Commonsense Bidding: The Most Complete Guide to Modern Methods of Standard Bidding

Do not waste your money. I was so impressed with his book on declarer play and so disappointed with this one. There are much better resources free on the net. It does not even mention transfers, limit raises, nor all sorts of competitive doubles. Perhaps I was expecting a bit much from only 200 pages. It is well written and clear but the 1986 edition is so out of date as to be pointless.

In another review about a book by the same author, I remarked that reading his books is like chewing sawdust. This basic fact has not changed. However, I now maintain that Bill Root has written the best books on learning the game in all its aspects. This book is not about plain point ranges as another reader has already claimed; the book is logical, methodical, clear, but there is a catch: this is to be read like a text book; I have taken notes, underlined, and made crib sheets out of it. If you slow down enough your reading speed and do not read it casually like a novel, you will be amptly rewarded. An example of the terseness of this book is that the headings in this book need to be read and fully understood before reading the respective sections; most of us tend to skip the headings, don't we? Before I have used this terseness as a con in Root's books, but I have come to realise that this is the best possible format: no distractions, just pure essence. I am tired of these books that are full of anectodes, pretend to ease you into the point they are trying to make, and then ... KABOOM, here is the point as dry as ever. Root's books have the guts to be pure bridge, no filler, no gimmicks, JUST EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW WITH NO HOLDING BACK OR TRYING TO SPREAD THE INFORMATION OVER SEVERAL BOOKS. Root headed out to teach with no compromise, but following a standard of completeness and clarity. It took me quite a time to realise his sense of integrity and charisma, but I did. I am sure that any absolute beginner will initially resist buying his books, but he or she will inexorably gravitate to them and appreciate their wealth of information. It is this wealth that will make you go through them slowly; the other authors have spoiled you and have put the emphasis on easy reading. A page by Root is worth easily 20 by the other authors. 5 stars!!!

The most modern and complete guide to the language of bidding. Bill's simplified approach will teach you how to value your hand and modify the value as the bidding progresses. Gives illustrative examples on how to handle almost every situation. 1986 Bridge Book of the Year - already regarded as a classic.

While not for complete beginners, I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in improving their bidding. This is -not- a book on bidding theory. Root provides a structured overview of how to open/respond/rebid/etc with hands of varying point count and distribution and includes many sample hands. The book is extremely straightforward (and at times a little dry) but covers everything the novice/intermediate player needs to know. If you learn the material in this book thoroughly, you'll be better off than the vast majority of bridge players in the world.My only criticism is that, to more advanced players, Root's style can come off as slightly pedantic. However I firmly believe that a player needs to know what the rules are before he can learn when to ignore/how to bend them. Knowing the material in this book is a crucial first step to become an effective, flexible, and successful bidder.

It has been about 20 years since I have played party bridge. Just to get into the swing of things, I purchased "Commonsense Bidding" by William S. Root. This was a tremendous refresher for me in terms of bidding, and approaches to common problems in bidding. Although this book does not cover Jacoby Transfers, (which, incidentally I do not use) the common thread is to allow you to achieve the most natural bid. Stayman, the artificial club bid, is also detailed within this book. I had never used Stayman, but it seems to fit within my comfort zone, even though you can not show a true club bid. The only way is to bid one club, then three clubs, or bid three clubs right off the bat. Either way has its detriments, which I can live with because of all the good information that describes your hand. This book is truly geared to the better-than-novice-but-not-really-advanced player. If I could find a player that uses the concepts outlined in this book, I know that we would reach game, or slam, whenever we had the chance and certainly keep us out of trouble. I highly recommend this book.

This is the most thorough and readable book on standard bidding I've encountered. Not for complete beginners, but an excellent resource for anyone who knows the basics of bridge and is looking to become a lot better.