Take All Your Chances at Bridge

Great author, clear explanations, answers on next page, so you are encourage to try your best to solve before tempted to peak. Only reason I did not give it 5 stars is that, as the author clearly states in the preface, his solutions are aimed at making the contract safely, not taking risks to try for overtricks, which is usually the best strategy in team play IMP scoring, but (oftentimes) you might chose to risk going down if you can get an overtrick for a top score when playing duplicate pairs matchpoint scoring. He never discusses that thinking process, so it's not really about taking ALL your chances.

This is Kantar at his best. You are given a hand without the answer, just the question. After thinking about the hand and planning the play or trying to find the winning line, there is a one page discussion of the hand. This is a wonderful way to learn. I keep re reading them, like I keep redoing the hands that are on the Lawrence CDs hoping that I learn to recognize the issues in them. When I can get more of them (and recognize them at the table) I will be a better bridge player. Just ordered a new copy for my wife's birthday present.

The problems were at an intermediate level with lots of variations of the same themes. On a kindle each problem took one page and was immediately followed on the next page by the solution which contained a repeat of the hands so you didn't have to page back to review. Very nice for a kindle.

Kantor -- in his inimitable style-- provides 100 contracts to fulfill.The central theme of all of them is how to avoid putting all your eggs in one basket, but finding a BEST appreoach that gives the best chance to mnake the contract.Many were easy enough for mwe to solve qwithout looking at the answer. Others, well not so.Get this great book and see if you can solve all 100 problems.

I recommend this book for beginners and low intermediates, not for advanced intermediates. It focuses on getting the reader to look for additional chances to make a trick before taking a finesse.For example - before taking a finesse is there another suit you can try to establish by ruffing, or seeing if a key card drops. Such as Ax opposite KJxx you can ruff once and hopefully the Q drops, if not take a different finesse. A few routine end plays are included.I'm not knocking the book, its fine, but its pretty routine (if you have read a lot of bridge books). Kantar has better books even though this is ok for its target audience. If you are intermediate+ this book is too basic for you.

Good author will find out lots to learn here

Did you ever encounter one of those complex hands where there were several different approaches to making your contract? After reading this book you might be capable of making the best line of play, especially under the time pressure of duplicate bridge.

Kantar’s always a top read!

This book is one introducing the player to bridge probability, the chances of a particular play succeeding or failing and, and here is Kantar's main point of this book, combining one's chances in a way that gives one the best chance of making the contract with multiple available lines of play. There are 100 puzzles, which begin to get progressively more difficult, I think, as one approaches the end of the book.Kantar's examples are essentially based around how one would play a hand playing teams or with IMP scoring. The book's puzzles encourage the reader to think of everything which could possibly go wrong with the contract, and to ensure the contract even against pretty horrendous suit breaks or finesses off-side. If there are differences between matchpoint play and IMPs play, Kantar often notes this in the solutions, though it is fair to say that matchpoint strategy is not the primary theme of the book, if one considers this a weakness. Then again, teams strategy, with its focus on guaranteeing the contract, rather than matchpoints, with its focus on making overtricks, can often make for more interesting declarer play puzzles anyway, I think.The puzzles are far from impossible, and for the advanced player are probably too straightforward. They are probably based at the intermediate-plus market, a good club player wishing to get better, and for this market it is an excellent book for improving one's declarer play.

Better than expected

I bought this at my husband's request. He's learning bridge and working hard at improving his game.I've asked what his opinion is, now that he's been using it for a while.He said he's quite pleased with the book in content, particularly. He's been using highlighter throughout the book and keeps it beside his chair for frequent reference.He finds it quite useful with the example hands provided along with easily understood explanations. Definitely pleased he got the book.

Good for beginner and intermediate players

The book arrived quickly and has met all of my expectations.