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The Intermediate American Bidding System: (Vol. II of the American Bridge Series)

by Chris Hasney with Jerry Pottier

170 pages; black coil; catalogue #98-0028; ISBN 1-55212-210-7; US$24.95, C$38.39, EUR25.00, £17.30

Teaches modern American-style bidding. Suggests integrated competitive methods that can be readily understood and adopted in both casual and practiced partnerships.
General Approach: Disciplined Modern Standard American

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Overview of the American Bridge Series     introduction     about the authors     contents     cataloguing information    

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Overview of the American Bridge Series

The American Bridge Series is designed as a sequential set of bidding courses, suitable for self-study or classroom-style study under the guidance of a professional bridge teacher. Volumes I through III include declarer play and defense skills as they relate to the bidding skills taught in each text. Volume IV is reserved for true experts; thus, declarer play and defense lessons would be an insult and are not included. The entire series takes about five years of study and practice to complete.

Volume I, The Basic American Bidding System was written for beginners and for social players who need to brush-up on basic bidding skills prior to tackling modern bidding methods. It features 5-card major suit opening bids, strong twos, and some basics of Forcing and Non-Forcing Stayman, Blackwood, Gerber, and few other things designed to form the framework for further study.

Volume II, The Intermediate American Bidding System makes the transition to modern methods including weak two openings. It teaches all of the pieces of "Standard" American in a way that integrates all of the varied forms of same. Don't be thrown by the term "intermediate." Many duplicate players think that they have reached that level when they can no longer play in novice games. Not so. "Intermediate," as defined by the authors, can vary from folks with zero ACBL masterpoints to 2500 masterpoints. It's not the points that count, it's the skill level.

Volume III, The Advanced American Bidding System presumes a complete understanding and skill with all of the material in Volume II. However, some of the Volume II material is repeated for intended redundancy, since the authors suspect that many folks who shouldn't be attempting to study Volume III will do so anyway. After all, "I'm a Life Master, I must be Advanced." The authors suggest that anyone not comfortable playing in Flight A at an ACBL regional or national tournament, or the World Bridge Federation (WBF) or other governing body equivalent thereof avoid purchase and study of Volume III until they have mastered all that is taught in Volume II.

Volume IV, The Expert American Bidding System, (NOT YET RELEASED) presumes two years' experience with the bidding techniques taught in Volume III, and expert declarer play and defense skills. This is not a "Mom and Pop" book. It is for those who wish to successfully compete in such ACBL events as Flight A Grand National Teams, the Blue Ribbon Pairs, the Life Master Pairs, the Spingold, Vanderbilt, and Reisinger teams, etc., and International events like the Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup, The London Times Pairs, the McCallan, etc. It features 4-card majors, the TEAS responses to no trump openings, weak no trumps, and a variety of other bidding methods which will get bidders to the optimum place but will require expert declarer play or defensive skills to maximize results.

All four books emphasize sound, disciplined bidding and an underlying philosophy of "You bid your cards, I'll bid mine, we'll get to the right spot." By the time students complete study and practice of Volume III, they should be able to know what cards partner holds almost to the spot at the conclusion of an auction. In fact, Jerry and one of his partners were once accused of cheating when they got cocky and did this after an auction. The comment was: "How can you know what cards your partner holds?" Jerry's answer: "Isn't that the whole point of the bidding?"

Volume I   Volume II   Volume III    Volume IV (coming soon)

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Introduction

Welcome to Volume II of the American Bridge Series. In Volume I, The Basic American Bidding System the fundamentals of bidding and play at contract bridge were introduced. The bidding style was old-fashioned "Goren-Style" American bidding with a few minor changes such as 5-card majors, weak jump overcalls, and a bit more of the "Stayman" convention than is generally played at the basic level.

In this book we cover modern bidding methods that are considered more or less "Standard American" as we approach the end of the 20th Century. We will cover such things as weak two bids, limit raises, and a host of other treatments and conventions. If you are going to play contract bridge in anything other than a private game, what is taught in this book is the minimum level of knowledge that you should have.

Once you have become comfortable with this material, you should be able to compete in a duplicate bridge club and at bridge tournaments. You will also be more at ease in advanced social games and/or Internet games.

Having thoroughly mastered this level of bidding and play, you can then begin to branch out to other bidding systems. You may want to do this for two reasons. It will aid in your understanding of what other players might be doing when you encounter them in competition. And, as you advance you will want to learn how to bid and play even more effectively.

Hopefully, you will choose to continue your education by studying Volume III, The Advanced American Bidding System, and maybe even Volume IV, The Expert American Bidding System. Nevertheless, you will want to gain some familiarity with other approaches such as "2/1 Game Force," "Precision." and "ACOL," at least in their basic versions.

As was mentioned in the Preface, this book is partially based on the lesson plans of Bob Jones. Please forgive our quoting him, or referring to his approach to things, but he was a great player and teacher and we feel that his thoughts are worth repeating. Where appropriate, Jerry Pottier's comments are included, as are comments about "Standard American Yellow Card" (SAYC) and "Generally Accepted Standard" as defined in several texts.

If you are brand new to bridge, you may find that this book is tough going. It presumes that you are already aware of all of the material covered in Volume I, even though there is a bit of intended redundancy. Therefore, you might want to at least read the first volume before diving into this one. Oh, and even if you have been playing for years, you might want to scan Volume I anyway, as it covers some basic bridge concepts that have somehow been forgotten over the last 30 years or so, even though they are still very much applicable at all levels.

As before, we will conclude the book by defining specific agreements. There will be "Intermediate American," as well as a "Plus" version. These will allow you to progress smoothly and efficiently without being overwhelmed. Please don't add and subtract "Gadgets" from these systems, or you will defeat their purpose. Remember, our goal is effective partnership understanding without negotiation. We hope this is of some help in that endeavor.

Read the news release for this title.

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About the Authors

Chris Hasney

Chris Hasney played a bit of bridge in college in the early 1970s but did not develop a keen interest in the game until the mid-1980s when he met Bob Jones at the Thunder Mountain Bridge Club in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Unfortunately, Chris was working full time as a stockbroker for Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. and engaged in hobbies such as community theater which limited his time at the bridge table and made his studies of the game under Bob’s tutelage spotty, at best. In addition, Chris contracted Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) in late 1986, and suffered a gradual worsening of that condition. Eventually the effects of the disease became so pronounced that Chris reluctantly left the securities business on long term disability in early 1995.

Chris grabbed bridge as a therapeutic lifeline. It allowed him to remain in the company of other people and to combat the "Brain Fog" which is one of the classic symptoms of advanced CFIDS which is also known by the names Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.). Unfortunately Bob Jones died of a heart attack in 1995, and so Chris began taking bridge lessons from Jerry Pottier and Billy Miller. At the same time, Chris began to transcribe Bob Jones' old lesson plans in an effort to learn a bit more and to save Bob's work for posterity. Volumes I and II of The American Bridge Series sprouted from this project.

Another therapy was the Internet. Despite frequent CFIDS relapses Chris began learning e-mail and HTML and became somewhat adept at basic website design. He also began playing bridge on the Internet via OK Bridge, which he found to fit better with CFIDS since he was not committed to a 3-1/2 hour duplicate session. One of the things he noticed was a huge inconsistency between what he learned from Bob, what he learned from Jerry and Billy, what he was reading in bridge texts, and what was being played as SAYC or "Standard" on OK Bridge. The Intermediate American Bidding System (Volume II of The American Bridge Series) addresses those inconsistencies.

With Jerry as partner at the El Paso Regional and playing The Advanced American Bidding System (Volume III), Chris won the Flight A Unmixed Pairs event, which led to a Blue Ribbon Pairs entry at the San Francisco Nationals. After the afternoon session Chris and Jerry were 17th in section and needed only to play average in the evening session to qualify for the semi-finals. Unfortunately CFIDS brain fog reared its ugly head in the second session, and board after board was tossed away. They missed qualifying by 1/2 point out of 1250 or so. Poor Jerry, he had to sit opposite a partner who couldn't think. It is to Jerry's credit that he maintained his composure and did his dead-level best on every board, despite what was going on. Billy Miller has experienced this as well, playing with Chris in San Diego and Reno regional events. On a good day, Chris can bid and play reasonably well, but you don't want to partner him during a CFIDS relapse.

Chris lives in Sierra Vista, Arizona where he is building a Nutrition For Life International business with a goal of Presidential Platinum. He also does web page design and website hosting for bridge pros, schools, and organizations via The River's Bridge Suites, which he created and manages. He is webmaster of The Contract Bridge World Wide Website and is Coordinating Webmaster for the CFIDS CFS ME FMS GWS Directory project, an attempt to catalog CFIDS, Fibromyalgia, and Gulf War Syndrome support group links worldwide in one website.

Contact the author at rbuehlr@radix.net or 301-753-5099

 

Jerry Pottier

Jerry Pottier began learning bridge at the age of 32 from Bill August at the Springfield Bridge Club in Massachusetts. Initially mentored by Bill and by Lucile Hastings, Jerry went on to run the club for Bill for two years. Jerry played on the Club's K-S Team and remembers that the most fun he ever had in bridge was defending the Flight B Rye, New York regional knockout title in 1980 with the K-S Team.

Jerry became a Certified Regional Director in 1978 and was trained as a National Director under Maury Braunstein in 1981. For personal reasons Jerry resigned from the ACBL that year but he continued to play bridge and work on bidding theory.

Jerry holds a national and 13 regional wins in such varied events as men's pairs, open pairs, mixed and unmixed pairs, and teams. Many of these were wins were unrecorded, since he had resigned from the ACBL prior to the event and played as a non-member. Thus, although Jerry has won somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,200 masterpoints, most Gold, he has recorded very few of them and never attained a Life Master rating. However, he plays exclusively in Flight A at the few tournaments he attends.

Jerry is quite a bridge theoretician, having designed both the Advanced and Expert American bidding systems (Volumes III and IV of the American Bridge Series) which blend K-S, Standard American, Acol, and new things which Jerry created to glue them all together in a way which makes sense. Some of Jerry's conventional creations which are taught in Volumes III and IV are: TEAS, OhNo, 3-Way Stayman, Advanced Responsive Doubles, Flexible Negative Doubles, Advanced Mathe over a strong 1C opening, 3-card Support Mini-Splinters, and the Pottier convention. He taught some of this material to a team in San Diego, CA which put them into practice in winning a Flight B team event at the Nationals.

In "real" life Jerry is a High Tech Headhunter and volunteers his time as a Deacon in the First Baptist Church in Sierra Vista, where he teaches advanced Bible classes in English and Greek. He is building a Nutrition For Life direct response international network marketing organization to the Presidential Platinum level so that he can achieve a residual income which will allow him and his wife Cher to have more free time and money for travel and support of church activities. Jerry and Cher reside in Sierra Vista, Arizona.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction
Table of Contents
Chapter 1:  Opening 1-Level Suit Bids, Responses, and Rebids
   When and How to Open
   Upgrading Your Style
   Defining Your Range
   Responses and Rebids With a Fit
      When Responder Has a Minimum With a Fit For Opener's Suit
      When Responder has an Invitational Hand With a Fit
      When Responder Has the Values For a Forcing Raise
   When Responder Has No Fit For Opener's Suit
   Here's That Later Stuff
      When Points Don't Matter
      More on Reverses and Jump Shifts
      Forcing Bids:  Our Way and the Standard Way
Chapter 2:  Opening Suit Bids at the Two Level
   A Bit of History
   Weak Two Bids
      General
      Responding To Partner's Weak Two Bid
      Interference
   The Opening Two Club Bid:  Strong, Artificial, and Forcing
      When to Open Two Clubs
      Responding to Partner's 2C Opening Bid
      Rebids
      Interference
Chapter 3:  No Trump
   Opening No Trump Ranges and Shape
   Transfers
      Jacoby Transfers
      Extensions To Jacoby Transfers
      Ranges of Jacoby Transfers
      Responses to Transfers
      Rebids After Transfers
      When Responder Has Length In Both Majors
      Opener's Second Rebid
   Stayman and Other Stuff
      Minor Suit Stayman
      Inviting and Escaping In a Minor Suit
      Checkback Stayman
      Puppet Stayman
   Interference
   When We Overcall 1NT
Chapter 4:  Preempts and Third and Fourth Seat Opening Bids
   Preempts
      Preempts in 1st and 2nd Seat
      Preempts in 3rd and 4th Seat
      NAMYATS
   Opening One-Level Bids in Third Seat
      Responding to Partner's 3rd Seat Opening Bid
      Opener's Rebid
      The Drury Convention
Chapter 5:  Defensive Bidding
   Review of Volume I
   New Concepts
      The Michaels Cue Bid
      Extended Michaels
      The Unusual No Trump
      Unusual No Trump Extensions
      Mathe Over Strong, Artificial 1C Opening Bids
   Defensive Bidding When They Open 1NT
      Natural Methods
      Disturb(ing) Opponents' No Trump (DONT)
      Astro
      Becker
      Ripstra
      Suction
      Brozel
      Other Methods
   Special Doubles
      Responsive Doubles
      Rosenkranz Doubles
Chapter 6:  When the Opponents Enter "Our" Auction
   General Concepts
      General Principles
      Hand Evaluation
   When We Open and They Overcall
      Negative Doubles
   When We Open and They Make a Takeout Double
   When They Overcall With No Trump
   Actions When the Enemy Employs a 2-Suited Bid
   Special Doubles
      Support Doubles
      Competitive Doubles
      Extended Competitive Doubles--Made by Opener
      Maximal Doubles
Chapter 7:  A Few More Common Conventions for IA Plus
   Blackwood and Gerber Enhancements
      Keycard Blackwood
      Roman Keycard Blackwood
   Alternatives To The Weak Two Diamond Bid
      Mini-Roman
      Flannery
      Doubles of Artificial Opening Bids
   Inverted Minors
   Some Commonly Used Conventions We Don't Use
      Bergen Raises
      Walsh Relays
      Mathe Asking Bids
Chapter 8:  Odds and Ends
   Ethics
   4NT Ð When Is It Blackwood?
   Partnership Fundamentals
Chapter 9:  Declarer Play and Defense
   Counting
   Some Principles of Declarer Play
   Defense
      Defending During the Auction
      Opening Leads
      Defensive Play
Chapter 10:  You've Read It, Now Do It
   How to Integrate This Material into Your Game
      Year One--Intermediate American
      Year TwoÐIntermediate American Plus
   Required and Recommended Reading
   Intermediate American
   Intermediate American Plus
Appendix A:  Convention Card, Intermediate American
Appendix B:  Convention Card, Intermediate American Plus
Index

Catalogue Information

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