Imagine sitting beside a world-class bridge player and being able to listen to his thoughts as each hand develops... you can help but improve your own game! Every hand in this fascinating book comes from actual play; many of them are taken from the author's own experience in world-level competition. Fred Gitelman believes that there is something to be learned from every bridge hand, whether you are a novice or an expert, and he proves it here. Just as fascinating as the bridge, however, are Fred's observations on his partners and opponents, who range from world champions to famous amateurs like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

Fred Gitelman (Las Vegas) has a trophy case full of world championship medals, many of them earned playing for his native Canada. He is known throughout the world as a leading designer and producer of bridge software, while his web site, Bridge Base Online, is the most popular bridge-playing site on the Net.

Like the author's first book (A First Book of Bridge Problems, named Book of the Year for 2011 by the American Bridge Teachers Association), this sequel comprises 50 problems in declarer play and defence for the beginning or near-beginning player, presented in approximate order of difficulty. The problems are slightly more advanced than those in the first book. 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. 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.

The author begins this thorough discussion of a neglected but vital topic by examining the real purpose of defensive signalling, and the basic kinds of signals that are available. He goes on to recommend a comprehensive set of signalling agreements, and analyzes more complex situations in the light of these agreements. Most of the chapters are followed by a quiz, and the answer to each signalling problem includes a full 52-card diagram to demonstrate the effectiveness of the recommended signal. The book finishes with a chapter that looks at the signalling methods of eight world-class pairs, with examples of their methods in action. A book any player who is looking to improve will want to read.

Rate your bridge with this quiz book on declarer play and defence. The author presents a series of card play problems, and assigns the reader to a score based on how close to the optimum solution they get. Readers can expect their scores to improve as they work through the book, inevitably learning as they go.

Bridge is not difficult once you have jumped the first hurdle, but that can seem imposing to anyone who hasn't a clue about Bridge or card games in general. This book strips away the mystery and presents the basics in a wonderfully clear and concise way. It explains everything that is needed to understand the game. In less time than you would imagine you could be playing the wonderfully entertaining game of Bridge with your friends and family. Written in a way that is very easy to follow, this book provides the reader with a very hands on approach to learning the rules and flow of the game. It is a brilliantly simple read and it provides the information a player needs to get started playing.

The logical follow-up to the author's best-selling Competitive Bidding in the 21st Century, this book deals with the latest expert thinking on constructive auctions at bridge. As usual, Miles' ideas are cutting edge, and not everything he recommends will appeal to everyone. However, through discussion, Miles challenges his readers to think about and question what they are currently doing, ultimately reinforcing their own confidence in the style they choose to play.

All North American players are taught to play using a strong notrump, but that is not the way of the rest of the world. Even in North America, weak notrump systems, or even Kamikaze notrump systems, are becoming more common. This book discusses the advantages and disadvantages of playing a system with a weaker notrump opening, and shows how the 1NT range impacts the rest of the bidding system. Even those who have no interest in converting to a weak notrump range still need to know how to play against weak notrump systems, so for them the book includes advice on effective competitive methods.

Kansas City, 1929: Myrtle and Jack Bennett sit down with another couple for an evening of bridge. As the game intensifies, Myrtle complains that Jack is a "bum bridge player." For such insubordination, he slaps her hard in front of their stunned guests and announces he is leaving. Moments later, sobbing, with a Colt .32 pistol
in hand, Myrtle fires four shots, killing her husband.
The Roaring 1920s inspired nationwide fads-flagpole sitting, marathon dancing, swimming-pool endurance floating. But of all the mad games that cheered Americans between the wars, the least likely was contract bridge. As the Barnum of the bridge craze, Ely Culbertson, a tuxedoed boulevardier with a Russian accent, used mystique, brilliance, and a certain madness to transform bridge from a social pastime into a cultural movement that made him rich and famous. In writings, in lectures, and on the radio, he used the Bennett killing to dramatize bridge as the battle of the sexes. Indeed, Myrtle Bennett's murder trial became a sensation because it brought a beautiful housewife-and hints of her husband's infidelity-from the bridge table into the national spotlight. James A. Reed, Myrtle's high-powered lawyer and onetime Democratic presidential candidate, delivered soaring, tear-filled courtroom orations. As Reed waxed on about the sanctity of womanhood, he was secretly conducting an extramarital romance with a feminist trailblazer who lived next door.
To the public, bridge symbolized tossing aside the ideals of the Puritans-who referred derisively to playing cards as "the Devil's tickets"-and embracing the modern age. Ina time when such fearless women as Amelia Earhart, Dorothy Parker, and Marlene Dietrich were exalted for their boldness, Culbertson positioned his game as a challenge to all housebound women. At the bridge table, he insisted, a woman could be her husband's equal, and more. In the gathering darkness of the Depression, Culbertson leveraged his own ballyhoo and naughty innuendo for all it was worth, maneuvering himself and his brilliant wife, Jo, his favorite bridge partner, into a media spectacle dubbed the Bridge Battle of the Century.
Through these larger-than-life characters and the timeless partnership game they played, "The Devil's Tickets" captures a uniquely colorful age and a tension in marriage that is eternal.

"From the Hardcover edition."

A fascinating collection of the 'best of the best', selected by one of the world's top bridge writers. Taken from nearly a hundred years of bridge history, these deals will provide any bridge player with hours of fascinating reading. Each of them has its own unique point of interest, sometimes deriving from a brilliant maneuver in the play or bidding, sometimes from the historical circumstances surrounding the deal or its consequences. Some of these deals decided a world title, some were important only to those who took part, and at least one ended in murder.

Each book 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.