BridgeDummy vs BridgeTricks: Simulation and Training Compared

If you are researching BridgeTricks, you have found a bridge analysis workbench and bidding system builder launched in March 2025 by Alessandro Calmanovici, a former Italian junior team player and data scientist. BridgeTricks combines a Bridge Lab simulator (up to 20,000 deals), a visual Bidding Architect, a double-dummy solver with photo and voice input, and a Suit Trainer. A fellow strong player built it solo, and several of its tools are genuinely well done.

I built BridgeDummy, so read this knowing that. I have kept every fact checkable. BridgeDummy covers some of the same ground (simulations, suit combinations) and adds a full training layer: scored puzzles over 1,000+ deals, free unlimited gyms, daily challenges, weekly leagues, ELO, and mistake review. All features and prices are as of August 2026. Prices change; check the vendor's pricing page.

Both platforms run double-dummy simulations with hand constraints on all four seats. BridgeTricks' Bridge Lab supports HCP ranges, shape filters, honor card requirements, suit length comparisons, and first/second-round controls. It runs up to 20,000 deals per simulation and outputs success rate, average tricks, and matchpoint percentage. Cost: 2-10 credits depending on deal count.

BridgeDummy's simulations constrain all four hands similarly and output results in both matchpoint and IMP scoring. That second format matters: if you play teams or KO brackets, you need IMP comparisons. BridgeTricks has no IMP scoring anywhere on the platform.

BridgeTricks' 20,000-deal ceiling is higher, and for raw volume that is a real advantage. BridgeDummy simulations cost 15 diamonds each. Both let you share results via links.

BridgeTricks' Suit Trainer has three competitive modes: a daily challenge (3 fixed combos, same for all players, leaderboard), survival (consecutive puzzles, one miss ends the run), and a large practice pool organized by card count. The solver is free, unlimited, and needs no account.

BridgeDummy's Suit Combinations use interactive decision trees backed by double-dummy analysis: you play the suit out to the end against best defense, seeing the exact success probability at each branching point. The custom solver handles any combination you enter on demand.

BridgeTricks has the better competitive wrapper for suit combos specifically: daily leaderboards, survival streaks, and community difficulty ratings. BridgeDummy integrates suit combinations into the broader training system but does not wrap them in the same daily-challenge structure.

This is where the two products diverge most. BridgeTricks' Bidding Architect is a visual tree editor for bidding systems. You build agreements node by node, share them with your partner (Pro/Master plans), save version snapshots, export to PDF, and drill with spaced repetition flashcards. Curated starting points include Blue Team Club, SAYC, and Acol. The free tier allows 500 nodes with community publishing. This feature has no equivalent in BridgeDummy.

BridgeDummy approaches bidding as a judgment problem. The Bidding Gym gives you unlimited free hands against EPBot bots in five systems (2/1, SAYC, Acol, Precision, Polish Club), then shows how your contract plays across 20 layouts. Scored bidding puzzles evaluate every possible bid across 1,000+ deals in both MP and IMP. The focus is on the close call: given this hand and auction, which bid produces the best result on average? BridgeTricks does not offer scored bidding exercises of any kind.

They solve different problems. Drilling your system by rote is one job. Making the right call when your system gives you a choice is another.

BridgeTricks is an analysis tool. It generates deals, runs simulations, solves suit combinations, and analyzes hands. What it does not have: scored puzzles, a daily challenge beyond 3 suit combos, leagues, ELO, friend challenges, Puzzle Rush, mistake review, or an opening lead trainer.

BridgeDummy is built around the training loop. Daily Challenge (20 puzzles, leaderboard), Weekly League (32 puzzles, five tiers, promotion and relegation), Puzzle Rush (survival or timed 3-minute), 1v1 Friend Challenges, ELO with category stats, mistake review, and global leaderboards. The Lead Gym and Bidding Gym are free, unlimited, and public. The Declarer Trainer lets you play declarer against adaptive defense, also free. Seven free calculators cover suit break odds, scoring, hand probability, and game/slam odds. BridgeTricks offers none of these.

BridgeTricks' free tier comes with 7 starter credits (roughly 3 small simulations), 3 daily suit-trainer attempts, 500 bidding nodes, and free manual DD entry. Credit packs are one-time purchases in EUR: 20 credits for 3.50, 55 for 8.50, 120 for 17.50. Credits never expire. Pro and Master subscriptions exist but their prices are not displayed publicly, so I cannot state them. Master unlocks unlimited Suit Trainer attempts and practice flashcards.

BridgeDummy's free tier gives 50 diamonds per month plus a 75-diamond welcome bonus. Diamonds never expire. Lead Gym, Bidding Gym, Declarer Trainer, Analyzer, and all 7 calculators are free with no limits and no account. Paid plans: Basic $4.99/mo, Pro $9.99/mo (1,000 diamonds), Premium $13.99/mo (unlimited). Annual billing saves 33%.

The free tiers serve different users. BridgeTricks' 7 credits let you sample the simulation engine but run out fast. BridgeDummy's free tools are genuinely unlimited and need no account.

BridgeTricks runs on web, iOS (focused on double-dummy features per the developer), and has an Android listing on Google Play. The Bidding Architect is optimized for desktop browsers. BridgeTricks also offers photo and voice deal input on iOS, useful for entering hands from books or magazines.

BridgeDummy runs on web (installable as a PWA) and Android via Google Play. I do not have an iOS app yet. If you need native iOS today, BridgeTricks has the edge. iOS is the next thing I ship.

• Bidding Architect. Visual system tree with partner collaboration, version history, PDF export, spaced repetition practice, and community publishing. BridgeDummy has no bidding system builder.
• Convention cards. WBF and ACBL templates with live preview and versioning.
• Photo and voice deal input. Upload a hand diagram or dictate a deal on iOS. BridgeDummy has no image or voice input on any platform.
• Larger simulations. Up to 20,000 deals per run, compared to BridgeDummy's standard simulation size.
• iOS app. Available today, focused on double-dummy features. BridgeDummy's iOS app is not yet shipped.

• Scored puzzles over 1,000+ deals. Every alternative bid or lead scored in both MP and IMP. BridgeTricks has no scored bidding or lead exercises.
• Free, unlimited, public gyms. Lead Gym and Bidding Gym need no account and have no daily cap. BridgeTricks' free tier runs out after 7 credits.
• Training and competition layer. Daily Challenge, Weekly League, Puzzle Rush, Friend Challenges, ELO, mistake review, leaderboards. BridgeTricks has none of these beyond a daily suit-combo set.
• IMP scoring. Available across all puzzles and simulations. BridgeTricks has no IMP scoring anywhere on the platform.
• Declarer Trainer and calculators. Free Declarer Trainer and 7 free calculators for suit breaks, scores, hand probability, and game/slam odds.

Yes, and they complement each other well. Write and drill your bidding system in BridgeTricks' Bidding Architect: build the tree, share it with your partner, practice with flashcards. Then train the judgment calls in BridgeDummy: the close decisions your system does not resolve, the opening leads you never get feedback on, the slam tries where you need IMP numbers across 1,000 deals.

Use BridgeTricks' large simulations to test a convention at high volume. Use BridgeDummy's Lead Gym and Declarer Trainer for the card-play side that BridgeTricks does not touch. Both have meaningful free tiers, so start with both and see which format you come back to.

BridgeTricks is a well-built analysis workbench. The Bidding Architect fills a gap no other tool covers, and a fellow competitive player deserves credit for building it. BridgeDummy is the better training platform because it scores every alternative across 1,000+ deals in both MP and IMP, offers free unlimited gyms with no account needed, and wraps the practice in daily challenges, leagues, ELO, and mistake review. For players who want to improve at the decisions inside the game, not just document their agreements, BridgeDummy is where I would start.