Eddie Kantar - Bridge For Dummies

Bridge For Dummies, 3rd Edition

by Eddie Kantar

Bridge For Dummies, 3rd Edition

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Copyright 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2012935792

ISBN 978-1-118-20574-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-22858-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-24083-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-26571-0 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Eddie Kantar, a transplanted Californian, is one of the best-known bridge writers in the world. He has more than 30 bridge books in print, some translated into eight languages, and is a regular contributor to the Bulletin, The Bridge World, Bridge Today, and many other bridge publications.

Eddie, a two-time World Champion, is highly regarded as a player and known as one of bridges great ambassadors.

Eddie learned to play bridge at age 11. By the time he was 17, he was teaching the game to his friends. Eddie was so enthusiastic about bridge that he often took his bridge books to school, hiding them behind his textbooks so that the teachers couldnt see him reading about bridge during class. At the University of Minnesota, where Eddie studied foreign languages, he taught bridge to pay his tuition.

Eddie gained stature as a player by winning 2 World Championship titles and 11 North American Championships. His North American titles include wins in the Spingold Knockout Teams, the Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams, the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams, and the Grand National Teams. Eddie is a Grand Master in World Bridge Federation rankings and an ACBL Grand Life Master.

Today Eddie is best known as a writer, and many of his books are considered classics. When not playing bridge or writing about the subject, he can be found playing table tennis, paddle tennis (an offshoot of tennis), or bridge at the paddle tennis courts at Venice Beach (come and join the fun in either game). By the way, Eddie is the only person ever to have played in both a World Bridge Championship and a World Table Tennis Championship (he did better at bridge).

Eddie was inducted into the Bridge Hall of Fame in 1996, the same year he was inducted into the Minnesota State Table Tennis Hall of Fame.

Dedication

Id like to dedicate this book to my mom and dad, who stuck with me even when all the relatives were telling them that Id come to no good end being a card player and asking why I didnt find a regular job like everybody else. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Authors Acknowledgments

First, I would like to thank Elizabeth Rea, my project editor. Elizabeth is an absolute dream to work with. She couldnt have been more supportive, and her ideas, suggestions, and corrections were spot on each time. You made my life much easier.

I also had a great copy editor, Caitie Copple, and an equally wonderful technical reviewer, Dennis Cohen. What a great team!

But every team needs a coach and I had the best: my wife, Yvonne. Her patience and understanding of just how far to go in this book saved me headaches and heartaches, not to mention extra work. Just as with the first edition, there would have been no second or third edition without Yvonne. I kid you not.

Publishers Acknowledgments

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Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Vertical Websites

Project Editor: Elizabeth Rea

(Previous Edition: Georgette Beatty)

Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy

Copy Editor: Caitlin Copple

(Previous Edition: Krista Hansing)

Assistant Editor: David Lutton

Editorial Program Coordinator: Joe Niesen

Technical Editor: Dennis Cohen

Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker

Editorial Assistant: Alexa Koschier

Cover Photos: iStockphoto.com/olada

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

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Project Coordinator: Katie Crocker

Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, Cheryl Grubbs, Corrie Niehaus