by Montgomery Coe
1989 (reprinted 1993) • Cardoza Publishing
64 pages / ISBN 094068537X (paperback)
An estimated 200 million people worldwide participate in the game of contract bridge, which shows that diligence hasn't left us yet. More than a century in its evolution, bridge is an immensely challenging game that requires memorization and recall, cooperation with others, and the ability to plan ahead. In its fully appreciated form, it can be a source of peaceful competition and entertainment at little or no monetary cost.
Bridge may have even more enthusiasts if not for the daunting rules and techniques that pose as a barrier. Making oneself into a fully functioning player - let alone a good one - requires study and practice that many in this era of short attention spans will find taxing. This is worsened by teachers of the game who swamp newcomers with too much information at once instead of easing them in gradually.One way to hold the interest of newcomers is by keeping things simple, at least when explaining the rules and fundamentals. The Las Vegas-based Cardoza Publishing seems to have understood this when releasing Montgomery Coe's The Basics of Winning Bridge as part of its widely-circulated titles list. The Basics of Winning Bridge is something of a blue-collar approach to this complex game, offering an extremely basic primer in just 61 pages.
This pocket-sized book outlines the basics of contract bridge for those who are completely new to the game. Covering bridge in short chapters with limited examples, Coe first describes setup, basics of bidding, and scoring. The book goes on to explain player evaluation of a bridge hand, opening bids, responses, and identification of game and slam situations. Other skills such as preempts, overcalls, doubles, and the playing out of hands are briefly discussed.
The aim of Coe's book is apparent when first pulling it from a shelf: it is a tutorial that will help you to get started. It uses simple language and doesn't concern itself with strategy, which will be up to the reader as he continues on his bridge journey. For anyone looking to slip his feet into the waters of bridge, this Cardoza title fulfills its limited purpose.
Its most glaring problem lies, however, in a lack of advice on how to continue. The Basics of Winning Bridge wraps up with some naïve instructions: we're told to 'study this book and practice,' as if this wafer-thin item will be enough for us to become the next world champion. Surely, Coe and the staff at Cardoza didn't believe this when their title went to print.
If you are interested in bridge, you're probably aware that becoming a successful player requires work, albeit very rewarding work. After reading a basic title such as this one, it would be in your interest to keep reading, find a class, and download a computer program that allows you to learn hands-on. If you would like to start thinking and speaking on bridge terms in the meantime, this cheaply-priced Cardoza title is not a terrible first step.
I have seen the Cardoza gaming series at many bookstores in addition to the Internet. The Basics of Winning Bridge is printed in softcover and retailed at $4.95. While not highly recommended, 'The Basics of Winning Bridge' is affordable, simplified, and finished in no time. Cardoza Publishing also prints Basics of Winning books on other forms of gaming, including blackjack, poker, craps, keno, chess, and backgammon.
