Show Notes
Ralph Katz was born in 1957 in Pittsburgh, PA, and raised in Steubenville, OH. He started playing bridge at 16. After completing college, he moved to Chicago to trade options. At 22, he won his first NABC title, the Life Master Pairs, and at 24, he won both the Spingold and the Master Mixed Teams at the Summer NABC. Ralph was the ACBL Player of the Year in 2001 and won the Fishbein Trophy in 1981 and 2001. Some of his many wins include the Bermuda Bowl (2009), the Rosenblum (2002), the Vanderbilt (1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2017, 2024), the Spingold (1981, 2001, 2002), and the Reisinger (2000, 2009, 2021). In 2018, Ralph was a first-ballot selection for the ACBL Hall of Fame. Ralph and his wife, Martha, herself a World Junior Champion, have an adult son, Sam, who was King of Bridge in 2006. Sam and his wife, Jenni, have given Ralph and Martha two adorable future players, Ben and Izzy. Next to bridge and family, Ralph’s biggest loves are the Pirates and the Steelers.
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John Ramos was born and raised in New York City. He learned the rules of bridge at a very young age from his father and grandmother. After graduating from Princeton University in 1992, he returned to NYC and pursued tournament bridge, being mentored by some of the best players the city had to offer. Following careers in options trading and film, the latter of which took him across the country to Los Angeles, in 2016 he transitioned to teaching and playing bridge full-time. Since he decided to make bridge his vocation, John has established himself as one of Los Angeles’s premier teachers, holding regular classes at both public and private clubs all over the city and building up a devoted client base. In addition, he’s a top tournament player, having placed in the top 5 in Open US National events on four occasions. He is also a partner in Bridge And Beyond, a bridge education and luxury travel company he formed with fellow pros Giorgia Botta and Christopher Rivera.
Phil Clayton became a Life Master at age 22 and is currently an Emerald Life Master. He is a USBF junior mentor and coach and was the Non-Playing Captain of the USA2 Seniors team at the world championships in Herning, DK. He is a member of the ACBL Advisory Council and the Online Ethical Oversight Committee. He is a good friend of mine and a frequent teammate.
Marc Smith was a member of the Great Britain team that won the Junior Teams at the European Union Championships in 1985. Marc has won most of England’s national events at some point in the past 40+ years, most recently picking up the Premier Grand Masters Pairs title in 2025. However, it is as a bridge writer that he best known. Marc is the co-author, along with Barbara Seagram, of the best-selling bridge book since Culbertson, “25 Conventions You Should Know.” He collaborated with David Bird on two award-winning series of books: “Bridge Technique” and “Bridge Cardplay: An Easy Guide.” He has also co-written books with Jeff Meckstroth, Martin Hoffman, Julian Pottage, and Tim Bourke. Marc now has more than 50 titles to his name, including the “World Class” series and the “Enterprising Tales” books (bridge stories set in the “Star Trek” universe). These days, Marc conducts the world’s most popular bidding competition, hosted on the RealBridge website, and he also writes a regular cardplay column in the ACBL Bulletin. Marc also teaches numerous weekly online classes. For more details of both his classes and his books, visit Marc’s website at www.bridge-teacher.com.
Rob Barrington is a professional player, teacher, and one of the more recognizable personalities in the modern bridge world. His online content reaches a global audience where just his YouTube channel has over 6 million views! Based in South Florida Rob continues to teach, create content and travel the world for Bridge.
John Kranyak is a professional bridge player and world champion originally from Cleveland, Ohio, currently living in Tucson, Arizona. He is married to fellow bridge player, Dr. Allison Kranyak. Together they have a baby girl Lyla. In his spare time John enjoys golf, pickleball, running and hiking. John won his first national event in 2005 playing with his mom, Laurie. He was on the winning team in the 2001, 2005, and 2006 world youth team championships. His team won the 2024 world transnational teams and the 2021 Soloway.