Andy Hung Bridge

SOME   BIOGRAPHY   ABOUT   ANDY

Q: How old were you when you started to play Bridge?
I was about 16 when I was introduced to this fascinating game of Bridge!

Q: How did you get into Bridge?
Back in high school my friends and I would play some card games during the lunch breaks. Our usual go-to game was "Big 2", a very fun and classic game played with two to four players. However, one day we decided to spice things up as one friend knew about Bridge and he taught to all of us.
The version of Bridge that we were taught was similar, but also somewhat a little different, to what we all play. The differences were:

     - There was no dummy! This allowed everyone to participate in the play, but this meant little logic was applied in the play, and it required more partnership trust and chemistry!

     - There were two extra denominations in the bidding:

           1. The Small No-trump. This was ranked below clubs (so you can overcall 1-club over 1-Small-NT), and the way it worked was essentially the same as the normal NT (i.e. no trump suit), but the order was reversed. Aces were now the smallest cards, and deuces were the highest cards! This made it enjoyable even if you were dealt a bad hand!

           2. The Middle No-trump. This was ranked between diamonds and hearts, and similarly, it is also a No-trump contract, but the order was bizarre. The highest card was the 7 (the most middle card), followed by the 8, then 6, then 9, then 5, then 10, then 4, etc.! This was surely a confusing but yet enjoyable one to play, but again, it allowed you to participate in the bidding if you weren't dealt honour cards, nor the small cards, but the "somewhere in between" cards!

Like they say, every hand is an adventure!

As I thoroughly enjoyed the game, all it took from me was to search online more about the game, and that's when I read and learnt about the original rules of Contract Bridge.

Q: What did you study?

I completed Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering at Monash University in Melbourne.

Q: Why did you become a Professional Bridge Player and a Bridge Teacher?

After finishing university, it was too difficult to find a job given the small aerospace industry in Australia, but also there was an oversupply of graduates. During my university years, I was still finding the time to play bridge as it became a passion of mine. I can still remember very disinctly the first time I represented Australia in an international tournament (the 2006 World U20 Youth Team Championships) where our team, the darkhorse, came equal second in the Round Robin. Unfortunately, our team was quite inexperienced in the playing the Knockout Stages so we lost our semi-finals as well as the bronze playoff.

Besides playing bridge to improve my own game, I was also spending a lot of time teaching and mentoring other youth players from around the world. With the rise in internet and technology, I was able to mentor players via Skype as we played on Bridge Base Online (you can play for free!). As I loved to play and teach, I decided to then become a full time bridge teacher and player.

My home base is in Brisbane, and I started teaching from 2010 at various bridge clubs around Brisbane. I would then often travel and give lessons at bridge clubs all around Australia, and they were always well attended.

Since 2019, I have been based in Perth where I teach at the West Australian Bridge Club. When I'm not in Perth, you'll often find me either competing in a tournament (sometimes international), or back home in Brisbane, or holding workshops around Australia.

 

Q: Do you have a goal?

Yes I certainly do! At this current moment I am enjoying the playing (in the US Nationals), the teaching, and I have also been hosting Bridge Holidays around Australia and overseas. Our popular destinations in Australia are Noosa, Margaret River, Hunter Valley, and hopefully many more to come (some have suggested Barossa Valley!), and our overseas holidays are often in Europe where we've been to St Petersburg, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, and Bratislava.

My goal is to win a World Teams Championship one day (I can dream!), but because I love teaching and coaching, I hope to be one of, if not, the best Bridge Coach/Teacher in the world one day! 

Q: What was the most profound bridge advice that you have ever received?

The best advice I ever received was:
"Bridge isn't about making fancy bids or plays that will get you into the bulletins or newspapers, it is about limiting your mistakes. We, even world class players, are all bad at this game - it is just about who or which team is the least bad!"

Q: What's your best advice that you would give to you students? 

Have a thirst for knowledge! Bridge is a facsinating and a wonderful game, there is always something to learn. Go at your own pace (it's not a race) and do not be afraid - have the enthusiasm and the eagerness to want to learn more. We all make mistakes (trust me, I've made plenty of nightmares!) and it is a part of our journey, it's about how you compose yourself and learn from it, do not give up!

Q: Do you have any memorable hands?

I have too many to list. The one that has left a psychological scar on me was when my partner and I had a very scientific auction (and checked for aces along the way) to 7NT in a World Championship. Why is it memorable? Oh, did I forget to mention it was doubled? As well as missing two aces...