Secret Jojo Plays Lebensohl

This is an entertaining contract bridge book about the Lebensohl convention, filled with pictures, stories, limericks, poems, memory aids, bidding charts, practice tips, puzzles, and quizzes. Plenty of examples and full sample deals are included. This book uses an abundance of repetition and tried and true learning techniques to help the reader retain information.The Foreword is written by Scottie Waldron, ACBL King of Bridge, 2003. This book was named a top-rated runner-up in the American Bridge Teachers' Association (ABTA) 2024 Book of the Year awards for the Advanced-intermediate category.

Who should read this book?

This book is for:

• Savvy bridge players who want to learn Lebensohl in an enjoyable way.
• Anyone who needs a Lebensohl refresher course.
• Cool bridge teachers who want to use an informal text that takes a light-hearted, fun approach to Lebensohl.
• Bridge players who take secret pleasure in doubling the opponents, when appropriate, and collecting big penalties.
• Busy bridge players who are tired of combing the Internet and finding inconsistent and sometimes inaccurate information on the topic.
• People who appreciate lots of examples followed by puzzles and quizzes to check progress.
• People who enjoy bridge tales from the trenches and learning by hearing about "Lebensohl hands gone wrong" and what not to do.
• People who like information summarized in concise bidding charts.
• Creative people who enjoy bidding rules summarized in the form of a poem.
• People who love to collect "rules of thumb" about playing bridge.
• People who appreciate clever illustrations.
• People who are looking for an enjoyable book that looks like someone put a lot of time, effort, and love into creating it.
• People who love learning about bridge but need a book that doesn't read like a refrigerator manual.
• People of all ages who want to learn Lebensohl. (This book may even be appropriate for gifted kids with good reading skills.)
• Those who find bridge books intimidating or who have given up on learning Lebensohl.

What will you learn?

You will learn:

• The interesting backstory behind the Lebensohl convention.
• What Lebensohl is all about and situations where it applies.
• What you give up when you play Lebensohl and what you gain.
• Why Lebensohl is superior to the "stolen bids" system.
• Why experts like Lebensohl.
• What you should do if you know your side has the lion's share (23+ points).
• Suggested rules for playing Lebensohl when the opponents interfere over your side's 1NT.
• How to make effective use of penalty doubles when playing Lebensohl.
• Counterdefenses to NT defenses.
• Dealing with higher level interference over 1NT.
• Dealing with artificial interference over 1NT (e.g., when opps have a two-suited holding where both suits are known, when opps have a two-suited holding where only one suit is known, when opps have a two-suited holding where both suits are unknown, when opps have a one-suited holding that is either known or unknown, when opps have an either/or holding of some variety).
• How to handle delayed Lebensohl situations (when the opps don't interfere immediately).
• How to alert Lebensohl bids.
• How to use Lebensohl when the opps open a weak two-bid and partner doubles and
• when it's okay to pass partner's double (and when it's not).
• How to use Lebensohl after partner reverses.
• When it's okay to break the Lebensohl relay.
• Whether Lebensohl is a relay bid or a puppet bid (and why it doesn't matter).
• An introduction to basic Transfer Lebensohl.
• Some of the most common mistakes when playing Lebensohl and how to avoid them.
• Some differences in the way that people play Lebensohl.
• And much more.