Bridge books, Bridge thread - 5

[TCO]

What are your favorite Bridge books.

I really like Goren's Bridge Complete. (The old 4cm version.)

I also luuurve SJ Simon's WHY YOU LOSE AT BRIDGE. It has great humor and some reasonably sound advice. Some at an intermediate trying to go to expert level.

Lately, I've gone through Dorothy Hayden's BID BETTER, PLAY BETTER. It has various special topics that will help the intermediate trying to go to expert. I really want to learn to signal.

[Urban Ranger]

How to Improve Your Bridge (something like that), and Precision System by C.C. Wei

[rah]

Precision System by C.C. Wei was a very good book, but not for everyone.
Goren's is the BIBLE. But just like the BIBLE
............................It's a great starting point but some people believe that it is the end all.

The only important thing is that a partnership agrees to a certain system and that they're able to explain it. It needs to fit their needs. Simplistic when started and increasing complexity as the basics are mutually understood. Therefore no skill is really involved with bidding. The real skill is in the play of the cards.

Sheinwold's bridge puzzle books were my favorites which I learned considerable from.

RAH

[Scouse Gits]

Originally posted by rah
The only important thing is that a partnership agrees to a certain system and that they're able to explain it.
RAH

The person who taught me bridge (back in the 60's ) played with his sister-in-law. When they played at their local club the old biddies would ask the usual question: Do you play Acol?
She repiled "Yes" ... He replied "No"

Well ... best bridge book ... I have a copy of Goren's Bible and it is good. These days I play Precision Club or a slightly different version ... Imprecision Club, so I refer to Goren & Wei frequently. But my favourite book is "Bridge in the Menagerie" by Victor Mollo. A well observed, witty and erudite work which [1] introduced me to a few years back.

Bridge must be played as a fun game. Read Victor Mollo and you will understand!

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SG(2)

[TCO]

The Mad Mad World of Bridge is good too.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by rah
The only important thing is that a partnership agrees to a certain system and that they're able to explain it. It needs to fit their needs. Simplistic when started and increasing complexity as the basics are mutually understood. Therefore no skill is really involved with bidding. The real skill is in the play of the cards.

That's ideal, though it can only happen with a long term partner, like you and Ming. It'd be too much with a new partner, so a standard system is still very useful.

[rah]

That wasn't the main point.
My point is that since bidding is just a system, that there isn't much skill involved. The true skill is in the playing.
But granted with long term partners, you get a better chance to experiment with systems and sometimes change them where you feel they're weak.

[Urban Ranger]

Still, it takes skill to build a good system

[rah]

Not really, just open one of many books. They are many great systems out there already. Why build a system that you can't use with anybody else. Even with a steady partner, most changes are minor changes from an existing system. Substandard American is what I like to call it

[Urban Ranger]

We used to have a system called "Chaotic Random"

[TCO]

I see people mess up the bidding all the time. I love it when the opponents ask me if I want alerts. I say, "No!" They will be playing some sort of mess like: w2, stay, bw, gerber, texas, micheals, splinter, grand slam force, unt, ad infinitum. I want to give them all the room possible to confuse each other. Even when they don't, the nagging issue of remembering all the conventions, of wondering whether a bid is a natural or not, or of worrying that PARTNER messed up the system will play on their minds.

Typically after some 1100 point set, one opp will say something sad like, "I thought you were doing an SOS redouble p..."

The other will reply, "No. You see, it is a month with an r in it, and I am left-handed, so under our system, blablabla..."

I just smile and say, "Good job, partner..." as we slaughter the scientists.

(The other good one is messing up how to take care of a convention when we insert a bid. That will usually screw them up and lead to a delightful recrimination session.)

[rah]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
We used to have a system called "Chaotic Random"

Yes, some people have no sense of humor. Some people really took offense to our listing SUBstandard american on our bidding card. They'd ask us what it meant, and we'd respond "standard, when we get it right, but since we make a few errors it's substandard".

Of course than they'd look farther down the card and see
Psych Bid FREQUENT, they would lose whatever little sense of humor they had.

I can imagine the fun if we had listed "CHAOTIC RANDOM"

RAH

AND yes GP, that's why it's best to use the KISS mentality when using a bidding system. It's better not to have the perfect bid than to have too many.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by rah

Yes, some people have no sense of humor.

Oh yeah, we always had funny looks from people. When asked why the system is called "Chaotic Random," we would reply something like, "Well we take bits and pieces from various places and duct tape them together. Since we don't practice that much don't ask me what my partner is trying to say."

[rah]

Which I'm sure is followed by the cry of "DIRECTOR"

[Scouse Gits]

Originally posted by rah
Which I'm sure is followed by the cry of "DIRECTOR"

Only if they have had a bad result from that board

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SG(2)