This is the fifth edition of what is acknowledged to be the definitive book on a convention that every serious play uses. Revised and updated, this new version contains all the leading-edge ideas, and is full of examples, quizzes and practice hands. A must for the tournament player.
"Thinking about learning bridge but don't know the basics? Want to be able to play a social game? Collings need to know? Bridge starts from scratch to teach you how to play and enjoy the ever popular game of bridge."--Back cover.
Beyond Roman Key Card Blackwood! Easley Blackwood introduced and developed the Blackwood Convention. Eddie Kantar then expanded the Blue Team's Roman Blackwood into the Roman Key Card Blackwood that has dominated expert circles for the past half century. Variable Key Card Blackwood may be the next logical step. VKCB allows partnerships to address many problems that neither Blackwood nor Roman Key Card Blackwood solves, while keeping the auction low enough to avoid bad slams. And, better yet, it is relatively easy to use. Suppose you have enough power for slam but only the J732 in trumps, in support of partner's five-card suit. You also know that partner has only one of the top three honors. If the honor is the ace, the slam seems good. If it is the king, the slam is not so good. Using VKCB, partner can tell you which honor he has. What about holding 8732? Now you need partner specifically to have the ace and the jack. VKCB has a solution for that problem as well. In fact, you might also find out about a particular side king, all before committing to a slam and without any cuebidding. VKCB solves your problem without going past the safety of the five-level. KEN REXFORD (Ohio) is a Master Point Press author known for his contributions to bidding theory. His first book, Cuebidding at Bridge, introduced the bridge world to a modern approach to Italian cuebidding. His most recent books for Master Point Press are Modified Italian Canape System, New Frontiers for Strong Forcing Openings, Really Unusual Notrump (R.U.N.T.), and Overcalling Opponent's 1NT.
Soon to be a major motion picture starring Ewan McGregor! From master storyteller Stephen King, his unforgettable and terrifying sequel to The Shining—an instant #1 New York Times bestseller that is “[a] vivid frightscape” (The New York Times). Years ago, the haunting of the Overlook Hotel nearly broke young Dan Torrance’s sanity, as his paranormal gift known as “the shining” opened a door straight into hell. And even though Dan is all grown up, the ghosts of the Overlook—and his father’s legacy of alcoholism and violence—kept him drifting aimlessly for most of his life. Now, Dan has finally found some order in the chaos by working in a local hospice, earning the nickname “Doctor Sleep” by secretly using his special abilities to comfort the dying and prepare them for the afterlife. But when he unexpectedly meets twelve-year-old Abra Stone—who possesses an even more powerful manifestation of the shining—the two find their lives in sudden jeopardy at the hands of the ageless and murderous nomadic tribe known as the True Knot, reigniting Dan’s own demons and summoning him to battle for this young girl’s soul and survival...
"This book tells you everything you need to know about the most widely accepted bidding methods. Read about the secrets of hand evaluation that can dramatically improve your game. Learn how to describe your hand to partner so that the partnership can find its way to the best contract. Discover new concepts that keep the bidding conversation straightforward. You'll be confident when you go to your next bridge game because you'll have the solid foundation needed to handle any bidding sequence."--Back cover
This book covers basic and advanced features of the Two-Over-One (2/1) Game Force bidding system which include Bergen and Combined Bergen Raises, inverted minor suit raises with criss-cross and flip-flop, cue bidding, modified scroll bids, and many more methods not used in Standard American or Precision. This is not a book on conventions, it is a book about bridge which incorporates conventions which allow the partnership to reach game or slam. In this regard, I have incorporated modern methods for hand evaluation developed by Marty Bergen. New bidding conventions like SARS (Shape Asking Relays after Stayman), Quest transfers and an overview of "Bridge Rules and Laws" which will improve your approach to the bidding structure you may use today.
A thorough explanation of opening bids and responses, plus competitive bidding and useful gadgets. Recommended for Intermediate through Expert bridge players.
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.