The aim of this book is to do for the play of cards what Ron Klinger's Guide to Better Acol Bridge did for bidding - to turn an average or indifferent card player into a respected or even feared opponent. It covers declarer play and defensive technique for players who are beyond the basics, with two sections on declarer play and two on defence. The aspects included are opening leads, signalling, discarding and other defensive manoeuvres, as well as declarer's card combinations, inferences, card-reading, deceptive strategies and many others. The guide not only provides rules and guidelines, but illustrates the logic of when to depart from the rules. It emphasizes the need to distinguish between bad play and bad luck, and that a recognition that the occasional failure is due to the lie of the cards and not to mismanagement can increase a player's confidence and faith in his own ability. 160 complete deals which can be set up and replayed with reference to the text are provided for practice, together with over 500 exercises, quizzes, play hands and revision exercises