Average Customer Review: ( 14 customer reviews )
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18 of 18 found the following review helpful:
 Fantastic Book - already a classic Apr 04, 2001
By Prasad Upasani
This is the perfect book for players who more-or-less have the basics in place. This will correct your misconceptions and raise your game a couple of levels. The first half of the book is all about bidding, and rather than just talking about basic bidding, tells you what to do in those tough borderline situations. A great example is his "Rule of 20", used to decide whether to open the bidding or not: If the sum of your HCP and the number of cards in your two longest suits is 20 or more, open with your normal 1-level bid; else pass. Very effective, and much better (and easier) than counting short-points, long-points, or quick tricks, since this takes into account the ENTIRE distribution. The second half of the book is about declarer play and defence, and is equally good. What distinguishes this book from the rest is that the author doesn't waste space on the basics, and instead concentrates on the intermediate-to-advanced stuff.Another selling point of this book is Bergen's great sense of humor. Peppered through the book are short anecdotes of actual hands played by him, his friends or students. Most of them are very funny. One gets the sense that Marty was "saving up" his experiences for this book, and has put all his best stuff on paper here. None of his other books come close to the standard set by this book for content or organization, though "More Points Schmoints" tries hard.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Entertaining and helpful Sep 23, 2003
By William Garrett
Marty Bergen's "Points Schmoints" is a fun-to-read book that offers a dozen tips on how people who've already mastered the basics of bidding and play can improve their game. The Law of Total Tricks, in particular, is extremely useful for duplicate games. While Bergen writes with wit and flair that keep this book engaging, I wish he'd done a bit less story-telling and provided a bit more depth of content instead. For the price I feel his book is a bit thin, and that's the one thing that keeps me from rating it 5 stars.
12 of 15 found the following review helpful:
An excellent book for intermediates Dec 11, 1998
A must for intermediate duplicate bridge players who want to improve their bidding skills. Experts will also find the book beneficial as a review. Easy and enjoyable to read.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Best Bridge book I've ever read. Feb 20, 2011
By Singinman
If you have been playing bridge for a year or a decade and want to improve the bottom line on your Bridge score sheets, this is the book for you. Marty Bergen makes the point over and over again that points alone will not give you a proper evaluation of your hand for offense or defense and he does it with humor and confidence. Each principle is presented clearly and succinctly. Of course, to benefit from these principles you have to be willing to think and play outside the box.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
The best book on bridge Oct 18, 2009
By Gary Cumberland
My wife thinks this is the best book she has even read and has not put it down over the last month. Life has been very peaceful, I think I'll get her another
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based on 14 reviews
