[H_KARLUK]

Most probably believed already built own skills. What was th last time for you showing any extra effort such as buying new bridge books, bridge game cd content etc using advantage of Internet resources?

Could you please tell me yr interest to develop more about card sense? Would you also like to tune into bridge on TV?

[Free]

Last week I bought 3 books about declarer play. I'm mostly interested in declarer play and defense.

[mikeh]

I read about bridge virtually every day... if not here, then in old Bridge Worlds, or occasionally books. Having played for many years, and having read voraciously in my younger days, I don't find much in books of interest. I will, if going to play in an important event, which is rare for me, reread a Kelsey book on matchplay or a book on squeezes, just to get the mindset going again since I tend to get complacent playing locally.

The exception is old books... I collect books on bridge and its foreunners, if published before 1940. So if anyone has any they no longer want, by all means drop me a pm They have to be in the English language. And nothing by culbertson, work, foster etc.. I am sure i have everything they ever published

And I study system notes if playing seriously.

While I don't read current books much, I do recommend doing so for players relatively new to the game. I acquired a lot of my basic knowledge living in a small town 500 miles from the nearest expert and long before the internet. Admittedly, it took more years to learn how to use some of that knowledge, after moving to a town with several genuine experts, and finding one who would play with me... but I doubt that I would ever have achieved even the modest success I have enjoyed if I hadn't spent so many hours, for so many years, reading.

OTOH, I am a grinder... I am never going to be confused with a natural bridge player.. and many of the best players I have seem have an instinctive grasp of the game, such that they are far better declarers, for example, than I am without having read nearly as many books on declarer play as I have. So it depends on your makeup.

[TimG]

Does reading BBO Forums count?

I have a few favorite bridge books that I reread from time to time. I also have some older bridge books and a bunch of Bridge Worlds that I browse when I don't have other books going.

Very often when presented with a card combination, I will open suit play and look through the different holdings (I wish I could do it in my head better -- I know: use suit play less often) or put the different holdings into a spreadsheet to compare lines. I also sometimes look the combination up in the Dictionary of Suit Combinations and inevitably get sidetracked on a few other combinations.

I try to keep a set of system notes for regular partnerships. I also review hands from online play with some frequency. Most often for systemic issues, but also defense and declarer play.

[kenberg]

I read some now and then.

I prefer studying play.

I am pretty sure that the majority of my bad results in play are due to carelessness rather than to lack of knowledge. I know about compound squeezes and surrounding plays. Whether I catch on in time that such a play is needed is another matter entirely.

I am currently reading Case for the Defense (Mollo). He quotes the advice from the inventor of a new parachute to a young aviator who will try it out: "Do your best. Your success is very important to me." I like that.

I like Bridgemaster and I like the Forum. And VuGraph. Oops, I am missing the Vanderbilt!

for the past several years I am more inclined to read something like "Bridge, Zia and Me" (Rosenberg). There is of course a lot of bridge in there but it is also just an interesting read. I read it for enjoyment rather than in an effort to improve my game.

[whereagles]

I don't have much time to study bridge. These days, when I do have time to read some, I usually do stuff that relates to a textbook I am TRYING to write... lol.

[Gerben42]

The most annoying thing is, the more I learn about bridge, the more I realize that I am terrible at it.

I would be much more successful if I would avoid the simple, avoidable mistakes.

[MFA]

As mikeh.
It's a very rare day where I don't spend time on reading, thinking etc. etc. about bridge.

[Aberlour10]

TimG, on Mar 17 2009, 03:39 PM, said:

Does reading BBO Forums count?

Sure, This Forums is my only but never-ending bridge book! A day without it is a lost day!

[Aberlour10]

H_KARLUK, on Mar 17 2009, 01:52 PM, said:

Would you also like to tune into bridge on TV?

For watching anf following the play is Vugraph a perfect medium for me. What I would like to watch more often on TV is a look behind the "screens" of the bridge world something like this story about two young canadian professionals....

Robert

[Phil]

Rooms in my house are cluttered with Bridge Worlds. I try to reread my library once every one or two years.

2nd pass with Bridge with the Blue Team is my current endeavor.

[Rossoneri]

The last 2 books I bought were Principle of Restricted Talent and Human Bridge Errors. That was 2 months ago. Haven't had the time and money since to buy new books. Also haven't had much time to read these forums/play as much as I should be. As a result my bridge has been deteriorating as my teammates can attest to...

[CSGibson]

I buy a few books every year. I love the Bridge in the Menagerie series, but those aren't really active studying so much as whiling away time. I look for all sorts of books about how to think through a hand, deceptive play, judgment, etc. When I was a beginning player, I found books on common conventions, and books on defensive play (especially Eddie Kantar's Modern Bridge Defense and Advanced Bridge Defense) very helpful. As I have matured as a bridge player, I find that bidding and convention books are less useful, but I still study hard.

I also find it helpful to go through the Bridge Master software when practicing declarer play. Like flash cards, drilling the fundamentals are always helpful.

[sireenb]

I read about bridge every day. I never go anywhere without bridge books and I always keep one or two in my car. I have accumulated a large library over the years and have read my favourite books many times. I also have a collection of bridge magazines and newspaper bridge articles.

Besides books and magazines, I read these forums and browse the web for interesting articles. I enjoy Vugraph especially if the commentators are solid. I find web resources interesting but not an adequate substitute for good books when it comes to improving or maintaining my game.

I step up my reading before and during tournaments or championships. I read the daily bulletins and good bridge 'textbooks' after the game, in addition to going through hand records. I go through system notes with my partner before any serious competition and edit them on a regular basis.

I love reading anything that Hugh Kelsey or Mike Lawrence wrote. I also enjoy reading the world championship books edited by Brian Senior. When I need a break from serious reading I read fun bridge books like those by Victor Mollo or the King Brothers. I could go on about great bridge books for ages

[ASkolnick]

I tend to like to re-read some of the basic books. One of the most underrated books in my opinion is card play technique by Gardener and Mollo. Bidding leaves much to be desired, but very good on combining chances and avoiding danger hands.

I also am a big fan of Kantar presents his declarer/defender problem.

[keylime]

I read about 2 hours everyday (I don't own a TV) - at least 30-40 minutes is a bridge book (another 30-40 on computer books to finish up the MCSE, the rest is random, currently a text on Churchill and Zionism). I'm currently rereading a book on counting, and reading a bidding book that Larry sent to me as a birthday gift (3D and Mafia).

[vuroth]

I only wish I had the time. I try to keep up here, and I've read a couple of bridge books this year, but between family, job, and a race this summer, it's hard to balance everything.

[slothy]

I read something or other about bridge every day without fail.

I tend to read books re areas that i have decided i need or want to improve upon normally evolving from some recent gaffe i made in some hand

Play and defence books i find the most interesting. Kelsey and Lawrence rereaders