Bridge books reviewed - 36

"Money Bridge" by Edward Mayer is is a different kind of bridge book, one written by a master of rubber bridge who plays to win money - and shows you just how he has been so successful at it. Edward Mayer says "The greatest asset a player can have is an open mind," and you will see how firmly he illustrates his points as you read this profitable book. The author clearly sets forth cogent reasons why some rules should be learned first and then intentionally broken. From rules for the opening, to the response and intervention and the second and subsequent rounds of bidding, all are uniquely covered. Strategy, tactics and the play of the cards quickly follow to bring out some of Mr. Mayer's most effective ammunition for winning at bridge. Money Bridge is a tantalizing book you cannot afford to miss. It will revolutionize your thinking and provide for the first time the basic theory and practical psychology needed to win at rubber bridge.

How a rubber player can hold their own against tournament players who use lots of systems. Looking for most rewarding contract especially at part scores. Includes the background to bidding, play, and the psychology of the game. The growth of Contract Bridge as an international card game has produced a temporary schism between tournament play with its spate of conventions and rubber bridge which has developed along more natural lines. The rubber player is looking for the most rewarding, not necessarily the perfect, contract and Edward Mayer, a world authority on the game, here explains how best to achieve that end. Assuming a level of competent club play, Mayer shows how such a player can more than hold his own against tournament players whose excessive number of conventions handicaps their judgment at part scores. Part I and II of this book present a simple and precise background to bidding and play, in which the essential element is the recognition of changing values at different scores and the action to be taken in the more complex situations. Part III gives forty deals, each of which illustrates a particular aspect of play; whilst Part IV reveals how the absence of psychology, for which technique is not a substitute, produces disaster.

"Bridge Brilliance and Blunders" and the sequel "More Bridge Brilliance and Blunders" by Richard Muller contain hands in the card game of bridge, with the first book featuring extraordinary plays that are taken from actual expert competitions.
The second book in the series is a collection of more than 100 hands, both common and classic, taken from all levels of social and tournament play. The deals are both instructive and amusing, with intent of helping ordinary bridge players to improve their game.

first book	second book

A treasure for all the millions of bridge players, "The Mad World of Bridge" by Jack Olsen is history, humor, social commentary, and satire rolled into one. It is loaded with anecdotes of the events - shocking or hilarious, from mayhem to politics - and of the personalities - from the obscure collegian who held thirteen spades to Culbertson, Goren, and other greats who give bridge its mad and wonderful hold on us. In the 1960s, there were thirty-five million Americans sucking happily playing bridge, and the number has been in the tens of millions ever since auction had its vogue in the early 1900's. By 1938 Frank Condon told the readers of Collier's that the game had become 'a menace to the future of the land' and 'was costing the nation 273,586,312 working hours a day or enough time to build two Boulder Dams and one Panama Canal'. Another social commentator called bridge a 'disease'. But however dangerous its malignancy or contagion, the game is here to stay. And Jack Olsen is here with the first and only definitive book on what bridge means to the world and whether society can survive its grip. The tournaments, the innovators, the kibitzers, the champions, the duffers, the great gaffes, and the exciting triumphs are all here in this gaily irreverent bible on bridge. And to think it all started in the garden of whist, whence sprang bridge - whist, which begot auction bridge which begot contract bridge which led to murder, divorce, suicide, mayhem, and other social evils.

In the books "Test Your Play as Declarer vols I & II, two famous internationalists teach you how to analyze and play out the difficult hands that separate the neophytes from the prize winners. The Bridge World, each month features a column entitled "Test Your Play", which consists of two difficult problems in declarer play for readers to solve. In these books, Jeff Rubens and Paul Lukacs have collected some of his favorite hands from this column, and presents them for those who like a serious intellectual challenge. It is recommended for advanced bridge players.

vol 1	vol 2

"The Blue Club" a more recent and more sophisticated version of the Neapolitan system, which, together with the Roman, brought victory to Italy's famous Squadra Azzurra in multiple world championships since 1956. Precision in bidding, especially in the slam zone, has been the key to the BlueTeam's repeated triumphs and in this book world champion Benito Garozzo and his collaborator, Leon Yallouze, and adapted for English by Terence Reese, pass on the successful formula. Much of the system is simple and natural. But there are also sequences and conventions too complex for everyday use, yet undeniably effective in top level tournament play. A pair who take the trouble to master the Blue Club will start any competition with a formidable advantage. But there is no need to go the whole way. A student can pick and choose, adopting the methods best suited to his style and putting the rest aside. Even if he takes nothing, he will learn a lot from his preview of the future, of the bridge which was played yesterday at the summit, is played today, and will be played tomorrow.

"Better Bidding In 15 Minutes: Expert Bidding in a Week" by Howard Schenken. The title is a bit of an exageration, but this book will improve the bidding of both the club player and the intermediate/advanced player. Available in either hard cover or paperback..

hard cover	paperback

Howard Schenken's "Big Club" is a revolutionary, highly competitive and accurate way to bid. Suitable for every bridge player

hard cover	paperback