To Bid or Not to Bid [Paperback]

Larry Cohen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2002

To bid or not to bid -- the perennial dilemma in competitive auctions. The easy answer to the question lies in the correct use of the Law of Total Tricks. The LAW has been part of bridge literature since the 1950s, but it was in this book that Larry Cohen brought it to the attention of the majority of bridge players. Still the most lucid explanation of the LAW ever published, this is a book that every bridge player needs to own, to read, to re-read, and to study in order to improve his results.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Master Point Press (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894154487
• ISBN-13: 978-1894154482
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for all serious bridge players, February 15, 2002

By 

Edward Williams "ewillia4" (Northville, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Bid or Not to Bid the Law of Total Tricks (Paperback)

Before reading this: I open 1 Spade, 2 Heart overcall,
partner raises to 2S, RHO raises to 3 Hearts. I auto-
matically bid 3S, just as Pavlov's dog automatically
salivated. Down one. 3H would have gone down one.
Oops. Wrong guess. Sorry, partner. Next round, I
pass 3H and it makes. 3S would have made. Oops.
Wrong guess. Sorry, partner.
After reading this: I look less at how many high-card
points I have and more at how many hearts and spades I
have. Do I have S Q9542 H QJ7 or S KQJ92 H 432? Do I
have 5 or 6 spades? Now I bid 3 Spades when it's right
and pass when it's right.
Buy two copies and give your partner one. Hide it from
all opponents. The IMPs will now dribble to your team,
five or six IMPs at a time. Likewise, so will the
matchpoints: 9x on 12 top instead of 2x on 12 top, again
and again on these unspectacular hands.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How can you do better?, July 22, 1999

By 

Carol Hartwell ([e-mail]) (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Bid or Not to Bid the Law of Total Tricks (Paperback)

If your bridge library were extremely small, one MUST item would be The Law of Total Tricks. It's a gem, one that will change the way you think at bridge and one that will help you make those tough part-score and higher competitive decisions which are ordinarily such "guess work". This book will help you evaluate your bidding options with much greater assurance and accuracy.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Modern Classic, June 3, 1999

By 

John Brady "jdblaw" (Jacksonville, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Bid or Not to Bid the Law of Total Tricks (Paperback)

The law of total tricks has been around for about 40 years, but it's never been as thoroughly and completely explained as in this book. Cohen shows how the law should be used to resolve your competitive bidding decisions and to make the opponents' life more difficult. He also shows how modern bidding, and how the conventions he developed with Marty Bergen, try to give your partnership the information you need to make total trick decisions. Simply the best book on the subject.