BECOME A BETTER DECLARER - AND EDDIE KANTAR PROMISES IT WILL BE RELATIVELY PAINLESS! The problems in this book are not for experts - they are, however, for those whose ambition is to become better bridge players. They involve the everyday cardplay maneuvers that you have to master if you are going to improve as a declarer. As you work through this book, you will encounter more than one example of each theme - endplay, avoidance play, etc. This is intentional - it is important to recognize these situations, and by the end of the book you will be able to do just that. You are making progress if you get a problem wrong the first time its theme appears, but spot it the next time it comes up. And if you have a friend who keeps going down in cold contracts, you could not do him/her a better favor than to give them a copy of this book.

THIS 146 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Auction Tactics, by Bryant McCampbell. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1417905360.

Over-the-shoulder descriptions of hands played at duplicate bridge by a new author. Wry, amusing and thought-provoking, containing plenty of good bridge, good writing and good fun. For improving and intermediate club and congress players.

The Bridge Rookie is your basic rule book that presents a set of problem-solving guidelines for the novice bridge player.

This is the definitive book on the oldest - and most useful - convention in bridge, the takeout double. Originally published in 1994 (Magnus Books, 978 0963753 31 1), this book quickly became recognized as a 'must-read' for any would-be bridge expert, and has never been out of print. Now, almost twenty years later, the author has revised and updated the text to take into account modern developments in competitive bidding, one of the most rapidly changing parts of the game, not least in the new and varied uses of doubles.

Canadian expert Roy Hughes' first book, Building a Bidding System (2005; ISBN 9781897106 02 5), has become a must-read for expert pairs looking to develop effective constructive bidding methods. Now Hughes turns to the theory and practice of competitive auctions, a critical component of the modern game. Beginning again by establishing what the bidding system needs to accomplish, Hughes goes on to discuss every type of contested auction, and recommends useful methods and agreements from which the reader can select. This is a state-of-the-art discussion, covering many topics in detail that have at best seen cursory treatment in print up to now.

Want to begin teaching bridge, but aren't sure where to start? This comprehensive and easy-to-follow teacher's manual was designed by the authors of We Love the Majors, Mary Ann Dufresne and Marion Ellingsen, to compliment their reader-friendly beginner's book. The teacher's guide contains six complete, detailed lesson plans, including hand diagrams, that teachers can easily customize to suit their students' levels of "interest and experience." This guide puts all the information you need to share your love of bridge right at your fingertips!

R.U.N.T. - the Really Unusual No Trump Master Point Press author Ken Rexford provides the first authoritative description of the R.U.N.T. Convention. R.U.N.T. is actually a two-way overcalling structure to distinguish a very sound takeout double from a weak three-suited takeout by way of an artificial 1NT overcall - preempting and intervening in the auction safely and effectively. Do you find a 4-3-3-3 hand with three Jacks a reason to sleep, or is this as good a reason to bid as any? You know who you are. Do you secretly enjoy declaring Two Clubs doubled, trying to find a fifth trick before the opponents find their ninth trick, instead of defending a boring 3NT? If you find it amusing to interfere with as many auctions as possible, this book is for you. Rexford introduces you to this effective and proven two-way overcall structure. With more advanced versions of the convention, you can add a very strong option, making the 1NT overcall almost a Multi type of takeout. After all, bridge is supposed to be fun, right?

Winning Notrump Leads was a ground-breaking and very well-received book that used the power of computers to determine which opening leads work best against a variety of auctions at notrump. Using enhanced software, the authors now turn their attention to suit contracts. They generate millions of random deals, retaining those that match the chosen auction, for example 1S-2S-4S. By playing these deals automatically against each of the 13 possible opening leads from a given hand, they are able to discover which lead is most likely to beat the contract (also the best lead at matchpoint pairs). The authors provide insightful commentary to each result, answering timeless questions such as: When should I lead a trump? When is a doubleton a good opening lead? Should I lead differently against a partscore? Should I make an aggressive or a passive lead? Should I lead an ace against a small slam? Which leads work best against a grand slam? By using the number-crunching computer power available nowadays, there is no longer any need to rely on general opening-lead guidelines passed down by our ancestors. We think you will be surprised by many of the discoveries made during this investigation! DAVID BIRD (top) and TAF ANTHIAS were contemporaries at Cambridge University, both reading mathematics. They carried out research and development on software systems for over 30 years at IBM's UK Laboratories. In the 1970s they formed a successful bridge partnership, winning a number of national events. David is now one of the world's top bridge writers with 116 books to his name. Taf moved on to the USA, where he became a vice president of Cisco Systems. They have joined forces on this ground-breaking book.

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.

Start playing a winning system.

Not since the introduction of Precision has a new bidding system created such an immediate impact as Fantunes, the unique methods of Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes, the world's number one ranked pair.

The Italians have several world championship wins to their name, and their system has played a major role in that success. This book delves into the system, explaining how it works and just as importantly, why it works. Two words best describe Fantunes: natural and fun. It is the definitive text for those who would like to try an innovative and proven new bidding system.

Bill Jacobs has won many Australian national championships, the most recent three playing Fantunes, and has twice represented his country at Open level. He regularly provides astute vugraph commentary on Bridge Base Online. For the last ten years, he has been editor of the monthly bulletin of the Victorian Bridge Association.

"Bridge Is a Conversation" is a guide to bridge fundamentals for players who already have an understanding of the basics of the game and the desire to improve their competitiveness at the bridge table. The goal is not to teach how bridge systems are built, nor to describe their content, but rather to clarify how to use them the way the best players in the world do and to offer an alternative to simply "playing by the book." You will find the game much more interesting, challenging, and enjoyable than you ever dreamed it could be. The principles in this book are valid regardless of the bidding system used. In sixty years of playing bridge, author Gerard Cohen has observed many games of bridge, and he brings that knowledge to this guide. His observations of how his partners, opponents, and others play that make them outstanding are key to the thoughts included here. He looked for patterns, drew conclusions and developed general concepts that those who haven't reached the top level yet can learn and apply for a chance at competing with the best. Take your bridge game to the next level with "Bridge Is a Conversation."

Ken Rexford's first book, Cuebidding at Bridge: A Modern Approach, took on the topic of Italian cuebidding, primarily in the context of a 2/1 Game Force system. However, he noticeably skipped the topic of cuebidding after a strong 2 opening. With this new book, we now know the reason, and his answer to the Big Problem. This book describes an exciting new approach, using TWO strong openings (2 and 2 ) to define PATTERN, in such a way that you can actually describe both opener's and responder's hands effectively, and even cuebid intelligently. In many ways, this approach is even better than Precision! Could you imagine agreeing spades at the two-level after a normal 2 opening? How about having no problems with 4-4-4-1 hands, or hands with both minors? Ken Rexford's method lets you do that and much more, allowing you to use cuebidding, relays and pattern bidding on strong hands as effectively as Precision players, but in the context of what is essentially a normal 2/1 GF or Standard system.

This is not a book for beginners, and will not bore you with rehashing things you already know. Some of the topics are somewhat controversial, and as always Marshall Miles urges his own, often original, point of view. Some of the topics discussed include: Game invitations after a raise of opener's major Fast arrival and picture bids When the opponents double a transfer or Stayman Mini splinters Rubens advances of overcalls Playing in the opponents' suit The Kaplan Interchange, and many more. As he often does, Miles ends the book with an "It's Your Call" bidding quiz, with detailed discussion of options and the rationale for his own choices. Marshall Miles (California), though now in his eighties, is still regarded as one of the world's leading bidding theorists. His long and successful playing career includes a World Senior Teams Championship in 2004, and his book How To Win at Duplicate Bridge is considered among the all-time classics on the game.

This is a newly updated and revised edition of "Bridge Over Troubled Bidding" which was published in 2000. The American Contract Bridge League has made some important changes to basic bridge bidding. Because a solid foundation in basic bidding is the bridge player's most important asset, it is necessary to keep up with the times. Although written with the novice player in mind, experienced players wishing to update their bidding skills to the "new bridge" will find it very beneficial. It is a step by step self teaching tool that is very easy to understand as it is written in plain English. The first edition covered only basic bidding but two conventions have now been added. These conventions are used in Notrump bidding and are the Stayman Convention and Jacoby Transfers.

Many bridge books have been written over the years. The one judged to be the best of all time is 'Why You Lose at Bridge' by S.J. Simon.

Even Goren, himself, in his forward to the book says that, not only weaker players can benefit from ift but so can the more experienced.

Although bridge players don't always lose, they seldom win as often as they would like or even as often as they should. "Why You Seldom Win at Bridge' aims to put you in the winner's circle more often. Observe a good player in action for any length of time and you might not see many spectacular plays, but you'll also see very few mistakes. The better players make far fewer than we mortals. Consider tennis for a moment. The winner will almost always be the player who makes the fewest unforced errors. The same applies to bridge. Make fewer mistakes and win more often. It's the players who make the same blunders, time and time again who seldom win, and then bemoan their bad luck or blame the bridge gods. Covering those little things in the bidding, declarer play and defence that too may players mess up, is the thrust of this book.

The game of bridge has changed a great deal in recent years. This book will help you with those little things that you aren't doing well or aren't doing at all.

It's a win/win situation.

An Honors Book from Master Point Press. Author Ken Rexford has developed an intriguing new approach to overcalling 1NT openings that may revolutionize this area of bridge. If you are unhappy with Cappelletti, DONT, Brozel, and the like, this book introduces you to a new approach for tackling the opponent's 1NT opening, with an entirely new way to handle one or two-suited hands. Can your current approach tell partner whether you have a strong or a weak overcall at the two-level? Can you tell partner which suit of your major-or-a-minor is longer? Can you identify the specific minor with your major, again at the two-level? All of these are possible using Ken Rexford's methods. Imagine describing more hands than the Woolsey defense handles, all with easy but novel methods that fit (unlike Woolsey) into the ACBL's General Convention Chart! You can also use these methods to improve your response structure to your own openings and in other auctions. Imagine hearing a Four Diamond overcall of partner's Two Clubs opening and being able to describe any one suit at game or any two-suited holding, all without giving up a cooperative double. Impossible? Not with this new technique. Can you show one or both minors and slam interest after a 2NT opening, and tell partner which specific minor you have, at the three-level? Yes, using Rexford's methods.

Former Canadian champion Paul Thurston writes a daily bridge column in the National Post, one of only two newspapers that is circulated throughout the whole of Canada. This anthology is a collection of some of his best and most interesting bridge articles - tips, oddities, and just plain interesting deals and stories. The perfect book for those long summer evenings at the holiday cottage!

Originally published in 1989, this book quickly became recognized as a 'must-read' for any would-be bridge expert, and has never been out of print. Now, more than 20 years later, the author has revised, updated and expanded it to take into account modern developments in the theory and practice of competitive bidding.

An in-depth 'over-the-shoulder' look at top-level bridge. While describing almost 200 deals that he played in World and European Championships, one of the world's best players, Boye Brogeland, discusses bidding and cardplay, as well as his approach to the mental side of the game. A fascinating glimpse into the thought processes of a champion bridge player, as well as a look at state-of-the-art bidding methods, some of which are described here for the first time. Boye Brogeland (Norway) has won both the World and European Championships, and is a regular participant in North American tournaments. David Bird, who lives near Southampton, England, has written more than 100 books on the game. Despite spending much of the year travelling, he still finds time to write new stories every month for a host of magazines around the world, usually featuring his best-known characters, the monks of St. Titus Abbey. He is also a regular commentator on BBO broadcasts of top-level competitions.

This book comprises 50 problems in declarer play and defence for the beginning player, presented in approximate order of difficulty. The emphasis is on planning the play at the first trick. The idea is to present bridge hands as the reader would encounter them playing at the table. Unlike in a textbook, where topics are introduced systematically, there is no clue as to what type of play is required. Experienced players recognize certain standard situations without having to work them out. This does not apply to novices who spend a lot of mental effort on them. The aim of the book is to get novices to develop their recognition of these situations.

This book investigates the underlying logic of the game of Bridge, and how this logic dictates the bidding structure found during the game.