Bridge For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies))

An excellent book. One of my favorites. Get it and improve your game dramatically.


Excellent guide for bridge novices   August 1, 2002
 29 out of 30 found this review helpful

Don't assume this book is beneath you just because of the title. It's written by Eddie Kantar, one of the best modern bridge authors. It's a comprehensive, up-to-date guide to basic bridge bidding and play.

I came across this book after playing party bridge for several years. Although much of it was review for me, I did pick up a number of pointers to sharpen my game. Kantar breaks down the bidding in a very logical fashion. As someone who has tried (and occasionally failed) to teach the game to a number of friends over the years, I appreciated his elegant approach.

That said, this book is probably not the best tutorial for people who know literally nothing about bridge. There's not enough overview to provide the "big picture" for total beginners. Kantar quickly dives down into the detail of how to bid particular kinds of hands. If you've tried playing bridge even a few times, though, you should have enough context to follow along.


Not for beginners   December 28, 2001
 34 out of 41 found this review helpful

I don't recommend this book for people who are completely new to bridge, despite the title, which suggested to me that it was appropriate as a beginning book. To give one example -- a new player needs to know how to make an opening bid. This book has a thirty page chapter on the opening bid. Once one has memorized that, then there's another thirty page chapter on responding. It would be a lot more helpful to give a few rules of thumb, then add rules a few at a time as the reader practices. One thing I learned -- don't buy a book as a beginner based upon reviews by experienced players -- they can't remember anymore what it was like to be new at the game! This book may be okay as a reference, but certainly not as a way to get started.


Extremely Useful   August 31, 2000
 42 out of 42 found this review helpful

This is the best book I've found on Bridge because Kantar explains the "why" behind the conventions. Once I understand the logic of a convention, and it makes sense to me, I can easily "use" the knowledge in my play. My game has definitely improved as a result of reading this book.

My husband, too, has found it useful and he plays at a higher level than do I. (He plays Duplicate regularly.) My Dad, who has been playing for 30+ years, picked up this book when he was visiting and has asked me to buy him a copy.

Thank you, Mr. Kantar!