facts , you will often be reduced to a guess when all the evidence was in front of you . That ’ s where my comments in the introduction above will be useful .
I suggest two books . Both are by Bill Root . They are hard to find but they are outstanding . The first of these is How To Play a Bridge Hand . It ’ s excellent . Full of examples . It ’ s also very long . If you run into a difficult hand , go on to the next one .
INTRODUCTION TO DEFENSE
I will start this topic with the warning that defense is tougher than declaring . When you play a hand , you know what you and your dummy have as soon as the dummy comes down . When you are defending , you can see your hand and dummy but you don ’ t know what partner has . You learn this one card at a time . Some of the time the defense will be a mystery until the hand is over . Some defensive hands are clear . Others are not . The hands in this book , Insights on Bridge — Book 3 , will offer a range of things to think about . Time and repetition will help .
In the same way that you need to remember to pay attention to the bidding and cards played when declaring a hand , doing so on defense is just as important .
If your partner plays the five and six of a suit , it means one thing . If he plays the six and five , it means something else . If all you remember is that partner played little cards , the message will be garbled and not received .
So , I offer this guidance . Pay attention . You don ’ t have to remember facts after a hand is played . But you need them until the end of trick thirteen . Your focus on details is necessary at all times .
I suggest that when you read the hands in this book , you try to use the advice I noted in the introduction . After you finish a hand , go back and do it again and as you do , pay attention to
v / foreword