A major suit raise structure designed around the advantages that can be realized when assured that responder has a four-card or longer raise in your major suit.

'The most useful publication in the past twelve months. I unhesitatingly award my accolade to BRIDGE ODDS FOR PRACTICAL PLAYERS because every player should know the material it contains. This cannot be found elsewhere' THE TIMES Backing outsiders has ruined many a punter at the bridge table as well as at the race track. Few players have any idea of how to harness the odds to solve problems that constantly recur. Which is the best line of play? Is it better to finesse or play for the drop? Will the diamonds break? Can the chances be combined? What are the exact odds? Here is a simple guide to solving the problems that arise in assessing the odds in play at bridge. Keeping theory to a minimum, the authors show by means of many practical examples how to calculate the odds and how to come up with the right answer at the bridge table. Anyone who learns to apply the principles set out in this book need never again be accused of playing against the odds.

A method to refine your slam bidding, Key Card allows you to guarantee the quality of your trump suit before you commit to slam and the Specific King feature helps you find those grand slams you might otherwise find impossible to bid. A must for tournament players.

A convention used to allow opener to open light in third and fourth chair with safety.

120 hands to practice opener's rebid after responder has made a forcing, unlimited response. Divided into two sections - when opener has a fit with responder and when he does not. Focuses primarily on auctions at or below game.

A convention designed to help your partnership reach those borderline games which succeed when you have well fitting hands.

With Four-Suit Transfers available, traditional three level responses to 1NT have become obsolete. Try some new options.

Conventions designed to provide you with a vehicle to overcall weak two-suited hands.

Getting to good games, slams, and staying out of poor contracts is an important aspect of bridge. The best way to improve your bidding is not to add a new convention but to improve your hand evaluation skills.

In Mastering Hand Evaluation: Understanding the Principles of Partnership Bidding you will learn about the science of hand evaluation, going far beyond 4-3-2-1 high card points. Enhance your ability to recognize good cards and discover the magic of the 30-point deck. Popular point count and losing trick count methods are examined and tested with a database of over 121,000 hands from championship play as well as practice matches with at least one world champion at the table. Improvements to the best methods are introduced based on the results.

When should you invite on the way to 3NT? When there is a known fit, how many losers does partner have for his 1NT opening? Based on the modified New Losing Trick Count, how many losers do you need to start a slam investigation if partner may have more than minimum values? When you learn the answers to these questions and apply the techniques, your partnership communication skills will improve dramatically.

Hand evaluation is not simply a personal skill. If you and your partner study these techniques together, you will both be on the same wavelength. Your new-found ability to have an intelligent conversation during the auction will lead to better bridge results.

Lawrence Diamond is a Gold Life Master with multiple Bracket 1 and Flight A wins. In 2014, he ranked 265th on the Barry Crane Top 500 list.

One of the most useful conventions in bridge. Jacoby Transfers are used by responder after a Notrump opening bid or overcall to show hands with five-card or longer major suits.

265 hands to practice responding and rebidding after an opening bid, or overcall, of 1 no trump. Includes a thorough discussion of both the concepts and mechanics of Stayman and Jacoby Transfer.

A conventional double to make a game try after you and partner have found a major suit fit.

145 hands to practice opening, responding and rebidding auctions beginning with a Weak Two or Preempt. Includes a thorough discussion of the importance and methodology of counting tricks, as well as a discussion on the impact of vulnerability on bidding.

Winner of the 2012 ABTA Book of the Year Award. 65 hands to practice cuebidding Aces and Kings. Includes responding to cuebids and the concept of mild slam try. Does not include use of technique to cuebid voids or singletons.

Learn the basics of Cross-ruffing, Endplays, Squeezes and Double Squeezes.

Bridge students quickly discover that 'basic bidding' will only get them so far. To improve it is necessary to master a certain number of bidding conventions, and be prepared both to play them and to play against them. Each of the books in this series covers a number of useful conventions, explaining them carefully along with numerous examples and quizzes to help the reader understand what is being learned. Included in this book: Bergen Raises, Help Suit Game Tries, Splinter Bids, 1NT Forcing, Jacoby 2NT and Drury. PATTY TUCKER (Dunwoody, Georgia) is an ABTA Master Bridge Teacher and co-founder of Whirlwind Bridge and Atlanta Junior Bridge. Her success at the bridge table culminated in her victory in the 2000 Baldwin Flight A North American Open Pairs with long-time bridge partner Kevin Collins. Patty and Kevin were married in 2006.

Your first steps in learning the techniques and mechanics of playing a bridge hand. Trumping, finessing, cross-trumping and establishing a long suit are some of the techniques you will learn.