There's an awful lot of these, many out of print, but two fairly recent ones that I like a lot are Standard Modern Precision (SMP) by Dan Neill and Santa Fe Precision (SFP) by Dennis Dawson. The systems are nearly identical (especially in the 1♣ auctions, but each has its own idiosyncrasies. In particular, Neill spends quite a few pages on opening and responding with 'less than invitational values', but doesn't go into detail about responding to 1NT or 2NT or 1M. Dawson does go into detail on those areas, but doesn't talk much about 'less than invitational'. They both talk about many of the same "bells and whistles" to add on to the basic system, though there may be some differences in how they each handle those things.
Bottom line, I'd start with the first part of SMP as my basis, and then add whichever things look useful from either book.
Dawson tends to provide more "in later rounds of the auction do this" than does Neill, who asks you to fall back on what you already know from 2/1.
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Books on Precision
#1
Posted 2024-March-09, 23:40
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As for tv, screw it. You aren't missing anything. -- Ken Berg
I have come to realise it is futile to expect or hope a regular club game will be run in accordance with the laws. -- Jillybean
As for tv, screw it. You aren't missing anything. -- Ken Berg
I have come to realise it is futile to expect or hope a regular club game will be run in accordance with the laws. -- Jillybean
#2
Posted 2024-March-10, 01:09
I presume there was an original question asking for book recommendations. I second Dan Neill's book, it explains the Mecklite system (SMP system) over the strong 1♣ opening very well. I found the rest of the book less impressive - for example, only spending 1.5 pages on dealing with interference to the 1♦ opening - but it is well structured and explains a lot of standard gadgets. There is a lot of overlap between a standard and a Precision system and this book explains all of it, so it is also suitable for players with limited experience with standard.
Another Precision book I liked was Precision today by Berkowitz and Manley. It is a more dated style, closer to C.C. Wei's original Precision, but I found it instructive and thorough as a point of comparison.
I also have a few negative recommendations:
There's a few more Precision-adjacent books and notes I've read, such as Kit and Kate Relay, Mark Abraham's webside on SCREAM, SCRAPE, T-Rex, TOSR, the Auby Ebenius Club notes and a few more relay systems and a host of individual articles here and there, though honestly I would not recommend most of them. While great as intellectual exercises I think most of these approaches do not score well in actual play.
Another Precision book I liked was Precision today by Berkowitz and Manley. It is a more dated style, closer to C.C. Wei's original Precision, but I found it instructive and thorough as a point of comparison.
I also have a few negative recommendations:
- Precision in the 90s by Barry Rigal. Contains a lot of dated methods, and the book was very dry. In my opinion the main selling point was the explanation of symmetric relay over 1♣, but these days there are better explanations of that available online.
- Precision Bridge by Eric Jannersten. A well written book, but it contains extremely dated information. A lot of pages are spent on the Greek letter asking bids, which see almost no play these days and at any rate rarely come up even if you do play them.
- Revision Club, 4th edition by John Montgomery. This is a 451-page pdf containing in depth explanations of multiple rounds of the bidding - this really contains a full system, rather than a framework of one. Unfortunately it is non-standard, does not deal with competitive auctions in sufficient detail (though more than most other texts, e.g. 14 pages on competitive notes after the 1♣ opening and 6 pages on interference after the 1♦ opening) and a style that doesn't match what I'm looking for in a Precision system. I really like the foreword, introduction, and thorough explanations but I am not a great supporter of some of the system choices.
There's a few more Precision-adjacent books and notes I've read, such as Kit and Kate Relay, Mark Abraham's webside on SCREAM, SCRAPE, T-Rex, TOSR, the Auby Ebenius Club notes and a few more relay systems and a host of individual articles here and there, though honestly I would not recommend most of them. While great as intellectual exercises I think most of these approaches do not score well in actual play.
#3
Posted 2024-March-10, 13:17
J.W. Hawthorne has published several books:
Strong Club recent books (not to be confused with Precision):
Pattern Club System.
Pattern Precision, 2018.
P4- Pattern Precision Bidding Emphasizing Four Card Majors.
Transfer-Oriented Pinpoint Precision (TOP3), 2020.
Strong Club recent books (not to be confused with Precision):
BFUN, Kevin Cadmus, 2020. Bridge For the UNbalanced.
Relay and canape using QP values.
Unbalanced Club (UBC), 2022. Houde & Loh.
A Strong Club System using Symmetric Relays, Canape, and many transfer bids to allow the strong hand to be Declarer.
Ultra ♣ Relay: see Daniel's web page: https://bridgewithda...19/07/Ultra.pdf
C3: Copious Canape Club is still my favorite system. (Ultra upgraded, PM for notes)
Santa Fe Precision ♣ published 8/19. TOP3 published 11/20. Magic experiment (Science Modernized) with Lenzo. 2020: Jan Eric Larsson's Cottontail ♣. 2020. BFUN (Bridge For the UNbalanced) 2021: Weiss Simplified ♣ (Canape & Relay). 2022: Canary ♣ Modernized, 2023-4: KOK Canape.
C3: Copious Canape Club is still my favorite system. (Ultra upgraded, PM for notes)
Santa Fe Precision ♣ published 8/19. TOP3 published 11/20. Magic experiment (Science Modernized) with Lenzo. 2020: Jan Eric Larsson's Cottontail ♣. 2020. BFUN (Bridge For the UNbalanced) 2021: Weiss Simplified ♣ (Canape & Relay). 2022: Canary ♣ Modernized, 2023-4: KOK Canape.
#4
Posted 2024-March-10, 14:20
DavidKok, on 2024-March-10, 01:09, said:
I presume there was an original question asking for book recommendations. I second Dan Neill's book, it explains the Mecklite system (SMP system) over the strong 1♣ opening very well. I found the rest of the book less impressive - for example, only spending 1.5 pages on dealing with interference to the 1♦ opening - but it is well structured and explains a lot of standard gadgets. There is a lot of overlap between a standard and a Precision system and this book explains all of it, so it is also suitable for players with limited experience with standard.
I also have a few negative recommendations:
[list]
[*]Precision in the 90s by Barry Rigal. Contains a lot of dated methods, and the book was very dry. In my opinion the main selling point was the explanation of symmetric relay over 1♣, but these days there are better explanations of that available online.
I also have a few negative recommendations:
[list]
[*]Precision in the 90s by Barry Rigal. Contains a lot of dated methods, and the book was very dry. In my opinion the main selling point was the explanation of symmetric relay over 1♣, but these days there are better explanations of that available online.
Completing the hattrtick of recommendations for Dan's book. Also, +1 for the non-recommendation above.
FWIW, I do think that the AEC treatment of 1D/2C/2D is superior to most Precision variants out there, and I would encourage aspiring partnerships to see if can combine it with the rest of SMP.
#5
Posted 2024-March-17, 02:01
If we're gonna talk about relay systems, Nick Hughes' Symmetric Relay is pretty interesting, covering a lot of possibilities (Moscito anyone?) I particularly liked SCAMp (Strong Club Accenting Majors) and SPAM (Strong Pass Accenting Majors). As I've said elsewhere, I'd like to try SPAM, but Mommy won't let me.
--------------------
As for tv, screw it. You aren't missing anything. -- Ken Berg
I have come to realise it is futile to expect or hope a regular club game will be run in accordance with the laws. -- Jillybean
As for tv, screw it. You aren't missing anything. -- Ken Berg
I have come to realise it is futile to expect or hope a regular club game will be run in accordance with the laws. -- Jillybean
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