Countdown to Winning Bridge [CD-ROM]

Tim Bourke (Author), Marc Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2007

Did you ever notice how the bridge experts always seem to know where every card is? How their finesses always seem to succeed? How their guesses are nearly always perfect? This book won't teach you to play quite that well, but it will introduce you to some very simple techniques that the experts use on play and defense. As declarer or defender, counting the hand is the one thing that will help you the most. But how do you keep track of all those cards? This book will show you how - explaining the tricks of the trade, and helping anyone who can count to thirteen to become a much better player. Full of practical examples of how to apply the information you get from counting, this book is sure to improve your game.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• CD-ROM
• Publisher: Master Point Press (November 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1897106319
• ISBN-13: 978-1897106310
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.4 x 5.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,996,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than HOW TO READ YOUR OPPONENTS CARDS, March 31, 2005

By 

B. Einhorn (New York City, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Countdown to Winning Bridge (Paperback)

This may be the best book I've read on card placement and deduction, even better than Mike Lawrence's HOW TO READ YOUR OPPONENTS CARDS. And thats saying a lot because How To Read is a great book.

This book has many examples, and covers a wide range of inferential topics. There are sections for defenders, and how to confuse and mislead the opponents. You are really given the tools to solve a great number of hands. Its more than just counting, its using that information, and thinking about what the opponents might have done.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Card counting, yes. Probability theory, no., November 30, 2008

By 

Michael T. Kawalec (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Countdown to Winning Bridge (Paperback)

As a book on counting cards, the authors do a credible job. A minor complaint is that they make light of the difficulties of counting cards, sometimes in all four suits, and counting high card points in each defender's hand by writing, "Did you do anything more complicated than count to thirteen?"

As a book on probabilities, the authors "fall on their sword" in Chapter 6. They consider a deal played in 3NT first by South, then by North. Of course, South gets a different lead and plays differently and gets a different result than North but the authors erroneously claim that these two independent events are somehow related by what they call the "Monty Hall Trap". Then they introduce the unhelpful idea of "biased information" which only serves to muddle their explanations of their last two examples. Amazingly, the last example, a very complicated example based on how much expertise the opponents have, is advertised as a clarification of the previous simpler example. As a final surprise, the authors conclude chapter 6 by saying that the reader should essentially ignore the results of their last two examples and instead rely on "the basic odds".

I recommend that you stay away from chapter 6 and instead read the excellent discussions of bridge probabilities in Bridge Odds for Practical Players (Master Bridge).

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Know" where every card is, May 1, 2003

By 

Bob Simkins "Bob" (DOTHAN, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Countdown to Winning Bridge (Paperback)

The single most important skill in bridge is the ability to count the hands. Tips and techniques used by experts to "know" where every card is. This book is certain to improve your play and defense.