D. Crisfield - Knack Bridge for Everyone: A Step-by-Step Guide to Rules, Bidding, and Play of the Hand

Copyright 2010 by Morris Book Publishing, LLC

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, P.O. Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437.

Knack is a registered trademark of Morris Publishing Group, LLC, and is used with express permission.

Editor-in-Chief: Maureen Graney

Editor: Katie Benoit

Cover Design: Paul Beatrice, Bret Kerr

Text Design: Paul Beatrice

Layout: Maggie Peterson

Cover photos by Stephen Gorman and Eli Burakian

Interior photos by Stephen Gorman and Eli Burakian

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Crisfield, Deborah.

Knack bridge for everyone : a step-by-step guide to rules, bidding, and play of the hand / D.W. Crisfield ; photographs by Stephen Gorman and Eli Burakian.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-59921-615-7

1. Contract bridge. I. Title.

GV1282.3.C754 2010

795.41'5dc22

2009032200

The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Globe Pequot Press. The author and Globe Pequot Press disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information.

Printed in China

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To my first bridge teachersMom, Nana, and Grandmawho taught me the game because apparently Id be lost at college if I didnt know how to play (they were completely wrong about that).

I first want to thank my husband for encouraging me to write this book and my two children for being tolerant of a mother who spent the early part of 2009 facing a computer screen.

Second, I couldnt possibly write a bridge book without acknowledging my favorite Swiss Team, regular partners, and early students: Jennifer Feltes, Karen Haines, and Jane Grewcock. In a perfect world, this would be another dedication, but I have to thank them not only for being the guinea pigs on whom I honed my teaching skills but also for being good friends, great bridge players, and hugely entertaining traveling companions. Jennifer also gets a big shout out for holding hundreds of hands of cards for the photos in this book.

Moving on to other people in the bridge world who I owe various debts to: Thanks to all my students (way too many to name, but almost without exception really nice fun people); to Cyndi Sauvage for being my first regular partner, introducing me to the world of tournament bridge, and helping me get my first mastepoints; to Marilyn Millard for taking me from Goren bidding to Standard American; to Ingrid Roden for being a great partner and my most accomplished student (so far!); and to Peter Jones for elevating my game to another level.

Id also like to thank my hand models (and bridge students), Helene Hulse and Laurie Gerard. And finally, thanks to Eli Burakiana very fun and accommodating photographerand editors Michelle Stevens-Orton, Maureen Graney and Katie Benoit.

The photographers would like to thank Thomas Kurtz, Agnes Kurtz, and Jesse Stalker for their help with the book photography.

Sometimes when I read a book, I skip the introduction and go right into the meat of the book, but I encourage you to spend a minute or two with me while I explain both the game of bridge and my approach to it in this book.

First let me say that while this book is designed to intro duce a brand new player to the wonderful game of bridge, this book is also loaded with instruction that will be helpful for players who already have a rudimentary knowledge of the game and will offer the beginning player years of extra knowledge.

Bridge is a complex card game. Its origins can be found in much older games, but bridge really became the game it is today in the 1920s. Because the game offers continuous challenges, even to the experts who rule the game, it caught on quickly, spread like crazy, and became a national pastime. But this is a How To book, not a history book, so lets get down to the actual details of how the game is played.

Most explanations of a game begin with the object of the game, but bridge is so complicated that its hard to describe the object of the game until you know some aspects of the game. Still, pared down to its barest bones, you could say the object of bridge is to score higher than your opponents, or to take more tricks. But at this point, besides oversimplifying a complicated game, this information wont get you started playing and ends up being more confusing than helpful.

So I beg you to stick with this book from start to finish and to get comfortable with the fact that the object of the game will unfold as the game unfolds. Ultimately, you will be rewarded for enduring the process. You will grasp the goals of bidding, playing, defending, and scoring and how each hand involves all four aspects, and you will understand how they all relate to the ultimate goal of winning bridge. Youll be hooked on the most challenging card game ever invented.

Ive written this book to be read consecutively, but you absolutely do not have to follow that to the letter. For instance, you can skim over the equipment parts in Chapter 1 if that doesnt interest youalthough every other piece of Chapter 1 is essential. And in the scoring chapter, I explain several different types of scoring. As long as you read about the basics of scoring, you can return to the varieties of scoring later.

I guarantee you will feel overwhelmed. But persevere. For example, the chapter on scoring is placed second because the bidding makes no sense if you dont understand the scoring. On the other hand, the scoring is one of the most complicated parts of playing the game. So get a feel for it, but dont worry too much about grasping it fully right away.