Planning the Play of a Bridge Hand

Do you get that terrible sinking feeling when you first see dummy? Does your mind go blank as everyone waits for you to play to the first trick? If so, you're not alone. Beginning bridge players are taught some of the basic techniques of declarer play: suit establishment, ruffing losers, the finesse, and so forth. The hard part is learning what to do when. In the dreaded moment following the opening lead, the typical novice declarer has no idea where to start. Yet the key to success is simple: before playing from dummy at Trick 1, make a plan. In this book, two of the world's best bridge teachers/authors explain how to go about making a plan as declarer - using a simple step-by-step process. Readers will learn how to decide what to do on a given deal, both in notrump contracts and suit contracts. By the end of the book, even the most inexperienced declarer will be comfortable with more advanced material, such as entry management and counting the hand.

Barbara Seagram (Toronto, Canada) for many years ran one of the largest and most successful bridge clubs and bridge schools in N. America. After selling the club in 2007, she now concentrates solely on teaching and organizing her popular bridge cruises. An ABTA Master Teacher, Barbara has been involved in many of MPP's most successful titles, most notably '25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know'. With more than 100,000 copies in print in English alone, this book is the bestselling bridge title since Charles Goren was writing in the 1950s. It has been translated into Japanese, French and German.