Post originally by Frank Branham at 2004-08-10 09:38:05
Converted from Phorums BB System

If you don't understand how the game works, you will lose. Quite true.

I have only very rarely seen a beginner win a game against advanced players.

When you take bidding out of a trick taking game, the effect of the random cards distribution becomes far more powerful. In the case of Bridge, the actual play is not THAT tricky, but how to correctly bid a hand is a nightmare. (Find a copy of Avalon Hill's old Challenge Bridge, which is a serious challenge for even good Bridge players.)

The randomness in the game's outcome is definitely from the luck of the deal.

As you play, you gradually learn little tricks. And as you play advanced players, you can start to estimate which cards they may or may not have by their play and behavior.

And I actually do win 95% of my games, but a lot of those
are teaching games. (Although I do not partner myself with an experienced played if at all possible.)

I THINK that there is a lot of space for picking up spare bits of information, and learning to play better. But I could be deluding myself.

The bulk of the game is extremely tactical, and perfect play is rendered impossible. Often, you can see a play that is really good unless the player to your left has one or two particular cards. But it is a bit of a learned skill to know that quickly, as there is a lot going on.

The coin variant where you can ask a question is to help deal with that random aspect. I don't like to use it, personally because beginners haven't gotten their heads around what information to look for, and so the coins only get used by the experienced players who just crush the beginners.






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To give you an idea of the complexity, I created a puzzle for The Games Journal. A few of the special cards have been ripped out for the puzzle.

http://www.thegamesjournal.com/puzzles/Muertos1.shtml