Declarer Play - Avoid taking out trump

Declarer Play in bridge is actually quite easy when you think about it.

In NT Declarer needs to count their WINNERS. If they do not have enough winners to make their contract they need to create winners.

 In a trump contract Declarer needs to count their LOSERS. If they have too many losers they need to get rid of them.

Sounds simple? It rarely is -- especially if you are new to bridge. But, as with most things, the more you do it the easier it becomes.

 Let's look at an example: The contract is 4♥ and the opening lead is the K♣

 Dummy:
♠AKQ
♥9743
♦Q43
♣862

Declarer (me):
♠J7
♥KQJ862
♦K7
♣A43

Since I am in a trump contract I will start with counting my losers. I will look at my hand (since I have more trump than dummy) to see where my losers are:
♠ 0 losers
♥ 1 loser
♦ 1 loser
♣ 2 losers

That adds up to 4 losers. Since I am in 4♥ I am only allowed to lose 3 tricks. I have to get rid of one of my losers.  How I will do that?

Well, I have 3 good ♠ in Dummy and only 2♠ in my hand. I can throw away one of my losers on the extra ♠.

Now which loser do I need to throw away? I can't get rid of my trump loser. If I throw away a ♦ I will still have to lose a ♦. So that doesn't help. I need to throw away a losing ♣. Perfect! This was easier than I thought. I will throw away a ♣ loser on my ♠ winner.

Should I take out trump first? I know I'm supposed to take out trump so let's try that. What could go wrong?

Blast those opponents! When they won their A♥ they immediately played the Q♣ and the J♣. There was nothing I could do!

 Let's go back in time to the very beginning of the hand. I have my plan to throw away my loser. I saw what happened when I took out trump. Let's see what happens if I DON'T take out trump.

 I will win my A♣ and immediately play a ♠ to my A♠, then play the K♠ and then the Q♠ throwing away one of my losing ♣. The opponents had to follow suit to all three ♠ tricks so I was lucky there. Now I can take out trump. I play a ♥ and the opponents win and play the Q♣ and the J♣ but now I can trump the J♣, take out the rest of the opponents trump and make my contract.

Would I have played this hand differently if I had the ♥AKQ862 of trump instead?

Yes, with this holding I can afford to take out the opponents trump right away.  They won't be able to win a trump trick and play their Q♣ and the J♣.

Would I have played this hand differently if I the opponents lead the 9♠ instead?

Yes, if the opponents don't lead a ♣ I still have control of the ♣ suit. If I win the A♠ and then play a ♥ the opponents can win the A♥ and play a ♣ but I still have the A♣. I can win that, take out the rest of the trump and play on ♠ then to throw away my loser.

The only reason I had to delay taking out trump in the example was because the opponent's lead ♣.

This example is for Bob who just can't get enough of taking out trump. I hope he and Kerry are happy and warm but not slacking off too much on their holiday because they have bridge boot camp to look forward to in a few months -- they'd better be in shape!