The Modern Losing Trick Count: Bidding to Win at Bridge (Master Bridge Series) [Paperback]

Ron Klinger (Author)

Book Description

Series: Master Bridge Series | Publication Date: May 1, 2001

If you want to bid accurately and achieve greatly improved results at the bridge table, you have to master the Losing Trick Count. It is a tried and tested method of hand evaluation which has stood the test of time. Ron Klinger, famous international player, author, and teacher, has brought the LTC up-to-date by relating it to modern systems and conventions.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ron Klinger is a world-famous name in bridge and apart from considerable success as an international player, is the author of more than forty outstanding bridge books. His record in teaching bridge is unsurpassed. He lives in Sydney, Australia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Cassell; 3rd edition (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0304357707
• ISBN-13: 978-0304357703
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 5.2 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #627,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential element of bidding in contract bridge, July 20, 2005

By 

Jill Malter ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Modern Losing Trick Count: Bidding to Win at Bridge (Master Bridge Series) (Paperback)

In the late 1950's, the Italians began a long streak of World Bridge Championships. And various people pointed out flaws in Standard American bidding. The range of our opening 1-bids was too great. And so on. But when I read the excellent book by Belladonna and Avarelli (two members of the winning Italian team) about the Roman Club system of bidding (this came out in 1959 in the U. S.) I was immediately struck by the emphasis on the number of losers in suit contracts:

The number of losers is easy to estimate. xxxx or xxx = 3 losers. Axxx or Axx or KJx or QJx = 2 losers. And so on. An Ace or a King covered a loser in opener's hand. To open the bidding, you needed at least 12 high card points and no more than 7 losers. Suit bidding put a big emphasis on finding out which losers were covered by one's partner.

In the present book, Ron Klinger explains a slightly more precise version of calculating losers to arrive at good suit contracts. He starts with a formula: Add your losers to your partner's losers and deduct the sum from 24 to estimate how many tricks you will take.

We learn details about how to count losers and how to adjust the losing trick count for trump suit quality, and controls. And there are examples about how to reach (or avoid) games and slams. It's certainly worth reading.

By the way, I think that when it comes to competitive bidding, most of these ideas often go out the window if your side and the other side both have long trump suits. The number of trumps you and your partner have in your suit plus the number the opponents have in their suit is roughly equal to the number of tricks you can take in your suit plus the number they can take in theirs! This is sometimes called "the law of total tricks." So you get in the habit of simply bidding the number of trumps you and your partner have between you, not caring if you make or go down.

But when you are involved in purely constructive bidding, I think you simply have to count your losers in suit contracts. And if you aren't already doing that, get this book.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Radical Improvement in Bidding, September 10, 2001

By 

Random Joys "nicholasgeo" (Carmel, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Modern Losing Trick Count: Bidding to Win at Bridge (Master Bridge Series) (Paperback)

Bidding is over 75% of Bridge and the Losing Trick Count is a quantum leap for bidding. The LTC vastly improves bidding in suit contracts. This book both deepened my understanding of the game and improved my playing. This and OPENING LEADS by Ewen are the two indispensable books about Bridge.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent explanations of this important concept, August 1, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Modern Losing Trick Count: Bidding to Win at Bridge (Master Bridge) (Paperback)

This is an excellent book that covers a lot of ground in improving a player's bidding. Though the concept is normally used by expert players, Klinger's book is good at helping an intermediate player (like myself) understand these ideas