Book: Guide to Better Card Play

在 WeWeWeb Bridge 遊戲內, 打牌引擎 (Play Engine) 是一個非常重要的元件, 因為機械人(Bot) 需要使用他來決定怎樣出牌. 為了開發和完善該組件, 本人參考過不少有關資料, 當中包括人工智能的參考文獻, 亦有關於橋牌的技術叢書. 在這裡, 我不打算談論人工智能, 因為我相信大部份人都沒有興趣. 所以, 還是回到橋牌技巧吧. 打牌技術其實是博大精深的. 想信大家還是初學者的時侯, 都聽過前輩教的簡單橋牌智慧, 例如: "第二家出小"和"第三家出大"等. 但如果我們不明所以, 將此兩個規則單簡地植入打牌引擎內, 我想信機械人打牌或會比新手更差呢!

要更能明白及掌握打牌理論和技巧, 參考 Ron Klinger 所著的 <<Guide to Better Card Play>> (ISBN: 978-0304357697) 是一個不錯的選擇. 這本書分為四個部分：一）基本的防守打法; 二）基本莊家技巧; 三） 改善防守打法;及  四）改善莊家技巧. 雖然本書只有不足二百頁, 但它大部份材料亦寫得非常詳盡，其中包括理論，解釋，例子和練習等項目。如果你不是專家級數的橋手，我相信你一定能在書中找到一些新鮮或以前沒有留意過的材料。

此書我能想到的唯一缺點是頁面排版相當“濃縮”，這解釋了為什麼一本200頁的書可以包含這麼多的信息。此外，從圖書館借來的這本於1990年印刷的紙質不是很好。除此之外，我對這本書的評價是優秀。

如果你是一個新手或中級玩家，想要提高打牌水平，我推薦這本書給你。

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English version:

One of the important components in the WeWeWeb Bridge program is the play engine which is used by the bot to play the 4 hands. In order to develop and improve that component, I've read a number of references. Some of them are related to A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) and some of them are specific to the Bridge Game domain. We are not talking about A.I.in here as most of you do not have interest in it. So, back to the Bridge game, in fact, there are numerous play skills and techniques exist. For example, for novice, one must have heard those rules like: "Second hand plays little" & "Third hand plays big". However, if you simply implement these rules into the engine, I believe the robot will be weaker than a novice!

To understanding more about the play techniques and theories, the book <<Guide to Better Card Play>> by Ron Klinger (ISBN:978-0304357697) is one of the options. This book is divided into 4 parts: i) Basic defensive play; ii) Basic declarer play; iii) Better defensive play; & iv) Better declarer play. Though it has only about 200 pages, but it explains most of the items in detail which includes theories, explanations, examples and exercises. If you are not an expert, I believe some of the points it mentioned may be fresh to you.

The only drawback I can think of is the layout of the pages are quite "condense", that's explain why a 200 pages book can contain so much information. Also, the paper quality is not good as mine edition borrowed from library is printed in 1990. Apart from these, my rating to the book is excellent.

If you are a player ranged from novice to intermediate and want to improve the game, I recommend this book to you.