Teaching made Fun and Easy by Richard Pavlicek

Bridge Teaching Material

Richard Pavlicek has taught bridge for 30+ years, during which he has created a huge amount of material for students of all levels. All material is handsomely typeset in PDF format, and now available to other teachers. If this might interest you, read on.

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Pavlicek Methods

Before outlining the material, it might be a good idea to explain the Pavlicek methods. The general approach is based on Standard American bidding, including strong notrumps, five-card majors, weak two-bids and a strong artificial two-club bid. Certain essential conventions (Stayman, Blackwood, Gerber, negative doubles, etc.) are included, but emphasis is on general principles and how to develop good judgment, rather than a lot of conventions.

Perhaps the most controversial area in bridge teaching is how to evaluate a bridge hand: point count. Richard studied this area in great depth when he began teaching. The method he devised is not only simple but amazingly accurate in giving the true value of a bridge hand. See Pavlicek Point Count for details.

Another controversial matter is the range of a “strong notrump.” Should it be 15-17, 15-18 or 16-18? Richard’s practice is to teach 16-18 to novices. After they become experienced, he suggests changing to 15-17 but not to change the responses — the idea being that 15-17 is preferable only if you play your cards well. Therefore, his Beginning and Intermediate material assumes 16-18, and his Advanced material assumes 15-17.

The Pavlicek methods also stress the importance of accurate card play, both as declarer and defender. Bidding ideas may change over the years, but card play will always be the same. If you learn the right technique from the start, you will benefit for life. One of Richard’s most ardent philosophies is to plan all contracts by counting winners. See Planning the Play for an insight.

The Material

The material consists of 746 printouts (comprising 1343 pages and 7646 deals), all professionally typeset in PDF format for exact printing on any printer. Many of the sheets also have artwork (cartoons) which add humor to the teaching process. The material is divided into four main levels (plus miscellaneous sheets pertinent to all levels) as shown below. Clicking on each level will bring up a complete outline of what is included.

Level	Printouts	Pages	Deals
1. Beginner	113	162	870
2. Intermediate	173	236	1461
3. Advanced Bidding	234	418	3059
4. Advanced Play	189	392	2102
Miscellaneous	37	135	154
Totals	746	1343	7646

Below are some samples of the actual sheets (first digit indicates the level). Click on the No. for an HTML version, the Title for the main PDF form, the Type for an answer form (if appropriate), or Deals for an RBN data file.

No.	Title	Type	Pages	Deals	Layout
1A17	Opening One-Bids	Exercise	1	12	Hand Evaluation
1E41	Planning the Play	Exercise	1 w/art	3	Declarer Play 3
1F01	Bidding Review I	Practice	1	4	Deal Summary
2C41	Points To Ponder	Exercise	1	12	Eval & 2 Calls
2N23	It’s Your Play!	Exercise	1	9	Declarer Play 9
2P00	Finessing Technique	Lesson	1 w/art	8	Play Lesson
3G53	Match the Notrump	Exercise	1 w/art	12	Matching
3K29	Weak-Two Auctions	Exercise	1	12	Bidding E-W 12
3R00	Notrump Slam Bidding	Lesson	2 w/art	12	Bidding Lesson
4G41	Lead On, MacDuff	Exercise	1	12	Opening Lead
4H53	Beat Four Hearts!	Exercise	1	6	Defensive Play 6
4K93	When Partner Switches	Exercise	1 w/art	12	Suit Query E-W

Boxed answers are also included for each exercise. Click here for a sample.

Two booklets are included, printable by topic or as a whole. Click here for a sample.

How To Obtain

Bridge teaching material by Richard Pavlicek is licensed for a one-time fee of $1500, which allows lifetime commercial use of the material in your bridge teaching. Certain restrictions apply (see Purchase Agreement). To order:

1. Print the Purchase Agreement. Fill out and sign.

2. Include your check for $1500.00 payable to Richard Pavlicek.

3. Mail to: Richard Pavlicek, 1050 NW 21 Street, Fort Lauderdale FL 33311.

Upon receipt of your check and signed agreement, Richard will e-mail you instructions and passwords to download the material.

For further information contact Richard by e-mail: richard@rpbridge.net

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