November 2012 - 28

Book Reviews

ing out in the world of duplicate bridge, which can seem
arcane to many learners.
Kathleen Vishner describes how she was drafted to play
at a club and how she made it through her first duplicate
game. Many readers will relate to her feelings of panic
and desperation. The story ends well - Vishner has been
a member of the ACBL for more than three years - and
should be encouraging to newer players.
There are flaws that drop the rating. There is an annoying use of hyphens where they don't belong and some
weak graphics. Better editing could have caught some of
the grammar problems.
Overall, however, the message is positive. Vishner no
doubt would tell any new player that if she can learn to
enjoy duplicate, anyone can.
Published by and available from Master Point Press
(masterpointpress.com) and bridge supply houses.

Marty Bergen's
Secrets to Winning
Bridge
By Marty Bergen
$9.95 each
Four 24-page pamphlets
Rating: B+
Reviewed by Brent Manley

Short and sweet

Marty Bergen has been
banging out these minilessons for some time now.
The latest are pamphlets 25 through 28, and they cover a
variety of topics. These are the titles:
The Ultimate Cheat Sheet (quick reference guide to
multiple important subjects); What You Must Know About
Cue-Bids (worth studying by partners who want to improve their bidding); Constructive Bidding, Leads and
Signals (evaluations of various conventions and agreements, color-coded to indicate level of difficulty with up to
four stars for those considered essential), and Counting at
Bridge (arguably the most important of the group).
Although none of the topics gets detailed treatment,
there's plenty of good information in each pamphlet. The
counting entry will require some study and practice, but
any player with aspirations to more than average competence will gain from careful reading.
At $9.95 each, the pamphlets are pricey, but there are
discounts for ordering more than one. For example, the
price of two is $18, and they go for $7.50 each after that.
See the website for information about further discounts.
Bergen is no longer active in tournaments, but he knows
how to play and teach. The lessons may be short, but they
still hit the target.
28 Bridge Bulletin November 2012

Published by and available from Marty Bergen: www.
martybergen.com, where information about all 28 pamphlets can be found. Order by phone at 800-386-7432.

Really Unusual
Notrump (R.U.N.T.)
and

Overcalling
Opponent's 1NT
By Ken Rexford

$11.95 each Softcover
100 pages each

Rating: B+

Reviewed by
Paul Linxwiler

Wise guy

Author Ken Rexford has recently published a pair of
works - Really Unusual Notrump (R.U.N.T) and Overcalling Opponent's 1NT - that will appeal to players with
a devious sense of humor and/or convention geeks.
In R.U.N.T., Rexford outlines the use of 1NT as a light
takeout double, allowing an actual double to show a good
takeout action. Rexford (whose writing style is hysterically funny) says that partnerships can agree to play these
1NT overcalls as weak as they dare, and he suggests that
this treatment should be used even with shockingly bad
hands, subject to the constraints of vulnerability and
partner's tolerance for the occasional disaster. Having firm
understandings on how to run from potentially devastating
penalty doubles is the key to success here.
To a large extent, this method (which is allowable under
ACBL's General Convention Chart) trades on the opponents' unfamiliarity with this approach, but also on the
systemic inability of many partnerships to have a constructive auction after this type of interference. The biggest
downside to the text, therefore, is that Rexford doesn't
sketch out a good defense to this method. What would you
do, for example, if your partner opened 1ࡗ at unfavorable
vulnerability and right-hand opponent overcalled 1NT (a
weak takeout promising at least three cards in each of the
unbid suits), and you held:
ࡕK 10 7 ࡖA Q 8 7 3 ࡗJ 3 ࡔQ 8 2?
What would double mean? Is it penalty or just showing
values? What about passing initially and then doubling
when LHO bids 2ࡔ? Would that be takeout? Would a direct 2ࡖ response be non-forcing? How do you invite? 3ࡖ?
You can see the difficulties 1NT poses.
In Overcalling Opponent's 1NT, Rexford examines a
series of defenses to 1NT, especially the weak 1NT. Many
of the methods he describes take advantage of the "twounder" technique that allows overcaller to safely show
one- or two-suited hands. For example, assume you play

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2012