I think there are a lot of thought techniques that carry over from bridge to poker. I play high level bridge (in the UK) and a lot of my bridge playing friends who move to poker take it up quicker than my non-bridge playing friends. I am still better at bridge than i am at poker, but compared to my friends who started getting into poker around the same time, i am far ahead of them. Some of the reasons i think are:

1) Like other people mentioned there are forms of bluffing in bridge, and the key to getting these to work is not to make a bluff (either a misleading bid or a misleading card) because you don't see any other way of winning, but to try and mislead your opponents itno thinking you have something different to what you have. In poker a lot of begginers bluff on the river, because they see no other way of taking the pot down, but playing bridge gives you this 'false picture' philosophy. You have to try and represent something with your bluff, not just bluff for the sake of it. Sometimes this means planning to bluff a few rounds earlier than you make the bluff.

2)Odds and percentages are built into you at high level bridge. Counting and analysing your chances come so quickly once you have practiced and played 1000's of hands. People who haven't done things like this before, stuggle with all the quick maths that poker throws up at you, and esp. playing online where you have a time limit. For example, someone goes all in post flop and everyone else folds to you. You first have to analyize what your opponent has (a skill needed in bridge too) and then decide what your chances of beating him are compared to the pot odds. You may have a flush draw and one overcard, and can deduce that from his all in that he hasn't hit a set, but best guess top pair.You now need to count your outs, work out the chances of hitting them and then work out the pot odds. Since you only have a limited time online, people who aren't used to processing odds and percentages quickly, or those people who can't assess thier opponents hands, will make more mistakes until they have developed these skills. Skills that playing bridge at high levels come naturally.

There aren't the only similarities, but they explain why most bridge players adapt to poker quicker than someone who hasn't aquired these skills.

Eggpie