Played around the world - according to one famous player, if you play bridge, you will make friends wherever you go. If you want to bid accurately and achieve greatly improved results at the bridge table, you have to master the Losing Trick Count. It is a tried and tested method of hand evaluation which has stood the test of time. Ron Klinger, famous international player, author and teacher who has more books to his credit than many players have had good hands, has brought the LTC up to date by relating it to modern systems and conventions. Now in its fifteenth impression since original publication, this remarkable book is set to hold its place as the standard text on the Losing Trick Count.

One of the great classics of bridge, this book explains how one of the most successful teams ever known achieved its remarkable results A storehouse of extremely interesting hands, this book sets down the most outstanding hands played by the Blue Team, the astonishingly successful Italian team which achieved a record number of victories in world-class championships, a feat unlikely to be equalled. The 140 chosen hands are first set out in single dummy form so that the reader can make their own decisions about playing the hand before reading the analysis provided. Sections at the end of the book give a summary of the bidding systems.

Better Bridge with a Better Memory 'goes beyond ... wide-ranging advice ... and investigates one specific technique in detail. The method demonstrated is mnemonics, and the author shows how that approach, already widely in use in naming agreements and providing clues to their details, can be applied to every phase of the game. As is often the case in Klinger productions, many examples used to demonstrate the case at hand have unrelated interesting points, and the discussions thus provide a welcome variety of topics.' - The Bridge World.

Finally, a book for every bridge fan -- never before has there been a comprehensive history of the game, filled with anecdotes about famous players, key tournaments, strategies, scandals, and a little instruction for good measure." "Evolving at some point in the 18th century from a card game known as "whist," bridge has undergone countless variations, and acquired a massive following of clubs and organizations in the ensuing centuries. "The New York Times Bridge Book" is aimed not only at the bridge-playing community but also an armchair audience fascinated by the role of cardgames in world history.

The army of enthusiastic followers of the bridge-playing monks of St. Titus, and their sometimes less than admirable Abbot, will have a field-day with this wonderful collection of stories David Bird has surpassed even himself with this sixth collection. His inimitable combination of scintillating bridge and humor will swell the ranks of the cognoscenti with equally delighted new recruits. Any bridge players who are not already happily enrolled, should join now!

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.

20 years ago, bridge writer Mike Lawrence published a series of short pamphlets for intermediate players with advice on various aspects of bidding and card play. Long unavailable, this material has now been revised, updated, and republished in three anthology volumes, each comprising about 10 of the original booklets. The topics here include: defence, including opening leads, signalling and third hand play, declarer play including endplays, simple squeezes, loser on loser plays, and timing. There is also a general discussion of the mistakes we all make in cardplay but need to avoid. This is the third volume in a three-volume series, 'Mike Lawrence Bridge Tips', based on bridge tips for intermediate players first published twenty years ago.

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.

What is 'Standard' Bidding? This is an increasingly hard question to answer, but the proliferation of bridge on the Internet in pickup partnerships makes it imperative that someone does so. Perhaps the most popular natural system for the hundreds of thousands of online players worldwide is the Standard American Yellow Card, or SAYC. In this book, for the first time, SAYC is fully described and explained. This will be an invaluable to aid to anyone wanting to learn and understand SAYC, or anyone who simply knows the basics and is eager to fill in the missing pieces in their repertoire. Ned Downey and Ellen Pomer, the authors, are experienced bridge teachers and partners in the 'Bridge Forum' web site. Ned also teaches bridge via the Swan Games online playing site. Ellen is well-known on the Internet under her handle 'Caitlin', and regularly writes for various magazines on Internet bridge. This title gives basic introduction to the standard bidding conventions used on bridge websites.

Here you can learn how to avoid bidding contracts that prove to be impossible to make. Bidding depends to some extent on the agreed system, but underpinning those methods are standards that are common around the globe: the Golden Rules. The authors combine experience from both sides of the Atlantic and whether you play Acol, Standard American or a Strong Club System, this book offers plenty for you. THE GOLDEN RULES OF CONSTRUCTIVE BIDDING follows the pattern of previous books in this series giving examples of when to use the rule and when not to do so.

To discover which opening lead is best from a given West hand against a particular auction, the authors use computer software to generate 5000 deals that match the North-South bidding. (The West hand remains the same and the other three hands are chosen randomly).

The software then plays these deals automatically, seeing which of the 13 possible opening leads works best at both IMPs (rubber bridge/Chicago) and match-point pairs.

By analysing the results, the authors pass on to the reader the secrets of finding the best lead against notrump contracts on a wide range of different auctions.

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.

To bid or not to bid - the perennial dilemma in competitive auctions. The easy answer to the question lies in the correct use of the Law of Total Tricks. The LAW has been part of bridge literature since the 1950s, but it was in this book that Larry Cohen brought it to the attention of the majority of bridge players. Still the most lucid explanation of the LAW ever published, this is a book that every bridge player needs to own, to read, to re-read, and to study in order to improve his results.

How many times have you found yourself defending and wriggling with anguish at having to discard apparently certain winners? Hugh Kelsey's target here is to help you to avoid such pain - and other agonies that a competent declarer may inflict. By developing your insights into the hidden possibilities in the lie and play of the cards, this book will make you a sought-after partner and a respected (and feared!) opponent.

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!

200 hands to practice opener's rebid after responder has limited his hand by raising opener's suit or bidding no trump. Focuses primarily on auctions at or below game level - appropriate for beginners.