The Complete Book on Balancing in Contract Bridge

With neither side vulnerable, West dealt and bid one diamond. North and East both pass. As South, what call would you make with each of the following hands?1) S-J 10 4 H-A J D-Q 10 7 6 C-K Q 9 22) S-K 10 8 5 2 H-J 9 7 D-7 C-A 9 8 63) S-J 4 H-A Q 4 D-8 6 2 C-K 10 8 5 24) S-A 6 H-A K J 8 6 5 D-8 4 C-Q 7 3If your answer to any of the above hands was "Double," you need to get Mike Lawrence's new version of "The Complete Book on Balancing in Contract Bridge." Even if you answered all the above hands correctly, you need to get this book! In his book, Lawrence clearly explains why doubling on hands like these is wrong and shows you the correct action to take. [Note: I made up these hands; I did not copy them from his book.]In Hand #2 above, if you'd replace the spade two with the heart two to make;S-K 10 8 5 H-J 9 7 2 D-7 C-A 9 8 6you would have a clear-cut reopening takeout double. I can see many a reader wail "But I have only eight points!" Lawrence explains why passing with this hand in the balancing seat is losing bridge (yes, you should pass if you're in the direct seat).The first edition of "The Complete Book on Balancing in Contract Bridge" was published in 1983. I would rate this five stars. The new edition has updates to reflect current bidding trends and tweaks to Lawrence's recommendations from the old book. The new edition (published in 2012) has more than twice as many pages as the first edition. In short, the 2012 edition is a big upgrade on the 1983 edition."The Complete Book on Balancing in Contract Bridge" is loaded with many examples you will likely encounter (and some unlikely - he says when it's so). He thoroughly explains the concept of safe suits and dangerous suits (and why you should pass with Hand #3 above without hesitation), and why there no such thing as a pre-emptive bid in the balancing seat.Mike Lawrence is one of the finest author's on contract bridge and has written many outstanding books on the subject. You cannot go wrong on getting any of his books, and whichever of Lawrence's books you obtain, it will make a fine addition to your library.

This book is very helpful in that it covers in detail some of the most difficult aspects of bidding.Example: Balancing over a 1 NT response is (for me) one of the most difficult aspects of competitive bidding. Lawrence's advice is that Double in this situation is always for penalty. He then goes on to give a very easy way to create a takeout when the opponents bid two suits before ending in 1 NT, including very instructive examples.This is one of Lawrence's best books.

When it comes to bidding theory, Mike Lawrence is the best. This book covers just about every balancing situation you will encounter at the bridge table. The only minus I found in this book is that it has not been updated to cover some of the newer conventions (this book was orginally published in 1983) available or used by the opponents, however this minus is so small that it does not even merit a half-star demotion.

Mike Lawrence again makes it easy and fun to learn this rather obscure facit of bridge bidding theory. Obscure because few parnterships have firm understandings of balancing situations yet they come up frequently and are far more important to doing well than learning the latest modification of RCKB or Bergen raises. Buy this book along with the revised edition of Takeout Doubles!

Learning how balance bid is extremely important. You don't want opponents to play at the one level. There are times when you should pass in the balancing seat and those times are well defined in this book. Don't let the cartoonish vp cover fool you. This book covers a very important topic in balancing. A must for any bridge player.

After Lawrence has finished imparting his expertise in a most palatable fashion, balancing will no longer hold any mystery for you.He is the number one author in the world, in my humble opinion and I would buy anything he writes without thinking twice.

Lawrence's originally balancing book was great, and the revised version is better in all ways. Most importantly, the material is better laid out, which makes it far easier to look up a particular kind of auction. Very handy for checking my judgment against the author's after a close call in actual play.

Takes some getting your head around and best read with your regular partner as there is room for misinterpretation unless good partnership understanding applies.

Very comprehensive review of balancing situations, takes some getting through and not one you want to rush to get the most out of it. overlap with some other competitive books by the same author. I don't know anywhere else where their is such a complete view of all glancing situations. After reading it you get a real understanding of how all the factors that affect these bids, and how to use them

Excellent publication

This is a beautifully written book. It is clear and accessible though likely better for intermediate players and up. This is my first Mike Lawrence book but certainly not last. Absolutely essential for strong duplicate play.

Mike Lawrence bleibt einer der besten Bridgeautoren, die ich bisher kennen gelernt habe, da er die Theorie mit sehr vielen anschaulichen Beispielen erklärt und er seine Texte so schreibt, dass man das Gefühl hat, hautnah dabei zu sein und man sich so sehr gut in seine Gedanken und Erklärungen hineinversetzen kann. Das Thema "Balancing" oder Wiederbelebung wie es im Deutschen heißt, wird bisher leider von der deutschen Bridgeliteratur stiefmütterlich behandelt, wodurch diese Buch durchaus eine Übersetzung ins Deutsche verdient hätte. Es liefert viele Antworten zu Bietsituationen in den man schon gerätselt hat, was sinnvoll ist und spricht auch Situationen an, über die man sich noch gar keine Gedanken gemacht hat.

This book deals with a very important topic one that is overlooked by most. Apart from that this book also teaches judgement in bridge .