Raymond Brock

Background: Work doesnt permit me to play much tournament or club bridge. I have more ACBL gold and silver and red than black. I have not made life master.
Moreover I am a "book player". It was with pleasant surprise that I found myself solving 9 out of ten problems, dentist's coups, throw-ins, avoiding automatic cover, combining best chances in these slam problems. Twenty years ago, bridge literature was useless to me, as I cheated and looked at the answers. Kelsey's finer points were lost show more to me. Now, good techinque has come naturally, and I re-read all my books, which I have luckily not thrown away. Playing ghoulies or rubber bridge has improved the keenness of my play more than a dozen regional pair events.
About Brock's book, there is enough original material scattered, a veteran like me might have seen many themes, still consider it a good workbook, take it on a airplane ride.
(Either the play books are getting easier, -except for Pottage, Bourke and Hoffman - or I am in one those three heats mentioned by Zia =) ) show less

The comments and bidding assume a weak NoTrump and a 4 card major Acol style. Notwithstanding the consequent inference of rebids by opener as to his hand strength being differnt, therefore, from Standard American, reading the panelists' comments is interesting. I found this a low-level set of problems compared to ACBL's bulletins and of course considerably lower than Bridge World's difficult problems. What was especially worrying (or amusing) was the number of first round rebid problems on show more which experts could not seem to agree on the other side of the Atlantic, and I had thought that we Americans were a confused lot in bridge bidding theory. Reese and Wolff and Kantar are among some quoted panelists (I am well aware that the last two are American superstar player and theorist/coach respectively). show less