Bridge is a game of mistakes. It’s not a matter of being brilliant; the expert players never make basic mistakes that the good player does occasionally. Yes, sometimes there is a deal where the expert makes a brilliant play. But what often separates the expert from non-expert players is their play at Trick One, then trying to decide how to continue. So often it’s already too late. The key to the deal was Trick One. More contracts are lost or are allowed to make at Trick One than at any oth...

This little word is vital in every bridge player’s lexicon in it’s entirety, and especially important is the final syllable- TRY. A clear understanding of this topic should be one of the top priorities of every bridge player. When the dummy comes down, both the declarer and the defenders should be thinking about entries. Declarer is planning the transportation between the hands while the defenders are thinking of how to destroy the communication by removing the entries.

“Second hand low” and “third hand high” are adages we learned in Bridge 101 along with others like “cover an honor with an honor” and “always return your partner’s suit.” These so-called rules will get you by, but they won’t see you very far. Second hand must become familiar with certain basic positions to try to foil declarer’s plans, often by playing second hand high. Likewise, many contracts are decided by the play of third hand at trick one. While your play may at first seem so obvious...

One of the most frequently encountered problems in bridge is knowing when to win, when to duck. A player may need to hold up a winner to hamper the enemy communications or concede a trick to facilitate his own. But there are no steadfast rules one can fall back on. Each deal is different; so much depends on the particular setting. In this book studying the example deals either as the declarer or a defender, the author explains not only when to win or duck, but also why one play is right an...

The dummy comes down. Have you seen this deal before? Probably; not this exact deal but likely the same type of deal. There are only so many themes in bridge, second suits, crossruffs, squeezes, and others. Recognizing the underlying theme, either as the declarer or a defender, will guide you to the correct line of play.There are many variances and after studying the deals in this book, you will have a keener awareness of the underlying themes and how to recognize them at the table...

The dummy comes down. Have you seen this deal before? Probably; not this exact deal but likely the same type of deal. There are only so many themes in bridge, second suits, crossruffs, squeezes, and others. Recognizing the underlying theme, either as the declarer or a defender, will guide you to the correct line of play. There are many variances and after studying the deals in this book, you will have a keener awareness of the underlying themes and how to recognize them at the table.

Timing is everything. Playing a bridge hand, either as declarer or defender is often difficult enough. But in addition, knowing when to do whatever it is you are supposed to do adds another perspective to the game. Card play includes recognition of deal types that can guide you to the best plan. This book examines which of the tasks you hope to accomplish must be done when. Whether you declare or defend, you must make some useful plays promptly, but others can or must wait. After studying ...

Squeezes. Just the word strikes fear into the heart of many bridge players. But simple squeezes are actually quite simple. The single or simple squeeze accounts for 90% of squeezes and 90% of this book deals with simple squeezes. If you wish to become more than just a mediocre bridge player mastering the techniques of basic simple squeeze play is a must. In any session of bridge of twenty or so deals, the opportunity of some form of squeeze invariably arises on three to four deals even if ...

To ruff or not to ruff. The question seems so easy. To draw trumps promptly or is there something else to do first? Declarer has so many options. Ruff in dummy, a ruffing finesse, a crossruff, a dummy reversal, even a trump coup or scoring a trump ‘en passant’. And preventing the opponents from obtaining ruffs. What about the defenders? Should they be the ones to draw trumps? Can they spin straw into gold and manufacture some trump tricks? Sometimes it’s wrong to ruff. There’s a whole lot ...

More often than any other calls in bridge, redoubles produce confusion. When they do, the resulting disasters are more catastrophic than any others. Many doubles originally treated as penalty have been supplanted by conventional doubles. So also many "business" redoubles, originally used to quadruple the stakes, have been diverted to other uses. In this book we shall show you how to tell the different kinds of redoubles apart, and what agreements to make with partners to avoid confusion an...

This is a true story. A young radiologist, fresh out of training, starts working in south Florida but has difficulty establishing himself in a practice. Finally, working alone in west Broward county, he sees the vast empty spaces, west of what is currently considered west. Knowing the future must lie west, the doctor becomes an entrepreneur and starts to push medicine to where now only cows walk. Does he succeed? Read how what starts as cow pastures becomes transformed into a thriving comm...

Innumerable books have been written on declarer play. Far less attention has been paid by bridge writers to defense, which is the weakest part of most players’ game. This book presents a series of problems in defensive play, the central theme being active versus passive defense. This problem may start with the opening lead, arise at Trick Two, or be a decision later during the play of the hand. Going ‘active’ when one should have remained ‘passive’ and vice versa is probably the most commo...