Who needs rules on how to play as a declarer? The truth is that the instincts people have come to depend upon are often honed from a few basic guidelines. This book provides all those guidelines as well as the reasoning behind them and also explains when you should not follow the rules. By assuming only a minimum of knowledge, the authors have brought the subject within the reach of many players and introduce the beginner gradually by placing the slightly trickier topics towards the end of the book.
In bridge, there are thousands of rules, guidelines, and understandings - but which are golden? Many players enjoy their game without knowing some of the most significant underlying facts about the game, making mistakes which ruin their scores. With some gentle and entertaining reading, all players can improve their game hugely, just by knowing the Golden Rules of Bridge. From thirty years of teaching and playing, Paul Mendelson presents a book containing what he considers are the golden rules of bridge: the techniques and tips which occur most frequently and which provide the biggest edge against your opponents, and offer the biggest scoring advantages. He explains the thinking and logical reasoning behind each element - bidding, declarer play, defence - to ensure that readers remember and understand why they do what they do. These tips and techniques will transform your results and enjoyment of the game, whether you play social rubber bridge or Chicago, club teams events or duplicate pairs. If you play an Acol-based system or any of the many natural bidding systems available, knowing the Golden Rules will improve your score and frustrate your opponents, leaving you in the best spots and them with the tough decisions.
HELP, what do I do now? Every bridge player learns basic cardplay techniques - finesses, eliminations, endplays, loser-on-loser, and so forth. The trick is to know which technique to use on each particular deal. What features of a bridge hand lead an expert to select the correct line of play from all those available? The carefully chosen examples in this book will help advancing players recognize those features and take action accordingly. DR. JULIAN LADERMAN is a New York math professor who writes a regular bridge column in The Bronx Journal. His first book, A Bridge to Simple Squeezes, was named 2006 Book of the Year by the American Bridge Teachers' Association.
Master puzzler Erwin Brecher teams up with top bridge problemist Julian Pottage to present as second collection of bridge problems, math brain-teasers and logic puzzles
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.
HOW OFTEN DO YOU PLAY A DIFFICULT HAND? Too many players have trouble deciding how to set about a contract as declarer. Do they worry about losers or winners? Do they draw trumps or not? Should they be guarding against bad breaks? There are so many things to think about, it's easy to get sidetracked. In this book, you will learn about the right questions to ask yourself as declarer when dummy appears. In each of the 52 example hands, the author goes through the same six questions, and shows you how to arrive at answers that will help you develop the best plan for the hand. The examples range from relatively simple to fairly complex, but gradually you will learn to answer the questions for yourself and then use the information to play the hand to best effect. Everyone who reads this book and applies what they have learned will become a better declarer. JAY APFELBAUM lives in Philadelphia and works as an administrative law judge. He is married with two daughters and two grandchildren. He regularly plays with his wife, April, at local bridge clubs and tournaments. Jay is a Grand Life Master. His first regional victory came in 1973 at a knockout event in Richmond, Virginia. He won the Blue Ribbon Pairs in 1976. Since then he has won many regional events and placed in the top ten of a number of national events.
