bridge bidding systems for accurate contract bridge standard and conventions bidding

Contract Bridge
The American Bridge Series

Comprehensive, Integrated, and Understandable Texts

(Bidding and Play Techniques Tailored to Skill Levels)

If you are looking for some great books on contract bridge try these shortcuts:

• Bidding and Play for Beginners and Novices
• Bidding and Play for Intermediate and Advanced Intermediate Players
• New Bidding Methods for the Truly Advanced Player

Contract Bridge has so many systems, so many bidding conventions, so many versions of standard bridge bidding...What's correct? Why? Bridge student Chris Hasney and bridge teacher/theoretician Jerry Pottier havereleased the first three books in their four-part American Bridge Series to help lift the veil ofconfusion. These books allow players to UNDERSTAND IF, WHEN and HOW to USE various bids at each levelof experience. Plus, these comprehensive manuals explain WHY, so the lessons really sink in.

Volume I, The Basic American Bidding System, is for beginners and for social playerswho need to brush-up on basic bidding skills prior to tackling modern bidding methods. It features5-card major suit opening bids, strong twos, and some basics of Forcing and Non-ForcingStayman, Blackwood, Gerber, and few other things designed to form the framework for furtherstudy.

Volume II, The Intermediate American Bidding System, makes the transition to modern methodsincluding weak two openings. It teaches Standard American in a way that helps students understand it and integrate the most common add-ons seen in modern tournament bridge. Intermediate American can be used in all tournament flight levels, makes sense, and can be readily adopted and understood even bypairs who have never played together. Don't be thrown by the term "intermediate." Manyduplicate players think that they have reached that level when they can no longer play in novicegames. Not so. "Intermediate," as defined by the authors, can vary from folks with zero ACBLmasterpoints to 2500 masterpoints. It's not the points that count, it's the skill level.

Volume III, The Advanced American Bidding System, presumes a complete understanding and skillwith all of the material in Volume II. However, some of the Volume II material is repeated forintended redundancy, since the authors suspect that many folks who shouldn't be attempting tostudy Volume III will do so anyway. After all, "I'm a Life Master, I must be Advanced." Theauthors suggest that anyone not comfortable playing in Flight A at an ACBL regional or nationaltournament, or the World Bridge Federation (WBF) or other governing body equivalent thereofavoid purchase and study of Volume III until they have mastered all that is taught in Volume II.

Volume IV, The Expert American Bidding System is scheduled for release once the authors feel that a sufficient number of players have mastered Volume III. Itpresumes two years' experience with the bidding techniques taught in Volume III, and expertdeclarer play and defense skills. This is not a "Mom and Pop" book. It is for those who wish tosuccessfully compete in such ACBL events as Flight A Grand National Teams, the Blue RibbonPairs, the Life Master Pairs, the Spingold, Vanderbilt, and Reisinger teams, etc., and Internationalevents like the Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup, The London Times Pairs, the McCallan, etc. Itfeatures 4-card majors, the TEAS responses to no trump openings, weak no trumps, and a varietyof other bidding methods which will get bidders to the optimum place but will require expertdeclarer play or defensive skills to maximize results.

All four books emphasize sound, disciplined bidding and an underlying philosophy of "You bid yourcards, I'll bid mine, we'll get to the right spot." By the time students complete study and practice ofVolume III, they should be able to know what cards partner holds almost to the spot at theconclusion of an auction. In fact, Jerry and one of his partners were once accused of cheating whenthey got cocky and did this after an auction. The comment was: "How can you know what cardsyour partner holds?" Jerry's answer: "Isn't that the whole point of the bidding?"

These new works are offered on the Internet through Trafford on-demand publishing service. Orderonline and the book will be printed, coil-bound and shipped to you within a week.The coil binding is an added feature of the books. It allows them to be opened to any page and laid flat on the table for ease of study. Bulk purchase discounts are available.