Make the Winning Bid: Bidding Guidelines for the Advancing Player

It is one thing to know the various point ranges and conventions of a bidding system, and yet quite another to be able to apply them correctly at each stage of an auction. This book takes the reader, step by step, through various bridge auctions. The reader is sometimes the opening bidder and sometimes the responder. The goal of a contract in the right strain, and at the right level, is pursued. Judgment and hand valuation are applied at every turn in the bidding, using new information from actions by partner or the opponents as it becomes available. Invitational and forcing bids are discussed as the partners decide whether to stop at a level or move forward. The reader chooses from several options supplied for each opportunity to call. Sometimes there are two bids that are equally correct, but usually only one. These options are weighed and compared. Interference by the opponents is also discussed. The reader should come away from the reading of this book better able to understand and conduct a successful bridge auction. Howard Ringel, the author, is certified as an accredited bridge teacher by the ACBL, but has chosen to teach through the books he writes rather than in a classroom setting. His first book, "Plan Before You Play," has been well received by bridge players nationally, and is also used by various bridge teachers as a text. While that book is on the play of the hand, this new book examines bidding at the different steps in an auction.