The answer to your prayers - a simple, effective convention for competing over the opponents' 1NT opening bid! Originally self-published in 1996, the first edition sold out quickly, so that this much sought-after treatise has been unavailable for several years. The book describes how the convention works, and how to use it against various ranges of 1NT opening bids, as well as over strong 1 Club openings. Jerry Helms (Charlotte, NC) is both a top-level professional player, with numerous tournament successes to his credit, and one of America's leading bridge teachers.

After some years using published material to teach newcomers the rudiments of bridge bidding, the author became somewhat disillusioned with the approach advocated in the majority of beginning bridge texts. The matters that particularly concerned him were related to the view espoused by many bridge teachers that it is important to keep all bidding 'natural' so as not to confuse beginners. The author felt that if confusion exists, it is likely to be the teaching approach that causes the confusion, rather than the subject matter itself. The proponents of this 'natural' bidding approach, decline to teach beginning students Jacoby Transfer Bids, Weak Two Opening Bids and, in some cases, Stayman. The reason often given is that teaching 'natural' bidding is difficult enough for beginning bridge students, and we should not confuse them by teaching them conventions or treatments that say something different. These same teachers seem to see no inconsistency in their approach of saying, when the students are doing a second (or third) class with them - "oh, remember when I told you that when your partner makes an opening bid of 1NT and you have 7 points and a five card ♥ suit, that you should bid 2♥ ? Well, I want you to forget that, because I am going to teach you now that, with that same hand, you should bid 2♦ ." The author has two problems with that approach. Firstly, it seems to downplay the ability of students to understand these specific bids. The author contends that it is most likely that this is a 'teaching failure' rather than a 'learning failure' The author has found that once students fully understand that it is desirable to have the strong hand as Declarer, most ofthem have little problem understanding the rationale behind Jacoby Transfer Bids. Putting the bids in context seems to make the task of learning Transfer Bids much easier. Secondly, if teachers are hoping to encourage their students to become duplicate bridge players, it makes sense for them to be using a bidding system that other players are using. As almost all duplicate bridge players use Stayman, Jacoby Transfer Bids and Weak Two Opening Bids, the author's students are introduced to these bids in their first series of lessons. And it is important to note that an understanding of these 3 aspects of bridge bidding will not prove to be a disadvantage in social bridge. The theme throughout the book is one of providing clear, consistent guidelines for a relatively simple modern approach to bidding. The author repeatedly emphasizes that once newcomers have a reasonable understanding of basic bidding, they, and their partner, can 'tweak' the approach taught in this text. The author is an avid duplicate bridge player and encourages all of his students to try that form of the game. However, the reality is that many bridge players enjoy the game in its more social form, and have no real desire to go past that form of the game. This is perfectly understandable, and the bidding style taught in this text is consistent with either form of the game. This book is organized into nine Chapters. CHAPTER 1 - The Basics. This Chapter is really 'Ground Zero'. It recognizes that some people who wish to learn to play bridge have had little, if any, experience of playing card games. The text introduces students to the absolute basics: -the suits -the rank, or hierarchy, of suits -how to count points -whatis a 'game' in bridge -dealing -arranging the cards in your hand -the process of bidding -the process of playing -scoring. In this first, very basic, Chapter, students have a hand of bridge to play. At the end of the Chapter there is a brief test to enable students to check their mastery of the material provided in the text. Clearly not all students "need" this Chapter. Nevertheless as the purpose of the book is to provide a text to enable ALL students to be introduced to the wo

Can you learn from the errors of others? Here is a collection of problems, mostly very simple ones, that gave a variety of players, mainly intermediate players but occasionally beginners or experts, some trouble. You won't find bidding problems worthy of the Master Solvers' Club (a monthly Bridge World feature), declarer-play problems fit for "Test Your Play" (another Bridge World feature) or problems to challenge defensive maven Eddie Kantar. Instead you will find the kinds of "bread and butter" problems that arise several times a session each time you trudge to your local duplicate bridge club or travel to a sectional or regional tournament. An invaluable collection of advice for the improving player, covering all aspects of the game.

In the November 2001 Venice Cup final, Germany trailed France by 47 IMPs starting the last set. In this book, world champion Sabine Auken tells the thrilling inside story of their comeback world title win, every bid and every card. She also uses each of the sixteen deals from that final session as a starting point for discussion, and distills from each of them general principles and advice that will help anyone looking to improve their own game. Among the topics covered here are the rationale for her own system agreements (the pros and cons of mini-notrump openings, multi-purpose two-bids, the merits of forcing club systems, etc.) and carding methods, as well as team chemistry, table presence and even dressing for success!

A master class in Bridge for the player who wishes to improve.

This book was originally published in 1985, and in this new edition are substantially revised and expanded. It is a collection of bridge problems designed to teach players how to think along the right lines as they approach the play or defense of a hand at the bridge table. Anyone who absorbs even a fraction of the ideas presented here will find himself making contracts that might have been defeated, and defeating contracts that might have been made.

Each book in the Test Your Bridge Technique series is a collection of bridge problems which provide a fun way to practice and develop your skill in an important cardplay technique at bridge. These books are designed to add an extra dimension to the detailed instruction contained in Bridge Technique series (Bird & Smith), which won the American Bridge Teachers' Association Book of the Year award in 2002.

A large print bridge guide aimed at the less experienced or social player who longs to improve but keeps repeating the same mistakes, often not knowing that they are mistakes. Andrew Robson, The Times Bridge Correspondent, is both a champion bridge player and an inspired teacher. At his bridge club he teaches and tutors and has acquired great practical knowledge about how people learn to play bridge. Based on Andrew Robson's Friday column in The Times, common bridge mistakes are presented with an outline of what actually happened and what should have happened. Along with every mistake is a handy tip 'If you remember just one thing..' which has proved very popular with The Times readers. The first section of the book, 'The Game', is a basic outline providing the key to playing a sensible game of Bridge, subdivided into Bidding, Declarer Play and Defence. Included within this are all the 'If you remember just one thing' tips that also appear in the main body of the book. The reader can either read 'The Game' first, paying particular attention to the tips, or they can dip in and out of the main body of text, picking a common mistake at random, with the option of cross-referencing to the same tip in 'The Game' section. Bridge is a growing enthusiasm and is now being played by a much wider age range - it is no longer a game for those who have retired. This is a long-awaited first book aimed at the vast majority of bridge players who would like to avoid falling into the same trap time and time again.

Each book is a collection of bridge problems which provide a fun way to practice and develop your skill in an important cardplay technique at bridge. These books are designed to add an extra dimension to the detailed instruction contained in Bridge Technique series (Bird & Smith), which won the American Bridge Teachers? Association Book of the Year award in 2002.

Each book in this series is a collection of bridge problems which provide a fun way to practice and develop your skill in an important cardplay technique at bridge. These books are designed to add an extra dimension to the detailed instruction contained in Bridge Technique series (Bird & Smith), which won the American Bridge Teachers' Association Book of the Year award in 2002.

Each book is a collection of bridge problems which provide a fun way to practice and develop your skill in an important cardplay technique at bridge. These books are designed to add an extra dimension to the detailed instruction contained in Bridge Technique series (Bird & Smith), which won the American Bridge Teachers? Association Book of the Year award in 2002.

Each book this series is a collection of bridge problems that provide a fun way to practice and develop your skill in an important cardplay technique at bridge. These books are designed to add an extra dimension to the detailed instruction contained in the Bridge Technique series (Bird & Smith).

A collection of bridge problems which provide a fun way to practice an important play technique. This is part of a twelve book series that will add an extra dimension to the Bridge Technique series (Bird & Smith), which won the American Bridge Teachers' Association Book of the Year award in 2002.

Each book in this series is a collection of bridge problems which provide a fun way to practice and develop your skill in an important cardplay technique at bridge. These books are designed to add an extra dimension to the detailed instruction contained in the Bridge Technique series (Bird & Smith), which won the American Bridge Teachers' Association Book of the Year award in 2002.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Canasta was all the rage. Fast forward forty years or so. Canasta is still played, though mostly by people who learned the game more than a generation ago. However, somewhere (I do not know exactly where) someone (I do not know exactly who) decided that Canasta needed to have new life breathed into it, thus this new variation called Hand & Foot. It only takes a quick practice hand to teach the gist of the game. Though it's similarities to Canasta are unmistakable, Hand & Foot is an edgier game that allows players to be more aggressive. Everyone has a strategy, some quite elaborate, others quite generic, but the caveat to each is "if the cards cooperate." The luck of the draw is a variable everyone has to take into account. Among Hand & Foot players there are often heard frustrated sighs and disgusted groans. There is also breathless anxiousness as players sweat out an opponent's turn hoping they will not go out before a "Foot" can be played or a red three can be discarded. Like a spirited game of Monopoly, Hand & Foot tends to bring out elements of personality heretofore unknown among its players, you know, sort of a playful viciousness. It only takes one round of Hand & Foot for a new player to recognize the objectives and basic strategies, .and the opportunities for deviousness. Also, while a veteran player who plays a solid game has a definite advantage, a novice can have fun and even prevail. It cannot be taken for granted that the best and most experienced player at the table will win a game of Hand & Foot. The cards do not always allow that. And there is that adrenaline rush that comes from just barely pulling out a win. It is probably that adrenaline rush that makes the game so addictive. This is why someone who has just played his first game of Hand & Foot will invariably insist on right away playing a second - he thinks he has figured it out. The Essential Hand & Foot for the first time codifies the rules of the game, holding to the common basics and incorporating the best of the regional variations. It also explains why some players consistently win more than others using such ploys as "priming the pump" and the "honey pot," and why picking a pile containing red threes can sometimes be a good thing. When was the last time you had a blast playing cards?

Paul Wokes is a resident of the county of Lincolnshire in the UK. His lifelong passion has been Bridge, both playing and teaching the game. He and his partner, Dave Pettengell, have won every tournament in the County and have represented Lincolnshire in National competitions. 'Anyone for Bridge' provides a clear, concise reference of the key elements of the Acol bidding system. It also contains detailed instructions on how to improve your card play. The book is designed for players of all ages and abilities and explains key terms and techniques using many examples with clear, straightforward explanations. It is a useful tool that will enable readers to improve their game and lead to a more enjoyable and enriching experience of Bridge.

This book discusses the theory of bridge bidding for advanced players, with emphasis on the principles behind an effective bidding system. These include the concepts of Useful Space, Relays, Transfers and Dialogue Bidding, as well as creative ideas about Slam Bidding and Deception. The book addresses the conflicting requirements for a system that is at the same time robust and antagonistic, but also accurate. ROY HUGHES is a Canadian bridge expert who has played in a number of World Championships. His background in mathematics and linguistics has led him to think a great deal about the theory and structure of effective bidding systems. Roy is also an accomplished musician, a talent he shares with his wife, Erika.

Since winning the world's most prestigious pairs event in his early twenties, with the equally precocious Michael Rosenberg, Barnet Shenkin has continued to build a an impressive bridge career. Over the last 25 years, he has had the opportunity to play with and against some of the best in the world, and in this book he recounts his favourite hands and stories. While much of his early career was based in Scotland and England, Barnet now lives in Florida and is becoming well-known on the US tournament scene. The book comes to a climax with the US team's record-breaking world title win in January 2000, an event which Barnet covered as a journalist.

Each book in this series allows players to learn a new convention, then practice using it either on their own or with a favorite partner.

An anthology of humorous stories featuring Chthonic, the bridge-playing robot. The stories draw unmercifully funny portraits of human bridge players, as Chthonic's bridge brilliance and abrasive and ill-concealed contempt for his human creators leave them all in his wake. A particular target is the pompous Director of the Cybernetics Research Institute, whose opinion of his own bridge expertise differs greatly from that of his protigi. Some of these stories have appeared in The Bridge World magazine, where the characters are established as firm reader favorites. Danny Kleinman of Los Angeles is a prolific bridge writer, theorist, professional player, and teacher, who is a regular contributor to several bridge magazines. He is a Contributing Editor of The Bridge World, and is one of the moderators of 'The Master Solvers' Club' in that magazine. He also writes about backgammon, another game which he plays at an expert level. Nick Straguzzi of Mullica Hill, NJ, is a software analyst specializing in artificial intelligence and knowledge management. Nick has researched ways in which computer game theory could be applied to bridge, but concluded that it would be far easier to write about a perfect bridge-playing computer than to actually build one.

This book was originally published in 1985, and in this new edition are substantially revised and expanded. It is a collection of bridge problems designed to teach players how to think along the right lines as they approach the play or defense of a hand at the bridge table. Anyone who absorbs even a fraction of the ideas presented here will find himself making contracts that might have been defeated, and defeating contracts that might have been made.

Whist was a wildly popular card game in the late 19th century--so popular that it was almost one's social duty to become an accomplished Whist player. Among the most reliable authorities and instructors was R.F. Foster, who developed a complete hands-on system for learning the game and becoming a first-class player. Those who follow his system can become expert in leading, playing the second hand, developing strategies, seeing signals, and using trumps. Also included are the Laws of Whist as adopted at the Third American Whist Congress in 1893, the Laws of Duplicate Whist, and the Etiquette of Whist. "No book has won more popularity among the Whist-loving community than Foster's Whist Manual." -- Boston Herald, April 1894 "[Foster's] method of teaching the beginner is simple, lucid, and progressive, and his rules concise, yet clear. Not only beginners, but also advanced players might profitably enter upon his studies." - The Milwaukee Whist Club

A collection of bridge problems which provide a fun way to practice an important play technique. This is part of a twelve book series that will add an extra dimension to the Bridge Technique series (Bird & Smith), which won the American Bridge Teachers' Association Book of the Year award in 2002.

Each book in the Test Your Bridge Technique is a collection of bridge problems which provide a fun way to practice and develop your skill in an important cardplay technique at bridge. These books are designed to add an extra dimension to the detailed instruction contained in Bridge Technique series (Bird & Smith), which won the American Bridge Teachers' Association Book of the Year award in 2002.

A comprehensive, 3-week, day-by-day bridge course for the absolute beginner. Assuming no prior knowledge, this book takes the reader through learning bidding and cardplay in an easy series of short steps so that by the end, they can feel comfortable joining a social game or even venturing out to a local bridge club. Truscott's unique 'asset' method of hand evaluation is simple, and as numerous bridge teachers have found, it works!