How to Read Your Opponent's Cards: The Bridge Experts' Way to Locate Missing High Cards [Paperback]

Mike Lawrence (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 28, 2006

Each chapter takes a principle, helps the reader understand it, and gives examples, plus a quiz on the subject. A great help if you seem to guess right half the time or less when playing the dummy.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Mike Lawrence is concerned less with how to play your hand than with how to think about playing. The idea is to minimize risk by deducing where your opponent's high cards are. Lawrence shows how to spot and interpret clues from the opening bid on with chapters titled "Sizing Up the Case," "Finding the Witness," "Analyzing the Clues," "Conducting the Investigation," "Checking the Evidence," "Nailing Down the Case," and "Making Your Sixth Sense Work." The latter deals with watching your opponent's body language for the "tells" that reveal their thoughts involuntarily. Each chapter but the last features a quiz section to help you practice techniques.

Product Details

• Paperback: 175 pages
• Publisher: Baron Barclay Bridge (March 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0910791481
• ISBN-13: 978-0910791489
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Bridge

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MUST-READ book, August 30, 2001

By 

Prasad Upasani (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: How to Read Your Opponent's Cards: The Bridge Experts' Way to Locate Missing High Cards (Paperback)

Mike Lawrence is one of the most intelligent authors I have ever read (and I read a lot). This is also one of his better-organized and readable books (surprisingly his first book). Reading this book will teach you how to think at the table. Counting is a skill that separates the novice from the expert, and this book goes a long way towards teaching you that vital skill. This book is among my three favorite Mike Lawrence books, the other two being "Play Bridge with Mike Lawrence", and "Play a Swiss Teams of Four With Mike Lawrence". Another vital skill taught here is deduction. A simple but very useful example: as declarer if you are missing AK of a side suit, and the opening lead is something else, then either the opening leader is missing both cards or the honors must be split, else the A or K would be the natural lead (assuming neither defender has bid).

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For those who want to become strong bridge players, May 22, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: How to read your opponent's cards;: The bridge experts' way to locate missing high cards (The Prentice-Hall contract bridge series) (Hardcover)

It takes a fair amount of work and effort to apply the techniques presented in this book. But it's time well spent. If you can master these skills you will be a very good club player. Be aware that its slow going as you have to follow every card play and think about whats going on.

Why didnt the West lead hearts when he opened 1 Heart? Hmmm, probably because West doesn't have AK or KH, so the honors are split. That means East has 3 or 4 high card points. Since East already showed up with teh Queen of clubs, its liekly he's empty, else he would have raised Wests 1 heart opener. Therefore take the finesse against Wests Queen of Diamonds.

The amazing thing is after a while I was able to play almost every honor in all the hands.

This works, just takes effort to apply it. Spend your tiem counting HCP, and distributions, and you will become a solid player. You don't have to study 5 books on Sqeezes, 8 books on bidding, etc. Concentrate on the basics and you will greatly improve.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take your level of play UP several LARGE notches, August 31, 1999

By 

Edward J. Williams (Dearborn, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Read Your Opponent's Cards: The Bridge Experts' Way to Locate Missing High Cards (Paperback)

Mike Lawrence doesn't teach rules to memorize; he schools his reader in beneficial habits and patterns of thought. After reading this book (repeatedly, gaining added benefit each time), my opponents began to think we were playing bridge with glass cards.