The Complete Idiot's Guide to Bridge [Paperback]

H. Anthony Medley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1997 | Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide

You're no idiot, of course. You host the most fabulous dinner parties and select just the right wines. But when it comes time to play some bridge, you feel like hiding away in the kitchen. Don't spend the evening washing dishes! This book will help you learn the rules of the game in friendly, easy-to-swallow bites. You'll learn how to deal and play a "rubber"(that's bridge-talk for a game), how to keep score, and even how to deal with less-than perfect partners! In this Complete Idiot's Guide you get:

Editorial Reviews

Review

Once again, it is a comprehensive introductory text with plenty of cartoons to take the edge off subject matter that can be difficult for a newcomer. Learning bridge isn't like learning poker or blackjack, where the basic rules can be explained in a few minutes. An entire book is probably the minimum needed for the basics. The bidding part of bridge is much like learning a new language. This book will teach you all the important translations and fundamentals of play as well. -- Sunday Denver Post, Nov. 30, 1997

From the Back Cover

Discover quick and easy ways to...Objectively evaluate each hand you're dealt...Use convention bidding to communicate with your partner...Understand what your partner's bids and leads mean...Avoid playing mistakes that beginners often make...Play each trick like an expert...Double your opponents' bids for extra penalty points.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Alpha (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028617355
• ISBN-13: 978-0028617350
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,120,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to all aspects of bridge, October 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Bridge (Paperback)

In spite of the title, this book provides the information you need to understand how to play bridge, not just a list of recommendations to be learned by rote. The author starts at the beginning -- how to play, goals of the game, how to score -- but he does not waste time on the fundamentals. He continues by explaining how to bid, providing rational and easy-to-understand logic so that the reader understands what is happening, both how to bid and how to deduce as much information as possible from others' bids. This explanation is provided in a logical sequence which matches the bidding in a typical game. After explaining how to bid, there are hints on how to play the hand.

Although pitched at the beginning player, the explanations are quite complete and the author covers several advanced techniques. There's plenty in this book to enable a new bridge player to have the confidence to not look like an idiot while playing with experienced players.

Robin Thompson

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Really for Beginners (or Idiots), August 25, 2004

By 

E. Rejuney "bridge builder" (Bethesda MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Bridge (Paperback)

This book is filled with good information for players, especially the beginning chapters about bidding. The later chapters on the play of the hand are much shorter and sketchier. The book is not really written for novices. Mr. Medley's style is more like that of a newspaper bridge column, rushed and slangy, and, although the frequent sidebars make a valiant attempt at keeping up with his use of bridge jargon, he seems to have forgotten what it's like to be a beginner without step-by-step help at climbing the learning curve. Eddie Kantar's funny and helpful "Bridge for Dummies" is a much better introduction.

But if this is, say, your third bridge book (as it was mine) and you are willing to fine-tooth-comb it a bit, you'll learn a lot.

By the way, isn't it interesting how the marketeers assume that, if we want to learn something new, we either are or feel like "dummies" or "idiots"?

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not just for idiots - or beginners, November 24, 2003

By 

The Blue Man (Oxford, OXON England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Bridge (Paperback)

H. Anthony Medley read a degree in Chemistry at UCLA before later taking up bridge - quite successfully it seems. This ostensible piece of trivia is actually important, as most of the book is set out quite logically and the reader may feel some confidence that it is written by someone with scientific training.

The book starts by slowly going through the rules of the game, which is obviously essential. The remainder can then be divided into three parts: bidding, play and advanced techniques. By far the major share, in terms of number of chapters, goes into teaching bidding techniques - largely focussing on how to find the correct contract when the partnership has points short of game, but also discussing Strong Two bidding, pre-emptive bidding and slam bidding (including Blackwood although not Gerber). Advice on bidding takes up approximately 50 per cent of the book. In most cases, the rationale behind bidding (ie. counter-balancing the dangers of overbidding with the inherent waste of underbidding) is explained to give the reader an understanding of why bids are made, instead of merely presenting the reader with a long list of conventions to memorise.

The sections on play (20 per cent of the book) are also helpful, although less comprehensive and not justified in as much detail as the bidding sections. The advanced sections (10 per cent) are concisely and very effectively written, covering topics such as Weak Two bidding, transfers and cue bids used for finding slam.

The single greatest strength of the book is the time the author takes to clearly explain the motivation behind bidding; any careful reader should - if they wish - be capable of devising their own bidding principles after having read the book. That being said, if Medley wants to present the book as some sort of intellectual undertaking it falls considerably short of this, as he contradicts himself several times in the bidding chapters. Although most of the contradictions are relatively minor (involving, for example, a choice between rebidding a 5 card suit at the 2 level versus passing partner's 1 No Trump response), nonetheless it is frustrating for a dedicated reader to be faced with such inconsistencies, and this reader thought someone with scientific training could have done better.

The writing style of the book is decidedly anecdotal, which is a strength or weakness depending on the individual taste of the reader. Perhaps an aspiring beginner could expose themselves to contrasting writing styles by purchasing this book in conjunction with a less informally written book such as "ACOl Bridge for Bright Beginners" by Kambites & Kelsey. Nonetheless, Medley's book thoroughly deserves its status as a best seller.