Heidi's Bridge Blog: 2016

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Trump Suit Quality - 5 of the Major

Bidding FIVE of a Major is an unusual bid. There is no reason to bid 5 of the major unless you are interested in a slam. After all you get the same points for bidding 4 of a major and taking 11 tricks.

Since we have ways to ask Partner how many Aces they have we can’t be interested in that.

We also have ways of asking Partner if they have 2 of the top 3 honours in the trump suit. That bid guarantees a slam however. Either a small slam or a grand slam.

What happens if we want to be in only a small slam if Partners trump are good but if Partner has bad trump we don't want to be in a slam at all.

Say you have this hand:

Hand A
♠J98632
♥A
♦AKJT94
♣-

You open the bidding 1♠. (With two 6 card suits always bid the higher ranking suit first.) Now Partner bids 3♠. In your agreements this shows 11 or 12 points with four trump. What do you bid now?

Well my first thought would be I am probably not going to lose any tricks EXCEPT for the trump suit.

Let's look at a few different hands Partner could potentially hold:

Responder Hand A	Responder Hand B	Responder Hand C	Responder Hand D
♠AQ75 ♥K83 ♦Q984 ♣54	♠Q754 ♥K83 ♦82 ♣KQ42	♠KQ75 ♥K83 ♦82 ♣K842	♠T754 ♥983 ♦Q4 ♣AKQ4
♠J98632 ♥A ♦AKJT94 ♣-	♠J98632 ♥A ♦AKJT94 ♣-	♠J98632 ♥A ♦AKJT94 ♣-	♠J98632 ♥A ♦AKJT94 ♣-
Maybe 1 trump loser No other losers	Probably 2 trump losers No other losers	1 trump loser No other losers	Even if Partner has this (really bad!) hand I only have 2 trump losers if the suit splits nicely No other losers

In a situation like this I cannot bid 5NT. That FORCES our partnership to the 6 level (and maybe the 7 level!) and we might not be able to make a small slam. But I also don't want to sign off in just a game. We might be able to make a small slam. I can ask Partner about their trump quality by bidding 5 of the major. In this case 5♠. Partner raises to 6 of the major (6♠) if they have at least 2 of the top 3 honours. Otherwise they PASS. If Partner's trump are not that good we are NOT at a slam level and I am still allowed to lose 2 tricks.

So on Responder Hand A my Partner will bid 6♠.
So on Responder Hand B my Partner will Pass.
So on Responder Hand C my Partner will bid 6♠.
So on Responder Hand D my Partner will Pass.

Question: Does this bid work with ALL the suits?
Answer: NO! This works for the MAJOR SUITS only! After all 5 of a minor is a normal place to play. You are just saying you just want to be in a game and for some reason can't bid 3NT.

Question: What about if the Opponents are bidding and make us bid 5 of a major. Does this still count?
Answer: NO! When the Opponents bid this is not asking for trump quality. This is asking about something else. Or sometimes the Opponents push you into 5 of a major and you were quite happy in 4. There is no need to bid 6 in that case even if your trump are very good. This 5 of a major bid would only be asking for trump quality if there were NO OTHER REASON to bid 5 of the major.

For example:

Opener	Responder
1♠	2♠
5♠	???

Is this bid asking about the trump quality?

YES! There is no other reason for Opener to bid 5♠.

Another example:

Opener	Responder
1♠	4♠
5♠	???

Is this bid asking about the trump quality?

YES! There is no other reason for Opener to bid 5♠.

You try.

Opener	Opponent 1	Responder	Opponent 2
1♥	1♠	4♥	4♠
5♥	Pass	???

Is this bid asking about the trump quality?

Opener	Opponent 1	Responder	Opponent 2
1♥	1♠	3♥	3♠
5♥	Pass	???

Is this bid asking about the trump quality?

Opener	Responder
1♥	3♥
4NT	5♣
5♥

Is this bid asking about the trump quality?

Let's practice. We are going to start off pretty easy. On each of the following hand Partner opens the bidding 1♠. I am going to force a 3♠ bid by you on each of the following hands. This shows 11 or 12 points PLUS four trump. That should describe each of the hands. Now Partner bids 5♠. This bid can only be asking for trump quality. What will you respond with each of the hands below and what are you telling Partner with your bid?

Opener	Responder
1♠	3♠
5♠	???

Hand 1

♠QJ32
♥Q86
♦K2
♣QJT5

Hand 2

♠KT43
♥7543
♦T
♣AJT8

Hand 3

♠AQ64
♥984
♦AT93
♣64

Hand 4

♠A962
♥AT8
♦K84
♣T74

Hand 5

♠J432
♥KT
♦Q95
♣AJT6

Hand 6

♠KT95
♥9653
♦4
♣AQ95

Hand 7

♠KQ75
♥K6
♦K832
♣862

Hand 8

♠Q986
♥85
♦AKT64
♣84

Hand 9

♠AQ85
♥Q8743
♦T65
♣5

Hand 10

♠AQT3
♥J96
♦Q98
♣QJ8

Hand 11

♠KQ97
♥J75
♦J9
♣AJ93

Hand 12

♠KJ62
♥84
♦QJ5
♣AT65

Hand 13

♠AT85
♥Q52
♦J7
♣A843

Hand 14

♠J976
♥5
♦K95
♣AT864

Hand 15

♠K873
♥KT2
♦96
♣AT86

Hand 16

♠K953
♥3
♦T9652
♣AJT

Hand 17

♠AK65
♥8
♦T952
♣Q762

Hand 18

♠Q743
♥KQT
♦T873
♣A5

Hand 19

♠KQ97
♥92
♦KT5
♣QT65

Hand 20

♠K654
♥A76
♦Q6
♣K542

Friday, December 30, 2016

Grand Slam Force

This is an easy form of Grand Slam Force. Experts have a different way of bidding Grand Slam Force. They have ways to show exactly what honour they hold if they only have one. They have ways to play in any suit at the 7 level -- even if it is not the suit they originally agreed upon. This is a bit too complicated to play for most people. But if you and your Partner have zero memory issues please investigate further. Not on this blog though. Expert Grand Slam Force is too advanced for this blog.

In fact this bid is pretty advanced for most novices. If you are new or fairly new to bridge you can just ignore this post. If you have more experience or are a little more daring continue on reading.

Here's an easier version of Grand Slam Force.

Once a Partnership has agreed on a trump suit, a bid of 5NT (that has no other meaning) asks Partner to bid a grand slam (7 level) with two of the top three honours (Ace, King or Queen) in the agreed upon trump suit. If the Partner does NOT have two of the top three honours then they bid the suit at the 6 level only. The 5NT bid is called "Grand Slam Force". The FORCE part means that you CANNOT PASS the 5NT bid. It is FORCING. You are going to be in either a small slam or a grand slam. You are NOT going to play in 5NT.

This bid asks about the QUALITY of the TRUMP suit ONLY. Nothing else matters.

This bid CANNOT be bid after the Partnership bids 4NT asking for Aces. A bid of 5NT in that case has another meaning. 5NT is then asking for Kings. That does NOT change.

But if the Partnership has bid 5NT voluntarily after agreeing upon a trump suit and has not been pushed there in any way by the Opponents or tried to bid Blackwood, then the 5NT is considered to be GRAND SLAM FORCE.

It asks Partner to look at their trump holding. If they have TWO of the TOP THREE honours (Ace, King, Queen) they bid 7 of the agreed upon suit. Otherwise they bid 6 of the agreed upon suit.

Question: Does this bid work with ALL the suits?
Answer: YES! If you have agreed upon ANY suit a bid of 5NT should ask Partner to bid 7 of the suit with 2 of the top 3 honours but otherwise just bid 6 of the suit.

Question: What about if I opened 1 of a suit but Partner bid 3NT? Does 5NT then ask about my original suit?
Answer: NO! That asks about the value of the NT range. For more information check out this post:
Bidding 4NT or 5NT over a Natural NT Bid

Let's practice. We are going to start off pretty easy. On each of the following hand Partner opens the bidding 1♠. I am going to force a 3♠ bid by you on each of the following hands. This shows 11 or 12 points PLUS four trump. That should describe each of the hands. Now Partner bids 5NT. This bid can only be Grand Slam Force. If Partner wanted to ask for Kings they MUST go through 4NT asking for Aces first. Therefore the 5NT bid must be asking about the trump suit. What will you respond with each of the hands below and what are you telling Partner with your bid?

Opener	Responder
1♠	3♠
5NT	???

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Bidding 4NT or 5NT over a Natural NT Bid

Please brush up on the responses to a 1NT opener with a balanced hand before reading this post:
Bidding - Responding to 1NT with a Balanced Hand

4NT or 5NT are both unusual bids to make after Partner has bid some level of NT. It is much higher than you need to be in order to get the points for bidding a game. Yet it does NOT commit to a slam. Why would bridge players make this bid?

Say you want to play in some level of NT. You have a balanced hand and Partner has opened the bidding 1NT so they have a balanced hand. If you wanted to be in a game only you would just bid game.

If you wanted to be in a small slam only you would just bid the small slam.

If you wanted to be in a grand slam you would just bid the grand slam.

Bids like 4NT or 5NT show interest in slams but shows that you are not quite sure what level you want to commit to.

Since a bid of 4NT is lower we will keep that as invitational to 6NT but NON-FORCING.

A bid of 5NT is therefore FORCING to at least a small slam but invitational to a grand slam. This bid CANNOT be Passed or the small slam bonus will not be given.

Let's take this hand:

Hand
♠K9
♥Q86
♦KQ64
♣AQ82

Partner opens the bidding 1NT. You play your NT range as 15-17 HCP. You have a balanced hand so you don't mind playing in NT. You also have 16 HCP. What do you bid?

In order to make a game the partnership needs at least 25 HCP. But if the partnership has at least 33 HCP you have enough to take 12 tricks and can get a small slam bonus.

The problem here is that Partner could have 17 HCP. Together with your 16 HCP you have 33 HCP between the two hands. That is enough to bid and make a small slam. So maybe you should just bid 6NT.

But hang on. Partner can open 1NT with only 15 HCP. If Partner has 15 HCP together your partnership holds only 31 HCP. This is NOT enough to make a small slam.

You don't get a slam bonus unless you bid the slam. So you should bid the slam.

If you don't make the slam then you lose points. So you shouldn't bid the slam.

Hmmmmm. There needs to be some way to ask PARTNER if they opened on 15 HCP or 17 HCP. Let them decide.

This is your 4NT bid. A bid of 4NT is INVITATIONAL to a small slam. Partner is expected either to PASS or bid 6NT. No other options. That way if Partner has 17 HCP they will bid 6NT and you will get your slam bonus. But if Partner only has 15 HCP they can pass and play in only 4NT. You will still get your game bonus but you will not get too high in the bidding and go down in your contract.

Let's take another hand:

Hand
♠K9
♥AQ8
♦KQ64
♣AQJ2

Partner opens the bidding 1NT. You play your NT range as 15-17 HCP. You have a balanced hand so you don't mind playing in NT. You also have 21 HCP. What do you bid?

In order to make a small slam the partnership needs at least 33 HCP. But if the partnership has at least 37 HCP you have enough to take 13 tricks and can get a grand slam bonus.

The problem here is that Partner could have 17 HCP. Together with your 21 HCP you have 38 HCP between the two hands. That is enough to bid and make a grand slam. So maybe you should just bid 7NT.

But hang on. Partner can open 1NT with only 15 HCP. If Partner has 15 HCP together your partnership holds only 36 HCP. This is NOT enough to make a grand slam. You could be off an Ace!

You don't get a grand slam bonus unless you bid the grand slam. So you should bid the grand slam.

If you don't make the grand slam then you lose points. So you shouldn't bid the grand slam. Just take the sure thing and bid a small slam.

Hmmmmm. Again, there needs to be some way to ask PARTNER if they opened on 15 HCP or 17 HCP. Let them decide.

This is your 5NT bid. A bid of 5NT is FORCING to a small slam and INVITATIONAL to a grand slam. Partner is expected either bid either 6NT or 7NT. No other options. That way if Partner has 17 HCP they will bid 7NT and you will get your grand slam bonus. But if Partner only has 15 HCP they can bid 6NT. You will still get your small slam bonus but you will not get too high in the bidding and go down in your contract.

This makes sense over a 1NT opening bid. But this works in ALL auctions where one person in the partnership has bid NT showing a balanced hand with some point count range and no fit for a suit.

For example:

Opener	Responder
1♣	3NT
4NT	???

Responder has shown a specific number of HCP with a balanced hand. The number of HCP Responder needs varies according to the partnership. Right now they teach this as showing 13-15 HCP. Back in the olden days Responder would bid this with 16-18 HCP. There is no right or wrong answer here. But you DO need to make sure you know how many HCP Partner has when they make this bid. Plus (just like opening 1NT) Responder needs to have in the range they promise when they make the bid. If Responder has 17 HCP but their 3NT bid promises 13-15 HCP they are not allowed to respond 3NT. They need to make another bid.

So that tells you what 3NT means in the auction -- what does the 4NT bid mean in this auction?

It is INVITATIONAL to a small slam. Opener is asking Responder if they are at their MAXIMUM to bid 6NT. But if Responder is at their MINIMUM to just Pass. The values for a small slam are just not there.

What values would Opener need to make this 4NT bid?

It depends on what the NT range is.

Calculate how much Opener would need if Responder promises exactly 13-15 HCP for their 3NT bid. Remember you need 25 HCP to bid a game, 33 HCP to bid a small slam and 37 HCP to bid a grand slam:

Calculate how much Opener would need if Responder promises exactly 16-18 HCP for their 3NT bid. Remember you need 25 HCP to bid a game, 33 HCP to bid a small slam and 37 HCP to bid a grand slam:

Another example:

Opener	Responder
1♣	3NT
5NT	???

So what does the 5NT bid mean in this auction?

It is FORCING to a small slam and INVITATIONAL to a grand slam. Opener is asking Responder if they are at their MAXIMUM to bid 7NT. But if Responder is at their MINIMUM to just bid 6NT.

What values would one need to make these bids?

It depends on what the NT range is.

Calculate how much Opener would need if the 3NT shows 13-15 HCP. Remember you need 25 HCP to bid a game, 33 HCP to bid a small slam and 37 HCP to bid a grand slam:

Calculate how much Opener would need if the 3NT shows 16-18 HCP:

Yet another example:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♠
1NT	4NT

So what does the 4NT bid mean in this auction?

It is INVITATIONAL to a small slam. Responder is asking Opener if they are at their MAXIMUM to bid 6NT. But if Opener is at their MINIMUM to just Pass. The values for a small slam are just not there.

What values would Responder need to make this 4NT bid?

To answer that question we first need to think about what Opener has shown. They must have a balanced hand. They rebid 1NT when they had other choices to make. So they should have a balanced hand. But they opened the bidding 1♣ NOT 1NT. If they had a balanced hand with 15, 16 or 17 HCP they would have opened the bidding 1NT. Opener should not have 15 HCP. If they had a hand TOO good to open 1NT (say 18 or 19 HCP) they would NOT have rebid 1NT. They would have rebid 2NT. Therefore Opener should have AT MOST 14 HCP. But they might only have 13 HCP (or even a good 12 HCP). That is their range.

Calculate how much Responder would need to bid 4NT in this auction knowing the 1NT rebid shows 12-14 HCP. Remember you need 25 HCP to bid a game, 33 HCP to bid a small slam and 37 HCP to bid a grand slam:

Not another example!:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♠
1NT	5NT

So what does the 5NT bid mean in this auction?

It is FORCING to a small slam and INVITATIONAL to a grand slam. Responder is asking Opener if they are at their MAXIMUM to bid 7NT. But if Opener is at their MINIMUM to just bid 6NT.

What values would Responder need to make this bid?

To answer that question we first need to think about what Opener has shown. They must have a balanced hand. They rebid 1NT when they had other choices to make. So they should have a balanced hand. But they opened the bidding 1♣ NOT 1NT. If they had a balanced hand with 15, 16 or 17 HCP they would have opened the bidding 1NT. Opener should not have 15 HCP. If they had a hand TOO good to open 1NT (say 18 or 19 HCP) they would NOT have rebid 1NT. They would have rebid 2NT. Therefore Opener should have AT MOST 14 HCP. But they might only have 13 HCP (or even a good 12 HCP). That is their range.

Calculate how much Responder would need if the 1NT rebid shows 12-14 HCP. Remember you need 25 HCP to bid a game, 33 HCP to bid a small slam and 37 HCP to bid a grand slam:

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Declarer Play Exercise #12 - 6 Hearts

This post talks about counting losers in a trump contract. If you want some practice on doing that please read this post first:
Counting Losers

The reason why bridge players count losers in a trump contract is to determine whether or not Declarer has enough losers that they will not be able to make their contract. If Declarer has too many losers to make their contract they have to figure out a way to get rid of some of their losers! If Declarer has losers but will still make their contract they try to figure out if they can avoid some of their losers without jeopardizing their contract. Bridge players are a bit greedy in that sense.

To avoid some losers you might have to try a finesse. If you are not sure what a finesse is try these posts:
The Finesse
More Finessing
Eight Ever, Nine Never

This post also talks about playing high cards from the short side. If you are not sure what this means check out this post:
Declarer Play - High Cards from the Short Side

If you want to see me walk through a few hands with you check out these posts:
Counting Losers in Action -- 4 Spades
Counting Losers in Action – 3 Spades

This post is designed to test your declarer play in a trump contract. Count your losers and determine how you will play the contract. For example you could say "I have 4 losers and I will try the ♣ finesse to try to get rid of my ♣ loser!" Or you could say "I have 3 losers and no way to get rid of any of them!"

So let's practice. The final contract is 6♥. The lead is the K♦. Count the losers in the ♠ suit. Count the losers in the ♥ suit. Count the losers in the ♦ suit. Count the losers in the ♣ suit. Do you have too many losers? If yes, can you get rid of any so you can make your contract? If no, can you try to get rid of any?

This was a real hand played by real novices in a real game. Only one person took ALL the tricks like they should. Let's see how you do at home without the pressure of a real game.

Try playing out the contract at home. Deal out the cards and play as normal. Write down all the steps you did in order.

Contract: 6♥ Opening lead: K♦.

Dummy:
♠Q3
♥AQ83
♦5
♣AKJT62

Declarer:
♠AT982
♥KT72
♦A9
♣Q5

Before reading any further write down how you would play this hand.

Now I will walk you through it. I can count losers in either hand so for this hand I will count the losers in my hand. I could choose Dummy because of that FABULOUS ♣ suit but it is easier to explain how to take ALL the tricks by looking at Declarer's hand!

Count the losers in Declarer's Hand:

So this is not looking so good. I have FIVE losers not including any potential trump losers. How do I get rid of them?

What is your plan to get rid of the losers?

As long as the trump suit breaks you should not have any losers. But what happens if the trump suit doesn't break? This was a real life hand and the trump suit didn't break very well in real life. One Opponent held four trump to the J9. But it was actually the Opponent that Declarer WANTS to hold four to the J9. So that was good. Which Opponent would that be?

If one Opponent holds four trump to the J9 you will lose a trump trick. If the other Opponent holds four trump to the J9 you will NOT have to lose a trump trick. Which Opponent is which? As Declarer do you want your RIGHT HAND Opponent to hold four trump to the J9 or your LEFT HAND Opponent to hold four to the J9.

I know, you don't want either of them to hold four trump. But that wasn't a choice. RHO or LHO. You choose.

If it helps, take a deck of cards and ONLY give the Heart suit to everyone. You know what you have as Declarer. You know what Dummy has. Give one Opponent (either one) four Hearts to the J9. Can you pick up that suit for no losers? Now give the other Opponent four Hearts to the J9. Can you pick up that suit for no losers? You should be able to choose correctly if you do that.

How will you play the hand now?

Friday, December 16, 2016

Declarer Play Exercise #11 - 4 Spades

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Opening 1 Diamond

Refresh yourselves on opening the bidding 1 of a minor by reading this post:
Opening the Bidding

When you open the bidding 1 of a minor you only promise a THREE card suit.

That makes sense.

With three ♣ AND three ♦ ALWAYS open the bidding 1♣. No matter how bad your ♣ suit is and/or how good your ♦ suit is. So with the following hands open the bidding 1♣:

Hand A	Hand B	Hand C	Hand D
♠Q62 ♥K873 ♦AKQ ♣854	♠A632 ♥K83 ♦AQ4 ♣964	♠AK83 ♥KJ3 ♦AK4 ♣542	♠AQ3 ♥K832 ♦KQ8 ♣432

This makes less sense. Why would I want to do that? Wouldn't I like to tell Partner about my nicer minor?

No.

The reason we do this is this gives us a quick way of letting Partner know we have FOUR ♦ in our hand when we open 1♦.

I know what you are thinking. So this means when I open 1♦ I show a FOUR card suit?

No, you just show a THREE card suit. BUT if you always open 1♣ with three ♣ and three ♦ then the ONLY time you open 1♦ is when you have two four card majors. Therefore if Partner responds 1 of a major to your opening 1♦ bid and you DON'T support them you MUST have FOUR ♦.

Let's see this in action:

Hand A:
♠AQ62
♥94
♦Q983
♣AJ6

What will you open the bidding?

You have 13 HCP. You cannot open 1 of a major because you do not have a FIVE card suit. You open your LONGEST minor. Which is ♦.

So you open the bidding 1♦.

Now Partner says 1♥. What is your response?

Partner is showing at least 6 HCP and at least four ♥. You cannot support Partner. But you do have another four card major you can tell Partner about. Your response is 1♠.

This tells Partner you have four ♠ AND also tells Partner you have FOUR ♦. After all you do NOT have four ♥. You would have supported Partner if you did. Therefore you have four ♦.

Hmmmm. There MUST be a hand that does not have four ♥ and also does not have four ♦...

There isn't. Take away one of the ♦. Where do you put it? You still have to have thirteen cards! Can you put it with your ♠ suit?

No. Then you would have this hand:

♠AQ642
♥94
♦Q98
♣AJ6

and you would have opened the bidding 1♠ because you have FIVE of them.

What about this hand?

♠AQ62
♥942
♦Q98
♣AJ6

No. You have three ♦ and three ♣. You would have opened the bidding 1♣.

What about this hand?

♠AQ62
♥94
♦Q98
♣AJ63

No. You opened your LONGEST minor, remember? Here your ♣ are LONGER than your ♦ so you would have opened 1♣.

The ONLY hand you will open 1♦ with a THREE card suit is when you have a hand similar to this:

♠AQ62
♥K964
♦Q98
♣K3

This hand you must open the bidding 1♦. But now when Partner responds 1♥ you can support your Partner's ♥ suit and would rebid 2♥ to let Partner know you have a fit.

Does this work the same way with ♣? If I don't support my Partner's major after I open 1♣ do I promise four ♣?

No. The only reason it works with ♦ is because we choose to open 1♣ with three cards in both minors instead of 1♦.

Monday, December 5, 2016

Declarer Play Exercise #10 - 4 Spades

Friday, December 2, 2016

Declarer Play Exercise #9 - 6 Hearts

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Declarer Play -- Blocked!

This post talks about playing the High cards from the Short side. To read more about that check out this post first:
Declarer Play - High Cards from the Short Side

The reason why bridge players play high cards from the short side is to avoid a suit getting blocked. Just what does it mean for a suit to be blocked? Go grab a deck of cards.

Deal out only 1 suit (♠) and give yourself the ♠K and Dummy the ♠AQ4

Dummy
♠AQ4

Declarer
♠K

How many tricks do you have?

At first glance it looks like you have three tricks. After all you have the A♠, the K♠ and the Q♠. The top three tricks in the suit.

But this suit is BLOCKED.

If you play the K♠ and the 4♠ from Dummy you are in your hand. You have two ♠ winners in Dummy but HOW do you get there?

Hopefully you have another side suit that you can get to Dummy with. But if you just realize that the suit is blocked near the end of the hand you might not. You need to recognize what suits can get blocked EARLY in the playing out of the contract. That way you can unblock them and get all the tricks you deserve.

Are the following suits BLOCKED or can you play HIGH cards from the SHORT side to avoid blocking them?

Example 1:

Dummy
♠Q

Declarer
♠AK2

Answer:
This suit is blocked. Once I play the Q♠ and the 2♠ from my hand I have NO little ♠ to get to the good A♠ and K♠ in my hand!

Example 2:

Dummy
♠KQJ4

Declarer
♠A2

Answer: This suit is NOT blocked. I can play the 4♠ from Dummy towards the A♠ in my hand. When I win that I can play the 2♠ towards all the good ♠ in Dummy.

Now you try!

Some of these are tricky! Play them out at home first before you answer.

Hand 1

Dummy
♠QJ42

Declarer
♠AK

Hand 2

Dummy
♠AQ

Declarer
♠KJ62

Hand 3

Dummy
♠K8

Declarer
♠AQ2

Hand 4

Dummy
♠KQJ4

Declarer
♠A

Hand 5

Dummy
♠KQ

Declarer
♠AJ42

Hand 6

Dummy
♠AJT2

Declarer
♠KQ

Hand 7

Dummy
♠Q4

Declarer
♠AKJT82

Hand 8

Dummy
♠Q532

Declarer
♠AKJ

Hand 9

Dummy
♠K

Declarer
♠AQJT98

Hand 10

Dummy
♠AJ84

Declarer
♠KQ32

Hand 11

Dummy
♠AKQ32

Declarer
♠9765

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Declarer Play Problem #8 - 4 Hearts

Monday, November 28, 2016

Declarer Play Problem #7 - 4 Spades

Friday, November 25, 2016

Declarer Play Problem #6 - 4 Spades

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Counting Losers in Action -- 3 Spades

This post talks about counting losers in a trump contract. If you want some practice on doing that please read this post first:
Counting Losers

To avoid some losers you might have to try a finesse. If you are not sure what a finesse is try these posts:
The Finesse
More Finessing
Eight Ever, Nine Never

The reason why bridge players count losers in a trump contract is to determine whether or not Declarer has enough losers that they will not be able to make their contract. If Declarer has too many losers to make their contract they have to figure out a way to get rid of some of their losers! If Declarer has losers but will still make their contract they try to figure out if they can avoid some of their losers without jeopardizing their contract. Bridge players are a bit greedy in that sense.

So let's start. The final contract is 3♠. The opening lead is the J♥.

Dummy:
♠QJ72
♥Q32
♦43
♣AQ92

Declarer (me):
♠AKT63
♥764
♦KQJ
♣54

Count losers -- Remember I must either look at either Dummy or Declarer's hand to count losers:

Since I can use either hand to count losers, bridge players tend to count losers from the hand that has the longest trump. I will just count the losers in my hand.

Losers in Declarer's Hand:
♠ 0 losers -- I should not have to lose any trump tricks
♥ 3 losers -- I will probably lose the three tricks in this suit thanks to that lead!
♦ 1 loser -- I will lose the A♦.
♣ 1 loser -- I might have to lose to the K♣.

Not so good. I am in 3♠ and I have 5 losers. How can I try to avoid any losers?

Hmmmmm. I am probably always going to have to lose to the A♥, K♥ and J♥ and also the A♦. But I can try to avoid losing to the K♣. Can you see how?

I can always try the ♣ finesse. When I am playing the ♣ suit I will start from my hand (very important to start there!) with either ♣. If my LHO plays the K♣ I will win my A♣ and my Q♣ is good! I do not have any losers. If my LHO plays a small ♣ instead I will play the Q♣ from Dummy. If my LHO has the K♣ I will win my Q♣ and make my contract.

If my RHO has the Q♣ I will go down in my contract but at least I gave it a shot. That is the best way to avoid a ♣ loser.

So that's how I will try to avoid a ♣ loser.

FIRST thing I need to do is to TAKE OUT the opponents TRUMP.

So the first thing I will do when I win the first trick is to take out all the opponents trump. I will try to remember to end in my hand so I can try the ♣ finesse. So take out trump and try the ♣ finesse. It can't hurt and you might avoid a loser.