Judgment at Bridge 2

My second book was Judgment at Bridge, a book that looked at judgment, a quality that goes beyond mere rules. It’s something that you learn in bits and pieces, not in great gobs all at once. In Judgment at Bridge, I took my 16 years of experience and put them into the book, hopefully making the introduction to judgment easier than if you had to get it one bid, one card, one disaster, and one success at a time.

It was nice to have Alfred Sheinwold write an introduction to it.

Things change and today, more and better judgment is needed to keep up with changes in bidding and play. Well, not so much in play and defense but there definitely have been changes in bidding.
Judgment at Bridge 2 is more than a sequel. It takes all of Judgment at Bridge and adds to it. Bridge is still not a game of rules. It wasn’t back in 1976 and it isn’t now. It won’t be in 2040, either. Bridge is a game of guidelines and ongoing experiences. In Judgment at Bridge 2, I will show you how to approach the game.

What do you need to be a better player?

What do you need to be a more difficult opponent?

There are a lot of things you can do to achieve both.

In addition, I am including a chapter offering opinions on various conventions that you should consider now, conventions you should consider shortly, and conventions and treatments that should be removed from your convention card.

There are many aspects to bridge and each comes with different issues.

Introduction . 1
1. Luck . 3
2. A Winning Attitude . 5
3. Introducing Dubious Bridge Rules . 7
4. Preempting . 11
5. Bidding When They Preempt . 21
6. Overcalling at the One or Two Level . 35
7. An Old Favorite – The Takeout Double . 47
8. Responding to a Takeout Double . 53
9. Partner Opens with a One-Bid and RHO Doubles
for Takeout . 75
10. Competing — The Value of Being In the Auction . 91
11. High Value Conventions Worth Adding Immediately . 97
12. High Value Conventions That are Worth Adding Later . 129
13. Conventions You Don’t Need . 161
14. Quickies . 179
15. The Best For Last — The Art of the Penalty Double . 215