What do you think?
Rate this book
Why You Lose at Bridge
Reprint of the classic. Win more consistently with the skill you already possess by following this simple advice. A wealth of common sense, philosophy, and how to attain the best result possible.
- GenresGames
162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 1995
53 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
S.J. Simon
20 booksSimon Jacoblivitch Skidelsky (Russian: Семён Яковлевич Скидельский), also known as S. J. "Skid" Simon, Seca Jascha Skidelsky, and Simon Jasha Skidelsky, was a British journalist, fiction writer and bridge player. From 1937 until his death, he collaborated with Caryl Brahms on a series of comic novels and short stories, mostly with a background of ballet or of English history. As a bridge expert, he was jointly responsible for developing the Acol system of bidding.
A member of a Russian-Jewish merchant family from Vladivostok, he left Russia when he was young. He became a British citizen in 1931.
He was educated at Tonbridge School in England and the University of London. In the 1920s he was studying forestry, when he met Caryl Brahms, who recruited him to help her write the captions for "Musso, the Home Page Dog", a daily series of satirical cartoons drawn by David Low in The Evening Standard.
From 1937 to 1950, (he year Simon died) Brahms and Simon collaborated on a series of comic novels, eleven published by Michael Joseph.
He also wrote books about the game of Bridge.
Abridged from Wikipedia
A member of a Russian-Jewish merchant family from Vladivostok, he left Russia when he was young. He became a British citizen in 1931.
He was educated at Tonbridge School in England and the University of London. In the 1920s he was studying forestry, when he met Caryl Brahms, who recruited him to help her write the captions for "Musso, the Home Page Dog", a daily series of satirical cartoons drawn by David Low in The Evening Standard.
From 1937 to 1950, (he year Simon died) Brahms and Simon collaborated on a series of comic novels, eleven published by Michael Joseph.
He also wrote books about the game of Bridge.
Abridged from Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 10, 2015
The bombs were falling on Britain when S. J. Simon sat down to write Why You Lose at Bridge and I imagine he was finding it a challenge to keep his mind occupied, what with his regular partners getting drawn into war work. (A pity, really, as bridge is such a wonderful distraction. When you're playing a hand, particularly a dicey one in a contract that you bid, nothing else matters. Not even the blitz.) So here's his advice on how to play a smarter game, set down before computers could calculate the odds of making this or that contract with x number of HCPs. More art than science, in other words, although mathematics is not neglected.
A lot has changed since 1940, in bridge and in the world at large. Simon's casual anti-Semitism and knee-jerk misogyny stands out, at least for this reader:
"Mrs. Winklestein always fiddles with her diamond ring when she is bluffing."
"A bad bid with a good partner -- three Diamonds is correct. With Mrs. Guggenheim, however, the bid is pardonable for she is quite capable of bidding three No Trumps over a three Diamonds . . ."
The other bad player examples he comes up with are generic males: Mr. Smug, Futile Willie, The Unlucky Expert. Why name Mrs. Guggenheim (a total dolt) and Mrs. Winkleman, I can't help wondering? Did he have a problem with Jewish women at the bridge table?
Nevertheless, Simon's analysis helped me think more strategically.The last time I played bridge was in 1974, but I was determined to get back up to speed for the cruise. I read it alongside a more up-to-date manual Bridge Basics 1: An Introduction, then started lurking on Bridge Base Online, watching master players, soon graduated to playing a few games against the robots before bed. When I boarded the ship in Hong Kong, I was ready. In the first duplicate tournament I played, my partner and I took first! Nobody was more surprised than I was, and I never again matched that high, but I will continue to learn from Simon and may venture back to BBO to play real (virtual) humans, from time to time, now that I'm back on dry land.
A lot has changed since 1940, in bridge and in the world at large. Simon's casual anti-Semitism and knee-jerk misogyny stands out, at least for this reader:
"Mrs. Winklestein always fiddles with her diamond ring when she is bluffing."
"A bad bid with a good partner -- three Diamonds is correct. With Mrs. Guggenheim, however, the bid is pardonable for she is quite capable of bidding three No Trumps over a three Diamonds . . ."
The other bad player examples he comes up with are generic males: Mr. Smug, Futile Willie, The Unlucky Expert. Why name Mrs. Guggenheim (a total dolt) and Mrs. Winkleman, I can't help wondering? Did he have a problem with Jewish women at the bridge table?
Nevertheless, Simon's analysis helped me think more strategically.The last time I played bridge was in 1974, but I was determined to get back up to speed for the cruise. I read it alongside a more up-to-date manual Bridge Basics 1: An Introduction, then started lurking on Bridge Base Online, watching master players, soon graduated to playing a few games against the robots before bed. When I boarded the ship in Hong Kong, I was ready. In the first duplicate tournament I played, my partner and I took first! Nobody was more surprised than I was, and I never again matched that high, but I will continue to learn from Simon and may venture back to BBO to play real (virtual) humans, from time to time, now that I'm back on dry land.
September 19, 2007
You don't need to be a bridge expert to follow SJ Simon's discussion of common beginner's mistakes. This is one of my favorite books and is filled with humor and wisdom that does not apply only to bridge hands. One of his main themes is the importance of simplicity in bidding and handplay.
May 11, 2022
Sound Advice!
Although written in 1946 from the perspective of a professional Rubber Bridge player, this book contains advice that is essential for players of any style of the game today. At twelve chapters, the book is relatively short. Its 160 pages are divided into two main parts: “Your Technical Game” and “Your Psychology.”
In Part One, the author describes such conventions as the Lightner Slam Double, which he describes as “. . . one of the most brilliant contributions to Contract Bridge yet made.” I have probably made but a single Lightner Double in the years I have been playing the game of Bridge, but when I did, it paid off handsomely. Simon goes on to destroy some pieces of conventional wisdom (which one of my graduate school professors used to say was a code term to describe bull*hit), such as the tidbit of advice to players that “When vulnerable, bid more cautiously than when not vulnerable because the penalties are greater.” In short order, the author uses Mathematics to destroy this old myth — a myth that is still believed by most Bridge players even today.
In the next chapter, the author goes on to describe to us the most common mistakes of “Playing the Dummy,” or what we would today call “Declarer Play.” He outlines four reasons why Declarers often fail to make their contracts: hasty play to the first trick, mismanagement of trumps, failure to throw a loser on a loser, and failure to count the hand. I found his logic in support of these principles to be compelling.
In Chapter Three, the author takes on defensive play. He outlines the three most common mistakes that are made by defenders: premature winning of tricks, getting busy (aggressive) at the wrong moment, and informative trancing, which is hesitating in a manner that reveals your holding to the Declarer before playing a card. He describes the two types of defensive card play at Bridge: Busy (aggressive) and Passive, and he provides us with advice as to when each type of defense should be used. Simon recognizes that “Defense is the most difficult part of Contract Bridge. And opening leads are the most difficult part of the defense.” He offers some interesting and (to me, at least) helpful rules of thumb regarding leads when defending.
Chapter Four addresses the topic of bidding and is not as relevant in today’s Duplicate Bridge games as in Rubber Bridge, or Team Games. Still, the author has words of wisdom that will apply in a great many bidding scenarios today. He has broken them down into several specific situations, such as bidding Notrump, bidding misfits, and bidding in competition. On misfits, the author offers this sage advice: “The moment there is a balance of evidence to show the hand is a complete misfit, Stop bidding. Wiser words were never spoken, but how many of us have seen fruitless attempts by partnerships to find a nonexistent fit by continuing to bid? Simon goes on to say this about judgment: “When in doubt, bid one more.” If you are not sure that you might have a game contract that is makeable, go ahead and bid it. I’ve noticed that this is what the “experts” seem to do, so his advice seems sound.
His treatment of Doubles, and especially of the Penalty Double is quite good, although a little dated. My own experience at the table seems to support his contention that “The theory of doubling is the least understood theory in Contract Bridge.” It is amazing how many contracts fail to make, but the Opponent’ scores are mediocre because the contracts were not doubled for penalty.
In Part Two of the book, the author offers what is probably the most important of all his words of wisdom: Don’t Teach Your Partner.” Wiser words of advice about Bridge have never been spoken. Do not ever offer advice to your partner at the table — ever! In Chapter Eight, Simon introduces the mythical Mrs. Guggenheim, a very nice lady who does not understand the intricacies of Bridge. “[S]he can neither bid nor play a hand. And never will.” Many good players will be tempted to teach partners like her, but it is a lost cause. Hopeless! It is a mistake to point out Partner’s failings and mistakes at the table, and sometimes at any other time or place as well. Many of us need to work on this failing, ourselves.
A bid which is seldom seen in modern Contract Bridge is the Psych Bid, but the author treats it with quite a bit of detail. Is seems that Psychs were a lot more common in the past than they are now, and maybe that’s a good thing — or not. Simon devotes all of Chapter Nine to the subject of Psych Bidding, while Chapter Ten is reserved for the subject of the dreaded fix by weaker players.
The title of Chapter Eleven is “The Logic of Luck,” but then Simon points out that “Luck has no logic.” He repeats this on the next page. In this chapter, the author takes on the topic of luck. It is an interesting treatment, and I agree with almost everything he has to say about it. Like many of us, he has no explanation for why some players have such long and deep runs of good, or bad, luck.
Chapter Twelve is the portrayal of a fictional rubber match at a Bridge club that is played by four stereotypical, but fictional, players. It includes the kind of errors that we all see at out Bridge clubs every time we play, and we might even fit one of the stereotypes ourselves. Who knows? It adds some examples to support the author’s contentions, but not any new information that I could see.
This is an old book. It is somewhat dated in many respects, but still offers a lot of sage advice that players who wish to improve their bidding and playing abilities will appreciate. I enjoyed the author’s wit and humor in the presentation of what might otherwise be dry and uninteresting. It is, indeed, unfortunate that S.J. Simon passed away a mere two years after writing this book. Imagine how much more wisdom he might have been able to impart. This book has a few minor editing errors, but they are easily overlooked. I enjoyed this book and I recommend it highly to serious players of the game of Contract Bridge. It earns all five of the available stars with a recommendation.
Although written in 1946 from the perspective of a professional Rubber Bridge player, this book contains advice that is essential for players of any style of the game today. At twelve chapters, the book is relatively short. Its 160 pages are divided into two main parts: “Your Technical Game” and “Your Psychology.”
In Part One, the author describes such conventions as the Lightner Slam Double, which he describes as “. . . one of the most brilliant contributions to Contract Bridge yet made.” I have probably made but a single Lightner Double in the years I have been playing the game of Bridge, but when I did, it paid off handsomely. Simon goes on to destroy some pieces of conventional wisdom (which one of my graduate school professors used to say was a code term to describe bull*hit), such as the tidbit of advice to players that “When vulnerable, bid more cautiously than when not vulnerable because the penalties are greater.” In short order, the author uses Mathematics to destroy this old myth — a myth that is still believed by most Bridge players even today.
In the next chapter, the author goes on to describe to us the most common mistakes of “Playing the Dummy,” or what we would today call “Declarer Play.” He outlines four reasons why Declarers often fail to make their contracts: hasty play to the first trick, mismanagement of trumps, failure to throw a loser on a loser, and failure to count the hand. I found his logic in support of these principles to be compelling.
In Chapter Three, the author takes on defensive play. He outlines the three most common mistakes that are made by defenders: premature winning of tricks, getting busy (aggressive) at the wrong moment, and informative trancing, which is hesitating in a manner that reveals your holding to the Declarer before playing a card. He describes the two types of defensive card play at Bridge: Busy (aggressive) and Passive, and he provides us with advice as to when each type of defense should be used. Simon recognizes that “Defense is the most difficult part of Contract Bridge. And opening leads are the most difficult part of the defense.” He offers some interesting and (to me, at least) helpful rules of thumb regarding leads when defending.
Chapter Four addresses the topic of bidding and is not as relevant in today’s Duplicate Bridge games as in Rubber Bridge, or Team Games. Still, the author has words of wisdom that will apply in a great many bidding scenarios today. He has broken them down into several specific situations, such as bidding Notrump, bidding misfits, and bidding in competition. On misfits, the author offers this sage advice: “The moment there is a balance of evidence to show the hand is a complete misfit, Stop bidding. Wiser words were never spoken, but how many of us have seen fruitless attempts by partnerships to find a nonexistent fit by continuing to bid? Simon goes on to say this about judgment: “When in doubt, bid one more.” If you are not sure that you might have a game contract that is makeable, go ahead and bid it. I’ve noticed that this is what the “experts” seem to do, so his advice seems sound.
His treatment of Doubles, and especially of the Penalty Double is quite good, although a little dated. My own experience at the table seems to support his contention that “The theory of doubling is the least understood theory in Contract Bridge.” It is amazing how many contracts fail to make, but the Opponent’ scores are mediocre because the contracts were not doubled for penalty.
In Part Two of the book, the author offers what is probably the most important of all his words of wisdom: Don’t Teach Your Partner.” Wiser words of advice about Bridge have never been spoken. Do not ever offer advice to your partner at the table — ever! In Chapter Eight, Simon introduces the mythical Mrs. Guggenheim, a very nice lady who does not understand the intricacies of Bridge. “[S]he can neither bid nor play a hand. And never will.” Many good players will be tempted to teach partners like her, but it is a lost cause. Hopeless! It is a mistake to point out Partner’s failings and mistakes at the table, and sometimes at any other time or place as well. Many of us need to work on this failing, ourselves.
A bid which is seldom seen in modern Contract Bridge is the Psych Bid, but the author treats it with quite a bit of detail. Is seems that Psychs were a lot more common in the past than they are now, and maybe that’s a good thing — or not. Simon devotes all of Chapter Nine to the subject of Psych Bidding, while Chapter Ten is reserved for the subject of the dreaded fix by weaker players.
The title of Chapter Eleven is “The Logic of Luck,” but then Simon points out that “Luck has no logic.” He repeats this on the next page. In this chapter, the author takes on the topic of luck. It is an interesting treatment, and I agree with almost everything he has to say about it. Like many of us, he has no explanation for why some players have such long and deep runs of good, or bad, luck.
Chapter Twelve is the portrayal of a fictional rubber match at a Bridge club that is played by four stereotypical, but fictional, players. It includes the kind of errors that we all see at out Bridge clubs every time we play, and we might even fit one of the stereotypes ourselves. Who knows? It adds some examples to support the author’s contentions, but not any new information that I could see.
This is an old book. It is somewhat dated in many respects, but still offers a lot of sage advice that players who wish to improve their bidding and playing abilities will appreciate. I enjoyed the author’s wit and humor in the presentation of what might otherwise be dry and uninteresting. It is, indeed, unfortunate that S.J. Simon passed away a mere two years after writing this book. Imagine how much more wisdom he might have been able to impart. This book has a few minor editing errors, but they are easily overlooked. I enjoyed this book and I recommend it highly to serious players of the game of Contract Bridge. It earns all five of the available stars with a recommendation.
January 27, 2013
This book will explain where things went wrong with your play. The author is hilarious and very witty (u can see it from the title). A must read for all intermediate players!
September 20, 2017
This is a book in two sections. The first section is quite good as it goes over the reasons that one makes at the Bridge table and how it costs you. It does focus almost exclusively on Rubber Bridge which makes it less useful than it could be, but the principles are similar. The second section of the book gives a play-by-play blow of a full rubber and then shows where the mistakes are made. I did not find this so useful. However, the book is well written and is full of lessons for the Bridge player.
October 3, 2020
A good start. Not really relevant as it relates a lot to rubber but good for basic ideas :)
October 8, 2008
Why you lose at Bridge, or Poker, is why you lose at other things: because you can't help it, because you allow yourself to play counter-productively.
This book is ostensibly about Rubber Bridge, but it is really about team work, with a person you don't necessarily know, and about reading your opponents, and trusting your intuition; rather than choosing the theoretically better play, it shows you how to build partnership trust and help your partner to be at their best, how to use whatever leverage you gain over your opponents, and give them 'permission' to make mistakes.
Playing a card game is really playing the other players.
Rubber Bridge rewards understanding odds and expectancy, not hoping more from the cards and your partner than is reasonnable, and choosing your goals wisely: the best result possible, rather than the best possible result. A lesson for life?
This book is ostensibly about Rubber Bridge, but it is really about team work, with a person you don't necessarily know, and about reading your opponents, and trusting your intuition; rather than choosing the theoretically better play, it shows you how to build partnership trust and help your partner to be at their best, how to use whatever leverage you gain over your opponents, and give them 'permission' to make mistakes.
Playing a card game is really playing the other players.
Rubber Bridge rewards understanding odds and expectancy, not hoping more from the cards and your partner than is reasonnable, and choosing your goals wisely: the best result possible, rather than the best possible result. A lesson for life?
July 7, 2011
It's easy to get caught up in exciting plays but this little book is a great reminder that common sense can often lead to better results. Written in the 1940s, the bidding shown is certainly outdated, but the play and defence remain valid.
August 8, 2016
Instead of teaching us the "hard skills" in bridge like end play, the books explores how an average player can achieve better scores by playing more cautiously and smartly.
Recommended for casual players who would like to play better but could not invest too much time in the game.
Recommended for casual players who would like to play better but could not invest too much time in the game.
September 28, 2009
Yet another of those English writers whose advice is precious and timeless.
June 20, 2013
Reasonably witty with a few good points about improving bridge play as well. Enjoyable and easy to read. I particularly liked Mrs. Guggenheim as a character.
December 30, 2015
Ok for Duplicate - more appropriate for contract bridge.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews