[andych]

Could someone write a review of Gier Helgemo books?

Helgemo World of Bridge
Bridge with Imagination

[nikos59]

I have read the one he wrote with David Bird, I guess
it is the second of your list, Bridge with Imagination.

Very well written and with several original topics
and/or angles. Also, the deals come from Nordic
sources hence you probably haven't seen them
elsewhere.

Moreover, although Helgemo has lost a couple
of world championship finals, he doesn't accuse
his opponents of cheating.

[mike777]

Helgemo's World of Bridge by Geo Tislevoll with Geir Helgemo. (2000).

Solid B

Tislevoll did most of the writing about Helgemo hands. 100 page book of around 35 hands or so. Each hand has a short 3 page story wrapped around it.

[beatrix45]

Adventures in Card Play, by Geza Ottlik and Hugh Kelsey, Victor Gollancz Ltd., London, 1979

The most advanced book on squeezes, et. al. ever written. It's Clyde Love's 'Bridge Squeezes Complete' on steroids. Too advanced for almost all players, but fascinating nonetheless. Read it, and ask yourself just how good a dummy player you really are.

[fifee]

"How to Read Your Opponent's Cards," one of Mike Lawrence's first books, is one of my alltime favorites. Mike does a great job of explaining how to "think" at the table, which is an easy thing to teach but sometimes hard to learn.

He offers a hand and then asks the reader questions like who has the ♣Ace or the ♦King. After having time to think on these questions, the reader then turns the page and Mike offers the logic needed to find these cards.

I can pick this book up and open it randomly and appreciate the content. If you have not read this book, I am sure you will find it enlightening. You can probably order the book through BBO, too.

P Anderson

[MickyB]

Yes, an excellent book Fifee, along with his computer programme Counting at Bridge which is similar but IMO even better.

[ArcLight]

Complete book on Takeout Doubles by Mike Lawrence

Great book, comprehensive, I rate it an A.

What I liked:

1) Has lots of sub topics covering all aspects of takeout doubles in depth and breadth

2) many example bidding sequences and hands.

3) the author will ask you what a sequence means. Is this double for penalty or takeout? How many points do you think pard has? How long is his suit?

4) gives lots of bidding tricks and suggests some conventions, such as responsive doubles.

I sugegst going through the book with a notebook, taking notes on all the different guidelines.

[luke warm]

fifee, on Jun 2 2005, 09:11 AM, said:

"How to Read Your Opponent's Cards," one of Mike Lawrence's first books, is one of my alltime favorites. Mike does a great job of explaining how to "think" at the table, which is an easy thing to teach but sometimes hard to learn.

hi.. i haven't read this one, do you know how it compares to rubens' 'secrets of winning bridge'? are they complimentary, do they cover the same things, etc? thanks

[mike777]

luke warm, on Jun 2 2005, 04:19 PM, said:

fifee, on Jun 2 2005, 09:11 AM, said:

"How to Read Your Opponent's Cards," one of Mike Lawrence's first books, is one of my alltime favorites.  Mike does a great job of explaining how to "think" at the table, which is an easy thing to teach but sometimes hard to learn.

hi.. i haven't read this one, do you know how it compares to rubens' 'secrets of winning bridge'? are they complimentary, do they cover the same things, etc? thanks

How to read the OPP cards may be the best bridge book ever..

It is all about counting the opp hands. If you read only one bridge book in your life read this one. Then reread it every year.

[Winstonm]

Killing Defense and More Killing Defense by Hugh Kelsey

Whatever you do, do not read these books unless you want to: A) end with a raging headache from the concentration improve you bridge thinking skills immeasurably C) become a much-improved defender, at which point I will not longer want to face you at the table.

WinstonM

[luke warm]

justin said:

How to read your opponents high cards is a classic, one of the most useful books ever imo. Whenever people ask me which books they should read i tell them Killing Defense by Kelsey and How To Read Your Opponents High Cards

mike said:

How to read the OPP cards may be the best bridge book ever..

It is all about counting the opp hands. If you read only one bridge book in your life read this one. Then reread it every year.

thx guys, i'll buy it now

[jillybean]

mike777, on May 30 2005, 04:28 AM, said:

Inside the Bermuda Bowl by John Swanson

Is out of print Atleast, I can't find it on amazon or chapters.
Can someone lend me a copy!

jillybean2

[Walddk]

jillybean2, on Jun 3 2005, 04:25 AM, said:

mike777, on May 30 2005, 04:28 AM, said:

Inside the Bermuda Bowl by John Swanson

Is out of print Atleast, I can't find it on amazon or chapters.
Can someone lend me a copy!

jillybean2

If Copenhagen is not too far away from you, you can get it at "Bridgebutikken" (The Bridge Shop).

http://www.bridgebutikken.dk/Cart/items.ph...4.105.153&bog=S

180 Danish Kroner (US$30). They can also send it to you. Then they will add p&p of course.

Roland

[helene_t]

They appear to have it at postfree . Maybe the postal costs will be lower from Sidney than from Copenhagen.

[ArcLight]

Focus on Declarer Play by Danny Roth.

Danny Roth is an English writer and may Americans may not be familiar with his books. His Step by Step Discarding is excellent, a very good intermediate level book on defense.

Focus on declarer play is intermediate level, and covers many common situations where declarers so wrong.
Such as:
1) Safety plays
2) trump management
3) Timing
4) Loser on Loser, Cutting opps communications, avoiding ruffs

It doesn't cover squeezes or anything exotic, just meat and potatoes hands that are frequently missed. Its a focused, concise, clear book, and I highly recommend it to players of intermediate level and below.

Given the quality of the 2 books by Danny Roth I've read, I'll certainly read more of his books. (focus on bidding, focus on defense)


P.S. A while back I wrote that I didn't care for the way Terrence Reese came across in some of his books. He seemed a bit arrogant and nasty. I recently read "Play Bridge with Reese" and found it excellent. (he does come across to me a not a nice person, but he can certainly write) I got several more of his books, and will read through them over the next year. His "The Mistakes you make at Bridge" is decent, his "Bidding a Bridge Hand" may be a bit out dated in some ways, but it still has good ideas on hand evaluation, fit for pard, tactical bidding, and judgment. An added plus is his books then to be available for very low prices (used in great shape for around $5 each with shipping included)


PPS As for Killing Defense and More Killing Defense, when I tried reading them after playing bridge for all of 5 months, they were above my head, as was Mike Lawrence's Dynamic defense. Now taht I've been playing for almost a year and a half, I'll definitely read them in the next year or so.

[Winstonm]

No doubt Reece is somewhat arrogant, and some of his views on bidding are simply arcane; however, Master Play is a classic and should be eventually read by all aspiring bridge players IMO - but like Killing Defense , it is not a read for the beginning-to-intermediate player.

WinstonM

[ArcLight]

Right Through the Pack: A Bridge Fantasy by Robert Darvas & Norman D. Hart. Published shortly after World War 2.

Well written, entertaining book, where each of the cards tells a story in which it played a key part. What I don't like is most of the hands are double dummy, so there is little to learn. But the hands are generally interesting, and each story quite entertaining. There are quite a few interesting squeeze hands, some unusual safety plays, and other assorted clever plays. The card telling the story and narrating the play of the deal also gives background about the characters.

I'd rate it an A- for Bridge entertainment. Don't expect to learn much as these hands are generally uncommon, with lots of iffy slams, and unreasonable bidding.


Available (with shipping for $5 - $9 used)
http://www.campusi.com/bookFind/asp/bookFi...odId=0910791694

[JSilver]

I'd recommend anything by Mike Lawrence. His Complete Book of Balancing, mentioned by ArcLight, is a thorough treatment of a topic that is highly practical, yet poorly covered in the literature. Lawrence has a talent for identifying and exploring these subjects. The Complete Book of Card Combinations is another example.

There may be reasons for not admiring Terrence Reese as a person, but one can certainly learn a lot from him about declarer play. My favorite is Play These Hands With Me. Reading it is like having a perch inside the mind of a master.

I've enjoyed many of Hugh Kelsey's books, but have not read Killing Defense. A good book on this topic is Frank Stewart's Winning Defense for the Advancing Bridge Player. It systematically explores and exemplifies the major themes of defense.

Kit Woolsey's Matchpoints is a great examination of the decisions peculiar to that form of the game. Among other topics, it covers the law of total tricks.

[JSilver]

Meant to add this to the book reviews topic.

Fixed... even though it means subtracting one from our new thread count. -- inquiry

This post has been edited by inquiry: 2005-June-17, 12:36