Rules are made to be broken, and the world of bridge is no exception. This is the first of a planned four-book series on cardplay. It deals with situations where the player who is on lead - defender or declarer, at the start of the deal or in the middle - needs to do something that involves ostensibly 'breaking the rules'. Not, obviously, the rules of bridge itself, but the well-tried adages that every player needs to be taught - the rules of thumbA" that work in a lot of cases. Knowing when to break those rules is one of the marks of an expert player.

Deception is an essential part of a defender's armoury in bridge. Declarer needs to place the opposition's card but the constructive auction yields no clues as to the holding of each opponent. This guide emphasizes the opportunities for deception provided by the opening lead and by partner's following play at trick one. It then moves on to examine ways to trick the opposition during the later stages of play, such as preventing declarer blocking or holding up on a losing finesse. This book is the companion volume to "Step-By-Step: Deceptive Declarer Play".