Basic Acol Bridge Flipper
by Ron Klinger

Master Bridge Series, £3.99, ISBN No. 0 304 36279 4

As a professional bridge teacher I have to own up to a certain amount of dismay when I see any pupil surreptitiously skimming through his/her latest bridge flipper. Not because I have anything against them per se but because they so often act as a substitute for thinking. Having said that, if anyone could be relied upon to come up with the Acol system encapsulated into just a few pages it would be Ron Klinger, and I have to say he does it pretty well.

This latest edition assumes the owner is little more than a beginner and the first few pages give details on what you are trying to achieve and how to evaluate the strength of the hand. One or two of the ideas suggested jarred with me. I thought it was unnecessary to insist on a combined point-count of 26 before you could entertain any thoughts of game, because that would engender serious underbidding, which is all too prevalent anyway amongst the initiates. That may well be a minor quibble but I was not happy with the suggestion that "once a good trump fit with partner has been located" extra points should be added on to the original tally to take care of what is, in effect, distributional values. Of course it is essential to value distribution but that should be outside the scope of this flipper, and is best dealt with anyway by reference to the Losing Trick Count at a later time. The sad truth is that most beginners find it difficult to count and remember their high-card points, so that further manipulation during the bidding would be totally unrealistic.

From then on this flipper is just what the doctor ordered. Partner has opened with a weak no-trump and you are sitting there with a weak hand and a long suit, so what do you do? Easy, put your thumb and forefinger on the tab called 'Responding to 1NT and 2NT' and you will be told exactly what to do. Whether you have a strong hand or a weak hand as opener or responder, if you have any doubt what direction to take the flipper will set you on the right course of action. There is a very sensible section on overcalling and the take-out double, and advice on which suit to lead should you be defending, and what is more which card you should pick from that chosen suit. Finally, the flipper ends up with some well-meaning advice on table behaviour and etiquette which many a more experienced player could well take notice of.

Given my initial caveat at the beginning of this review, I have to say that I liked this new edition flipper and I just know that loads of my pupils will like it too. They will sit at the back of the class using it as a security blanket and hoping that I don't notice. At a modest £3.99 it is well worth the money.

Dave Huggett