Watson's Classic Book on The Play of the Hand at Bridge

There is nothing better on the market today (Audrey Grant not withstanding). This is the classic of classics...the bible of play-of-the-hand, and should be read and understood by anyone who wants to become a competent and avid bridge player. You wont find the narrative cutesy or its "look" engaging. What's said is straight-forward and to the point with good examples that make sense. It doesnt have the modern "look" that publishers present in today's world. If you need that to learn things, try elsewhere. All aspects of play-of-the-hand are presented...from common ways to run various finesses to advanced strategies of squeeze plays and end plays. All topics include step by step examples. The book is meant to be studied not skimmed. If you want to be a serious bridge player, read this book slowly and understand what's said as you go. Highly recommended.

My bridge club director called this the best and easiest to read bridge book ever written and I have to agree with her. Many bridge books are perfect cures for insomnia but this one is not, and while bidding styles have changed since the book was written, play of the hand has not. The book is divided into 2 main sections, play of the hand vs No Trump contracts and play of the hand vs suit contracts. It is not a book for people new to bridge but is instead for those wanting to improve their card play.

It was originally published in 1934 and doesn’t deal with conventions but the strategy of the game. He mostly uses 3 trump openers to explain his various strategies. Many of us are reading it now and gaining new insights. Highly recommended for serious bridge enthusiasts

This is a heavy work to get through, but well worth it to me. His review of basic techniques of play helped me to have a better understanding in ways I hadn't thought of before. His dry British wit often cause me to laugh out loud. I stuck with it through the advanced play sections. I now have a much better understanding of end plays, squeezes and coups (still over my head for the most part), but I wish he could have given me more insight into when to recognize the opportunity to implement these advanced plays. He stresses the importance of "counting the hand" each board, but since I still struggle to do this (when I'm trying to think of so many other things) I somehow wish he had given me some secret to doing this easily (there probably is no such secret).

I can’t believe so many people say things like the book is dry or not entertaining. Don’t know what they expect. I find it to be a very enjoyable read and am currently rereading it. The book looks like a porcupine because I have so many flags in it. My copy was a used one. I just ordered a new copy as a gift and the cover is missing the red ink when it was printed so no heart or diamond. I just think it’s funny, tho.

This is the first book for any bridge player's library. Virtually anything you need to know about the play of the hand is basically covered in this book from the fundamentals to relatively advanced play. This is a timeless classic that is logically organized and worth revisiting periodically. I am returning to competitive bridge after a long hiatus and this is the first book off of the shelf of my bridge library where I have a choice of about 200 books and over forty years worth of Bridge World magazines. When I was playing regularly I reread parts of this book every year or so. The key to play of the hand is transitioning concepts from the play of card combinations to whole hand planning and principles of timing of the play and this book lays out everything you need to get started. If you are new to bridge (and even if your not) I recommend that you have a pack of cards handy as you read and layout the positions as described. This is a really good idea in some of the later the later sections, get used to seeing the physical cards and counting winners, losers, entries, etc. Counting cards and tracking spots is usually easier for most people when you see them on the table.

This is a classic, but it has small print and it is really dry reading. I do think that it has improved my game, and I will continue to refer to it as I play more often. If you play duplicate bridge, you should get this book.

One of the truly outstanding books on contract bridge. Originally written in 1934 by Louis H. Watson, the present book, published in 1958, was enlarged and modernized a bit by Sam Fry, Jr. The opening sentence of Fry's Introduction says "I had the great good fortune to be the good friend and frequent tournament partner of Louis Watson". Regarding the changes he made to Watson's book, Fry says simply: "The changes that I had to make were few and far between". The bridge reader will not know this reviewer, but he or she will instantly recognize the names of such bridge authorities as Oswald Jacoby, Howard Schenken, Charles H. Goren, and Samuel M. Stayman, all of whom were well acquainted with Watson's book on the play of the hand. Samuel Stayman said it as well as anyone could: "No exposition of the Play of the Hand written before or since can top this book." Few books merit such praise, and, remember, this one was written, and especially well-written, nearly 80 years ago. Happy reading.

prompt delivery, good book, study bridge lessons

It is an invaluable read for bridge players. The price made it very attractive, and the delivery was excellent. The writing style is very old fashioned but I found it charming to read.

The book is much easier reading than most bridge books that I have read. It’s very clear, the examples are easy to follow and very informative. I consider myself to be a competent but not advanced bridge player that will benefit greatly through reading this book. In fact, the improvement in my play is already noticeable and I have yet to get to the advanced section of the book—part 2. I like his often humorous touch to many of his comments.

This Book Is Essential In Acquiring Mastery Of Card Play Techniques In Contract Bridge For Both The Beginner And The Advanced Player Alike! The Language Is Simple With Lucid Explanations And It Is My Principal Bridge Textbook!

Lots of information, clearly presented. Examples for every situation. A definite bridge classic on defence and play. The only "negative" is the small text size in my version.