Product Description

Everyone knows that control-showing bids are the expert route to slam, but it is remarkably hard to find a comprehensive treatment of this vital area of the game. Until now, that is. This is an exhaustive work, covering a lot of territory. The average reader won't want to use everything they read about here - and it would be a mammoth undertaking to try to adopt it all - but it will get them thinking about their bidding and offer many ways to improve it. After all, bridge is the ultimate game for thinkers. This book fills an important gap in the literature of bridge for serious players. Foreword is by Brent Manley, editor of the "ACBL Bulletin".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #837195 in Books
• Published on: 2006-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

Customer Reviews

Misleading Title
If you are looking for a book on learning traditional (Ace first) cuebidding, this book will not help you. Instead try Ron Klingers "Cue Bidding to Slam"

If you are looking for a book on Slam Bidding, including judgment, and high level bidding, this book will not help you. Instead try Alan Moulds "Step by Step Slam Bidding". In fact I disagree with several of the authors sugegsted auctions, I think they are poor, and emphasize incorrect aspects of the hand in question (ex - bididng a weak suit that can end up as the trump suit in a high level contract). The author also criticizes an auction by Meckwell, saying he would find the slam they missed. Perhaps so. But maybe Meckwell would stay out of 2 bad slams the author would end up in. In otherwords, one hand picked example does not constitute proof. Meckwell use lots of science and have lots of tools, and great judgment. If they choose to not investigate a slam, they are probably right in the majority of cases.

If you are looking for a book on current expert cue bidding, where 1st and 2nd round controls are bid at the same time (Aces, Kings, and singletons), this book will not help you. One of the problems with this method (also known as Italian Style or Mixed Cue Bidding) is you can have ambiguous sequences such as
1 Heart - 3 Hearts (Limit Raise, not Bergen)
4 Clubs - 4 Diamonds

This shows a club dontrol and denies a spade control.
The 4 Diamond bid shows the Spade control but what about a Diamond control?

There is also the possibility of ending up in Slam off 2 aces.
Offsetting this, there are Slams this method will find or avoid that traditional ace first fails on.
Its a complex topic, and I had hoped this book would cover it.
It doesn't.

This book is an experimental system of techniques used by some players, but it's not commonly used. The system is quite different from other cue bidding systems
1S - 2C [2/1 Game force]
2D - 2S [establishing spades]
2NT = weak trumps, does NOT imply an NT oriented hand

2NT = bad trumps.
Skipping 2NT implies good trumps.
If opener bids responders first suit it shows one of the top 3 honors.
3NT is not natural, its to show "Serious Slam Interest". Bypassing 3NT denies serious slam interest.
Bidding out Shape is not emphasized.

Also, there is a downside to revealing detailed information. If playing strong opponents, you may end up going down in more games as you reveal your shape. Revealing your hand during bidding is a double edge sword against good players.

Those who are facinated by system may like this book (for them I rate it a 4 or 5 for curiousity sake). For the other 90% you will never use these ideas, and probably never see them used against you.