Manley - The Everything Bridge Book : Easy-to-follow instructions to have you playing in no time!

THE
EVERTHING
BRIDGE
BOOK

Dear Reader,

I just love to go to work each day, because my job and my avocation bridgeare one and the same. I have been playing this great game mostly in the duplicate formatfor nearly forty years.

My outlook has changed over the years. I play for the love of it, and winning is a nice bonus but not essential. Still, I strive each time to do my bestand I still want to tell ever yone how great the game can be. I am an experienced player, but I have tons and tons yet to learn, and thats one of the elements of the game that keeps me coming back.

Join me in a most wonderful journey. There is no sport in the world except bridge where you can compete against the best simply by buying an entr y in the same game. I have never played in a world championship, but I have sat at the table with world champions many times. Its very exciting.

You wont regret your decision to learn a game that will take you around the world and that you can play for a lifetime.

Welcome to the EVERTHING Series!

These handy, accessible books give you all you need to tackle a difficult project, gain a new hobby, comprehend a fascinating topic, prepare for an exam, or even brush up on something you learned back in school but have since forgotten.

You can choose to read an Everything book from cover to cover or just pick out the information you want from our four useful boxes: e-questions, e-facts, e-alerts, and e-ssentials. We give you everything you need to know on the subject, but throw in a lot of fun stuff along the way, too.

We now have more than 400 Everything books in print, spanning such wide-ranging categories as weddings, pregnancy, cooking, music instruction, foreign language, crafts, pets, New Age, and so much more. When youre done reading them all, you can finally say you know Everything!

PUBLISHER Karen Cooper

DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INNOVATION Paula Munier

MANAGING EDITOR,everything series Lisa Laing

COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert

ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Lisa Laing

DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Brett Palana-Shanahan

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hillary Thompson

Visit the entire Everything series at www.everything.com

THE
EVERYTHING
BRIDGE
BOOK
2nd Edition

Easy-to-follow instructions
to have you playing in no time!

Brent Manley

Copyright 2009, 2003 by F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

An Everything Series Book.
Everything and everything.com are registered trademarks of F+W Media, Inc.

Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN 10: 1-60550-123-9
ISBN 13: 978-1-60550-123-9
eISBN: 978-1-60550-709-5

Printed in the United States of America.

J I H G F E D C B A

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.

Dedication

To Donna, the light of my life

Contents

Acknowledgments

Much of what you will find in this book is the product of my experience in nearly four decades of playing bridge, making errors and slowly but surely learning from them. I would like to thank all the opponents over the years who have made me pay for my bridge sins. I have found that the best way to learn is the hard wayplaying against good opponents.

I have also learned a lot from reading, and although I have not taken any material directly from their books and articles, much of the wisdom of Eddie Kantar, Mike Lawrence, Larry Cohen, and Bobby Wolff can be found in these pages.

The World Bridge Federation has afforded me the opportunity to observe firsthand how world champions play, and I thank in particular WBF President Jose Damiani for his faith in me to do the job of chief editor of the Daily Bulletin at world championships.

Top Ten Reasons to Play Bridge

Youll use your mind and stay mentally sharp.

Youll find new friends at bridge games wherever you travel in the world.

You can associate with bright, inquisitive people.

Bridge will keep you away from the television and the refrigerator.

You can enjoy a bridge cruise with a celebrity host.

Youll feel a bond with people from all walks of life who also love the game.

Youll be able to play in the same tournaments as national and world champions.

Youll feel the thrill of executing an advanced play and enjoy the confidence it brings.

As you get better, youll be able to measure your progress.

But most of allyoull have fun!

Introduction

A COMMON MISCONCEPTION about the game of bridge is that it is too tough, too complicated. Only experts can really enjoy playingor so the story goes. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The vast majority of the estimated 100 million people who play bridge around the world do so for its social aspectsand just for fun. That doesnt mean you cant aspire to expert status or that you cant strive for greatness. Who knows, you might be the next prodigy laying claim to a world championship in just a few short years. None of that is necessary, however, for you to find a lifetime of enjoyment in what many consider to be the worlds greatest card game.

Consider that only a miniscule percentage of the worlds golfers have a legitimate shot at a major championship such as the Masters. That doesnt keep them from hitting the links and having a great time doing it. Similarly, you can have fun at bridge without threatening a reigning world champion.

The big problem with golfand most other physical sportsis that at some point your body is going to interfere with your desire to keep playing. With bridge, as long as your mind works, you can keep going practically your entire life.

Many people take up bridge semi-seriously at retirement, but there are thousands of young people learning bridge in schools all over North America as you read this passage. Most bridge clubs now use bidding boxes for silent bidding, making bridge the ideal game for the hearing-impaired. There is almost no physical handicap that could prevent a person from enjoying bridge.