently exceeding 150!
Once interest in the social history of card games was sparked, I bought a wooden whist marker from the 1880s which was ingenious in design and unbelievably tactile. One lead to two and there was no stopping.
What happened thereafter is reflected in my articles and downloads on this site, for which I will be eternally grateful.
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