Eddie Kantar is a Grand Master in the World Bridge Federation and a two-time world bridge champion. He wrote Complete Defensive Play, a book listed as a top ten all-time bridge favorite, and is the author of the first three editions of Bridge For Dummies.

Introduction 1

Part 1: Getting Started with Basic Notrump Play 7

CHAPTER 1: Going to Bridge Boot Camp 9

CHAPTER 2: Counting and Taking Sure Tricks 19

CHAPTER 3: Using Winning Trick Techniques at Notrump Play 27

CHAPTER 4: Outsmarting Your Opponents at Notrump Play 45

Part 2: Playing the Hand in a Trump Contract 63

CHAPTER 5: Introducing Trump Suits 65

CHAPTER 6: Creating Extra Winners to Discard Losers 81

CHAPTER 7: Setting Up the Dummy's Long Suit 91

CHAPTER 8: Getting Rid of Losers by Using the Dummy's Trump Cards 103

Part 3: Bidding for Fun and Profit 111

CHAPTER 9: Starting with Bidding Basics 113

CHAPTER 10: Making a Successful Opening Bid 123

CHAPTER 11: Responding to an Opening Bid 147

CHAPTER 12: Rebidding by the Opener 181

CHAPTER 13: Rebidding by the Responder 207

Part 4: Forging Ahead with Advanced Bidding Techniques 229

CHAPTER 14: Creating Interference: Defensive Bidding 231

CHAPTER 15: Double Trouble: Doubling and Redoubling 249

CHAPTER 16: Hitting Hard: Slam Bidding 267

Part 5: Playing a Strong Defense and Keeping Score 279

CHAPTER 17: Defending against Notrump Contracts 281

CHAPTER 18: Defending against Trump Contracts 299

CHAPTER 19: Playing Second Hand on Defense 317

CHAPTER 20: Wrapping Up with Scorekeeping 329

Part 6: Feeding Your Addiction to Bridge 345

CHAPTER 21: Joining Bridge Clubs and the Tournament World 347

CHAPTER 22: Playing Bridge on Your Computer and Online 357

Part 7: The Part of Tens 363

CHAPTER 23: Ten Ways to Be a Better Bridge Partner 365

CHAPTER 24: Ten Great Bridge Resources 369

Appendix: Acol Bidding System 375

Index 389