Watson's Classic Book on The Play of the Hand at Bridge

It was originally published in 1934 and doesn’t deal with conventions but the strategy of the game. He mostly uses 3 trump openers to explain his various strategies. Many of us are reading it now and gaining new insights. Highly recommended for serious bridge enthusiasts

Fablous book on how to play the bridge hand more efficiently. Easy to follow and understand.

There is nothing better on the market today (Audrey Grant not withstanding). This is the classic of classics...the bible of play-of-the-hand, and should be read and understood by anyone who wants to become a competent and avid bridge player. You wont find the narrative cutesy or its "look" engaging. What's said is straight-forward and to the point with good examples that make sense. It doesnt have the modern "look" that publishers present in today's world. If you need that to learn things, try elsewhere. All aspects of play-of-the-hand are presented...from common ways to run various finesses to advanced strategies of squeeze plays and end plays. All topics include step by step examples. The book is meant to be studied not skimmed. If you want to be a serious bridge player, read this book slowly and understand what's said as you go. Highly recommended.

So far I like the book, but....The cover is a total misprint. Compare my photo to the one advertised. No red ink! I hope the rest of the content is ok. I have no way of knowing.

This is the first book for any bridge player's library. Virtually anything you need to know about the play of the hand is basically covered in this book from the fundamentals to relatively advanced play. This is a timeless classic that is logically organized and worth revisiting periodically. I am returning to competitive bridge after a long hiatus and this is the first book off of the shelf of my bridge library where I have a choice of about 200 books and over forty years worth of Bridge World magazines. When I was playing regularly I reread parts of this book every year or so. The key to play of the hand is transitioning concepts from the play of card combinations to whole hand planning and principles of timing of the play and this book lays out everything you need to get started.If you are new to bridge (and even if your not) I recommend that you have a pack of cards handy as you read and layout the positions as described. This is a really good idea in some of the later the later sections, get used to seeing the physical cards and counting winners, losers, entries, etc. Counting cards and tracking spots is usually easier for most people when you see them on the table.

One of the truly outstanding books on contract bridge. Originally written in 1934 by Louis H. Watson, the present book, published in 1958, was enlarged and modernized a bit by Sam Fry, Jr. The opening sentence of Fry's Introduction says "I had the great good fortune to be the good friend and frequent tournament partner of Louis Watson". Regarding the changes he made to Watson's book, Fry says simply: "The changes that I had to make were few and far between". The bridge reader will not know this reviewer, but he or she will instantly recognize the names of such bridge authorities as Oswald Jacoby, Howard Schenken, Charles H. Goren, and Samuel M. Stayman, all of whom were well acquainted with Watson's book on the play of the hand. Samuel Stayman said it as well as anyone could: "No exposition of the Play of the Hand written before or since can top this book." Few books merit such praise, and, remember, this one was written, and especially well-written, nearly 80 years ago. Happy reading.

This is a classic, but it has small print and it is really dry reading. I do think that it has improved my game, and I will continue to refer to it as I play more often. If you play duplicate bridge, you should get this book.

This is the third book I have read on the play of the hand in bridge. I wish I had read it first! I am not sure I would have needed to read the others (Goren's classic and Audrey Grant's "Play of the Hand"). I find it hard to believe that this book dates from the thirties, but it does. The bidding notions are dated to say the least; but that is not the focus of the book and takes nothing away from its (IMHO) timeless value. If you have not read this book and want to play better bridge, read it. You will not be disappointed.