The previous book by this same author team, Planning the Play of a Bridge Hand (978 1897106 51 8), was named the 2010 Book of the Year by the American Bridge Teachers' Association. Building on the success of that title, this book gives near-beginners a chance to practice the principles on which sound declarer play is based: count your winners, count your losers, make a plan. This is not just a series of problem hands, however. Each section contains a brief introduction of its topic, and the ideas are reinforced with carefully explained solutions and helpful tips throughout.

Many competent players are frustrated by an apparent inability to score well at duplicate pairs. No matter how hard they try, the secret of success seems to lie forever beyond reach. The truth is that playing good bridge is not enough to win at pairs. The regular winners are those who have learned to adapt their strategy to take account of the vagaries of match-point scoring. A small shift in emphasis can make a big difference to results. In this book Australian expert Ron Klinger shows you how to do it. There are five sections covering constructive bidding, competitive bidding, opening leads, declarer play and defence, and they are full of well chosen example hands and sound advice. Put these tips into practice and your results are sure to improve.

Readers of David Bird's humorous bridge stories will give a delighted welcome to this new addition to the celebrated series. As ever, the irascible Abbot makes his acerbic presence felt and the long-suffering fraternity diverts itself with much entertaining and excitingly interesting bridge. For more than 30 years, David Bird's tales of the bridge-crazy monks of St Titus have appeared in magazines around the world. In this tenth collection in book form, the pompous and self-important Abbot hosts a tricky visit from Monsignor Vecchio, a representative of the Vatican authorities. Everything must be done to ensure that the visitor, a very moderate bridge player, finishes well in the monastery duplicate. In another story, the Abbot visits the Convent of St Hilda's and is not overjoyed to be put in partnership with the 80-year-old Mother of Discipline. Regular followers of David Bird's work will know what to expect - a first-rate mixture of excellent bridge, entertaining characters and sparkling dialogue.

Victor Mollo's Bridge in the Menagerie is on any list of the all-time top ten books on the game. The stories it contains, originally published in the 1960s in Bridge Magazine and The Bridge World, found a worldwide audience in book form. Everyone can relate to the characters (the Hideous Hog, the Rueful Rabbit, Oscar the Owl, and the rest), the bridge hands are brilliant, and the stories themselves hilarious. This is the book against which all subsequent attempts at bridge humour are measured. Bridge in the Menagerie has been out of print for some time, and is reissued now with illustrations by bridge cartoonist Bill Buttle.

David Bird and Ron Klinger made a great hit with KOSHER BRIDGE, which was enthusiastically applauded world-wide by the leading bridge critics. In THE RABBI AND THE WEAKER SEX, the retitled KOSHER BRIDGE 2, the cast returns in splendid form and the Rabbi, kindly and considerate, maintains an essential balance between the hilariously warring factions and the excellence of the bridge ensures that readers will be properly instructed while being immoderately entertained. If you did not read the first book you can start with this one. We guarantee you will come back for more.

Whether you play in person, or online, this is a must for bridge lovers around the world This is an important, and in some ways revolutionary, book. The point count method of hand evaluation was first proposed in 1914 and popularized in 1934 by Milton Work. The Banzai Method advanced by David Jackson and Ron Klinger improves on Milton Work by reassessing the relative values of the honour cards but also adds a further dimension to accurate hand evaluation by including the tens and is of crucial importance when assessing balanced hands. According to Eric Kokish, an internationally respected American authority, who has contributed the Foreword, the many example deals are an eye-opener. When you finish this book, it is unlikely that you are going to look at your hand the same way as you have in the past.

Many players feel trepidation when faced with playing a no-trumps contract. In this book Ron Klinger shows you how to approach such contracts without fear. The correct lines and logical thinking are explained clearly and you will not only make your contracts, but also score overtricks as well. This book is about the strategy of succeeding as declarer when you play no-trumps. The first section deals with the approach you should adopt before you even play a card from dummy. Then follow heaps of practical examples, problems for you to solve, deals that arose in major competitions where the very best players did not always find the right answer. Most importantly, the solutions include the logic behind the right play, the clues to locate the missing cards and ideas on how to induce opposition error when you have no legitimate chance for success. In this book, Australian expert Ron Klinger shows you how to come out on top more often. Where you might have felt reluctance when playing no-trumps, you will emerge with a new sense of confidence. No-trumps will no longer hold any fears for you.

Average players tend to focus on point count for their bidding decisions, but the expert recognises that the shape of the hand also plays a vital role. Knowing the implications of shape will help you find the best contract more often. The book not only reveals how to use hand patterns to winning effect, but also how to incorporate the ideas of shape in your bidding system. The power of shape is not limited to the bidding. Successful play or defence is often linked to a knowledge of the pattern of the opponents' hands. The second part of this book will show you how to discover and make use of this invaluable information. Follow the recommendations in this exciting and original book and your partnership will be in great shape!

The perfect book for when you're ready to move beyond 52-card pickup Feeling rummy? Ready to bridge the gap? In the mood to go fish? Card Games For Dummies is your source for rules, strategy, and fun. You'll learn everything you need to know to play and win at your family's favorite games, plus a bunch of others that are probably new to you. If you're the gambling kind, you can get started with poker, blackjack, and other casino favorites, right here. This handy guide takes card game enthusiasm to the next level and explains the tips and tricks that can turn game night into some serious competition. Learn the official rules for all your favorite card games Discover strategies for winning at bridge, poker, hearts, and many more Play easy games that are perfect for the whole family Get started in the world of online card gaming Card Games For Dummies will whet your appetite for play. Start shuffling!

Chess and bridge have been two of the world's most popular games for centuries, and this superb instructional book will tell you everything you need to know about them, from their intriguing histories to how to play and win. Biographies of the most well-known players are included, from famous bridge players such as Terence Reese and Omar Sharif to world-class chess players such as Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov.With stepby-step guidance and over 1200 photographs and illustrations, this easy-to-follow book will show players how to play and increase their enjoyment of two of the most tactical and complex games around today.

Play the System National Champions Play Over the last 20 years a consensus bidding system among American national champions has been chosen and is now the lingua franca for hundreds among the pro circuit, top junior players and strong tournament players. This book will introduce you to the system, called Standard Modern Precision (or SMP), with lots of examples, quizzes and real-life hands bid by actual world champions. Part 1 covers the basics, and provides a working knowledge of the system so you can start playing and winning right away. A partnership may choose to continue on to Part 2 (The Full System) or Part 3 (Optional Gadgets). Also included are step-by-step instructions for setting up hands to practice on Bridge Base Online and a cheat sheet for reference when bidding. It's time to start winning with the high-octane system that more tournament players are using, just like the pros.

Bridge hat den Ruf, ein Zeitvertreib fA1/4r Altere Damen zu sein. Ja, das ist es auch, aber Bridge ist noch viel mehr. Bridge ist ein Sport, Bridge ist eines der beliebtesten Kartenspiele der Welt, Bridge wird auch in Deutschland von A1/4ber 500 000 Menschen gespielt und es werden immer mehr. "Bridge fA1/4r Dummies" fA1/4hrt die Leser in die Welt dieses Denk- und Turniersports ein. Eddie Kantar, einer der weltweit bekanntesten Bridge-Autoren, erlAutert die grundlegenden Techniken und Strategien der Reiz- und der Spielphase. Er schildert hAufige Spielsituationen und gibt Tipps, wie man richtig mit ihnen umgeht. So liefert das Buch locker und amA1/4sant allerhand Informationen und Anregungen fA1/4r AnfAnger und fortgeschrittene Bridge-Spieler.

Duplicate bridge is a different game. It's true that you can get by if you play exactly the same way as you would in a home social game or a team match. Duplicate pairs is a highly competitive game, though, and few contestants are happy just to 'get by'. They want to win - not just once in a while but regularly! To be successful at duplicate pairs, you must adjust your bidding. You must know when to compete vigorously, taking a risk in doing so. You must also know when it is right to bid conservatively. You have to understand which contract to choose in various situations. In the play and defence you meet similar dilemmas. Should you risk the contract for a lucrative overtrick? Should you risk giving away an extra trick in defence, hoping that you can beat the contract? This is a book that every novice bridge player needs to read before that first pairs game at their local club.

Just about every bridge player over forty has read Victor Mollo's Bridge in the Menagerie, a book that is on any list of the all-time top ten on the game. Towards the end of his life, Mollo continued to write stories about the same well-loved characters (Hideous Hog, Rueful Rabbit, Oscar the Owl and the rest), but they appeared in various magazines around the world, and if you weren't a subscriber, you didn't get to read them. This is the second collection of 'lost' Menagerie stories from one of the best-loved bridge writers who ever lived.

Duplicate Pairs is the most absorbing and demanding form of Bridge: a true mental combat sport. Starting with the mechanics of the scoring system, through the key philosophies for success, to detailed tactical advice, esteemed author Paul Mendelson takes the reader through all the steps needed to improve your scores, boost your enjoyment and become a successful Duplicate Pairs player at club level and beyond. In the second part of the book, sit at Paul's shoulder and play a Duplicate Pairs tournament with him, observing the inferences taken, myriad components considered, and decisions made. Paul Mendelson is the UK's best selling Bridge author and his books are sold worldwide, having been translated into numerous languages. He writes weekly for the Financial Times and contributes to numerous magazines. He has also written books and articles on Poker and casino gaming

Weak two-bids are well ensconced in the bridge world and are now part of any beginning program of lessons. They are, however, in that class of "most abused" conventions. An understanding of all the important tools that are at your fingertips will serve you well in making these decisions at the table. This book will walk you through the solutions to the problems you meet every day in offensive and defensive situations, delving into the more intricate aspects of the weak two-bid.

The world's oldest, and leading, bridge magazine, The Bridge World, said of this book: 'Guide to Better Card Play is an elementary-through-intermediate textbook on declarer play and defence. Appropriately, the two phases of the book receive equal attention. The book can be used either as a self-teacher or as the basis of a series of lessons. In addition to the tutorial material, which is comprehensive, careful and instructive, the work is choc-a-bloc with summaries, reviews, quizzes and example deals. There is even an appendix that allows your foursome to set up the practice deals yourself. We like almost everything about this book, we especially liked the attention to partnership methods, the topic selection, and the carefully constructed lesson deals. There are other good texts at this level, but Klinger's book has twice as much material as similar works. This is a very good buy.'

Ron Klinger has assembled 50 great puzzles on declarer play, which will give the bridge player an opportunity to test their card-handling skills. Whatever the situation, whether high or low cards are held, the reader cannot fail but improve their game by tackling this splendid selection of declarer play puzzles - and learn from the detailed explanation that Ron Klinger gives on the following page.

There is such an abundance of hints, tips and advice available to bridge players that when faced with a particularly difficult problem, we find ourselves scrambling to remember that crucial solution. In this book, Paul Mendelson explains that when you stop trying to remember what to do, but simply think instead, the answers to expert problems become more apparent, accessible and easier to apply at the table. Packed with tips, examples, hands to study and practise at the table, system improvements, guidance for maximising your score at duplicate pairs, and innovations just for you, for your partnership and group of bridge friends, this book will improve every reader's game markedly. Following on from Control the Bidding and Winning Ways to Play Your Cards, Thinking About Bridge will reinforce some of the key elements of the game, whilst adding a new expert dimension on understanding to each discipline, making the game more enjoyable and your performance more successful.

The "Financial Times'" weekly bridge columnist offers a completely revised and updated guide to sharpening bridge techniques, with more than 20 new tips and fresh material For the social bridge players who knows the rules and can play a reasonable hand, but want to refine their skills and improve their understanding of the game, this is the perfect guide. Packed with those gems of knowledge it usually takes years to accumulate, this invaluable book offers solid advice on how best to deal with a variety of situations. The tips range from simple to more advanced and all are clearly explained and are illustrated by an example hand and a reader's test. There is no simpler or more enjoyable way to improve bridge skills.