On Apr 30, 12:48 pm, "raija d" <musti...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> "Adam Beneschan" <a...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>
> news:55a25eac-aedc-426e-80a5-1d8417840ca4@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
>
> > On Apr 30, 10:18 am, henrysun...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> >> On Apr 30, 9:13 am, chas...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
>
> >> > Could anyone point me to a website containg detailed sayc system
> >> > notes.
> >> > Or maybe the definitive book, if there is one.
> >> > I have some of the basic summaries but none of these are very
detailed
> >> > Thanks
> >> > Chas
> >> > England
>
> >> You might want to check out:
>
> >> Standard Bidding With Sayc (Paperback) by Ned Downey (Author), Ellen
> >> Pomer (Author)
>
> >> It is available at Amazon for $13 (plus whatever ****pping and
handling
> >> is involved).
>
> >> I've not read the book, but to my knowledge it is the only book
length
> >> treatment of the system.
>
> > I haven't read the book either, but just based on what you say, if
> > it's a book-length treatment that costs $13, it's probably not
> > strictly SAYC. Which means it recommends or discusses some other
> > treatments/conventions that aren't part of the SAYC system. OK, I'm
> > just guessing, but I'm rather suspicious.
>
> > That isn't a problem if your goal is to adopt a playable bidding
> > system. But depending on how clear the book is, it could be confusing
> > if it leads someone to believe that something is "part of SAYC"
> > because the book says so, but it isn't, and then they sit down to play
> > online with someone who says they're playing SAYC and they assume a
> > certain bid means a certain thing because the book says so but their
> > SAYC partner hasn't read the book and then they have a disastrous
> > misunderstanding.
>
> > So here I am leveling criticism at a book I haven't read---probably a
> > skill I learned in high school, after writing several papers about
> > books I never bothered to open---but anyone who actually has read the
> > book, please feel free to tell my I'm wrong.
>
> > -- Adam
>
> Well, I haven't read the book either, but even so I am inclined to agree
> with you. There is not enough in SAYC to fill a book, IMO, so your
guess
> would be my guess also, unless it is in large text and spells out
*every*
> auction in SAYC.
>
> The book was written to make money, obviously, like any book written.
If
> the motive were "helping people learn SAYC" it would be free. SAYC
notes
> are free from several sources.
Au contraire. Charley G. had no problem filling up hundreds of pages
explaining 4CM, Stayman, and Blackwood. Neither did other authors
(notably Dick Frey and Freddy Sheinwold, and for a good expert level
read from the past, Miles "How to Win at Duplicate Bridge"). Simply
because there are not a lot of conventions does not mean that the
underlying structure and meaning of natural treatments are self
evident. I think a good beginner/intermediate exposition of SAYC with
material on hand evaluation, control bidding in slam auctions,
defensive bidding, and optional treatments such as whether to open 1NT
with a 5 card major could easily run to 300 pithy pages for the genre,
and would have a lot more value than a set of free notes.
== Bill Shutts
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