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 i…

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-y…

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 pl…

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…

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 y…

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 undertaki…

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…

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.By John McAllister

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 …

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 …

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 j…

The Setting Trick Episode 65: Nathan Gong – A Junior Ambassador for New Bridge Players 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. Wi…

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 & …

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 he…

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 …

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 teamma…

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 …

Play in the SPARK Pro-Am with and against your favorite Setting Trick guests.By John McAllister, Tracey Bauer

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 Ros…

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 20…

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 20…

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 …

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 19…

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 No…

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 brid…

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 Reisi…

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 …

“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 ba…

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!By John McAllister

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 phon…

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. Liste…

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 bec…

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…

We are informally designating Susan Bricken as the Chief Enthusiasm Officer for the ACBL Educational Foundation’s new program, BridgeWhiz. We hope she’ll be an inspiration to all who want young people to learn the game. After finishing this episode, make sure to tell three people about BridgeWhiz, and feel free to copy me at john@thesettingtrick.co…

Shan Huang (technically Huang Shan) is a budding bridge legend. His frequent successes at tournaments earned him multiple Richmond trophies, the Canadian masterpoint race, before he immigrated to the US’ greener bridge pastures. He is in a formidable partnership with Floridian Kevin Dwyer. Link to Video Version: https://youtu.be/yAMvFrjPfp0 Episode…

Robert Todd is becoming a force in the bridge teaching world and has been called “the next generation of great bridge instructor and entertainer.” Having taught in 48 States, lectured at countless regionals, nationals, and cruises, Robert is following the path of his mentors Audrey Grant, Larry Cohen, or Barbara Seagram—some of the world’s most ren…

Ever since my conversation with Jeff Meckstroth, I began asking a standard question to Setting Trick guests, “are you better than (Jacek) Kalita?” It was a fun or tough question, depending on the guest, which got a wide variety of responses in spite of Jacek being ranked 2nd in the World Bridge Federation’s rankings. Hailing from Poland, Jacek is o…

In 2017, there was no bridge club at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Then Andrew Rowberg, a recent PhD graduate in computational material science, came along. Four years later, during which bribery cookies were baked, practice sessions held, and talent developed, the UCSB Overbidders Anonymous emerged victorious in the 2021 Online Nort…

Our first ever sponsor to be featured on The Setting Trick is Mike Levine. As many bridge players know, a match up against the Levine Team should be dreaded, unless one enjoys being demolished. In tow with his ultimate dream team, which includes two partnerships considered by many to be the greatest pairs of all time, Mike recently won the first 3 …

We continue our popular series of “The Youngest Life Master” with long-ago former record holders Bill and Dough Hsieh, along with their older brother and inspiration David Hsieh. In this episode, they taught me just how much our game has changed. From the abolition of smoking at the table to masterpoint inflation, and to the resurgence of youth bri…

In June of 2019, I asked now 17 year old Michael Xu to help me prepare for my interview with his bridge mentor/hero, Michael Rosenberg. This sparked his progression from The Setting Trick helper, to The Setting Trick intern, and finally to The Setting Trick guest. One year after I first reached out, Michael co founded the Youth Bridge Association, …

The third and possibly final episode of the Youngest Life Master series has touched down! In this episode, we caught up with four former youngest Life Masters: Joel Wooldrige, brothers Sam and Dan Hirschman, and Steven Cochran. Joel is now a world-class expert and is one of the world's best players. Sam and Dan continue to celebrate their former re…

Andrew Robson is a giant, in both height and bridge; he is 6 feet 6 inches tall and has won a slew of titles, including back to back Reisingers in 1998 and 1999. On top of all his bridge accolades, he has met the Queen of England, received the prestigious “Other Buggers’ Efforts” award, and survived a 100 foot fall. If you want to learn more about …

Al Bender is an extraordinarily dedicated teacher for Bridge For Youth, a nonprofit organization that promotes youth bridge in the Seattle area. After the pandemic struck, Bridge For Youth and Al switched from a face-to-face teaching model to solely virtual instruction. He caught my attention through this Bridge Winners article on the benefits of t…

Meet Greg Hinze: Three time North American Bridge Champion, world champion and he also has a world class sense of humor! After first hearing there was such a thing as a professional bridge player, Greg made it his five year goal. He played a lot, read lots of books, practically went broke and now is a highly desired pro. Episode Highlights: 1:35- H…

At the age of 10 years and 43 days Adam Kaplan set the record as the American Contract Bridge League’s youngest ever life master. A subsequent article in the ACBL Bridge Bulletin, commemorating Adam’s achievement, inspired his successor Richard Jeng who broke Adam’s record with ease at the age of 9 years, 6 months, and 12 days. Both Richard and Ada…

Our latest guest, Andrew Chen, is our youngest ever, by a lot! 8-year old Andrew is the ACBL’s youngest ever Life Master, a feat many spend decades striving for. In May 2020, Andrew, at the age of eight years and three days, smashed the previous record holder’s mark by more than a year. He also was the first to set the record since the requirements…

Didn’t get enough of Ronnie? He’s back! Ron Smith returns to the show, bringing with him more hilarious stories. Episode Highlights: 6:05- Ron’s opinion on Real Bridge 12:30- When your teammates go for minus 4600 in 4Cxx down 8 so you lose 24 IMPS, but you still win the match 15:35- Ron learns from his teacher who went minus 5800.Twice 16:05- Story…