Holiday gifts for bridge players

If you're still looking for gifts for your friends and relatives who play bridge (or who would like to learn), here are some more new -- and recommended -- ideas. See the article in the  October Advocate for other new bridge titles.

Bridge books published in 2009:

Marty Bergen's Secrets to Winning Bridge   (Beginner to intermediate)
By Marty Bergen. The first four titles in a series of 24-page booklets packed with good advice and examples. Available now are booklets on hand evaluation, modern doubles, 2-over-1 game-force system and the forcing notrump convention. Available for $9.95 each ($29 for all four, free shipping) from www.martybergen.com.

Deceptive Declarer Play  and  Deceptive Defense     (Intermediate to advanced)
By Barry Rigal. Subtitled "The Art of Bamboozling at Bridge", these instructional and entertaining books explore the many ways to use deceptive carding to take more tricks as declarer and defender.

Expert Bridge Simplified: Arithmetic shortcuts for declarer   (Advanced to expert)
By Jeff Rubens. This 408-page book "demystificies" bridge mathematics by offering practical advice for selecting the best line of play in tough contracts. The focus is on general principles related to counting and probabilities, not on complex computations. Available from Bridge World Books ($23.95).

The Mysterious Multi: How to Play It, How to Play Against It   (Advanced to expert)
By Mark Horton. Everything you'd ever want to know about the Multi 2D convention, which is used to describe a weak two-bid in an undisclosed major. 

2010 Times Bridge Calendar  (General interest)
By Andrew Robson. A page-a-day style calendar with bridge stories, quizzes and tips.

New on Kindle (Amazon's e-book reader):  The Devil's Tickets: A Night of Bridge, a Fatal Hand, and a New American Age  (General interest)
By Gary Pomerantz. A thoroughly researched account of the 1929 murder of John Bennett, who was shot by his wife, Myrtle, after he mangled the play of a 4S contract. The story includes many anecdotes and an ensemble of 1920s characters, including Ely Culbertson and Fightin' Jim Reed, the U.S. senator from Kansas City who successfully defended Myrtle at trial. $9.99 for a Kindle download. Published in 2009. Also available in a hardcover edition.

Bridge gifts:

Norman Rockwell playing cards -- a gift-boxed double deck featuring Saturday Evening Post covers. Other specialty designs available in double-deck sets are cat lovers,  fresh & saltwater fish and mummy cards (die-cut in a sarcophagus shape, designed for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts).

Bridge coaching tablecloth -- A favorite of party-bridge players, this plastic-covered tablecloth is imprinted with handy bidding guides for all four players.

Queen-of-hearts non-stick baking pan -- Wilton 10-cup cast-aluminum pan for baking bridge-themed cakes, breads and frozen desserts.

"Bridge is serious" hooded sweatshirt -- imprinted with "Life's a game. Bridge is serious", in 100-percent cotton. Amazon offers many other bridge-themed clothing and accessory items for men, women and babies.  

Whimsical bridge watch -- a wearable work of art with hand-painted miniatures under the crystal and an Italian leather wrist band. Amazon has a wide range of other card-themed jewelry items, including necklaces and pendants, bracelets, rings, cuff links and body jewelry.  

Duplicate boards -- A set of duplicate boards is a great gift for club and tournament players who host home games.

Jack 5.0 Computer Bridge Software (All levels) is a highly skilled bid-and-play program that has won multiple World Computer Bridge Championships. It offers multiple bidding systems, 80+ conventions, tournament deals and scoring, a double-dummy problem solver and built-in coaching. 

Learn to Play Bridge I & II are two self-teaching software programs that make great stocking stuffers for anyone who wants an easy introduction to the basics. Best of all, both are totally free from ACBL. You can download them from the link above (both setup programs fit onto one CD) and give copies to everyone on your list. Print out copies of ACBL's quick-start How to Play Bridge page to go with your gifts.

Need more ideas? You'll find other books and gift suggestions on these shopping pages just for bridge players:

Karen's Bridge Library Bookstore features short reviews of recommended bridge books, along with an updated listing of the newest books and software (published in 2009). Books are grouped by skill level and can be purchased at discounted prices from Amazon.com by following the links.

The Holiday Shopping Page on the above site offers ideas and links for a wide range of bridge-themed gifts, including clothing, jewelry, bakeware and glassware, party accessories, software packages, electronic games, magazine subscriptions and other specialty gifts.

Great Bridge Links offers a full directory of specialty products and online shopping sites for bridge players. You'll find links to unusual and hard-to-find gifts here, along with some special discounts.