How to Read Your Opponents' Cards: The Bridge Experts' Way to Locate Missing High Cards

One key difference between intermediate bridge players and strong players is that intermediate players play their own cards well, while strong players play their own cards plus the opponents' cards well, as well. This book will teach you the critical skill of card location: how to determine which cards your opponents are holding based on what they bid (or didn't bid) and what they've led (or haven't led). This book is small, but you're not buying based on word count. The knowledge is dense, with plenty of examples given as quizzes to help teach the material. Plan on reading the book carefully.

If you're looking for a book on deduction and card reading overall in bridge, you may want to look at other books on the topic. If, however, you are looking for a great book on how to think as declarer, this is the one you want. Lawrence shows a number of inferences and techniques that are not obvious until one has had them explained. For instance, when a player does not lead from a suit in which you are missing the AKQ, that player likely does not hold AK or KQ. The idea of "card placing by assumption" is not so much card reading as it is proper play technique. Lawrence has expanded tremendously on this topic in his "Counting at Bridge" software, but this book still provides great insight into how experts think about dummy play. Any novice or intermediate player will benefit.

It takes a fair amount of work and effort to apply the techniques presented in this book. But it's time well spent. If you can master these skills you will be a very good club player. Be aware that its slow going as you have to follow every card play and think about whats going on.Why didnt the West lead hearts when he opened 1 Heart? Hmmm, probably because West doesn't have AK or KH, so the honors are split. That means East has 3 or 4 high card points. Since East already showed up with teh Queen of clubs, its liekly he's empty, else he would have raised Wests 1 heart opener. Therefore take the finesse against Wests Queen of Diamonds.The amazing thing is after a while I was able to play almost every honor in all the hands.This works, just takes effort to apply it. Spend your tiem counting HCP, and distributions, and you will become a solid player. You don't have to study 5 books on Sqeezes, 8 books on bidding, etc. Concentrate on the basics and you will greatly improve.

Mike Lawrence is one of the most intelligent authors I have ever read (and I read a lot). This is also one of his better-organized and readable books (surprisingly his first book). Reading this book will teach you how to think at the table. Counting is a skill that separates the novice from the expert, and this book goes a long way towards teaching you that vital skill. This book is among my three favorite Mike Lawrence books, the other two being "Play Bridge with Mike Lawrence", and "Play a Swiss Teams of Four With Mike Lawrence". Another vital skill taught here is deduction. A simple but very useful example: as declarer if you are missing AK of a side suit, and the opening lead is something else, then either the opening leader is missing both cards or the honors must be split, else the A or K would be the natural lead (assuming neither defender has bid).

Mike Lawrence doesn't teach rules to memorize; he schools his reader in beneficial habits and patterns of thought. After reading this book (repeatedly, gaining added benefit each time), my opponents began to think we were playing bridge with glass cards.