Kosher Bridge

by David Lyster Bird and Ron Klinger

Published 9 April 1992
A second collection of hilarious bridge stories with a Jewish flavour, featuring a kindly and considerate rabbi. Once again the authors' intention is to provide readers with both instruction and entertainment.

This is a definitive Acol textbook, equally valuable to rubber or duplicate bridge players. Set out as a course which can be used in conjunction with bridge classes or as a self-teacher, the book covers all the basic principles of bidding and play and is packed with exercises and quizzes on everything that has been taught. Recommended as the ideal textbook for learning the game, Basic Bridge will continue to be the standard beginner's guide to rubber and duplicate bridge for the foreseeable future. If you only ever buy one bridge book it has to be Basic Bridge.

Enlarged and revised for this newedition, this guide includes information on takeout doubles, deals with the "Law of Total Tricks," and provides a new structure for no-trump rebids. It is designed to help all Acol players and their partners improve their bidding skills."

A Guide Better Card Play

by Ron Klinger

Published 12 April 2001
The world's oldest, and leading, bridge magazine, The Bridge World, said of this book; 'Guide to Better Card Play is an elementary-through-intermediate textbook on declarer play and defence. Appropriately, the two phases of the book receive equal attention. The book can be used either as a self-teacher or as the basis of a series of lessons. In addition to the tutorial material, which is comprehensive, careful and instructive, the work is choc-a-bloc with summaries, reviews, quizzes and example deals. There is even an appendix that allows your foursome to set up the practice deals yourself. We like almost everything about this book, we especially liked the attention to partnership methods, the topic selection, and the carefully constructed lesson deals. There are other good texts at this level, but Klinger's book has twice as much material as similar works. This is a very good buy'.

The Losing Trick Count is a way of measuring the trick-taking potential of a trump contract without the need to count points. The LTC enables you to calculate the playing-strength, the tricks, in your own hand and to estimate accurately the useful tricks in partner's hand. Put these two figures together and you have the trick-taking capacity of the two hands. Used correctly as recommended, the LTC is a vastly superior valuation technique for accurate bidding.

Rixi Markus, one of the all-time great names in bridge said of this book: 'I found myself agreeing with almost everything in this useful reference book; anyone who learns all the rules set out here will have the makings of an ideal bridge partner.' Ron Klinger has brought the bidding methods up to date to accord with current standard practice and has included sections on hand evaluation and competitive bidding strategy.

If you want to win more often at bridge you will need to deepen your understanding of the game and to learn where not to follow conventions slavishly in bidding, defence and dummy play. Both Terence Reese and Roger Trezel were brilliant players and Reese possessed a legendary skill in imparting a great knowledge of bridge with supreme lucidity. As every keen bridge player knows, Ron Klinger is no slouch in playing and writing about bridge and is renowned as one of the world's leading bridge teachers. His achievement in incorporating the changes over the past two or more decades, particularly in bidding, into this treasury of bridge wisdom is on a par with the status of this great book.

Card Play Made Easy

by Ron Klinger and Andrew Kambites

Published 24 April 1997

Few of the millions of rubber bridge players ever play duplicate, but it is rare to find anyone who has played the game who has not become addicted to it. This book explains clearly the tactics employed in good duplicate pairs - why the bidding is highly competitive and why overtricks are at a premium. Written by two top bridge teachers who are also world-famous authors - Ron Klinger is in addition a celebrated International player - UNDERSTANDING DUPLICATE PAIRS will enable any competent bridge player to play duplicate with confidence - and success.

The opening lead can be the most difficult lead in the whole game - and the most critical. When you are choosing your opening lead, you have only thirteen cards to contemplate and the auction to guide you, whereas for every other lead more than twice as many cards are known. A shrewd opening lead may provide a greater chance of successful defence than any card played at a later stage.

This superb book shows how to predict the way the play will probably develop and what, therefore, is likely to be the best opening lead. The authors' consistent aim is to encourage the player to gather all the threads of information helpful in deciding what may be the crucial card to lead. And, for good measure, this guidance is amplified by a generous number of expert tips unlikely to be known to most players.


Ron Klinger's Master Class

by Ron Klinger

Published 1 July 2004
When the English Bridge Union invited Ron Klinger to give these lectures it could not have foreseen the extent of the response from bridge players. Ron Klinger has the enviable ability to make even the most complex bridge matters seem readily understandable, which is why he has a devoted world-wide following. This book enlarges on the lecture topics which range from bidding and opening leads to better card play and slams and is the perfect way to improve your game.

Better Balanced Bidding

by David Jackson and Ron Klinger

Published 11 February 2010

Whether you play in person, or online, this is a must for bridge lovers around the world

This is an important, and in some ways revolutionary, book. The point count method of hand evaluation was first proposed in 1914 and popularized in 1934 by Milton Work. The Banzai Method advanced by David Jackson and Ron Klinger improves on Milton Work by reassessing the relative values of the honour cards but also adds a further dimension to accurate hand evaluation by including the tens and is of crucial importance when assessing balanced hands. According to Eric Kokish, an internationally respected American authority, who has contributed the Foreword, the many example deals are an eye-opener. When you finish this book, it is unlikely that you are going to look at your hand the same way as you have in the past.


Right Through The Pack Again

by Ron Klinger

Published 11 September 2008

For everyone who plays - or is interested in the international phenomenon that is the world of bridge

In RIGHT THROUGH THE PACK AGAIN, joint winner of the INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE PRESS ASSOCIATIONS'S 2009 BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD, each card tells the story of its importance in a particular deal and in so doing the book pays homage to the original concept in the bridge classic RIGHT THROUGH THE PACK.

The Old Master is in a coma and the cards attempt to bring him back to consciousness, to revive him with their tales of derring-do. Not only are the deals themselves entertaining, but they are instructive too. You can test yourself on the problems and then go to the solution later in the book and thus improve your own game.


For those needing to grasp the fundamentals of sound bidding and play, Ron Klinger's BASIC BRIDGE is the answer. GUIDE TO BETTER ACOL BRIDGE is intended for the large majority who are ready to advance beyond the basics.

While GUIDE TO BETTER ACOL BRIDGE emphasises better bidding, each chapter contains examples of play, which highlight areas of winning declarer technique and defence. At the end of each section, a revision test enables the reader to measure the rate of progress.

The book can be used by teachers conducting courses, or as a self-teacher.


Bridge for the Connoisseur

by Hugh Kelsey

Published 21 March 1991
BRIDGE FOR THE CONNOISSEUR is a book with a special appeal for those who appreciate the finer points of the game. The text comprises 58 deals remarkable not only for their artistic value but also because they allow Hugh Kelsey to enhance them with instructive points on bidding, play and defence. Many of the hands come from international tournaments and reflect the brilliancies and blunders of the stars.

Following the successful IMPROVE YOUR PLAY AT NO-TRUMPS, Ron Klinger shows you how to make the most of your assets in trump contracts. When is it right to draw trumps, when to delay, when to cross-ruff and many more topics are covered to make you a better declarer and make that extra trick or two give you a top score.

More Killing Defence at Bridge

by Hugh Kelsey

Published 6 November 1972
How many times have you found yourself defending and wriggling with anguish at having to discard apparently certain winners? Hugh Kelsey's target here is to help you avoid such pain - and other agonies that a competent declarer may inflict. Sound defence is the hallmark of the accomplished bridge player and consistent performance, at any game, is only achieved through repeated practice. By helping you to develop insights into the hidden possibilities in the lie and play of the cards, this book will make you a sought-after partner - and a respected (and feared!) opponent.

Understanding Slam Bidding

by Ron Klinger and Andrew Kambites

Published 13 November 2003

To bid in a controlled auction to a successful slam is one of the great pleasures of bridge. Understanding Slam Bidding teaches you the important modern conventions, but more importantly, it shows you how to think so that you can tell whether a card in your hand is just what partner wants, or is waste paper.

If you take the time to study this book you will find yourself bidding successful slams with fewer points than is normally considered necessary, and you will avoid bidding slams that are doomed to fail when you have lots of points but no fit.


This book gives a full account of modern Acol and of the whole range of defensive and competitive bidding. It is suitable for players up to a high standard but will readily be understood by less experienced players as each topic starts with the fundamentals.

The play of the cards is covered in all important aspects, with an emphasis on mental approach and on principles of wide application. Deals are presented in a way that allows the reader to develop his thoughts and arrive at solutions. There are many hints of practical value that will stay in the mind.


DEADLY DEFENCE covers every important aspect in bridge to make good bridge players into excellent defenders. It deals with opening leads (how to convey maximum information), defensive play when playing second hand, third hand and also when you are first to play to a trick, how to use signals more effectively and how to think on defence like an expert.