The Setting Trick: Conversations with World Class Bridge Players

In this episode, John interviews Lynn Castoldi, fresh off two huge wins at the Spring NABC — the 10K Knockout Teams and the Women's Swiss Teams, the latter by a razor-thin margin of just 0.13 VPs. With her signature laugh, Lynn shares the stories behind her victories, her partnership with Ann Karin Fuglestad, and how she went from getting kicked out of bridge lessons at a senior center to becoming a national champion. Along the way, we hear about bridge cruises, recruiting Egyptian pros on BBO, and the stylish team scarves that helped tie it all together. Whether she's playing with a world-class junior or her long-time partner the “Minister of Defense,” Lynn brings enthusiasm, optimism, and a love of the game that's totally contagious. Key Takeaways from This Episode:

In this episode, John sits down with Dennis Bilde, one of Denmark's top bridge talents and a player with a reputation for being both formidable at the table and fun to be around. Dennis shares stories of missing flights, winning world championships, and his early card-playing days before discovering bridge. The conversation dives into partnership dynamics, life with two young kids, and how Danish coffee might be the bridge world's best-kept secret. From his time on the Lavazza team to his upcoming appearance at the Bermuda Bowl on home soil, Dennis reflects on what it means to grow, both as a player and a person. Key Takeaways from This Episode:

My guest today is Adrienne Carter. She claims to be an aspiring bridge player. I know her from working with her as a performance coach and mindset specialist. She has worked across industries with everyone from CEOs to poker players, and has seen a recent uptick in interested golf players following her appearance on the Chasing Scratch podcast. I reached out to Adrienne's company, Primed Mind, in September of 2022 at the recommendation of my friend and former Setting Trick guest Nabil Edgtton, who used Primed Mind's hypnosis services to improve his performance. You can listen to my conversation with Nabil here: https://www.thesettingtrick.com/episode-26-nabil-edgtton  You can learn more about Adrienne's work here: https://primedmind.com/adriennecarter/  Here's an affiliate link to Primed Mind for Setting Trick listeners: https://primedmind.com/thesettingtrick/  Subscribers to The Setting Trick email list check your email or to subscribe click here: https://www.thesettingtrick.com/  Episode Highlights: 4:44 – Adrienne likes working with professionals across industries and getting a taste of her clients' work. 7:47 – “The methodology matters, but less than you think.” 14:21 – Adrienne says that every board should be treated as practice for the next one, and to avoid ruminating on mistakes. 20:16 – Evolving alongside the game 21:09 – The path to the Bermuda Bowl 30:31 – How hypnosis helps you tune into the reactions in your body 36:23 – Setting your expectations and process 44:30 – Adrienne started her career as an occupational therapist, but fell in love with poker.  53:33 – Hypnosis deals with the part of your brain that processes feelings before you consciously notice them, making hypnosis a deeply emotional process. 57:04 – The difference between occupational therapy and hypnosis 1:05:59 – Adrienne's mother is a bridge player. 1:10:21 – “I'm so grateful to have found poker when I did.” 1:13:29 – Adrienne says that regret happens when you make a decision out of obligation, and that decisiveness helps to prevent regret.  1:20:53 – The bar for success moves throughout a tournament as you advance and increase your expectations. 1:28:31 – Adrienne's kids are also learning through sports and games. She sees both as an opportunity to teach them about decision making.   

My guest today is Stefan Scorchev, a bridge player, friend, and the creator of IntoBridge. For those who are unaware, IntoBridge is a free platform for online bridge games. In his childhood, Stefan learned the value of online bridge as he spent hours playing bridge every day, and found that playing bridge online encouraged him compete at in-person tournaments. Stefan is the first Bulgarian guest I've had on the show, and I fist met him in 2012 when he played on the Bulgarian team in the Junior Nationals. We talk about in-person and virtual bridge, the unique features of IntoBridge that borrow from modern gaming, and what it's like to run a bridge startup. You can learn more about IntoBridge on its website: https://intobridge.com/  Subscribers to The Setting Trick email list check your email or to subscribe click here: https://www.thesettingtrick.com/  Episode Highlights: 4:58 – Stefan played bridge online constantly in his childhood, and moved into in-person tournaments at seventeen. He says he played bridge as much as fifteen hours a day. 12:05 – Stefan says he is the strangest looking person at tournaments because he always wears his IntoBridge merchandise. 16:05 – “We focused on inventing something that has the potential that you close it immediately and continue whenever you can.” 17:35 0:54 – Ranked matchups on IntoBridge 24:17 – The Daily exists to give people a reason to return to IntoBridge every day. 28:47 – Stefan has a lot of ideas for new bridge formats unique to IntoBridge 32:45 – Some unfortunate mis-clicks 40:12 – Bridge marketing is difficult, so word of mouth has been the best marketing channel for IntoBridge 48:22 – Running a startup is difficult as investors and employees rely on the performance of the business 56:46 – Having access to a free bridge platform as a kid was game-changing for Stefan. 57:59 – One great aspect of online bridge is that it naturally leads people into in-person bridge, encouraging them to meet more people. 1:02:41 – Stefan's Fiance, Desi, is coming to the US Nationals for the first time. 

In this episode of The Setting Trick, John welcomes his friend and bridge phenom Ami Zamir—one half of the ACBL's top-ranked pair of 2023. From winning major events to missing the final session of a national championship for the birth of his daughter, Ami shares the highs, the heart, and the hustle of life as a rising star in the world of competitive bridge. Ami opens up about his journey from high school sweethearts to fatherhood, his chess obsession, and what it's like to chase glory across Europe and the U.S. with partner Oren Telodano. The two discuss how talking through hands (even off the clock) sharpens their game, the emotional rollercoaster of playing for national teams, and how coffee routines and NBA fandoms keep life on the road a little saner. Plus, you'll hear what it was like to almost win ACBL Player of the Year—and why Ami is still laughing about it. Key Takeaways from This Episode:  

Ep. 87 Tuva Nilsmark: BridgeQueen Today's guest is Tuva Nilsmark, who goes by BridgeQueen on YouTube. As a bridge lover and social media user, Tuva saw a gap in the YouTube landscape for bridge videos that are light, short, easy to understand, and fun to watch. She fills that gap with her tutorials and weekly Funbridge Friday videos, hoping to inspire new players to hone their skills. Bridge isn't just community for Tuva – it's a part of her family. Tuva's boyfriend is Simon Ekenberg, whom she met through bridge. She also picked up bridge as a teenager to play with her grandparents, whom she promptly abandoned for stronger players.  Boye Brogeland suggested I interview Tuva for this episode. You can listen to my conversation with Boye here: https://www.thesettingtrick.com/https/thesettingtricklibsyncom/ep-84-boye-brogeland-bridge-at-the-edge-and-in-person  Subscribers to The Setting Trick email list check your email or to subscribe click here: https://www.thesettingtrick.com/  You can follow Tuva on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/bridge.queen/?hl=en  Tuva's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@bridgequeen Episode Highlights: 2:00 – Tuva is in a fantasy football league with her boyfriend Simon Ekenberg other bridge players: “Really good bridge players; they suck at fantasy football though.” 4:58 –Tuva started her YouTube channel recently, to a largely positive reception. You can watch her videos here: https://www.youtube.com/@bridgequeen 8:14 – How Tuva got started in bridge 11:19 – Tuva's father is the captain of the Swedish Open 12:48 – The first time Tuva saw Simon 15:14 – As if her bridge-playing family wasn't enough, you might also know of Tuva's mother, Catrin Nilsmark, who is a golfer and two-time captain of the European Solheim Cup Team. 22:15 – With her Funbridge Fridays series, Tuva hopes to show a different side of bridge. She wants to counter the overly serious image that bridge can have.  29:17 – Tuva and Simon played a bridge and golf event and beat Ola Rimstedt. 36:30 – Tuva's first partner was her father 42:32 – The BridgeQueen YouTube channel has a video called “Learn Bridge in only Three Minutes:” https://youtu.be/MxWO8EFujbw?feature=shared  49:01 – The most pressure Tuva has felt playing bridge so far 55:04 – Tuva's ultimate goal is to win the Venice cup 58:55 – Another long term goal of Tuva's is beating Simon  

Today's guest is Drew Cavalier, a bridge player and member of Huntsville DBC. In 2022, Drew won the Wernher Open Paris with Christian Jolly, who Drew describes as one of the smartest people he's ever met. We discuss his bridge mentors and partners, the highs and lows of competitive bridge, and some of Drew's most memorable hands.  Drew also played in a speedball-format game with Owen Lien, another podcast guest, and had an extremely impressive score. You can listen to that episode here: https://www.thesettingtrick.com/https/thesettingtricklibsyncom/episode-81-owen-lien-does-it-all-in-bridge  Subscribers to The Setting Trick email list check your email or to subscribe click here: https://www.thesettingtrick.com/  Episode Highlights: 4:00 – How Drew ended up playing with Disa Eythorsdottir at sectionals 9:09 – Drew has been lucky with mentors 19:02 – Drew's disaster Imp Pairs hand. Learn more about the Imp Pairs format: https://www.bridgewebs.com/wncunit171/ImpPairs.pdf  23:10 – “This is the most important moment of my bridge career.” 30:10 – Dan Lev and Drew Cavalier played in Vegas recently. They led on Blue Ribbons on their first day, but they did not make it to day three. Drew speaks highly of Dan as a partner. 36:32 – Drew's long term goal is winning a long-form knockout. 38:40 – The first time Drew and Christian Jolly played together, and “the only thing” Drew ever taught Jolly. 42:33 – One of Drew's favorite bridge hands 45:44 – “When we won the Wernher, we discussed the system for fifteen minutes beforehand.” 46:55 – Drew's experience at The Gold Coast Congress, and why he loves Australia. 50:55 – Bridge overseas and language barriers 56:49 – Why it's important to have a growth mindset in bridge

Today's guest is bridge player turned burgeoning social media star Jason Hackett, also known as Prime Mutton. A frequent traveler, guinness reviewer, and 2019 Eurotransnational winner, Hackett and I had much to discuss. We talk about the strangest food he's tried during his travels, how he broke out on YouTube and Instagram, and his favorite bridge formats.  Jason's mother Olivia introduced him and his twin brother to bridge at eleven years old. Though Jason does not discuss bridge much on his social media channels, he is a formidable opponent. He beat Boye Brogeland and Geir Helgemo in the Euro Juniors in 1994 and has represented England in the European Championships many times. Of bridge, he said “I just enjoy playing, it does not matter with whom.” You can read more about Jason in his recent Esquire feature. Subscribers to The Setting Trick email list check your email or to subscribe click here. Episode Highlights: 4:59 – Eating brains, grasshoppers, and more 6:25 – Jason's travel stats, and the types of places he likes to visit 8:51 – Where did the name come from? You can read more about the origins of Prime Mutton in this article 9:50 – Is Guinness better if it's flowing more? 12:10 – Hackett's longest tenured partnerships in bridge even though they support opposite Manchester football clubs 16:41 – You need to watch some of Jason's cameos. The products on his website are also fantastic, especially this pillow on his website - “you never get wet in the pub!” 21:15 – Jason explains how his YouTube channel took off 30:30 – Why Jason's preferred bridge format is pairs 40:46 – The types of places where Prime Mutton gets recognized 48:41 – How Jason edits his videos 55:27 – Jason's love for bridge started in his teens 57:40 – Rubber bridge 1:03:30 – You can keep up with Prime Mutton on his website 1:06:22 – How Jason learned to tell a good pint from a bad one  

Boye Brogeland is a force to be reckoned with. He holds the World Grand Master title, with three European Open Championship wins under his belt, as well as several North American championships. He also played a prominent role in uncovering the Fisher and Schwartz cheating scandal when he noticed that his opponents were taking risks that would not make sense unless they knew the cards his team held. We discuss how he got into bridge, some of his most memorable competitions, and his role in the scandal. In preparation for this conversation, Boye asked me to get on the World Bridge Tour App. I was reluctant at first, but when you get to interview someone like Boye, you follow orders. I played a couple virtual tournaments on the app before the events started in Iceland, and I highly recommend it. You get to play against Simon Holt, Sartaj Hans, and many more players, and compare your results. Check out the app here: https://www.wbtbridge.com/ Subscribers to The Setting Trick email list check your email or to subscribe click here. Episode Highlights: 2:12 – Boye's first event on the Open team 8:46 – Boye's grandparents taught him bridge 11:04 – Writing bridge books, which Boye says is the most work he's ever done for the least pay 12:07 – The most memorable hand of Boye's career 17:54 – The unique method that Boye used to memorize the best plays 21:32 – How Boye won Vanderbilt in 2022 32:55 – Boye doesn't like the sheriff label he was given during the Fisher and Schwartz cheating scandal; he thinks of himself as more of a concerned citizen. You can read more about the scandal here: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/may/05/lotan-fisher-bridge-cheating-scandal-2015-documentary  42:53 – The backlash Boye faced during the scandal, and how he got away from it 46:15 – “They stole our name!”

Brian Reynolds is an LA-based bridge teacher who, with his wife, Samantha, runs an educational website, The Bridge Teachers. They specialize in teaching people who've “never touched a deck of cards.” That's how they got recommended to the production team for the bridge documentary film, “The Kids Table.” That initial meeting dramatically altered the film's storyline. One player quit on the spot! As a bridge pro, Brian is refreshingly candid about his bridge ability. This conversation covers a broad range of topics.  

Today on The Setting Trick, we're thrilled to welcome Richard Zeckhauser, a towering figure whose expertise spans both economics and competitive bridge. A professor at Harvard Kennedy School, Richard has spent decades exploring the complexities of decision-making, risk, and strategic behavior. His groundbreaking work has shaped the fields of economics and public policy, offering insights into how we assess uncertainty in everything from health to finance. But his talents extend beyond the classroom—he's also a highly accomplished bridge player, with two North American Bridge Championships to his name, including the prestigious Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs. Join us as we dive into Richard's unique perspectives on strategy, risk, and the fascinating intersections between his professional work and his passion for bridge.  

John McAllister chats with 35-year-old Owen Lien of Oak Park MI about Junior Bridge, directing on BBO, playing professionally and reaching highs and lows in national events. Owen has won two limited NABC events: The 10K Swiss in 2016 and the 0–5000 Mini Spingold in 2009. He was second in those same events in 2014 and 2007.  A Platinum Life Master with over 18,000 masterpoints – 10,000 of them gold and 2100 platinum – Owen is a hardworking player who loves the game and still plays for fun at the club.  

  Matthew Granovetter is a six-time NABC champion. He also won a world championship, the Mixed Pairs, in 2006. He is a popular author and teacher, along with his wife, Pamela. They are best known for their theories on bidding via their system GUS (Granovetter Unified System) and their books on defensive play.  Matthew is Hasidic (a branch of Orthodox Judaism); his spirituality is woven throughout his life and bridge – the two are inseparable. His latest book on Method Bridge is his proudest contribution to the game.

Just before the Toronto NABC, John sat down with Ladawna Parham, executive director of the ACBL Educational Foundation, and Bronia Jenkins, executive director of the ACBL. Jenkins, “one year in,” still has the energy and vision she started with, if not more. Parham, who took the position in November, has had to start from the ground up, with no bridge experience (although she did do her own research prior to getting the job). She is amazed at the depth and vitality of the bridge world. Listen to how these two women are working together within their organizations to engage and empower those who want to bring bridge to the masses.  

John welcomes back his first-ever guest, Gavin Wolpert, a seven-time NABC winner, including the 2021 Soloway Knockout and the 2005 Blue Ribbon Pairs with his wife, Jenny, and a two-time bronze medal winner in Open World Championships. Gavin is one of the internet's favorite Bridge teachers, using interactive problems to allow students to make mistakes and learn from them, emphasizing practice as an essential component in becoming a better bridge player, and implementing technology to provide opportunities for targeted practice. Gavin shares his thoughts on the need for more structured and accessible bridge programs for kids and families at national tournaments. He discusses the importance of enticing kids to play bridge and creating a fun environment for them, and that bridge can help kids develop respect for older people and learn how to interact with them better.  

Today, my guest is in-demand tournament player, winner of one of Bridge's crown jewels, the 2022 Vanderbilt, club owner, multiple club owner, and Junior Bridge mentor extraordinaire, Aaron Silverstein. Aaron played in the first ever Junior World Championships in 1987, and his daughter, Avery, playing on a team that he mentored, won a silver medal in the 2023 Junior World Championships. See just how much has changed when it comes to Junior Bridge.  Getting Aaron's perspective as a club owner was really insightful for me, and I think you'll be surprised at who Aaron wants to partner when he plays in one of his own club games.  Finally, Aaron is very candid about what it's like to have his main tournament partner win a mixed world championship without him, and playing in tournaments at the highest level, and I think provides some great insight into how to think about your own partnership and teammates.  

My guest is Simon de Wijs from the Netherlands. Simon has a great bridge resume. He has won the Bermuda Bowl, the Olympiad, the mixed World Championship, and multiple European championships. He is a mainstay on the Dutch national team, always one of the favorites in open competition. At the recent Louisville NABC, Simon showed up with his twin 19-year-old daughters, who are budding experts. Find out how his relationship with them has changed since they got the bridge bug (by the way they made the Dutch mixed team for the upcoming European championships). Recently at the NABCs, Simon has been playing on the Goodman team. They are one of the hottest teams in the world, having made it to the semifinals of the last two Vanderbilts and the last Soloway.   

Today my guest is Brian Platnick. He's a world champion (1991 World Junior Teams and 2010 Rosenblum Cup) with six NABC+ titles, including two Spingold wins (2010, 2017) and a victory in the Blue Ribbon Pairs (2012). Brian is a perfect example of what inspires this podcast: the opportunity to have longer-form conversations with fascinating bridge players. The genesis for this episode was getting eliminated from the United States Bridge Championships, by Brian's team, for the second year in a row. I had too much fun talking with Brian and wasn't focused enough on winning! If you've ever wondered if you're a world-class player, Brian has a formula for deciding (Hint, I'm not.) He also speaks candidly about where he sees himself amongst some of the best in the game.  We talk about EDGAR (Everyone Deserves a Game Above Reproach), the anti-cheating software that he and Franco Baseggio have created that is now in use, testing an incredible number of online deals. Anyone who likes hearing me laugh will greatly enjoy this episode. Brian kept cracking me up!

Today, we're debuting a new format called Event Review, where my partner and I get together and discuss some of the most amusing incidents and some of the best and worst plays from a recent event. It's going to be shorter than my typical long-form interview and also, hopefully, just kind of fun.  I'm speaking with my partner for the District 6 Grand National Teams Qualifying sessions, Sophia Baldysz, a champion player from Poland with many medals in world events, and also my teammate from the 2023 NABC+ Mixed Swiss.

Episode 73: Rise and Fly! Lamont Jones and The Gist of Bid Whist   Normally, this is a Bridge podcast, but today my guest is Bid Whist evangelist Lamont Jones. Lamont recently published the book called The Gist of Bid Whist culminating a project he began in earnest in 2012. He's on a mission to share his love for Bid Whist with a wider audience. If you've ever been curious about Bid Whist, as I have been recently, Lamont and I go through a lot of the differences as well as the similarities between Bid Whist and Bridge. One of the things we don't have in Bridge is trash talk, and that seems to be a huge part of the Bid Whist culture. Whether it's trash-talking about taking your opponents to Boston or telling them to rise and fly, I definitely think Bid Whist has Bridge beat when it comes to talking smack. I could not believe when I read in The Gist of Bid Whist that none other than Bob Hamman said, "Bid Whist is more complex than Bridge." My question to you as a listener, is that a good thing? Overall I've just found Lamont to be a super positive, delightful person, and I'll hope you enjoy engaging with him as I did.  

John shares his experience of being hired to play bridge professionally for the first time. He talks about meeting and playing with a new partner and the challenges they faced. He also discusses the pressure and self-consciousness he felt as a bridge pro and how he overcame it to improve his performance and gain confidence.

Today's guest is Denmark's Morten Bilde. In addition to being a world-class bridge player with a win and a second in the U.S. Vanderbilt, Morten left his day job in 2015 to focus on getting bridge in the schools in Denmark. Stay tuned to find out why Morten says that's the best job he's ever had, as well as what the challenges are in that undertaking. Morten and his wife, Dorte met through bridge and their son, Dennis, is a real bridge superstar. The three of them teamed up at the recent Icelandic Bridge Festival and won the team event for both the festival and the World Bridge Tour event, which preceded it. Those of you with children might be interested to learn how Morten approached teaching Dennis the game. If you've got a passion for introducing youth to bridge like I do, then Morten is your guy. He's happy to answer any of your questions, and he gives his email address towards the end of our conversation. Please enjoy my conversation with Morten Bilde.   

My guest today is Matthew Brown. Matt has been my partner for the last two North American Bridge Championships and for the upcoming March NABC in Louisville. Matt's partnership with Michael Whibley on team New Zealand has pulled off some big time wins and upsets. Stay tuned to hear how they went from zero to being one of the best pairs in the world. As his partner, I'm happy to put down the dummy for Matt to play. As his teammate, I'm delighted for him to be playing a difficult contract. See if you can see why I think our temperaments are quite different.  

Ever wonder about the theme music that accompanies The Setting Trick and Double Dummy? Listen to this bonus episode, the first of John telling stories about the genesis of his bridge media. 

The Setting Trick Episode 68 Game On – The Card Game Bridge Needs More People Like Steve Raine John McAllister talks with Steve Raine, a bridge player, vlogger and gaming café owner who lives in Nottingham, England. His video blogs about attending bridge tournaments and subsequent board review have earned him fans across the globe. You're going to want to stick around to hear the new end-of-show question as suggested by Steve's partner at the Atlanta NABC, Adam Hickman, aka Gizzy. We're planning on making it a staple of the show going forward. Listen to Steve's surprising and inspiring answer. Hint: it wasn't about himself!

The North American Bridge Championships are truly an experience that brings people together. Walt Shafer, who runs an eponymous, invitation-only game online, hosted a party for the participants at the Atlanta NABC. John, who plays in the game, attended and met Bonnie Gellas, who was there because her partner, Erez Hendelman, plays in the game. The two hit it off and now Bonnie, who is a bridge teacher, is a guest on the show.  Bonnie lives in NYC and is responsible for teaching bridge to hundreds of players.   

Alex Kolesnik: Bridge Dad + Move over, Soccer Moms, there's a new game in town. Alex Kolesnik and his wife, Sharon Beynon, are California-based professors who play bridge. Somehow, they got both of their children interested in playing bridge too. Now ages 25 and 19, Emma and Finn are top-ranked players. Alex, a Platinum Life Master, describes his journey as a husband, professor, player and father, encouraging his kids in all their endeavors, maintaining balance and keeping perspective.   

The Setting Trick Episode 65: Nathan Gong – Junior Ambassador Seattle-area teenager Nathan Gong has distinguished himself as an excellent bridge player at regionals, NABCs, and, this summer, his first World Youth Championships. He's also getting noticed as a teacher, having started bridge clubs in middle and high school. With his family and the support of the bridge-playing community, Nathan has helped to teach and mentor a group of kids – and even get some of their parents to learn bridge.  

Amber Lin has already achieved a lifetime of success at age 26. A national champion and two-time world champion medalist (including gold in Morocco just a few weeks ago), Amber has found the time to develop as a bridge player, mentor and coach others, intern with the ACBL Educational Foundation, and work full-time as an energy consultant at Bain & Company. Listen to Amber's amazing trajectory via the USBF Junior Training Program and the benefits of mentorship and learning together with friends.    

TST Episode 63: Katie Sullivan is not pumping the brakes   Katie Sullivan, as a second-year student at the University of Virginia, has infused her love of bridge with her college experience, starting an officially recognized student organization and recruiting other college kids into competitive bridge. Hear about her meteoric rise in the game and her plans for UVA world domination.  3:47 “Chalk it up” – how creative marketing got Katie needed contacts to create a bridge club. 10:50 Obtaining CIO status and how the club fair was a game-changer. 12:26 Trumpet players and bridge. Who knew? 17:09 Hoos Playing Bridge on Instagram. 18:50 Trying to teach the fundamentals, struggling with supplies. Creating slide presentations. 28:21 A shout-out to any UVA alumni who might want to help. Many students have branched out to playing sanctioned events at clubs. Katie is proud. 32:51 Katie, in her first year of college at Amherst, meets Michael Xu. 38:41 Recovering from a painful misbid by partner. 49:06 After success at the World Youth Teams Championships, Katie plans to get “seriously serious.” 53:40 Loving the postmortem. 1:05 Katie encourages all youth bridge players to plan on attending UVA when it's time for college. Katie's article on Bridge Winners about starting a bridge club at college. Hoos Playing Bridge on Instagram. Katie's first BW post: a love letter. Katie in the New Orleans NABC Daily Bulletin. Like cards? Play bridge!  

The Setting Trick Episode 62: Patty Tucker, Youthful Enthusiast. Patty Tucker might be responsible for creating more new bridge players than anyone on the planet. From developing teaching materials and running a non-profit to her new endeavor - getting bridge to be part of the curriculum in schools - Patty channels her love of the game into energy to keep it alive. How bridge changed Patty's life at age 11, finding her niche. The origin of Atlanta Junior Bridge, how the camps became the Youth NABC. The challenges of school systems and connecting with teachers. A teacher in Lebanon KY inspired Patty's new endeavor, Jump Start Bridge, resulting in 40 kids learning bridge via an afterschool program. Patty's amazement at the lack of knowledge of what bridge is; finding a way to spread the word via conferences, including the International Society for Technology and Education, which included tech giants like Microsoft and Google, reaching over 12,000 attendees and raising visibility. Patty keeps learning: What to do differently for future conferences. On feeling overwhelmed or “out of her element” with the enormity of the tasks of marketing her plan. Don't tell Patty, “It can't be done.” How bridge can connect people, creating lifelong friendships, even if you only see one another three times a year at NABCs. Kids deserve that too. Patty's three wishes (OK, only two). How Patty learned to play bridge, and a story of a defining moment in her bridge life. Why John will never be Goodwill Member of the Year. Patty's legacy. How not everyone is cut out to be a bridge teacher. Patty's third wish. Patty's pre-game ritual and advice.   Links: Atlanta Junior Bridge https://atlantajuniorbridge.org/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFmp595UdNs Jump Start Bridge https://atlantajuniorbridge.org/jumpstart/ The Power of Bridge in Schools https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J8A-za2Wpc  

The Setting Trick Episode 61: Sartaj Hans Keeps Getting Better This week's guest is many-time Australian national champion Sartaj Hans. Originally from India, Sartaj has several high finishes in NABC events, including making the semifinal of the recent Spingold Knockout Teams in Chicago, where he played four-handed with partner Andy Hung and teammates Nabil Edgtton and Michael Whibley.  John had his first big knockout match win in the 2014 Spingold teaming with Sartaj to beat the then 7th- seeded Cayne team. Sartaj's book, Battling the Best, won the 2107 IBPA Book of the Year award. He also won the declarer play of the year in 2019. On top of all that, he has a successful career and is married to fellow tournament bridge player Sophie Ashton; they have two young daughters. Sartaj discusses the psychology of bridge and how belief can make you a better player. The need for developing a way to categorize bridge mistakes because bridge problems have so much variance. Why postmortems are “rubbish.” Sartaj hits upon a hot-button issue: playing top-level events on computers. A couple of book recommendations from Sartaj. Sartaj's belief that focusing too much on system in a casual partnership is not effective. In bridge, everyone has a chance to win.  Working on improving and how even experts have coaches and mentors. Finally, Sartaj philosophizes on enjoying the process.   Read Sartaj's post on Bridge Winners about playing on tablets: https://bridgewinners.com/article/view/the-case-for-tablets/   Sartaj Hans' book, Battling the Best: https://www.baronbarclay.com/battling-the-best/   Sartaj Hans wins Declarer Play of the Year: https://www.abf.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2020_IBPA_Declarer_Play_of_the_Year.pdf  

This week's episode of the Setting Trick podcast features Tom Hanlon, an accomplished bridge player with a remarkable track record in the game. One of his favorite bridge memories is winning the European Silver Medal in 2006, a significant achievement that highlights his skill and dedication. Tom has formed a strong partnership with Hugh McGann, a regular bridge partner who shares his passion for the game. Together, they have built a successful collaboration, leveraging their skills and strategic thinking to achieve notable results. Overall, Tom Hanlon's bridge journey is marked by his passion for the game and consistent pursuit of excellence continues to make him a respected figure in the bridge world.  During today's discussion, Tom talks about the global bridge discussions, where he exchanges ideas, shares insights, and collaborates with players worldwide. Also, Tom navigates the trials of decision-making and shares valuable insights into compelling gameplay. Tom shares his experiences to gain a deeper understanding of the strategic elements that drive success in the game. Moreover, Tom reflects on his favorite tournament experiences, reliving triumphs, challenges, and personal growth moments. Lastly, discover the power of friendship and partnership as Tom celebrates many years of collaboration with his trusted bridge companion.   

Play in the SPARK Pro-Am with and against your favorite Setting Trick guests.

The Setting Trick Episode 58 Olivia Schireson - Next Gen   Olivia and John talk about how they met and the opportunity to play on a last-minute team together at the Providence NABC. Olivia's mantra, “the two C's,” confidence (and competence) – “never play bridge scared.” The Cinderella Mixed Team at the US Team Trials. Bay Area Junior Bridge, the Rosenbergs, Will Watson, rooting for friends. Getting the best out of oneself.  John and Olivia discuss having their plays written up on Bridge Winners. Playing “What Are The Odds” at the World Championships in Poland. Can you guess Olivia's favorite dance move? Plans for the future. Starbucks? More US Trials. The best dad ever. Olivia's brother and the case of the mistaken identity.   

This week's episode of the Setting Trick podcast features Tom Hanlon, an accomplished bridge player with a remarkable track record in the game. One of his favorite bridge memories is winning the European Silver Medal in 2006, a significant achievement that highlights his skill and dedication. In recognition of his accomplishments and commitment to the bridge, Tom has attained the rank of Life Master in the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). This ranking is a testament to his skills, experience, and commitment to the game. Tom has formed a strong partnership with Hugh McGann, a regular bridge partner who shares his passion for the game. Together, they have built a successful collaboration, leveraging their skills and strategic thinking to achieve notable results. Overall, Tom Hanlon's bridge journey is marked by remarkable accomplishments, memorable moments, and enduring partnerships. His passion for the game and consistent pursuit of excellence continues to make him a respected figure in the bridge world.  During today's discussion, Tom shares about the global bridge discussions, where he exchanges ideas, shares insights, and collaborates with players worldwide. Also, we uncover the intricacies of bidding strategies and logical reasoning in the bridge as Tom navigates the trials of decision-making and shares valuable insights into compelling gameplay. Tom shares his experiences to gain a deeper understanding of the strategic elements that drive success in the game. Moreover, Tom reflects on his favorite tournament experiences, reliving triumphs, challenges, and personal growth moments. Lastly, discover the power of friendship and partnership as Tom celebrates many years of collaboration with his trusted bridge companion.  Hence don't miss out on this captivating episode, where Tom's stories and experiences will ignite your passion for bridge and leave you with a renewed appreciation for the power of friendship, dedication, and the thrill of the game. [01:32] Tom's Nickname: The Story Behind Tom's Nickname [07:14] Bridge Adventures: Partnering Up and Chasing Success [08:38] Bridge Bonding: Coffee, Conversations, and Learning Through Play [10:22] Global Bridge Discussions: Exchanging Ideas and Solving Problems [12:14] The Trials: Bidding Strategies and Logic in Bridge [18:36] Bridging Passions: Tom's Favorite Tournament Experiences [20:19] Fostering Friendship and Success: Years Old Partnership   Connect with Tom: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tom-hanlon-88822a82/?originalSubdomain=ie

Today, my guest is Selena Pepić. She is a computer science graduate from ETH Zurich, a rates trader at JP Morgan in Paris, and a member of the Serbian national mixed, women's, and junior teams. She won the gold medal at the World Youth Open Championship in Opatija 2015 (girls U26), the bronze medal at the World University Championship in Lodz in 2016, and also won an event at the Junior World Championship in 2016. Join us as we talk about Selena's background, playing bridge in Paris, her thoughts on the American bridge community, winning women's events, and more. [04.11] Missing bridge – Selena shares the reason behind quitting bridge for 2 years at university. [21.03] Problems – Selena shares why she loves talking about bidding problems in bridge playing.  [25.10] First partner – We talk about the relationship between Selena and her first partner Giovanni.  [47.19] Playing blackjack – Selena dives into the story of playing blackjack for the first time. [1:01.19] Novi Sad Bridge Festival – We talk about the Novi Sad Bridge festival happening between April 28th to May 2nd of 2023.  Resources   Connect with Selena LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/selena-pepic/                   bridgewinners.com/profile/selena-pepic/  bridgescanner.com/event/novi-sad-bridge-festival-2023  web.facebook.com/novisadbridge/

Today, my guest is Selena Pepić. She is a computer science graduate from ETH Zurich, a rates trader at JP Morgan in Paris, and a member of the Serbian national mixed, women's, and junior teams. She won the gold medal at the World Youth Open Championship in Opatija 2015 (girls U26), the bronze medal at the World University Championship in Lodz in 2016, and also won an event at the Junior World Championship in 2016. Join us as we talk about Selena's background, playing bridge in Paris, her thoughts on the American bridge community, winning women's events, and more.  [04.08] Selena's background – We start the conversation with a brief bio about Selena and her first junior world bridge championship in 2016. [10.27] Bridge in Paris – Selena talks about playing bridge in Paris and how the division system works. [20.51] American Sponsor – Selena shares the story of how she met Steve, her American sponsor. [23.37] Expectations – Selena's thoughts on the American bridge community as national champions [31.55] Women's Event – We talk about Selena's thoughts on winning a women's event in New Orleans. [35.20] Professional Events – Selena talks about the professional bridge events & culture in Europe before the USA [41.13] Playing with Family & Friends – Selena talks about how she played card games with her grandparents and later with high school friends. [50.09] Catan – A multiplayer board game Resources Connect with Selena LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/selena-pepic/                   bridgewinners.com/profile/selena-pepic/

Greg Humphreys, a talented software engineer and accomplished bridge player features in this episode of The Setting Trick. He is the winner of the Mott-Smith Trophy at the recent spring North American Bridge championships, a three-time North American champion, and the best bridge player in Charlottesville, Virginia. He got hooked on Bridge in 1998 and quickly joined a local club, where he found success playing with Walter Miller's 49er club. Greg studied computer science at Princeton and Stanford before moving to Charlottesville, VA, to teach at the University of Virginia. Also, Greg has since left academia and worked for several startups and major tech companies like Nvidia, Google, and Twitch. [07:00] Improving Your Bridge Game -  Greg emphasizes the importance of immersing oneself in Bridge and discussing hands with better players. [12:48] Recursive Diamond - Advantages of playing a solid diamond system and the benefits of opening with one club instead of one diamond. [18:50] Streaming Bridge on Twitch – Greg mentions his experience of streaming himself playing Bridge on Twitch. [28:16] Partner Support in Bridge - Importance of supporting your partner in Bridge and dealing with bad results. [32:54] Competitive Bridge Strategies and Performance – Greg outlines his experience playing Bridge in a competitive event, including strategies, gameplay, and the desire to perform well and achieve a high ranking. [57:04] Teaching beginners in Bridge - Frustrations and challenges Resources: Connect with Greg: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/greghumphreys/ Twitter: twitter.com/humper   Mentioned in the episode: Physically Based Rendering: From Theory to Implementation: amazon.com/Physically-Based-Rendering-Theory-Implementation/dp/0128006455?redirectFromSmile=1

Greg Humphreys, a talented software engineer and accomplished bridge player is featured in this episode of The Setting Trick. He is the winner of the Mott-Smith Trophy at the recent spring North American Bridge Championships, a three-time North American champion, and the best bridge player in Charlottesville, Virginia. He got hooked on bridge in 1998 and quickly joined a local club, where he found success playing with Walter Miller's 49er club. Greg studied computer science at Princeton and Stanford before moving to Charlottesville, VA, to teach at the University of Virginia. Also, Greg has since left academia and worked for several startups and major tech companies like Nvidia, Google, and Twitch. In addition to his impressive career in computer science, Greg has also made a name for himself in the world of bridge. He has succeeded in various tournaments, including the Mixed Pairs, Platinum Pairs, Mixed BAM, and Fast Pairs. Greg and Jenni Carmichael typically play together once a year in the Mixed Pairs, which they won in 2016 and have also finished second, third, fourth, and fifth. In 2018 they made it to the finals of the World Open Pairs. This spring in Reno, they finished second in the Mixed Pairs. Greg also finished 11th in the Silodor Pairs and won the Fast Pairs, playing with Adam Parrish.  On the other hand, when not playing bridge, Greg enjoys spending time in his woodshop, playing video games, and traveling. He also enjoys watching RuPaul's Drag Race. Also, Greg streams his bridge games on Twitch, where he plays against friends and robots on BBO. In this conversation, Greg shares a wealth of insights and experiences about his journey in the world of Bridge. He discusses his best-ever result in a tournament, the pressure of leading, and the impact of small mistakes. He recalls an unusual game where the opposing team doubled their bid and made a strange opening lead. Greg explains how miscommunication about a bridge bidding system leads to confusion and the importance of immersing oneself in bridge and discussing hands with better players. He also talks about his accidental discovery of bridge on Yahoo and how he fell in love with the game through books and local clubs. Additionally, Greg discusses his unique relay precision system with Jenni and the advantages of playing a solid diamond system. He mentions his experience of streaming himself playing Bridge on Twitch and the importance of supporting your partner in Bridge and dealing with bad results. Lastly, he shares his experience playing Bridge in a competitive event, including strategies, gameplay, the desire to perform well and achieve a high ranking, and the frustrations and challenges of teaching beginners in Bridge. [06:37] Best Result Ever – Greg discusses what he considers to be his best-ever result. [10:11] Pressure: The pressure of leading in bridge tournaments and the impact of small mistakes. [19:53] Unusual Tactics – Greg recalls a bridge game where the opposing team doubled their bid and made a strange opening lead. [23:27] Bidding Confusion and Resolution – Greg explains how miscommunication about a bridge bidding system leads to confusion. [25:50] Discovering Bridge – Greg tells how he accidentally discovered Bridge on Yahoo and fell in love with the game through books and local clubs.  [34:03] Non-Standard Homebrew System-  Bizarre Bridge System Leads to Unforeseen Victory [43:43] UVA - Reasons for choosing UVA for an academic career [52.48] Partnership with Jenny – Greg talks about playing Bridge with Jenny and the frequency of playing together. He also discusses their effort to practice online before a tournament and their unique relay precision system, which requires some study. Resources: Connect with Greg: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/greghumphreys/ Twitter: twitter.com/humper   Mentioned in the episode: Physically Based Rendering: From Theory to Implementation: amazon.com/Physically-Based-Rendering-Theory-Implementation/dp/0128006455?redirectFromSmile=1  

In this episode of The Setting Trick, you are in for a treat as you get to hear from Olin Hubert, an exceptional American bridge player who has made a mark in the world of bridge. He has achieved the coveted title of American Contract Bridge League Grand Life Master owing to his impressive achievements in the game. Olin's exceptional skills as a North American champion bridge player have earned him accolades and recognition from the bridge community worldwide. His extensive experience in the game has led to some remarkable accomplishments, including winning the Grand National Teams in 2022 and the North American Bridge Championships. Additionally, Olin has been a runner-up in the Nail Life Master Open Pairs competition in 2021, proving his mettle as a consistent and formidable player. Apart from his impressive career in the bridge, Olin has also served as a retired tournament director for the American Contract Bridge League. He currently resides in the vibrant city of Atlanta, where he continues to inspire and influence the bridge community through his expertise and passion for the game.  As Olin shares his story, you will learn about his journey to becoming a professional bridge player. Although he faced financial challenges along the way, his dedication and passion ultimately paid off, and he is now a highly sought-after pro. Olin shares his experience, learnings, thinking, and tips throughout the discussion. Also, Olin recalls his triumph at the North American Bridge Championship, hosted by the American Contract Bridge League last summer, and his achievement of Grand Life Master ranking by winning the GNT Championship Flight. In a nutshell, you will be inspired by Olin's story and impressed by his accomplishments and experience in the world of bridge. Hence, he will surely be a memorable guest on this episode of The Setting Trick. [08:39] Olin's Story – Olin shares how he started learning to play bridge. [16:26] Tournament Director – We discuss how Olin became a tournament director. Moreover, we explore what the tournament environment was like back then. [26:36] Keep the Skill – Olin explains how he maintains his skill when not playing.  [28:30] GNT – Winning Grand National Teams and receiving the "Grand Life Master" ACBL ranking.  [45:47] Bridge – Olin's favorite thing about bridge. [01:00:30] Tips – Use Olin's insights and playing expertise to raise your bridge game. Resources: Connect with Olin: Website: bridgewinners.com/profile/olin-hubert-2-7fnpfuvmb2/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/olin-hubert-89409a250/

This week's episode of the Setting Trick: Conversations with World-Class Bridge Players turns the tables and features professional player Greg Hinze interviewing host John McAllister. In this conversation, we cover John's background, his favorite bridge books, his experiences at the national and world championships, his documentary movie about bridge, the reasons why he started the podcast, and more.   [01.29] John's background – Starting the conversation, John discusses his Virginia roots, where he lives, where he went to college, and why he wants to stay there.  [08.40] Books – John and Greg talk about some of the best books about bridge.  [20.43] The summer nationals – We talk about John's experience with mixed board-a-match teams in Providence at the summer nationals and the open BAM at the fall NABC.  [23.31] The movie – We talk about the movie called ‘Double Dummy' produced by John, about bridge.  [32.10] The podcast – John shares the reasons behind starting his podcast and continuing until now.  [33:48] Meeting Migry – John remembers meeting partner Migry Zur Campanile and playing mixed teams at the world championships. [43.50] Bridge conventions – John chooses his desert island bridge convention.   Transcript [00:00:00] Greg Hinze: Hello everybody. Welcome to the Setting Trick. Uh, I'm your guest host, uh, Greg Hinsey. Uh, our normal host with the most will not be available today as a host. So without further ado, let me introduce our special guest star today. Creator of the Setting Trick Podcast, producer of the new movie, double Dummy and newly crowned N A B C Champion, my friend, John McAllister. [00:00:36] Hi John. Hey  [00:00:36] John McAllister: Greg . Thanks for having me. , should I think I cut you off there at the end, .  [00:00:43] Greg Hinze: So how you feel being on the other side of  [00:00:45] John McAllister: you? Nervous? I am, I'm definitely nervous. I didn't know what to expect and I, I definitely like, probably 20 minutes before I got home I was. And I was definitely like, okay, this is, uh, I get nervous before I host the show. [00:00:59] But, uh, to be this is a real honor to have you do this, uh, to have you do this for me. I feel a great honor for  [00:01:06] Greg Hinze: you having me, uh, do this. Uh, so, uh, I, I'm nervous too, so , so we just dive right in? Yeah, sure. Okay. Uh, yeah, just tell me a little bit about yourself. Cause I like, where are you from? Where'd you grow up? [00:01:19] And uh, okay.  [00:01:20] John McAllister: How, how'd you, I'm gonna start, I'm gonna go back. This is where you're now just a brief, so in Phoenix, the, the way this conversation came to pass is in Phoenix, after we won the Mitchell Board of Match, my first N A B C victory, you, Greg offered to, to flip the script here on the setting trick and to interview me. [00:01:39] And so that's how this conversation came to pass. And when I texted you about, You were like, I wasn't sure if you were totally committed to it, but you sent me a list of questions and you and you, you know, you had your intro planned, so I really appreciate that. I, um, it says a lot about you and just to go from there, I grew up, and I still live in Charlottesville, Virginia. [00:02:05] I went to college at the University of Virginia, which is here. My mom is originally from Charlottesville and. It's a great place to live. I've thought about living elsewhere, but haven't really found a compelling reason to, uh, to move just yet. I get a lot of travel playing bridge, so I, I get to vi see the world through bridge tournaments, which is, I think is a, as you probably would attest, a great way to, to see the world. [00:02:33] Greg Hinze: Yeah. I haven't seen much of the world myself. Uh, mainly just America. I've seen . But, uh, so what, you mentioned you gave 'em to college there, uh, as well. What, what did you study? Study  [00:02:43] John McAllister: when you, I like to joke when people ask me what I studied in college, that I was in a fraternity, , because I really, I was a good student in. [00:02:54] Like I went to a very academically rigorous high school, a boarding school, all, all male boarding school, about an hour from here called Woodbury Forest. And the, the teachers there really challenged me to work hard to learn the material. And then by the time I got to U V A, I sort of crapped out on school. [00:03:12] I was technically a history major. I tried to get into the undergraduate commerce school and my, uh, they didn't accept me and. Yeah, so I was technically a history major, but I had worse grades in history than I did in other subjects. It was sort of a last minute thing. My, one of my best friend's dad was a history professor, and so he could be my advisor and it was sort of the easy, easy thing to do when it was time to declare a major at the end of my second year. [00:03:42] And so  [00:03:42] Greg Hinze: outta school, you went, I had read that you were on involved in the hedge fund company or something. Yeah. You did that for,  [00:03:50] John McAllister: yeah. So. There's this guy named Jeffrey Woodruff, who is a hedge fund manager here in Charlottesville. And my parents, my, were actually friends with Jeffery's parents when, when we were younger. [00:04:06] And so I got interested in trading because I played a lot of backgammon after I graduated from uva. My roommate and I in New York City would play backgammon all the time, and we played for pretty decent stake. And so through backgammon I heard a, uh, I heard a recording where somebody was talking about trading, and that really appealed to me from like the same sort of thinking logic as backgammon. [00:04:34] And so I got a. The reason I brought up Jeffrey's name is because three different people, my mother, my piano teacher, and then a woman that my piano teacher had set me up with all suggested they knew I was interested in trading, that I should reach out to this guy, Jeffrey Woodruff, and I didn't do it. I never reached out to any of those through any of those people suggesting it. [00:04:56] Only when he, his company, appeared on the U V A. Uh, job site looking for interns. Did I actually reach out? And then I had a seven and a half year career working there, which ended in, in, in 2012. And, uh, I just got, I just was tired of working for, uh, doing that at that time. Had you, uh, played bridge yet? [00:05:19] Yeah, so I played, I started playing bridge when I was 18. My parents knew how to play and my aunt suggested it and. I loved it immediately, but I didn't really have an outlet for it. Like in New York City, for example, I lived, after I graduated U V A, I lived probably two blocks from honors, and it never even occurred to me to seek out a bridge game in, in, uh, in the city. [00:05:46] You didn't know it existed, but you were right nearby it. Yeah. Yeah. There was a backgammon club that I never went to, but I was, I wanted to try to go there to play backgammon for money against other players, and I never got the courage up to do it, but it didn't even occur to me to think like I loved bridge. [00:06:03] Like it, it was something I did with my parents when I came home and it didn't, like I played spades with co, with friends in college, but I didn't actually occur to, to explain bridge. To them, how, how did you  [00:06:18] Greg Hinze: find the Bridge Club or whatever to get into the A C B L?  [00:06:21] John McAllister: So, my older sister had three friends that were looking for her fourth for bridge classes when I moved back to Charlottesville. [00:06:29] And she knew I loved it and she suggested it. And then that woman took me to the, uh, to the local Bridge Club for the first. And have you, uh,  [00:06:41] Greg Hinze: thought about making a movie at this point yet at  [00:06:43] John McAllister: all, or no? No. Podcast or No, no, no. This is probably, this is, this was in like 2000. And  [00:06:49] Greg Hinze: so you learned, you learned from your, your, your  [00:06:51] John McAllister: sister, you said? [00:06:52] So my sister would be our fourth. So my parents kind of knew how to play and my sister would be our fourth, but she wasn't, she never really got into it. She was just willing, a willing participant. And then she had friends that were looking for a fourth, for a, like a weekly bridge class. Oh,  [00:07:09] Greg Hinze: that's good. [00:07:10] And, uh, what did you start reading about Bridge? Like, uh, do you read books? Did you play online? So  [00:07:17] John McAllister: we had a Bridge for Dummies book that I bought and we would, when I played with my parents, we would sort of have that out. They had like a two page cheat sheet maybe. And I had bridge books, uh, that I would read. [00:07:32] Yeah, I don't exactly remember what, what my first bridge books were or how it all, but I mean, I like, I like consuming information about bridge. Like that is one of the things I, I love playing Bridge. Like to this day I love playing bridge. I love consuming information about Bridge and reading Bridge books is a big part. [00:07:56] What's your favorite,  [00:07:57] Greg Hinze: uh, couple  [00:07:58] John McAllister: Bridge books? Uh, well, that's a good question. I'm reading right now Bridge with Another Perfect partner, which I think was the I B P A book of the year. And so that's by John Caruthers, who I don't actually know. I don't think I know him. I, I don't know if he plays tournaments or not. [00:08:17] He's Canadian. And it's like a at the table book where, you know, they give you the deal and he's got this partner who is a real, like a real expert. And so that guy explains the, uh, how the deal should be played or how he did play it, or how he created an illusion to, you know, to beat the contract. It's not something that you can read. [00:08:46] I'll read, you know, a couple of deals at a time and then like, do something else cuz it's Bridge Books are not like Rare. Is the Bridge book, uh, um, what's the name of that book? Uh, with the unlucky expert. Oh, uh, the, the Men. Oh. Why You Lose a Bridge? Why You Lose a Bridge? That's probably the, that is a rare bridge book and that you can read it. [00:09:11] Like I can read that book all the way. Without, I've always enjoyed  [00:09:16] Greg Hinze: like, uh, the Bridge and the Menagerie series. Uh, and they had the carpa, I think he was a unlucky expert or whatever. Uh, he was labeled as such. But, uh, that was always fun to read. Uh, they, they could, you could read through those things. Uh, just kind of, I just enjoyed the characters and it was a good bridge. [00:09:33] Uh, like a lot of non bridge stuff  [00:09:35] John McAllister: at the same time. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And hilarious. So well written Victor Ma. . So, uh,  [00:09:42] Greg Hinze: you just got into the A C B O and then you started, uh, going to tournaments.  [00:09:47] John McAllister: Uh uh so, uh, traveling the world, playing bridge everywhere. No, no, no. So shook the, my first Bridge teacher was a woman named Shook, and she was pretty eccentric French woman, and she could play with me once a month at the local bridge. [00:10:04] And so then she found this guy who was younger than me who was a UVA student, and she started playing with him. And then I started playing with him. His name's Jason Holderness, and he was better than I was. And we then went, uh, Jason and I, when the D Nationals were in DC in like 2009, I think Jason and I went up there and we played in like a two session. [00:10:30] 1 99 or pair game that we won. And so we got little trophies from that, which unfortunately I threw away, I think. I think I threw away the photo that they took too. . But I forget what your original question. Just like,  [00:10:43] Greg Hinze: you know, when you started playing tournaments and, you know, traveling a bit more, uh, as, as opposed  [00:10:48] John McAllister: to just going to the local. [00:10:49] So like, uh, my first national was in 2012, so I quit my job at Quantitative Investment Management and I gave, like, they said, will you give us two weeks? And so the last day of my two weeks was, Like that day, literally that day I left for Memphis to play in my first national, that was in spring of 2012. [00:11:12] And there was a sectional the weekend before and I hired this kid named Rob Brady, who was a UVA student who was a, a pro to be my partner. And I forget who our teammates were, but we won the Swiss and that was my first time winning a sectional Swiss. And winning the Swiss made me a life master. Oh wow. [00:11:36] That's  [00:11:36] Greg Hinze: a, that was a good timing for everything. pretty, pretty fun. Pretty fun. So, uh, so, so then after that you were just like hooked on nationals? Uh, I mean cuz nationals are pretty fun experience. Uh, I mean, if you haven't been to one, I think they're really fun things to go to.  [00:11:54] John McAllister: So, Yes. I mean, essentially yes, I, before I played my first national, I was in at a conference for work in February of 2012, and it was in Palm Beach and Gavin Wilpert lives near there. [00:12:10] And so I knew about Gavin from Bridge Winners and I messaged him on B B O and asked him if I could play with him. And so I played two days with him in the sectional. And he said, which I think is a great piece of advice that I like to give out to people is play against the best competition that you can play against, and that's playing at the Nationals. [00:12:31] So, uh, I've been fortunate to, I've gone to every national but won since then. And I've also played in, uh, one, two, played in four World championships now. Very good. Uh, where was your favorite place to play Bridge? I think Tromso Norway, I played in the European championships there, and it's inside of the Arctic Circle. [00:12:58] So it's, it was in the summer and literally the sun didn't go down. Um, that was a pretty unique, a unique experience. So how is  [00:13:10] Greg Hinze: bridge over there like, uh, run differently than it is here? Like, uh, is cuz it feels like it, you know, we may be a little bit outdated in, uh, some of the technology available. is when you played like in the world championships, uh, over  [00:13:25] John McAllister: how did, well I think the first time I played behind screens was at a bridge tournament in a Bulgaria. [00:13:31] And the top seven tables were behind screens, and they had like plastic boards. And I remember the, the further that we got in down in the table ranking, we had never seen this before. We had like these leather, little leather sleeves that had the cards in them, but the European championships. And the world Championships, as I imagine, you know, are like, they're all screens, all the tables are screens. [00:14:01] You're playing the same deals at the same time. Everybody's playing the same deals. It's, uh, it's cool because there's a lot of people there that I, that are new to me. So, you know, the national, the US nationals tends to be, tends to be a lot of the same people. But in Europe it was like a whole new, whole new crew of people. [00:14:24] More, uh, uh,  [00:14:25] Greg Hinze: foreigners come to America than Americans go to the foreign countries. It seems, um, there's not very many Americans that really do much traveling to play bridge over there as, as far as, as over here seems. Do you find it that way or do you know a lot of Americans that are going all over  [00:14:42] John McAllister: these? [00:14:42] Uh, you know, the, the, the Americans that are hiring real, like good teams for the nationals tend to probably play over there. , I would think like there's a tournament. The European Open is this summer in Strasberg, uh, which I think is in France, and the head of the E B L was telling me that he wants to get 200 teams in the open, which would be amazing. [00:15:09] I would really like to go for it, but I don't have firm plans yet for planning that. Also, it feels like in Europe that the. The main events are really the main events like the, the A C B L does a good job of making the events that are going on concurrent to the soloway, like the Board of Match that we won. [00:15:29] They make a good, they do a good job of making those like standalone. Whereas I feel like when you get knocked out in Europe of an event, it's, it's not really a title and an event like that doesn't really carry the same magnitude of that. It might in the A C B L. I see. So,  [00:15:48] Greg Hinze: What kind of, uh, systems do you like to play? [00:15:50] John McAllister: Um, . I like to play pretty basic, uh, two over one natural bidding. Not a lot of complexity. I don't have a, like, I don't have a strong long-term partnership with one individual, so I've noticed over the years  [00:16:09] Greg Hinze: you do play with a lot of, a lot of different, uh, players, and I think that's a good thing. What do you feel. [00:16:16] You learn like a little bit of something from, you know, everybody  [00:16:19] John McAllister: you play with. I mean, one thing I'll say about Bridge, I think I really like to play with people that I enjoy their company and I feel like that we're a good, I feel like, like it's important for me to be able to discuss like the, the, my partner has the right mentality and that we can discuss the boards that we didn't do well and not get, not get angry with each other. [00:16:45] Greg Hinze: So, uh, yeah. Okay. We've been mentioning, uh, the Mitchell Border match, which you just recently won. Yeah. There you were playing with a, a relatively new partnership. Yeah. I  [00:16:53] John McAllister: was playing with, uh, spinny Erickson, who I met. I played the Icelandic, uh, the VEC Bridge Festival a couple years ago, and I met s Spinny there and he was playing with this guy named Neils, who's Danish. [00:17:10] And the two of them were just pure comedy. Like Neils had tried to rent a car for the tournament and it had all gone haywire. And he had gone through all these, all this effort to get this car that eventually really just sat in a parking garage in vec. Like he didn't even use it after spending all this energy and time trying to get this car. [00:17:33] And so that story, being told that story over the course of like the days of the event, really, I mean, we laughed so hard about. So much. And so I really enjoyed him. And then in Austin, uh, the first N A B C Post Covid, he was there and I needed a partner for the Swiss. And so we got to talking and we did pretty well in that. [00:17:59] And then we played the Swiss again in Providence and we did well on that. And so, We played the same teammates this, uh, whole time. Uh, the teammates for the Swiss and Providence and, and for Phoenix were the same. Uh, Jovi, uh, Jovi Smatter of, uh, and Sasha Warn, they're Austrian a mixed pair, Jovi's a woman. [00:18:26] Greg Hinze: And uh, so was that, uh, everybody, everybody's first, uh, been there on your team? Yes. That's pretty exciting for you all to experience it at the same time. So like how, how long were you just on the moon?  [00:18:39] John McAllister: Uh, you know, probably like a good, good 10 days through the rest of the nationals for sure. Yeah, definitely. [00:18:45] definitely it, it's, I, I mean I playing with Jovi and Sasha in a mixed board of Match in Providence, the summer national, we came in second and we were leading after every segment of the, of the event. But the last one, And that was the first time I'd ever come in second and the first time I'd ever really even been close to winning in one of these events. [00:19:08] And so we had a really good session in the, on the second day of the board of Match, the Mitchell's a two day event. And I had been in the position before and I really wanted to win this time. And then during the session, spinny and I, we just didn't seem like it was going well. We got to probably. Third from Final Round and we played against Curtis Cheek and we got to Issa and Curtis's table and they're like, how's it going? [00:19:41] And Spinny is like, no, we don't have a chance. . So, but yeah, I mean we just didn't, but you know, Jovi and Sasha play this canape system, strong club, so. I don't know how we won, but we won comfortably. It, it was, it was like, uh, yeah, when, when the woman from the A C V L told, told me that we had won, she goes, John, you won. [00:20:09] And I went like, like I had to cut myself off from really squealing like I wanted to. I think a lot of people. I think a lot of people did hear you. And that was, that was like probably one half or one third of what I like if I really had Yeah. Yeah.  [00:20:32] Greg Hinze: I just remember seeing you that, uh, day right afterwards and uh, whenever to say, look, and you were just like beeping, like, I mean  [00:20:38] John McAllister: it was like, you still  [00:20:41] Greg Hinze: happy? [00:20:43] So you went from first National 2012 to winning national like 10 years later. Um, but it's somewhere in between there. You decided that you were going to produce a movie about Bridge called Double Dummy. So  [00:21:00] John McAllister: why, what happened there? So my first national event was the IMP pairs in Memphis, and I played with a local guy from Charlottesville named Greg Humphreys, who I'm sure you know. [00:21:13] And Greg, he has a Emmy, right? He has a, he has a Academy Award. He has like an Academy award, I think for create, for writing a book about motion graphics or something like that. So Memphis was my first national, I didn't know anybody, and he invited me to this brainstorming session on how do we get new players? [00:21:42] Uh, young people playing bridge and I, I really didn't even know what the event was, but he said, there's a free dinner, there's gonna be people there. And so I thought, I thought, okay, great. I, I need to meet some people. I want to make some friends and free dinner sounds okay. I mean, maybe it won't be the best food, but whatever. [00:22:00] And so that was, I had just quit my job. I did marketing for the hedge fund, so I knew, like I knew how to sell things or what. . And so that was kind of the, that was the free dinner.  [00:22:14] Greg Hinze: I see. So, but the no experience or anything, you just up and like this is gonna be brand new, like the whole movie industry, uh, outta nowhere. [00:22:23] Like, I mean, you didn't go to school for this and you just, so, I mean it just a lot involved, I, I'm sure in, in ma like finding the right people and making a  [00:22:33] John McAllister: movie. So it wasn't, it wasn't at that brainstorming session that I had the idea for the movie. But it was at that brainstorming session. I didn't have another job lined up. [00:22:43] I just knew that I wanted to stop, I needed to stop doing what I was doing. And so I thought I could be involved in helping introduce Bridge to more young people. And then I came home and two of my friends were making a movie about a, a scripted film. And we, they took me out to dinner and they, one of 'em said, I think we're, you're the only person we know that plays bridge. [00:23:08] And so I told him about some of the statistics from this brainstorming session, and he said, that sounds like a documentary movie. And then that was, that was where that, that came from. And so you  [00:23:20] Greg Hinze: just began filming, was it? Uh, just pretty much all, all at one. Uh, Youth World Championships, right? Uh, most of it. [00:23:29] Or is there There was a lot of,  [00:23:31] John McAllister: uh, outside, so I had, I had met Adam Kaplan through Greg at the, uh, at the N A B C, the spring 1, 20 12. And he really, I was really impressed with, in spite of him being 20 years younger than Greg, Greg's my age, and Adam was 16 at the time, and. That the way he was making fun of Greg, talking about how Greg thought about these bridge deals that we were playing, that we were, you know, talking about after the round. [00:23:59] And I knew about Adam from Bridge winners and so he was already like kind of a star to me when I first met him. I'm like, oh, that's Adam Kaplan. And so he became the focal point of the film and he was, he was kind of the leader of a group that included the gross X. And the Jeng brothers and his partner Zach Brisco of like an under 21 team playing the junior world championships that took place in, in August of, uh, of 2012. [00:24:30] So yeah, that's the focal point of the film. Where are these, uh, world World Championships? It was in, uh, in Ta song China, which is about two hours from Shanghai. And this is a, like a,  [00:24:43] Greg Hinze: a really long tournament, right? With a big round robin phase and everything similar to like  [00:24:47] John McAllister: the B removal. Yeah, there was, uh, I think there was 17 teams in their, in their division, and you play all 16 other teams and then you have, uh, full day knockout matches. [00:24:59] And the finals actually a day and a half. So it was 12 days, 12 days of filming that we were 12 days of play. So you  [00:25:07] Greg Hinze: took a lot of this footage and you, you made it, made a movie of it. And, uh, you're trying to, uh, attract some young people. That's, uh, that's really nice. So, uh, the Gross Act also in this, uh, movie, they've done really phenomenal since then as well. [00:25:22] So they've, uh, really had quite a lot of success together and, and even, uh, part and, uh, particularly Zach Groza, uh, just recently cover the Bulletin for winning a Player of the Year. Um, so what. Think about how that is gonna impact the movie. You know, like cuz Zach is in this movie and then now here he is proving himself again later. [00:25:45] You know? I mean, what do you think?  [00:25:47] John McAllister: What are your thoughts on that? So the movie's now freely available on pbs.org. If you search for Double Dummy, it'll come up. You can watch it anywhere in the world. It's not geo blocked, obviously, as a filmmaker to have for the, the kids team in the tournament itself. [00:26:06] The way that went down was really great for us. I don't wanna spoil it for anybody. We can't. We can't, don't worry. I'm not, I'm not gonna spoil it. But it was really a great event from the kid standpoint. And then when I originally Adam Kaplan was like, Zach has really turned into what I hoped Adam Kaplan would, would become. [00:26:26] I didn't even know Zach before we got to China and. I was hoping that Adam Kaplan would be the next Jeff Max Troth. Really? And Zach has really, I mean, you know, as you said, like he's player of the year. Like, you know, that's, I mean,  [00:26:45] Greg Hinze: it's such a young age. I mean, uh, just really such a great  [00:26:48] John McAllister: accomplishment. [00:26:48] Yeah. But it's hard. Like it, one of the things about this film is we send an email out to everybody that is on like a board, like a unit board. Or a district board or that owns a club, or is it a member of the A P T A and I probably got like 20 emails back from, you know, maybe, I don't know how, I don't even know how many emails that was that we sent out. [00:27:13] So if like getting people to actually pay attention to the film is challenging and I'm really grateful that it's on P B s. So it's airing on specific P B S stations. And you can find that on our website, doubled dummy movie.com, but it's also freely available. I'm just glad that it's like that we have this p b s distribution arm cuz, you know, having spent 11 years working on this project, I just want people to see it. [00:27:42] I want, and it, it, it's beyond me at this point. And hopefully it'll be me. It'll, there'll be a meaningful impact. You know, like, uh, there was a post on bridge winners today by somebody talking about the Nebraska airtime. It's, it's, but it's been frustrating, like doing this and not always feeling like people are taking, you know, taking the reigns like, of the film. [00:28:08] So, uh,  [00:28:10] Greg Hinze: I remember many years I would always come up to you go like, how's the movie going? How's the movie going, , how's the movie going like year after year? And then, uh, to finally he, and then to finally get to, I saw, uh, you put, you did, uh, some kind of thing at a Nationals, I think where we aired it in. [00:28:26] There was a group of people, I mean, I don't know, maybe 50 to a hundred people, something  [00:28:30] John McAllister: in Toronto that was a longer version of the, this is actually a shorter version than if you ask my mother, she would say it's much better, which I agree with a  [00:28:38] Greg Hinze: shorter version's better. Okay. I hadn't seen the new, I, I just saw the one, uh, at the, at the time, uh, where you put it. [00:28:44] Uh, yeah. Okay. Toronto Nationals, I don't remember. So 11 years in the process. And, uh, podcast. Podcast now. So sometime, and now you're like, a movie wasn't, I'm going to also make a podcast. And is it, is it, is it the same type of a deal trying to draw a bridge into, to the world? Expand a bridge, or what, what's the reason for the, so the  [00:29:06] John McAllister: original reason, rationale for the podcast was to spread the word about the movie, and then it just became fun. [00:29:13] Like I, I enjoy the opportunity to have conversations like this. It's fun, it's challenging. It's a great way to share my passion for bridge. One consistent piece of feedback I've gotten though is from non-player that listen to the podcast is they don't really know what we're talking about. Like it's too high level bridge. [00:29:33] There's too many specific  [00:29:34] Greg Hinze: names of people and Yes. Like things that, uh, we take for granted. Like we talk about a Vanderbilt Yes. Or whatever, and they're like, what's the Vanderbilt? Yes. You know, something like that.  [00:29:43] John McAllister: Yeah. I underst. And I've tried at points to, to be more inclusive and it's challenging. Like it's, it's definitely challenging and I don't necessarily wanna water it down. [00:29:57] Like, uh, I enjoy the high level of it and we definitely have our fans, you know, like, I'm gonna give a shout out to, uh, one of your partners, Josh Dunn's dad, cliff. Is a regular listener. Hope you don't fall off your mountain bike when you hear this reference. Uh, we actually started doing a segment cuz Josh told me that Cliff listens to all the shows and then he, if Josh has ever mentioned, he'll send him a, a like thing from the transcript. [00:30:26] And so we started doing a Cliff Don, where somebody had the Cliff don segment where somebody would tell a story about Josh. So my story about Josh, not that you asked. Was at my first nationals playing in the Vanderbilt for the first time, cuz Gavin suggested it. We, it was a three-way and we lost in the, uh, afternoon. [00:30:49] So we were playing Josh Dunn's team in the evening and it was, I think Kit Wooey was on the team. Perhaps. I don't remember who Josh was playing with. I think Josh was playing with Roger Lee. And I remember thinking after the second segment that we won and they beat us by like 40 in that segment. [00:31:25] Greg Hinze: So anyway, uh, yeah. So you had a lot of, you ended up having a lot of, uh, you know, great people on, uh, on your, your podcast, uh, you know, great players, uh, like, you know, or even early on you had like Chef Maroth and some. Who are your, some of your favorite, uh, episodes? Do you have standout episodes where it's just like, you know, wow, this is like, you know, bridge on a, on another level. [00:31:48] Like, I just getting to know somebody this like, is  [00:31:50] John McAllister: just like, I think the three people that come to mind are Gavin because it was the first one and I've been wanting to do the podcast for a long time, probably three years. And so when I actually recorded the conversation, I thought, wow, this is, you know, it was just cool to actually finally do it. [00:32:07] And he tells a great story about ducking with King in one offside, and I mean, that was just why I wanted to do it. And then Hammond, you know, probably the most recognizable bridge name and then troth because he just was great. Like he told great stories and. You know, Jeff has really, uh, helped me become a, like, get more out of my bridge ability by challenging me to, to be a better player. [00:32:41] And, uh, so Jeff is always a very, uh,  [00:32:47] Greg Hinze: like fierce competitor. I mean, he is like, yes, I mean, but he's always so friendly and helpful away from the game as well, you know, but. He is, uh, always at the table. It's like nothing. He doesn't miss anything. He is never phased. It's just like, how, how does this guy ever, never do anything wrong? [00:33:03] John McAllister: he was my partner for a regional last year in Hilton Head and at Fir it went from like being elated that I'm playing with Jeff Maxy. And so frustrated with him cuz he was frustrated with me and it took me a while. I was driving back to Virginia after the second day we played together, and I was listening to these podcasts and I thought, man, this, you know, eventually it got through to me that the reason that he was upset with me is I wasn't getting the best outta myself. [00:33:32] And that led me to have my best year of bridge ever last year, which, uh, yeah, was a really, really good  [00:33:38] Greg Hinze: year. Capping it off. still, you still see you glowing, . Yeah. Uh, okay. Well, uh, some of your other favorite bridge  [00:33:48] John McAllister: memories. Well, I'll tell a story. So, I played my first World championships in Sonya in 2014, and the way that I ended up doing that was Christina Lund Madson had emailed me and she said that her and Dennis Bilda, who's one of the, you know, great players, great young players, uh, in the world, they were looking for a partners for the mixed teams. [00:34:14] and that sounded like fun. I really liked Christina. I didn't know much about her, her playing, uh, but I knew Dennis was a really like a rising star, and so I needed to have a female partner. I said, I don't have a female partner, and she suggested mre, uh, MRE Campanile who's, who's also been a guest on the show. [00:34:37] And I remember when, when mcg. So I went up and met her in New York City. We had lunch on her birthday and we hit it off and we're like, let's do this. And, and then I remember when we talked on the phone or we tried to talk on the phone for the first time. Riss originally from, uh, well she immigrated Israel, but she's originally from Romania. [00:34:56] And I remember I couldn't understand her and I was like, I don't think this is gonna work. . So, uh, are you speaking English? Miri introduced me to a lot of her friends. . I think just, that's one of the things about Bridge is like, it's, it's kind of a strange dynamic because we're playing against the other people. [00:35:19] So there are more often than not, you know, people are your opponent, but at the same time there's a lot of, there's a lot of kinship and, you know, spirit and, uh, You know, like for example, you congratulating me in, in Phoenix for winning the national, for winning the event. Like so many people were so excited for, for me. [00:35:41] And, uh,  [00:35:43] Greg Hinze: yeah, it, it, it's nice. I mean, uh, yeah, it's a lot of camaraderie, you know, it's, it's bitter competition at the table, but then away from it at the parties at night or whatever afterwards, you know, the drinking at the bars and going over the hands and so, Speaking of hands that you're like most  [00:36:03] John McAllister: nightmare hand ever. [00:36:04] Uh, well, there was a hand at the, I played in the mixed world championships this year with, uh, Olivia Sheen as my partner and we were playing in the Paris. We didn't make it to the, uh, heads up matches for teams when we're playing in the pairs. And I had like, uh, a six of diamonds. Queen 10, double 10 of clubs, Jack, fourth of hearts. [00:36:33] So I had ace, queen jack, six of diamonds, queen 10, double 10 jack, fourth of hearts. So they opened a, I was fourth and they opened a Polish club on my right and every, nobody's vulnerable. So I bid three diamonds and it goes, What happened? I forget what happened, but they got to seven eventually, lefty did six hearts. [00:37:00] So Polish Club, you don't get, it's like a strong club in that you don't reveal your suit at first, or the fact that you, so I, I didn't have Jack fourth of hearts. I had, I had like 10, I think I had ten fourth of Harvey anyway now. So now the guy bids five hearts, then lefty bids six hearts, and then they bid seven. [00:37:22] and I'm kind of rooting for them to bid Seven Hearts . So I lead the ace of diamonds cuz I'm thinking, you know, there's no way that they're bidding this grand slam with the king of diamonds. You know, they're not valuing that. But lo and behold, lefty had King Fourth of Diamonds, . So now declare has a chance to make it. [00:37:44] And I'm like, shit. I was rooting for that and now I'm get about to get burned. So Dummy had Ace start of clubs and declare had King Jack nine fourth, and if they, so I'm like, am I gonna play the Queen of Clubs on the first round of clubs? So he drew Trumps and now he plays. I think I had three Trumps. I don't know I'm telling the story terribly, but he, on the first round of clubs, he plays club to the Ace and I played the Queen [00:38:18] And now  [00:38:20] Greg Hinze: did he have like nine of 'em and  [00:38:21] John McAllister: now he played No, no. It actually worked. He played, he played back and he thought, and he thought, now I played the nine and I won the 10. I was like, yeah. So it went from being a nightmare to. It was all, both your nightmare and your  [00:38:36] Greg Hinze: first favorite hand All. Yeah. [00:38:39] John McAllister: Yeah. Nightmare hands. I mean so many nightmare hands. I remember a hand mire in the world championships. We were on the verge of qualifying for the finals of the world pairs in 2014. My first world championship, the World Bridge Series, and there was a hand where I had like, uh, king in one sp. and we had a two over one auction and then she bid two. [00:39:03] No. And now I just bid three. No, cuz you know, that was just the right thing to do. And they lead a spade through my king and it goes queen. And then the, and then my lefty plays the ACEs spades and mires. Jack Doubleton comes. Now they got the whole space suit and I'm like, God damn it nigger, why are you hogging the hand? [00:39:30] Oh, .  [00:39:31] Greg Hinze: That's funny. Funny. So, uh, most important bridge convention if  [00:39:37] John McAllister: you can only have one. Oh, wow. Probably negative double. I think. Uh, I played in London, used to talk about the bridge in the Menagerie series. I played rubber bridge for the first time over there and I felt like I was a character. I felt like I was in that. [00:39:52] when I was play. Which one were you? Well, I wasn't nec, I just felt like I, I didn't have a character myself, but I just felt like I was like playing with the characters in that book. And we, they don't let you play negative doubles there. They don't let you play. Don't  [00:40:07] Greg Hinze: they all play like usually the same? [00:40:08] Everybody plays the same thing  [00:40:09] John McAllister: like that. They don't play, they don't. You play Roman keycard. You can only, you can't find out about the King of Trump or the queen of Queen of Trump. Bobby, uh, Wolf was  [00:40:20] Greg Hinze: a big, uh, advocator of, uh, not playing key card. He wouldn't mind being on, uh, in a slam on the finesse of the King of Trump. [00:40:28] So he would always know, although you may know you're off a key card, he would know that it was the king cuz he would know about the number of ACEs cuz he didn't count the king as a key card, counted that later in the Kings or whatever. So, so he would know that he would be on a finesse and he wouldn't mind. [00:40:46] Is it better than like, being there and like, oh, am I off the Ace ? It's not even on the Finesse, it's off the Ace. You lose the Ace .  [00:40:54] John McAllister: Is he someone that's been a mentor to you? Like I know he is from Texas. I think we got to play with Bobby one  [00:40:59] Greg Hinze: time and uh, I just remember that was like we, we, we wrote down like four things on the commissioner. [00:41:04] We had those, uh, the white com, the old fashioned white convention card. I think we wrote down like four things, like 15, 17 real big with transfer or something, and. We wrote down, you know, ACE asking, it was like not, it was not . We, and we wrote down carding or something. And, uh, so we, we played, uh, we played that one time. [00:41:24] And, uh, I played as a teammate of his, uh, a few times. He had some, uh, of his regular older partners, uh, that he played with some, some long ago. And, and I played against him many times from, uh, the area that I was playing in. Uh, I think he eventually moved to Vegas and, uh, I don't  [00:41:43] John McAllister: dunno what's happening. I don't even know. [00:41:44] I, I'm sure I've played against him, but not, uh, I only have a couple more questions by the way. I just, who, I wanna say that Greg sent me a full list of questions, including like, the best hand. I, I don't know if the best hand was in there, but I wanted to be spontaneous. It would've been something like the best hand would've been good to think, or worst hand would've been good to think. [00:42:05] Before, uh, but you did send me like a full list. Yeah, that one.  [00:42:08] Greg Hinze: I, I, I'm not even sure I included that. I did throw, I, I did have some questions that it weren't on your list that I asked you. So anyway, like this one who's faster, you or Justin Law,  [00:42:21] John McAllister: were you at that tournament? No, but I heard about it. So you're referring to at the Williamsburg Regional some years ago. [00:42:31] We had a, a race in the hotel conference area and it was probably a 50 yard dash and Justin smoked me . Sad but true.  [00:42:46] Greg Hinze: And question from my wife. You like pineapple on your  [00:42:51] John McAllister: pizza? I used to like a Hawaiian pizza. I used to, that used to be on my order, but, uh, it's been a while. Why? Why is your wife asking? I don't know. [00:43:02] She  [00:43:02] Greg Hinze: knew I was gonna be doing this interview and, uh, she just thought, uh, that was a, some silly question. Thought I would ask.  [00:43:11] John McAllister: You can cut back out , cut out the pineapple pizza, . You got it.  [00:43:18] Greg Hinze: Anyway, I don't, I don't have anything else. Okay. John, I going through my list of questions.  [00:43:25] John McAllister: How, what do you, what is your setup there? [00:43:27] Do you have like a sheet of paper with all the questions on 'em? Do you have 'em like, uh, yeah, I,  [00:43:32] Greg Hinze: I, I'm looking at my little questions here. Yeah. And then some of 'em, you know, I had to skip over cuz you kind of covered them already. You know, they were gonna be questions, but That's okay. I mean, that's great. [00:43:42] You know, it's great. I don't have to ask questions. You just knew what I was gonna ask you. Well. As if you knew, like, so somebody may have fed you the questions.  [00:43:50] John McAllister: No, he did, but I mean, I really appreciate it. When I saw that list of questions, I wasn't sure if you were like, how committed you were to it and if, what if it was more like me saying, oh, you know, you offered to do this, but maybe, anyway, when I got that list of questions from you, I was really, it really touched me like that you were. [00:44:08] You were thinking about it so much. Well, I'm glad.  [00:44:10] Greg Hinze: I mean, this went, I, I was a little nervous about how this may go cuz it's, you know, not so easy to just, to be, you know, talking and you're, you're used to it. I'm, I'm not, I'm not so used to it. .  [00:44:21] John McAllister: It's funny how I'm used to it. It's funny how it's something that is so natural just to do. [00:44:28] Like me and you, for me and you to talk, but then when it becomes a Yeah, that's what made it  [00:44:33] Greg Hinze: easy for me. Cuz I mean, you know, we're looking at each other on the camera or whatever, so we can see each other and it's just like, to me, it's not like really doing an interview at all. I mean, you know, it's more like just talking to a friend, you know, just like, tell me more about you tell me something. [00:44:47] John McAllister: Didn't know. Mm-hmm. , what was the most surprising? Like, what was the depth? What was the depth? Can you. Is there a way for you to explain the depths of the research that you did or ? Like what the depths, what do you think was like the most down a rabbit hole you went? I didn't  [00:45:06] Greg Hinze: go that far, really. I was like, uh, you know, I, I, I, I just, yeah. [00:45:11] I found your police profiles and your mugshot. That, that was, that was the most surprising to me was when I found your mug.  [00:45:21] John McAllister: I have never been arrested, by the way, for all my loyal listeners out there. I, I have not. Well, they should take that off  [00:45:28] Greg Hinze: the internet  [00:45:28] John McAllister: then, . Um, well, thank you. No, I,  [00:45:32] Greg Hinze: I, I, I, seriously, I, I didn't, I didn't do that much research. [00:45:35] Um, and you know, I mean, just, I, I, I know a lot about you already, , you're a great guy and, and a lot of people, a lot of people know a lot about you.  [00:45:46] John McAllister: Well, it's, it is, it is. I'm flattered and I really appreciate it and, uh, thank you so much. Oh, you're  [00:45:52] Greg Hinze: quite welcome. And, uh, yeah, thanks. Thanks for having me once more. [00:45:57] I really enjoyed it. We'll see you again on the circuit.  [00:46:00] John McAllister: Are you playing any tournaments next nationals? I, so here's your, here's your team. The next national. I've got some possibilities out there, but nothing is confirmed. Yeah. Okay, well, the intrigue, we'll see you there in New Orleans. We're going though, for sure, right? [00:46:15] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. No, I'm definitely playing. You playing with Vinnie or, I don't think so. You don't know? They, nothing's  [00:46:21] Greg Hinze: confirmed. Okay.  [00:46:24] John McAllister: All right, man. I'll see you in New Orleans. I'm, I'm actually playing in the North American Paris. Are you gonna be there for that? No. No. Have you won that  [00:46:33] Greg Hinze: Platinum Pierce? [00:46:34] No. I've, I've, I. I think I only entered one time to the national level. We made it and we got knocked out first day or something. What  [00:46:45] John McAllister: was your first national win? Yeah. I've never done well in that event.  [00:46:48] Greg Hinze: My first national win was in New Orleans where we're going now, and in 2004 we won the North American Swiss, but that was in the fall of 2004. [00:47:00] This is spring of  [00:47:01] John McAllister: 2020, whatever. Had you been close before that?  [00:47:06] Greg Hinze: I was fourth in the LMS once, uh, before that, the three day LM pair, like basically lost in the last round. Mm-hmm. , , it was pretty  [00:47:17] John McAllister: close. Who is your partner?  [00:47:20] Greg Hinze: Uh, guy with, uh, I don't play with him, haven't play with him long time, but Nagi came out from, uh, he's from Texas also. [00:47:28] He's one of my original players that I used to play with learning back in the day. Played a lot of bridge with. But not, not so much. In the last 15  [00:47:36] John McAllister: years, if you could, if you could teach bridge to one person on the planet, who would it be to teach to one person on the planet? You got to choose your bridge student. [00:47:47] Who would it be?  [00:47:49] Greg Hinze: Yeah, it would be like he's my, yeah, so like somebody famous, like, uh, I don't know, maybe, uh, yeah, I don't know. That's too tough of a question. Something like famous actor  [00:47:58] John McAllister: or something. That would be pretty cool. All right, well you gotta gimme an answer in New Orleans. Okay, I'll give you an answer. [00:48:03] New Orleans,  [00:48:03] Greg Hinze: um, he put me on the spot  [00:48:05] John McAllister: now. All right, man. Thanks.   Resources Connect with John LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/johnmca/  Website - thesettingtrick.com/    Book by John Carruthers Bridge with Another Perfect Partner –  goodreads.com/book/show/60495965-bridge-with-another-perfect-partner    Book by S.J. Simon Why You Lose at Bridge –  goodreads.com/en/book/show/1141603    Movie - Double Dummy imdb.com/title/tt3531224/  doubledummymovie.com/ 

This week's episode of the Setting Trick podcast features Kevin Rosenberg, a professional bridge player, and a full-time software engineer. Kevin comes from a family of professional bridge players, with Debbie and Michael Rosenberg as his mother and father. Kevin won the Soloway Knockout Teams in Phoenix and he also earned second place in the Reisinger at the Fall 2022 Phoenix NABC. He is a multi-time winner of the Youth World Open Championships (2022 Salsomagiorre, 2019 Opatija, 2017 Lyon). In this episode, we discussed getting stars from BBO, teaching bridge for beginners, Kevin's thoughts on having parents who are world-class bridge players, impressive partnerships that Kevin came across, and more.   [02:12] BBO Star – Starting the conversation, Kevin shares how he got a star on Bridge Base Online (BBO).  [13:42] Teaching Bridge – Kevin explains what he mostly focuses on when he teaches bridge. Further, he shares why engagement among beginners is not a huge issue in bridge playing.  [33:35] Junior Trials – Kevin started junior trials in 2014. He shares some of his junior trial experiences with us.  [45:46] Experiences in Australia – Kevin shares why he likes Australia and how he met a lot of bridge players while he was there.  [57:11] Impressive Partnerships – We discuss Kevin's most impressive partnership that he played against in the recent bridge tournament.    Connect with Kevin bridgewinners.com/profile/kevin-rosenberg

This episode of The Setting Trick: Conversations with World-Class Bridge Players features John Kranyak. John is a professional Bridge and Poker player from the United States of America. He is a highly accomplished and respected member of the Spectre team, widely considered one of the bridge community's most successful and competitive teams. John's skill and expertise in the bridge are matched only by his exceptional character and integrity. In this episode, we shared several experiences that we had gained from competing in tournaments, playing with a number of other players, and accumulating the most memorable memories, along with the wonderful learnings and experiences that we had gained.  [00:40] Background – John fills us in on what's new in his life, including details about his family and what it's like for him to be in a new city.  [05:00] Regionals -  Will the current trend in regionals is going to continue, or are people starting to return?  [11:32] Memories – John reflects on playing against the Swiss team and some of the interesting memories. [22:06] Changes in Bridge -  John discusses the changes in the world of bridge. He elaborates on the most underappreciated aspect of the game. [47:31] Levels of Players -  What is the most critical factor separating top-level players from those who are not top-level? Resources: Connect with John: bridgewinners.com/profile/john-kranyak/ bridgeinstructors.com/profile/30/info

“The secret to winning a world championship is great teammates, a good partnership, and good team spirit.”  Kitty Munson Cooper is a bridge blogger, genetic genealogist and world-champion bridge player. She has won eight North American Bridge Championships and the Venice Cup in 1989. She currently lives in San Diego, CA. Today we talked about her background, the secret to winning world championships, sexism in bridge, and more.  Kitty has won NABCs with two different husbands. Playing with someone close to you is a different feeling; they see what you don't see, and you see what they don't see.  [18.26] 1987 – forcing her way onto the British ladies' team in the 1987 European championships.  [23.11] The dream team – winning a world championship with the help of a good partnership between teammates.  [27.35] The keys – Willing to play up, having a good partnership, and having the killer instinct are the keys to having success in open bridge for women.  [35.50] Stories about playing with the great players in the old days.  [42.02] Teaching bridge – talks about how satisfying it can be to teach kids bridge and designing a beginner curriculum.  [47.03] The 70s – walks us through the story of meeting her late husband in the 70s, then re-meeting and marrying him in 2000. [51.49] Thoughts on what makes a serious partnership.    [57.39] Playing with your spouse – the difficulty of playing bridge when emotions get involved.    Resources Connect with Kitty LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/kittycooper/  Website - openskywebdesign.com/                  blog.kittycooper.com/                  bridgeteaching.com/  Twitter - twitter.com/openskyweb 

Today I have an abbreviated conversation with my good friend Joe Grew, who is one of the best bridge players in the world. This is my first in-person conversation and it took place at Congressional Country Club in September.  It got cut short because, frankly we had to get on the tee!

Susan Morse is my kind of person, well humored and a lover of bridge. In one of her Bridge Bulletin articles she introduced me to the concept of the Bridge Base Online “hamburger”. This conversation came about based on a chance encounter at the Austin NABC. We've since gone on to break bread during the Hilton Head regional. In a just completed phone conversation Susan tells me she will talk to her team about playing the Spingold for the first time in Providence. Episode highlights: 1:10- 'Good Evening Memphis' 14:55- How she began playing bridge 25:00- The all-too-familiar story of frantically pursuing masterpoints 48:35- New bridge book coming out soon? 53:10- The awe of meeting Meckstroth 1:03:27- The Migry (TST Guest #3) Hand 1:16:56- The tables are flipped and John gets interviewed 1:27:34- The Cardturner movie???

Returning from my hiatus, I am pleased to welcome Milan Macura to kick off our next season on The Setting Trick. Milan is a professional player and teacher. He is also a Youtube streamer and was previously president of the Czech Bridge Federation..  In 2009, through a series of amazing, fortunate events, Milan won the 1st World Youth Congress. Listen for the full story! Milan Macura's Youtube Channel Episode highlights: 6:56- His pathway in becoming a streamer 15:15- The story behind his improbable win in the 1st World Youth Congress 21:20- Milan can't be intimidated 27:55- “Full-service pro” 30:37- How Milan learned bridge 39:48- Youth bridge 50:45- Streaming details 53:58- Blue shirt red shirt 1:01:30- Milan loves playing bridge on tablets 1:07:15- Celebrating the World Youth Congress victory

We have saved today's guest to appear once the next in-person Nationals loomed near. Meet Jenni Carmichael, our first tournament director on the show and spouse of TST Guest #24 Tom Carmichael. A fine storyteller, Jenni finds the humor and draws out the drama.   Episode Highlights: 1:20- Chances of Austin Nationals happening 5:23- Requirements to become a director 11:15- 3SXX making is clearly an average board 15:00- “I just have four cards left to play” 17:05- How Jenny got into directing 24:00- “The only law we care about is God's law” 28:46- “Does he have his bid?” 40:44- Bridge camps 46:30- Mixed Pair stories of absurd scores, intense pressure, and momentum 53:26- If no Greg, maybe no Double Dummy 55:20- Jenni once held a long grudge against her current director idol 1:11:12- It is useless to psych against Jenni 1:14:13- But her psychs are deadly

The Rimstedt family of Sweden is among the strongest bridge-playing families of all-time. Twins Mikael and Ola are the youngest players ever to win the World Pairs, and their sister Cecilia won the 2019 Venice Cup, sadly with their sister Sandra no longer on the team after having emigrated to the US. Today we have the pleasure of speaking to Mikael and Ola. In addition to being my friends and I've even been lucky enough to have them on my team on occasion. Watch the video version here: https://john-mcallister-s52b.squarespace.com/episode-44-ola-and-mikael-rimstedt Episode Highlights: 7:35- Mikael and Ola almost didn't play in the world pairs they ended up winning 13:17- How Mikael got angry at Ola on a board where their side got a complete top late in the finals of the World Pairs 18:02- Rim job on Vugraph 20:12- Making the Swedish Open team 34:42- Rimstedt brothers better than the Grossack brothers??? 38:48- Why they split and came back together 46:12- Their dad previously played for Sweden 1:04:28- How Ola and Mikael got into bridge 1:12:08- Dating status