Biography
Jerry, Ronnie & Mom for her 90th
Jerry, brother Ronnie and Mom for her 90th

Jerry and Gini Helms with Annabelle and Stan Hudmon
Nova Scotia Canada

Jerry is a professional bridge player, writer and teacher, who specializes in group seminars.  He is a native of Charlotte, N. C. where he still lives with his wife, Gini.  Their son, Big Jake, completed his career as a four year starter for the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears. For the past three years, he has played professionally in arena league football and continues to pursue his career.

Click here to view Jake's Professional_Bio
Big Jake
Big Jake on the Field
Jake on Senior Night

As a player, Jerry has appeared 25 consecutive times on the annual American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) Top 500 list.  His 18,000+ masterpoints include over 300 regional wins and nine top-five finishes in National Events. 

When the ACBL established its teacher accreditation program (TAP)  in 1987, Jerry was asked to participate as a trainer.  During his tenure he certified over 2,000 bridge teachers.  Since 1994 he has served annually as an expert panelist for the American Bridge Teachers Association.  He is a member of the National Speakers Program, and provides a free lecture during the Spring, Summer and Fall National Bridge Tournaments.

Jerry is a featured columnist for both Better Bridge Magazine and the ACBL Bulletin. His byline for both magazines is “Ask Jerry.”


Helms tops 15,000
Jerry Helms has surpassed the 15,000 masterpoint plateau. Helms, a Platinum Life Master of Charlotte NC, is a full-time player and teacher. He was second in the Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs in 1995 and has numerous other high finishes in NABC events. Helms is a regular columnist for the Bridge Bulletin and a frequent guest expert lecturer at NABCs. He is the co-inventor of the HELLO convention that is used over the opponents opening 1NT bid. - courtesy of the Dallas 2006 NABC Daily Bulletin