Neil

Hi, I think Jerry's hit the nail on the head. He knows what he needs to work but can't do it at the table because he has opponents waiting for him to play a card. Unless he can train his brain to automatically ask the right questions progress is going to very slow. A computer is an obvious tool as it doesn't get impatient. I used and still use GIB for exactly that purpose. Here's the drill....in defense as well as declarer play. 1.) At the opening lead, stop and write down what you know from the bidding and the lead. 2.) As every subsequent trick is played write down what additional information you have. Try to work out the most likely distribution and high card locations. The key time is when you are fairly sure of 2 suits. This often happens very early in the hand, maybe trick 3 or 4. Work out the combinations left in the other 2.....there won't be that many. 3.) When you think you have the full distribution write it down. After a while stop writing it down. I play with a constant conversation going in my head. There's only one way to make it automatic and that's repetition. You know what the questions are: who has the AH, are diamonds 3-2 or 4-1. Can I find out for free.....

On books for novices.... Watson's "Play of the Hand" is undoubtably the classic on card play although it is quite heavy to plough through and fairly dogmatic in style. I quite recently purchased "How to play a Bridge Hand" and "How to Defend a Bridge Hand" by William S Root and found them to be excellent and broader than Watson. Explanation is crystal clear and the book is set out as a course with example hands followed by exercises. My favourite book is Mike Lawrence's "How to Read Your Opponents Cards". When I read this it was like the light switch going on. Again, theory and examples followed by exercises.

I'm new to BBO..... it's fantastic to see so many tables going and the possibility to play against a higher standard of player. I sat down the other day and first board we reached a rather streaky 7NT that needed either a 33 club break or Jx in one hand. Surprise surprise after I started on clubs my LHO oppponent quit as he was holding Jxx and could see dummy was good. None too pleasant.......the thing was 3 more LHO appeared only to quit when they saw 7NT was the contract and it was making. The reason I like BBO, compared to other sites, so much is the lack of rating system and the subsequent bad atmosphere at the table. I fail to understand the mentality of people who put their score above all when no-one is counting......... I have only played maybe 50-100 boards but if I was to report all the unannounced quitters I would be well into double figures already. I am of a reasonable standard so sitting down at a table with self rated Expert opps seems to give a much more stable game. The average player doesn't have that choice and will become accustomed to quitting unannounced in the middle of a hand. Very quickly he will think of it as part of the online experience and start doing it too........ I guess the correct action for me in the future is to have a pen at the ready and report anyone who blatantly leaves for bridge reasons unannounced.