As
you probably know, bridge is a game that has been around for quite
some time. Bridge history may not be as talked about as some
other card games, but that does not take anything away from it.
Bridge is among the many trick taking card games that have become so
popular, and is a derivative of the game known as Whist. It is a
little known fact that bridge is also known as Biritch; the only
difference being that bridge is the English version of the game.
The game of bridge began to gain popularity in the United Kingdom
and the United States during the 1890’s. Several years later, a
variation of the game, known as
auction bridge, was developed. This
game is also referred to as royal auction bridge by many.
The most popular version of the game, contract bridge, was the end
result of changes made to auction bridge. Harold Stirling Vanderbilt
was one of the main players who began to turn the game into the
modern version that is most popular in today’s day and age. Of
course, he did not do this on his own, but he was most definitely
the main innovator.
One of the biggest changes to the game was making bids more
challenging by ruling that only tricks contracted would be a slam
bonus or scored towards the game. By 1925, Vanderbilt had made his
rules known far and wide; and in no time at all the majority of
players had taken to this game. For this reason, bridge became known
as the game of “contract bridge.”
Although contract bridge will always be popular, other variations
such as rubber and duplicate have also become popular in the United
Kingdom, United States, and Australia.
As you can see, the game of bridge does not have a simple past. Many
changes have been made over the years, and if it were not for Harold
Stirling Vanderbilt, the game would not be the same today.
Blackjack history is covered in depth on this site about casino
blackjack, and it is an interesting read even if you don't play
often.
