[kgr]

I'm adv+ and like to buy a book/software about playing. I'm especially interested in squeezes (read Ben's articles about squeezes multiple times, but don't master it all yet).
Any other advice for book/software about play is also welcome. But let me say I prefer a book that I can read more then once. And I want to learn something from it. Not such much interested in a book with only example or quize hands where I wonder what I should learn from it. (The level of the book should be expert as that is the level I'm aiming for )

thanks!

[Free]

I've just finished "The Expert Game" by Reese, really interesting book!

Kelsey has some nice books about squeezes, and everything is explained very nicely.

[inquiry]

kgr, on May 13 2006, 05:32 AM, said:

I'm adv+ and like to buy a book/software about playing. I'm especially interested in squeezes (read Ben's articles about squeezes multiple times, but don't master it all yet).
Any other advice for book/software about play is also welcome. But let me say I prefer a book that I can read more then once. And I want to learn something from it. Not such much interested in a book with only example or quize hands where I wonder what I should learn from it. (The level of the book should be expert as that is the level I'm aiming for    )

thanks!

Books on squeezes are interesting but will probably not be sufficient to push you from adv+ to higher level. Pscyhological strategy, deceptive play, card combination, are all much more frequent and more important. Having said that, I have read nearly all squeeze books there are. My favorite is still clyde love's "Bridge Squeezes Complete". If you are really mathematically inclined you might find Fook H. Eng's "Bridge Squeeze Illustrated" useful. I have only found a few people who have read Eng's book, and only one person who "liked it". I happened to have enjoyed his book.

[foo]

If you want to improve your overall level of skill, don't bother with books on squeezes and unlikely (in some cases =very= unlikely) card play situations until you are very advanced.

Get books like _Dormer on Deduction_ and _Counting at Bridge_ and =work= on the topics in them (or the more advanced versions of those kinds of books by authors like Reese, Kelsey, Pottage, Seres, etc).

The better and more consistently you can count and and the better you can think in a Bridge context (visualization, logic, etc) the better you will be at all of bidding, declaring, and defending.

You can win events without knowing how to throw any kind of squeeze and certainly without even knowing what a Stepping Stone Squeeze or a Winkle Squeeze is. That's to a great extent because mistakes or weaknessses in the other skills I've alluded to are going to cost you more often and more drastically than not being able to solve the "puzzle positions" will.

"Before Enlightenment, chop wood. Haul water. After Enlightenment, chop wood. Haul water."

Get your fundamental skills razor sharp if you want to be a very good player.
(...and once you do, the ability to solve the "puzzles" starts to come as a bonus.)

[luke warm]

i *strongly* recommend fred's bridge master cd... as an advanced player, all hands from level 3 on will be interesting for you, and levels 4 and 5 have many squeezes, throw ins, etc...

[Double !]

Dag! I feel so old! And my age shall show with my response to this thread.

There are four books from 35+ years that, IMO, provide one with all of the basic, advanced, and (guessing) expert aspects of card play.

Still my favorite book on card play is "All 52 Cards" by Marshall Miles. I still go back to this book to refresh my brain every once in a while and rate it #1.
This followed closely by the two Kelsey books: "Advanced Play at Bridge" and "Killing Defense at Bridge". Right behind these three, at number 4 is Terence Reese's "Master Play" (many might place it as #1). These 4 books focus on many various important areas in card play including to COUNT and how to count, ways to think, reason, and make assumptions, how to read/ interpret the bidding, formulating plans, and reasonable inferences that one might take based on the opening lead. There are so many critical, perhaps some being basic these days, themes in these books. Yet one would be surprised at how much there is there that people who consider themselves to be experts still have to learn and how much of the material in these books that many players just haven't learned. One of my favorite sections in "Master Play" is a brief section on "upside-down inferences"). For learing about squeeze plays, I prefer Squeeze Play Made Easy by Reeseand Jourdain. I just personally found it to be much easier to read.
(I just had difficulty reading Clyde Love's book and, as a result, wound up feeling BLUE.)

I am sure that there are many more recent books on card play/ defense ( I haven't bought much lately), but I doubt that many would be able to significantly surpass the information is these 4 or 5 books. Mostly, they would just update some topics. And where else can one learn circa 1968 Acol bidding as an extra added pleasure than to read Kelsey's books.

Sadly but possibly, some of the books might by now be out of print but IMO they are worth pursuing.

BTW: Based on the sample hands that Fred provides on the BBO site, Fred's Bridge Master program appear to be very good.

DHL

[ArcLight]

>If you want to improve your overall level of skill, don't bother with books on squeezes and unlikely (in some cases =very= unlikely) card play situations until you are very advanced.


I mostly agree except that simple squeezes are pretty easy to execute, all you need to do is be aware taht they might exist. Terence Reese says taht asqueeze may be available in around 1 in 6 hands. Even if simple squeezes come up less often, they are still frequent enough that one should know what to look for.

I suggest:
Mike Lawrences Private Lessons 1 & 2

Terence Reese - Squeeze Play made easy
David Bird - Bridge Squeezes for Everyone

After you have read all that, there are many advanced (non-simple/double)squeeze hands in the level 4 hands.